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Do you touch the bar to your chest when you bench?

Mike Singletary

Mike Singletary

Member
Sep 8, 2010
92
29
I always have, but people have told me that it's bad for your shoulders and will cause problems down the line. thoughts/experiences?
 
mugzy

mugzy

TID Board Of Directors
Aug 11, 2010
4,876
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I always touch the bar to my chest, just been doing it that way for a long time however Im a powerlifter and its required to touch the bar to complete a lift. Many bodybuilders do
not touch the bar to keep continuous tention on the muscles. Just depends on what your objective is.
 
DGAF

DGAF

Member
Sep 5, 2010
84
5
I always touch my chest with the bar. I have done it for 20+ years and is habit. It also keeps my form strict my back down and the bar slow and controlled, I dont bounce it at all.


DGAF
 
bgptbull81

bgptbull81

MuscleHead
Aug 26, 2010
407
17
i dont.. i find if you keep it just a half inch from chest it keeps constant tension of ur chest.. so i never touch unless i am doing heavy power reps
 
DGAF

DGAF

Member
Sep 5, 2010
84
5
i dont.. i find if you keep it just a half inch from chest it keeps constant tension of ur chest.. so i never touch unless i am doing heavy power reps

I dont find this to be entirely true for me. My chest is not huge and I get constant tension when I touch. If it was the entire truth about the constant tension the pros would only be doing reps that are only a few inches cause their chests are so large, and besides to not touch would be kinda hard for them!


DGAF
 
bgptbull81

bgptbull81

MuscleHead
Aug 26, 2010
407
17
this is true..lol but we are all dif and this works for me.. i have always said if it aint broke dont fix it...
 
Lizard King

Lizard King

Administrator
Staff Member
Sep 9, 2010
14,534
7,974
I don't as it really hurts my shoulders, but with dumbbells I do notice I would be hitting my chest. I mainly stay to dumbbells anyway.
 
Get Some

Get Some

MuscleHead
Sep 9, 2010
3,442
648
I think this is a very personal/comfortable choice. For me, I find that the lower down I go with the barbell, the more it works my front delts. So much so that it inhibits my bench workout. For this reason, if I'm doing a barbell bench, I'll go just a tiny bit past paralell with the elbows. I'd rather work the front delts individually than while I'm working chest. If I rely too much on the front delts to push the weight, the less my chest benefits.

For you guys, this mostly will depend on the size of your chest. If you're a beast, touching your chest may only be just past parallel.
 
Last edited:
T

THE-DET-OAK

Senior Member
Sep 11, 2010
135
10
i always touch, but then again the first 4 inches off my chest is my weakest point. if i can get it 4 inches off my chest i can lock it out, i guess thats the disadvantage of being tall.
 
Dmaipa

Dmaipa

Member
Sep 14, 2010
21
6
I always touch my chest. I used to train with some guys and they always talked about how their shoulders were sore, they noticed that i never complained about my shoulders and yet always touched my chest. I think when it comes down to it, it may be the technique that may be causing shoulder soreness. Sometimes i have to check myself position while benching to make sure im in the right one.
 
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