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Bench Maxx - No More Need For Spotters

I well remember that one night at the base gym when I had to roll the bar off my chest because I couldn't make the last rep. It didn't really teach me anything but I damned sure remember it!:lamo
 
Lutherf said:
I well remember that one night at the base gym when I had to roll the bar off my chest because I couldn't make the last rep. It didn't really teach me anything but I damned sure remember it!:lamo
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I actually forgot that Olympic bars weigh 45 lbs all by themselves when I first went back to the gym several months ago, so I wound up trying to lift 225 lbs thinking it was 180.

Needless to say, it didn't end well. :lamo
 
Gathomas88 said:
I actually forgot that Olympic bars weigh 45 lbs all by themselves when I first went back to the gym several months ago, so I wound up trying to lift 225 lbs thinking it was 180.

Needless to say, it didn't end well. :lamo
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Especially when you first go back. You get the bar off the rack and your only thought is "Gee, I don't remember it being this heavy. I must just be out of shape" and then 3 reps later....
 
That's an awesome idea, but im just wondering why that guy couldn't lift a sissy weight like that.
 
I like that. I usually use a power rack when I want to do bench presses without a spotter. But while a power rack will keep you from being crushed, you don't have a complete range of motion as you can't lower the bar all the way down to your chest. This looks like a clever solution.
 
It's a good idea that he came up with. That said, for long term shoulder health you should never fully max out on the barbell bench anyway. If its too heavy for you to get 8 to 10 reps with using good form, then you at risk of shoulder injury (that may well never fully heal). You can make a lot of strength gains and build a big and sculpted chest even if you never fully max out.

Personally, I only barbell bench every 3 weeks and bench with dumbbells every other time (as well as lots of push-ups). Dumbbells are harder, build more functional strength, are much easier on your shoulders due to better range of motion, and if they are too heavy you just drop them.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
It's a good idea that he came up with. That said, for long term shoulder health you should never fully max out on the barbell bench anyway. If its too heavy for you to get 8 to 10 reps with using good form, then you at risk of shoulder injury (that may well never fully heal). You can make a lot of strength gains and build a big and sculpted chest even if you never fully max out.

Personally, I only barbell bench every 3 weeks and bench with dumbbells every other time (as well as lots of push-ups). Dumbbells are harder, build more functional strength, are much easier on your shoulders due to better range of motion, and if they are too heavy you just drop them.
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I used to hit the bench twice a week, but I've cut down to once a week after adding squats and deadlifts into the routine. I'm generally pretty tired after finishing up with my legs and back, and seeing as how my chest is probably where I'm strongest, I figure that I might as well focus what little energy I have left somewhere else, like my deltoids or biceps.

Benching with dumbbells is alright. However, I'm not necessarily convinced that it's any safer. I'm always worried that my wrists will give out, and I'll wind up dropping one of the weights square on my face. :lol:
 
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Gathomas88 said:
I used to hit the bench twice a week, but I've cut down to once a week after adding squats and deadlifts into the routine. I'm generally pretty tired after finishing up with my legs and back, and seeing as how my chest is probably where I'm strongest, I figure that I might as well focus what little energy I have left somewhere else, like my deltoids or biceps.

Benching with dumbbells is alright. However, I'm not necessarily convinced that it's any safer. I'm always worried that my wrists will give out, and I'll wind up dropping one of the weights square on my face. :lol:
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I do two full body workouts a week, but I usually do lower body one day and upper the next (resting the third day). Benchpress is the start of my upper body day because it's a compound movement that tends to pre-exaust (and pre-warm up) the rest of my upper body.
 
Gathomas88 said:
Weightlifter Invents a New Type Of Bench Press: Say Goodbye to Your Spotter



I need to get me one of these! :lol:

I pretty rarely have a dedicated spotter, and having to ask random gym goers to take time out of their own workouts to help gets kind of old for both me and them.
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Bro, in order to get one you need to pledge $600 bucks?


Just get a squat rack, far more versatile. Dudes trying to reinvent the wheel. and almost half the price.


Amazon.com : PowerLine PPR200X Power Rack : Exercise Power Cages : Sports & Outdoors

51V47Lk5LpL._SX425_.jpg



PASS.
 
ReverendHellh0und said:
Bro, in order to get one you need to pledge $600 bucks?


Just get a squat rack, far more versatile. Dudes trying to reinvent the wheel. and almost half the price.


Amazon.com : PowerLine PPR200X Power Rack : Exercise Power Cages : Sports & Outdoors

51V47Lk5LpL._SX425_.jpg



PASS.
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The problem with those is that if you set the pins below your chest level, then all you can do is to tilt the bar over to one pin so that it rests on that pin and kinda slide out from under it. If you set the pins where they are above chest level, you aren't getting the full range of motion.

I have a rack like you pictured at home and used it for about a year before I joined a gym. Ended up getting in the habit of stopping the bar a few inches above my chest, so I wasn't really doing full bench presses. Eventually I had to take old World Book encyclopedias (I knew there was a valid reason for me keeping those for 40 years) and I used them to shim the height of my bench so that I could get the pins just a fraction of an inch under by chest level, worked fairly well, except that I already was in the habit of not touching my chest with the bar, and it took me months to get out of that habit.

I love the idea of an adjustible height bench because that solves all the problems - and the gym I go to doesn't have any spare World Book encylopedias.

My wife is my regular training partner, but when she doesn't go to the gym, I just ask whatever random person I can find to spot me. Sometimes that can work to my advantage though. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling strong, so I decided to try a new personal best bench press. The kid who was working out next to me spotted me, I was so afraid that he wouldn't do a good job spotting me that I mustered a little extra strength and did that personal best weight not once, but twice.
 
That, or you can get a tall dips stand and belt to attach weight.

I prefer bench because it seems to work the chest a bit more than dips (which seem to hit Tris/shoulders a bit more), but I work out in the basement and there's no way my wife could spot me.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
If its too heavy for you to get 8 to 10 reps with using good form, then you at risk of shoulder injury (that may well never fully heal).
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While you may increase risk of injury doing heavier weights, power lifting does not go up to 8-10 reps. It's more about 3-5 reps with about a 2 minute break in between. It's always fun to do a power workout with someone who has only done more traditional style workouts and they feel like they aren't getting much work in. Then 1 or 2 days later they feel the burn.
 
Gathomas88 said:
Weightlifter Invents a New Type Of Bench Press: Say Goodbye to Your Spotter



I need to get me one of these! :lol:

I pretty rarely have a dedicated spotter, and having to ask random gym goers to take time out of their own workouts to help gets kind of old for both me and them.
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For those wondering about the part in the video where the guy has chain dangling off the ends of the bar, it's not just too look badass (though it does). I loved this workout when I was introduced to it. It takes weight off as you go down to your chest and then adds as you push back up. So it helps you power through that stick point that most people have a few inches above their chest, which eventually results in helping you do the same without the chains.
 
Mr Person said:
That, or you can get a tall dips stand and belt to attach weight.

I prefer bench because it seems to work the chest a bit more than dips (which seem to hit Tris/shoulders a bit more), but I work out in the basement and there's no way my wife could spot me.
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You got to be careful with dips. They can be hard on your shoulders if you don't have good range of motion in them and you can tear a pec. I have a small tear on left pec where it attaches to the clavicle from dips. It doesn't hurt, but has had a small bruise for over a year now.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
You got to be careful with dips. They can be hard on your shoulders if you don't have good range of motion in them and you can tear a pec. I have a small tear on left pec where it attaches to the clavicle from dips. It doesn't hurt, but has had a small bruise for over a year now.
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Yeah. I try to do them in a really controlled slow motion and not strain to finish an obvious failed rep.

But I really have little choice. I don't have room for a bench machine in the basement, dumbells seem even more easy to injure myself with (nor would I be able to do the same combined weight), and there's no way my wife could help get a free weight bar off my chest; she'd have to pull one plate off at a time until I could lift it, which would be asking to tear something. It's that or joining a gym, which adds commute time, etc.




I was going really hard at them for a while and the cartiledge in my shoulders started creaking when making certain movements, such as if I was leaning back in a chair and reached for something to my side. Not painful, but also something that shouldn't start to happen until I'm 5-10 years older, from what I've read. That stopped after going easier for a month or so.

I also managed to pull something at the base of my neck once when I arched back as I was straining for the last rep.
 
SouthernDemocrat said:
Dumbbells are harder, build more functional strength, are much easier on your shoulders due to better range of motion, and if they are too heavy you just drop them.
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That's my philosophy.

I've never liked the gym and I share my workout space in my garage with enough other "stuff" that it kind of precludes any kind of real rack.

Floor and bench dumbbell presses and pushups and I call it good.

I use dumbbells and kettlebells for all my other weight training as well.

Gathomas88 said:
Benching with dumbbells is alright. However, I'm not necessarily convinced that it's any safer. I'm always worried that my wrists will give out, and I'll wind up dropping one of the weights square on my face. :lol:
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Though I don't use the kind of weight where that would be a real concern.

I'm not looking to get huge and I'm not a powerlifter.

I just like to keep as functionally strong as a middle-aged, white-collar suburbanite really needs to be.

Very cool invention though, 20 years ago I would have thought it was awesome.
 
Mr Person said:
That, or you can get a tall dips stand and belt to attach weight.

I prefer bench because it seems to work the chest a bit more than dips (which seem to hit Tris/shoulders a bit more), but I work out in the basement and
there's no way my wife could spot me.
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I have dedicated my entire remaining life to assuring that my ex-wife doesn't spot me, too. The body armor alternative is not that appealing, and she could go for a head shot anyway.
 
It does seem like a good idea provided those pistons that raise and lower the bed stay dependable over time.
 
BrewerBob said:
I like that. I usually use a power rack when I want to do bench presses without a spotter. But while a power rack will keep you from being crushed, you don't have a complete range of motion as you can't lower the bar all the way down to your chest. This looks like a clever solution.
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That is right and one trade off for another.
 
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