Bench press just seems pointless to me

JewelsinBigD

So that would make push ups worthless as well? I don't know after working my chest I can feel it my entire day, this tells me that I must use them for more than just throwing that weight around.

THIS - if I didn't use them then I would not feel them throughout the day after lifting.

ItsCasey

OP, I refer you to this T-Nation article, assuming you are actually looking for reasons to DO the bench press, rather than reasons NOT to do it: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/why_the_bench_press_is_the_best_exercise&cr=

That article seemed to focus on how all the other pressing exercises didn't seem to increase his bench press 1RM, which is the opposite of what I am going for here. He says at the end of the article that the push press is likely the better exercise for sports.

No, that's not the opposite of what you SAID you were going for. You specifically asked why people find it necessary for any reason other than looks or to have a big bench press and questioned what benching can do for you that push-ups can't. The article addresses that.

You might have warned us all that what you really wanted was to make sure we all know you think benching is stupid because people don't lie on a bench and push a heavy bar up in the air while playing sports. It would've saved all of us a lot of time.

Cranquistador

lolNO.

fbmandy55

From a female POV:

Since I started benching, I have been able to do a push-up, something I wasn't strong enough to do before.


And well, it can do wonders for a woman's perkiness.

Sarauk2sf

It's a compound lift - not an isolation.

I don't have a shiz load of weight on my back on a daily basis either but it does not mean that BB back squats are not a very good lift.

BarbellApprentice

I have not read through every reply, so it is possible this has been mentioned. But if your pecs are the only muscles under tension while benching, your form is probably way off.

mustgetmuscles1

...unless you are just going for looks or training specifically to have a big bench press IMHO.

I guess I dont understand why you single out the BP. Couldn't this question be asked for any of the lifts? Very seldom are we using maximal effort in our day to day lives. The press, whichever variation you choose, is a major compound movement focusing on many upper body muscles but includes almost full body activation.

I would agree that there seems to be more emphasis put on this lift than some others that are just as important. Rows, OHP, Pull ups are a couple other major compounds that dont get near the attention as the big three. Still dont see why the BP is singled out in your question.

FrnkLft

Let's address the Straw Man arguments right away, and hopefully we don't do them again.

A barbell is a tool that can be used in many many ways, I am just saying that this particular application doesn't seem to have a functional use.

If walking is a Maximal Strength exercise for you and you can only manage a few steps, please seek immediate medical attention.

I maintain that the maximal strength exercise of the heavy bench press has little to no application outside of doing the exercise itself or building mass in a specific muscle group, at least as far as my current understanding goes.

Anybody with a normal body and even marginal pressing strength will easily be able to face a wall and push themselves back over their heels with just 2-3 fingers if they maintain a vertical position. The only way to get to where you need maximal pressing strength standing requires a forward angle far beyond you would ever see in a bench press or one leg back, where it becomes obvious that the core and leg muscles can easily overwhelm your forward pressing power.

Having spent 5 years grappling, you never press anywhere near to extension unless you dearly want to get arm barred or you are totally new to the sport. It's all explosive pushes to make room for escapes or to set a structural frame for your arms.

Yet, clearly many people, including professional athletes like NFL players and the like do the exercise regularly. I am trying to understand why when I never see anybody actually use that movement in that way.

I think I could see it as a basis for other kinds of strength to supplement and improve speed, endurance, explosiveness, etc. But in that case, why is it such a huge part of many workout routines?

It shouldn't be the only big lift you do (I, like most, do the press, squat, and deadlift as well), but you're saying that being profficient at a maximal load perpendicular pressing movement wouldn't be useful in the NFL or wrestling?

I'm missing something honestly, because that doesn't make sense. Is it just because you're not standing while doing it?

JNick77

Having spent 5 years grappling, you never press anywhere near to extension unless you dearly want to get arm barred or you are totally new to the sport. It's all explosive pushes to make room for escapes or to set a structural frame for your arms.

I guess I missed this comment in my initial read... That's what lack of sleep does I guess. LOL.

And that's exactly what maximal strength lifting is, it's actually explosive. Even though the weight may move slowly, the force that is put into moving the weight is explosive. You will not move a maximal load without trying to move it with force and momentum. One coach was quoted as saying "you need to get violent with the weight." It's actually the rep ranges above 5 that have less relationship to explosiveness. Of course you can do high-rep plyometrics or oly lifts but even that has diminishing returns on athletic explosiveness as you increase reps.