500-lb Bench… And You Still Punch Like a Girl?
By Mark Ginther
Big Bench Press = Heavy Hands?
Some of you may remember the old Charles Atlas ad: The Insult that Made a Man out of Mac,
which ran in comic books starting back in the 1940s. The ad depicts Mac, who gets sand
kicked in his face at the beach by a bully; is humiliated in front of his girl, who then
condescendingly calls him, “little boy”. Ouch! How’s that for motivation. Mac sends for Charles
Atlas’ course, and after completing the Charles Atlas course (in which seems to be a matter of
weeks) he returns to the beach with a herculean physique, K.O.s the bully (good thing
Americans of the 40s weren’t as litigious as they are today); becoming the “Hero of the Beach”! …show more content…
In this
way it is possible to maximize force output and neuromuscular activity on each rep, irrespective
of resistance or rep count.
Below is an example of how to apply the method of submaximal acceleration to bench press.
1. Lower the weight in a controlled manner, don’t bounce it off your chest.
2. Immediately accelerate off the chest and though the sticking point as powerfully as
possible using good form.
3. Reduce speed at the top of the movement so as not to lose control of the bar or
hyperextend your elbows.
If the bar, due to its momentum continues moving upward after reaching full extension, the
weight being used is probably too light, and would be better suited to ballistic exercises where
the resistance would be released explosively (such as medicine ball passes or bench-press
throws in the Smith machine).
This method can be used with a variety of rep/set schemes to fit into a typical periodization
model. Perform 3-7 sets per exercise depending on the resistance and number of reps being
performed, the fewer the reps, the greater the number of sets.
1-3 reps per set at 85%
3-5 reps per set at …show more content…
Though the bench press is mechanically similar to a
punch, strength gains tend to be posture specific, and therefore the bench is only a measure of
pushing strength from a supported back (more akin to fighting from guard in MMA). Even so,
bench press (and its variations) is excellent for integration of the arms, chest and shoulders,
used in a recruitment pattern similar to a punch.
In actuality, a punch is more complicated than just a chest shoulder and arm movement, and
requires a contribution from the legs and the integration of the core, which transfers force from
the point of leverage (where the feet grip the ground) through the pelvis and trunk to the upper
body, much like the cracking of a whip.
For greater integration of the core, the bench press can be substituted with alternating dumbbell
presses. Though still in a horizontal position, because the working limbs are alternated, the
core muscles contract asymmetrically, in a similar manner as they would when throwing a
Antagonistic muscle action should also be taken into account. A common error when trying to
improve a specific movement is to train the working muscles, the agonists, at the expense of
By Mark Ginther
Big Bench Press = Heavy Hands?
Some of you may remember the old Charles Atlas ad: The Insult that Made a Man out of Mac,
which ran in comic books starting back in the 1940s. The ad depicts Mac, who gets sand
kicked in his face at the beach by a bully; is humiliated in front of his girl, who then
condescendingly calls him, “little boy”. Ouch! How’s that for motivation. Mac sends for Charles
Atlas’ course, and after completing the Charles Atlas course (in which seems to be a matter of
weeks) he returns to the beach with a herculean physique, K.O.s the bully (good thing
Americans of the 40s weren’t as litigious as they are today); becoming the “Hero of the Beach”! …show more content…
In this
way it is possible to maximize force output and neuromuscular activity on each rep, irrespective
of resistance or rep count.
Below is an example of how to apply the method of submaximal acceleration to bench press.
1. Lower the weight in a controlled manner, don’t bounce it off your chest.
2. Immediately accelerate off the chest and though the sticking point as powerfully as
possible using good form.
3. Reduce speed at the top of the movement so as not to lose control of the bar or
hyperextend your elbows.
If the bar, due to its momentum continues moving upward after reaching full extension, the
weight being used is probably too light, and would be better suited to ballistic exercises where
the resistance would be released explosively (such as medicine ball passes or bench-press
throws in the Smith machine).
This method can be used with a variety of rep/set schemes to fit into a typical periodization
model. Perform 3-7 sets per exercise depending on the resistance and number of reps being
performed, the fewer the reps, the greater the number of sets.
1-3 reps per set at 85%
3-5 reps per set at …show more content…
Though the bench press is mechanically similar to a
punch, strength gains tend to be posture specific, and therefore the bench is only a measure of
pushing strength from a supported back (more akin to fighting from guard in MMA). Even so,
bench press (and its variations) is excellent for integration of the arms, chest and shoulders,
used in a recruitment pattern similar to a punch.
In actuality, a punch is more complicated than just a chest shoulder and arm movement, and
requires a contribution from the legs and the integration of the core, which transfers force from
the point of leverage (where the feet grip the ground) through the pelvis and trunk to the upper
body, much like the cracking of a whip.
For greater integration of the core, the bench press can be substituted with alternating dumbbell
presses. Though still in a horizontal position, because the working limbs are alternated, the
core muscles contract asymmetrically, in a similar manner as they would when throwing a
Antagonistic muscle action should also be taken into account. A common error when trying to
improve a specific movement is to train the working muscles, the agonists, at the expense of