FLAT BB BENCH PRESS Undisputed King for Chest Mass

[Samson48]

i have been lifting heavy for the better part of 25 years, have had all sorts of injuries from sports and lifting- separated shoulder, elbow issues, reconstructed knees, sciatica, back pain, etc- lifting heavy on bench has not been a cause of any of them. And i use a very wide grip and for loads that i fail on at ~5 reps, some times less.

Personal variables like arm length, shoulder width, etc, factor in, so just find whatever grip works best for you and is comfortable. Too many people give bad advice on what certain lifting alignments others should do, and ignore what their body agrees with.

Cant tell you how many times ive had someone tell me i need to not go so wide on my grip or i will have shoulder issues.

How many pros do you see benching?
the risk outweighs the reward.

 

[Xxplosive]

How many pros do you see benching?
the risk outweighs the reward.

I say this respectfully, but the message i sent seems to have gone over your head.

The point is, there is no 1 "right way to train". It's individual and everyone should go by what gives them the best results. If barbell bench stresses your shoulders too much and you feel like it can injure, then simply dont do it. For myself, i have always gotten great results with 0 stress on my shoulders.

Meanwhile, deadlifts stress my lower back way too much and my short arms make it an awkward movement, so even though it is a staple for most, i dont force myself to do it.

"The pros" dont just do exactly what somebody else did/does, they are in tune with their bodies and know what they respond to best in terms of diet, training snd drug protocols and calibrate accordingly from there.

You can follow 20 top pros and try to mimic them, and come out confused as shit when you realize there are probably a few things they all do differently, yet they are all basically equal unless you split hairs.

 

[PCTShopRep]

Great post guys, lot's of valuable information in here, for me personally I find Dumbells more effective for building my chest, but that's mainly because of how my wrist feels on the barbell, maybe someone else can relate?

 

[Vin Deezyzzl]

Increased range of motion is not going to stimulate more muscle fibers. It is the resistance that increases the demand therefore recruitment of muscle fibers.

more fibers recruited more fibers stimulated.

if I use 20 pound dumbbells for a ridiculous range of motion say on chest flyes I’ll not get near the stimulation of half the range of motion chest flyes with 50 pound dumbbells

300 pound bench presser for 5 reps is not going to be able the use 150# dumbbells.

range of motion with dumbbells is increased minimally nor dramatically and to make this even less important is the heavier the dumbbells get for most guys …. The range of motion decreases and often is LESS than a barbell

for two reasons

large DB’s get blocked by the chest way before a bar ever would
And
Heavier dumbbells for most guys is automatically going to reduce the ROM simply because they would not be able to complete a full ROM Rep with the heavy DB’s

anyways we could go point - counterpoint all day on this

but I give up …. Now that I’ve seen this:

View attachment 324

I'd argue that increased ROM will indeed stimulate more muscle fibers. The muscle is still working in the furthest extended and contracted ranges so why wouldn't you want to work it there. You wouldn't do BB bench presses with a 3" ROM for example. It's no different.

 

[Mack]

I'd argue that increased ROM will indeed stimulate more muscle fibers. The muscle is still working in the furthest extended and contracted ranges so why wouldn't you want to work it there. You wouldn't do BB bench presses with a 3" ROM for example. It's no different.

No bro it’s not bro science it’s actual real science of physiology

more resistance (heavier weight) will recruit more muscle fibers

x # of pounds of weight recruits x # of fibers

Again the “I feel it more” is just mental which is what guys usually say about increased ROM exercises sure you may “feel it more” but a slow big ROM DB bench press with 90# DB’s is not nearly going to engage as many total muscle fibers as a 275# few reps of a BB bench press

 

[PCTShopRep]

No bro it’s not bro science it’s actual real science of physiology

more resistance (heavier weight) will recruit more muscle fibers

x # of pounds of weight recruits x # of fibers

Again the “I feel it more” is just mental which is what guys usually say about increased ROM exercises sure you may “feel it more” but a slow big ROM DB bench press with 90# DB’s is not nearly going to engage as many total muscle fibers as a 275# few reps of a BB bench press

The uncomfortable truth no one wants to hear but needs to be said! Well played brother.