Hanley wrote: Soooo stability and bosu ball training is ghey, but bamboo pressing 's the next big thing? Presumably cos Louie says so? stability balls are all about training the core. benching with dumbbells off a stablility ball looks nothing like a competition bench press, and wont do much in terms of building the bench. A bamboo bar lets you duplicate the exact setup on the bench that you would use in competition. Because you are using the exact same setup and form with a bamboo bar, you are strengthening the exact same stabilizer muscles used in your actual bench press. you dont get that luxury with the stability ball exercises. bamboo translates to powerlifting specific goals, stability balls don 't(not saying they are useless)
Hanley wrote: Soooo stability and bosu ball training is ghey, but bamboo pressing/'s the next big thing? Presumably cos Louie says so? FWIW, therev's a bit of a difference. Itn's not like wen're benching on a vibrating bench. I think it was big iron who suggested hanging chains from the bar that are completely off the ground for :'stability work ' or something. I also know Scott Cartwright does walked out squats with chains suspended off the floor sometimes. :/
This is huge and one reason why a bench shirt helps quite a bit. When benching for a max, whether it be raw or with a shirt, the bar must come down quickly but under control. This does not give you license to drop the bar or inch the bar down Poliquin-style. Both of these things will result in a poor attempt. A bench shirt allows you to have a fast eccentric phase while maintaining your tightness. Since a raw bencher is using his best 50/50 shirt, he does not have this advantage. Here are some tips that will help you in this area:
For general training, however, there are many variations that serve different purposes. So let's get started. The traditional flat bench press involves lying on a flat bench and grasping the bar slightly outside of shoulder's width. The bar is unracked, then lowered slowly to touch the chest. In a bench press competition, the bar may have to sit there for a specified period of time. The person benching then drives the bar upward and completes the repetition with arms perpendicular to the floor and locked out or just slightly bent.
