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Foam Block While Benching

post #1 of 17
4/30/09 at 12:16pm
Thread Starter 
I have seen a couple of guys at the gym benching with what looks like a 2 inch foam block on their chest. They bring the bar down to the block as opposed to all the way down to their chest. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to doing this? At the very least it appears to limit ones range of motion that couple of inches but maybe it prevents the threat of over extension. Any advice from someone that know what the hell I am talking about would be appreciated.
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post #2 of 17
4/30/09 at 12:24pm
Board press. Used to work sticking points. i wouldn't use a foam block.

http://www.criticalbench.com/board-press.htm

lefty
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post #3 of 17
4/30/09 at 12:49pm
I'm pretty sure that when you bring the bar all the way down to your chest you are involving your triceps more, which can be a bad thing when you are doing a chest exercise trying to isolate the pectorals. I could be wrong though.
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post #4 of 17
4/30/09 at 1:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny_5 View Post
I'm pretty sure that when you bring the bar all the way down to your chest you are involving your triceps more, which can be a bad thing when you are doing a chest exercise trying to isolate the pectorals. I could be wrong though.

You are.
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post #5 of 17
4/30/09 at 1:53pm
So correct me....?
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post #6 of 17
4/30/09 at 2:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoomDiggs View Post
I have seen a couple of guys at the gym benching with what looks like a 2 inch foam block on their chest. They bring the bar down to the block as opposed to all the way down to their chest. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to doing this? At the very least it appears to limit ones range of motion that couple of inches but maybe it prevents the threat of over extension. Any advice from someone that know what the hell I am talking about would be appreciated.

If you mean a foam pad like you would see on a smith machine or something like that, they may be doing "towel bench presses". It's just like a traditional bench except you "bounce" the weight off the pad. I would see guys do this at my old powerlifting gym, they said it helped them develop explosiveness and lockout strength. If I'm wrong I'm sure Why will let me know in short order.
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post #7 of 17
4/30/09 at 2:46pm
I knew a kid who broke a couple ribs bouncing weight that he couldn't handle. I'm not 100% sure on the power lifting thing, but I was always taught that bouncing was bad form for that exact reason.
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post #8 of 17
4/30/09 at 3:25pm
From the OP, it sounds like these guys were doing board presses but didn't have a wood block laying around so they used foam as an approximation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny_5 View Post
I'm pretty sure that when you bring the bar all the way down to your chest you are involving your triceps more, which can be a bad thing when you are doing a chest exercise trying to isolate the pectorals. I could be wrong though.

You've got this backwards. Chest and shoulders in the lower half of the movement, triceps in the upper half. Functional anatomy. Also, benching does not isolate the pectorals, and is arguably not a chest exercise.

Quote:
Originally Posted by HgaleK View Post
I knew a kid who broke a couple ribs bouncing weight that he couldn't handle. I'm not 100% sure on the power lifting thing, but I was always taught that bouncing was bad form for that exact reason.

As why said, powerlifters use board presses to work through sticking points. It's not the same thing as some idiot kid bouncing the bar off his chest, which should not be done.
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post #9 of 17
4/30/09 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny_5 View Post
So correct me....?

I don't think you get how why works
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post #10 of 17
4/30/09 at 5:30pm
Us shot putters sometimes use a foam pad to work on explosiveness. Brian Oldfield (former WR holder and all around crazy man) used to fold up a mattress under his shirt and bounce 400 lbs off it.
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post #11 of 17
4/30/09 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
I don't think you get how why works

He does actually. Apparently, you have to ask.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Philosoph View Post
You've got this backwards. Chest and shoulders in the lower half of the movement, triceps in the upper half. Functional anatomy. Also, benching does not isolate the pectorals, and is arguably not a chest exercise.

+1
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post #12 of 17
4/30/09 at 6:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Caber View Post
Brian Oldfield (former WR holder and all around crazy man) used to fold up a mattress under his shirt and bounce 400 lbs off it.

How do you fold a mattress and put it under your shirt?

I sometimes use the heads of my vanquished enemies to bounce a bar off my chest. They make a great squishy sound.

lefty
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post #13 of 17
5/1/09 at 2:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philosoph View Post
From the OP, it sounds like these guys were doing board presses but didn't have a wood block laying around so they used foam as an approximation. You've got this backwards. Chest and shoulders in the lower half of the movement, triceps in the upper half. Functional anatomy. Also, benching does not isolate the pectorals, and is arguably not a chest exercise. As why said, powerlifters use board presses to work through sticking points. It's not the same thing as some idiot kid bouncing the bar off his chest, which should not be done.
Yea. That is more or less why I don't use bar bells and do incline at a slight slope. To get away with less front deltoid involvement. Was not paying attention to what I was writing and had the muscles in each part of the movement mixed up.
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post #14 of 17
5/1/09 at 3:13am
I have bad shoulders as it is, from my (50yr old retired Army) friend who's had multiple shoulder surgeries he for years would go down to his chest on bench presses. Which apparently is bad for the shoulder, your elbows going past parallel with your body is putting extra pressure on your shoulders which is something I don't want, I stop about 4" from my chest for this reason. I'm sure someone will find a reason why this is the worst thing in the universe but I'll keep my shoulders intact since they're already sensitive to injury. And on topic the board method makes a lot of sense and it's something I could see using in the future since I seem to have a couple sticking points
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post #15 of 17
5/1/09 at 10:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by capnpyro View Post
I have bad shoulders as it is, from my (50yr old retired Army) friend who's had multiple shoulder surgeries he for years would go down to his chest on bench presses. Which apparently is bad for the shoulder, your elbows going past parallel with your body is putting extra pressure on your shoulders which is something I don't want, I stop about 4" from my chest for this reason. I'm sure someone will find a reason why this is the worst thing in the universe but I'll keep my shoulders intact since they're already sensitive to injury.

And on topic the board method makes a lot of sense and it's something I could see using in the future since I seem to have a couple sticking points

It can be bad if you bench like a bodybuilder, with your elbows flared and bringing the bar to your mid/upper chest, usually done by people who are trying to get a chest workout. Instead, watch the guys who are good at benching - scapulae retracted and set, elbows in, bar to sternum.
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