Quote: (08-30-2014 12:38 AM)Hades Wrote:
Most people who trash talk the bench as a lift are terrible at it. While I think it has taken too much attention away from the military press and the olympic lifts, society at large measures your worth as a lifter in how many pounds you can flat bench. Women and pantywaists are generally terrible at it, making it a fairly masculine lift. And Arnie benched often and heavy, and had an enormous chest as a result, and everybody loves Arnold. That's enough reason to bench, IMO.
Lifting is not a dick measuring contest. You aren't "more masculine" because you bench. If anything, you're just a sheep for going along with an unsound lift simply because it's culturally popular. You don't have to bench just because Arnold benched. Are you going to fuck a fat, Hispanic maid too, just because Arnold did?
Anyway, my point is simply that benching really has no purpose
except to get better at benching. The bench press is such an extremely unnatural movement that the strength you get from it has very little function compared to a deadlift, squat, press or clean. Those lifts work because they mirror natural human movements while adding weight. The bench press is not a natural human movement.
So you're doing this pointless movement that serves no real purpose, and at the same time you're placing enormous stress on the shoulders. The bench press is the number one cause of shoulder injuries in the gym. While its rare to die while benching, it's extremely common to fuck up your rotator cuff. Shoulder injuries and pec tears from benching are the most common injuries among bodybuilders and powerlifters.
The bench press is just a disaster waiting to happen. There's absolutely no reason to be doing them unless you're a competitive powerlifter.
So why don't you hear this opinion more often? It's a combination of most people not knowing what they're talking about, overconfidence and historical bias. Guys like to bench because benching is the cultural standard for strength. And who is some random asshole to tell you that you shouldn't be benching? You've been benching heavy for years with no problems. But then one day your shoulder pops and it's too late. Now you get it. Now you understand, but it's too late now. You're going to be dealing with that bad shoulder for the rest of your life.
If you go to a serious gym, notice how many of the guys who are 40+ and still jacked are benching heavy. In my experience, it's a very small percentage. The guys who are in it for the long run understand that joint health is the number one priority, and shoulder health in particular is especially important. It's absolutely fucking stupid to overstress your shoulders on a pointless lift like the bench, especially when there are tons of superior alternatives.
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/bench-pr...cise-40883
http://www.tonygentilcore.com/blog/5-way...-friendly/