How can some olympic lifters bench so much?

[PowerTricks]

I've seen some videos of olympic lifters testing their bench presses, and even though most never include them in their routine, they can still press some good numbers relative to their bodyweight. Could someone with more knowledge of this subject explain this?

[godsangina2]

They'll have been doing push press or some other upper body exercise. It's definitely nothing to do with squatting like some people claim.

[PowerTricks]

They'll have been doing push press or some other upper body exercise. It's definitely nothing to do with squatting like some people claim.

I know that overhead pressing movements correlate to shoulder strength but even though the bench is dependent on the shoulders, isn't the chest the main source of power? That would mean that if an olympic lifter had an excellent amount of chest strength, that plus developed shoulders could yield a pretty strong bench press.

[DanielBeauchamp]

I know that overhead pressing movements correlate to shoulder strength but even though the bench is dependent on the shoulders, isn't the chest the main source of power? That would mean that if an olympic lifter had an excellent amount of chest strength, that plus developed shoulders could yield a pretty strong bench press.

Nope. Much of the Bench Press is in the arms and shoulders.

Technically, the Bench Press isn't even a chest exercise...your chest muscles are adductors for your arms; their primary movement is pulling your arms down and across your body. Granted they get a lot of stimulation from Benching, but most of your power will be coming from your arms and shoulders all the same.

Which is why you have pressing monsters like Ricky Bruch doubling 220 kilos back in the day...

[ChecksandGiggles]

Nope. Much of the Bench Press is in the arms and shoulders.

Technically, the Bench Press isn't even a chest exercise...your chest muscles are adductors for your arms; their primary movement is pulling your arms down and across your body. Granted they get a lot of stimulation from Benching, but most of your power will be coming from your arms and shoulders all the same.

Which is why you have pressing monsters like Ricky Bruch doubling 220 kilos back in the day...

Actually, the Bench Press is a leg, lat, shoulder, and tricep movement.

[someonefat]

um they are not just 'testing' bench they actually do bench press as a compound movement.

So they have big benches because they are pro lifters who spend all day lifting heavy weights and eating lots of food.

[DanielBeauchamp]

Actually, the Bench Press is a leg, lat, shoulder, and tricep movement.

I was assuming a regular bench form, not a PLing one.

[scarboro]

Louie Simmons said something like "Show me a man that can push press alot and he'll probably be able to bench alot"
I think theres a pretty decent correlation to strict/push press and bench press. . If you can push press say 100kg you'll probably easily bench 120kg+

[DanielBeauchamp]

itt we learn about 10kg plates

There's a video of him on youtube pressing a bar with 5 blue plates on each side; if I'm not mistaken, those are 20 kilos apiece.

[LegosInMyEgos]

Nope. Much of the Bench Press is in the arms and shoulders.

Technically, the Bench Press isn't even a chest exercise...your chest muscles are adductors for your arms; their primary movement is pulling your arms down and across your body. Granted they get a lot of stimulation from Benching, but most of your power will be coming from your arms and shoulders all the same.

Which is why you have pressing monsters like Ricky Bruch doubling 220 kilos back in the day...

What?

This isn't true at all.

While the chest adducts the humerus(not the arms), it's also responsible for the medial rotation of the humerus. The pecs are the primary mover throughout the majority of the motion, and there are responsible for the anterior and inferior movement of the scapula which enables the delts.

The arms and delts don't perform anywhere near the work the pectoralis major does, and without the pectoralis minor, you would have a hard time using your delts at all.

And the pectoralis is not the responsible for the adduction of the arms, that is the job of the lats.

[DanielBeauchamp]

What?

This isn't true at all.

While the chest adducts the humerus(not the arms), it's also responsible for the medial rotation of the humerus. The pecs are the primary mover throughout the majority of the motion, and there are responsible for the anterior and inferior movement of the scapula which enables the delts.

The arms and delts don't perform anywhere near the work the pectoralis major does, and without the pectoralis minor, you would have a hard time using your delts at all.

And the pectoralis is not the responsible for the adduction of the arms, that is the job of the lats.

I did not deny the role of the pectorals in the bench press, but the reason some Olympic lifters can bench a lot is not because they have big chests. A large part of the bench press is in the arms and the shoulders.

[ProfDrBeareagle]

ITT: Dweebs who learned anatomy and physiology on wikipedia having absolutely no clue what they're arguing about.

[LegosInMyEgos]

ITT: Dweebs who learned anatomy and physiology on wikipedia having absolutely no clue what they're arguing about.

Yawn

[Coachbombay]

There's a video of him on youtube pressing a bar with 5 blue plates on each side; if I'm not mistaken, those are 20 kilos apiece.

They are black. One is yellow.
black and yellow
black and yellow

It's not "lets bring a camera to the gym to verify our lifts for the internet" footage, it's "let's load up the bar with 10s and 15s because and it looks way more badass and most people watching this documentary won't give a **** about the specifics" footage.



And I'm not exactly sure how relevant a discus thrower who did train chest+bench is to this thread.

[crackyflipside]

Louie Simmons said something like "Show me a man that can push press alot and he'll probably be able to bench alot"
I think theres a pretty decent correlation to strict/push press and bench press. . If you can push press say 100kg you'll probably easily bench 120kg+

I really disagree with this. I can push press 105kg but struggle hard as hell to bench anything over 85kg. For what it's worth my coach has ordered me to start doing close grip bench press to strengthen my triceps and shoulders, his guideline is that one should be able to do a few reps with a weight equivalent to max snatch, if not then he needs to bench more.

[matjusm]

Louie Simmons said something like "Show me a man that can push press alot and he'll probably be able to bench alot"
I think theres a pretty decent correlation to strict/push press and bench press. . If you can push press say 100kg you'll probably easily bench 120kg+

Glenn Pendlay echoes those words:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...pendlay_secret

Pendlay: The push press has more carryover to pressing in general – bench press etc. – than any other upper body exercise. Show me a guy who can push press a big weight and he's going to be able to excel at any other pressing movement, even if he's never done it before.

A big bench presser doesn't get that same carryover. I don't want to have 400-pound bench pressers who can't do anything else. The guy who can do heavy push presses doesn't have that problem. He's strong at everything.

And that can't be done with the strict military press either. It's too hard to get it moving. You have such a weak point at the start that it limits the amount of weight you can use.

With a push press, you can put 10 to 20% more weight over your head. You're forced to develop the ability to recruit those muscle fibers very quickly because you're pushing the bar off your shoulders with your legs and then your arms have to come into play, fast, so it doesn't stall. The ability to do that is very, very valuable.

Second, with the push press there's just a huge overload at the top. That last six inches at the top is like doing a partial. That has a powerful effect on the body.

[DanielBeauchamp]

They are black. One is yellow.
black and yellow
black and yellow

It's not "lets bring a camera to the gym to verify our lifts for the internet" footage, it's "let's load up the bar with 10s and 15s because and it looks way more badass and most people watching this documentary won't give a **** about the specifics" footage.

@ 0:42

[Coachbombay]

It's the lighting. Everything is bluish. I've watched that dvd like thirty times, because it is my favorite, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen a 20 used.

[scarboro]

I really disagree with this. I can push press 105kg but struggle hard as hell to bench anything over 85kg. For what it's worth my coach has ordered me to start doing close grip bench press to strengthen my triceps and shoulders, his guideline is that one should be able to do a few reps with a weight equivalent to max snatch, if not then he needs to bench more.

If I saw this in person i'd think "is this real life" lol.
I've never seen anyone push press more than they bench. How much can you strict press? I think you may be getting some awsome initial leg drive on your push press. I can't see you strict pressing as much as you bench so you must be getting like 25kg+ increase from strict to push press?



On the other post, yeah mb lol the 'quote' came from Pendlay but I remember a very old Louie Simmons video where he said the push press had high carryover to the bench and it could be used as a main exercise.

[crackyflipside]

If I saw this in person i'd think "is this real life" lol.
I've never seen anyone push press more than they bench. How much can you strict press? I think you may be getting some awsome initial leg drive on your push press. I can't see you strict pressing as much as you bench so you must be getting like 25kg+ increase from strict to push press?



On the other post, yeah mb lol the 'quote' came from Pendlay but I remember a very old Louie Simmons video where he said the push press had high carryover to the bench and it could be used as a main exercise.

Strict press is 60 x 5r, not sure on 1RM.

[scarboro]

Strict press is 60 x 5r, not sure on 1RM.

I press 60x8 and max out at 75 but can barely get any leg drive on a push press. It might be oly lifting giving you crazy awsome leg drive.

[DanielBeauchamp]

I press 60x8 and max out at 75 but can barely get any leg drive on a push press. It might be oly lifting giving you crazy awsome leg drive.

It takes some practice. Main thing to remember is to drive upwards with your arms the whole way; most people get stuck around halfway through because they rely too much on the push and not enough on the press.

[crackyflipside]

I press 60x8 and max out at 75 but can barely get any leg drive on a push press. It might be oly lifting giving you crazy awsome leg drive.

Power snatch 90k, power clean 120k, push press 105k......... strict press 60k x 5 lol

On a side note, though, my coach says my shoulders are super weak so he has me doing a bunch of presses to fix that. Push press is legs and lockout.

[scarboro]

It takes some practice. Main thing to remember is to drive upwards with your arms the whole way; most people get stuck around halfway through because they rely too much on the push and not enough on the press.

I think my problem is due to leg drive, push press from the front feels like i'm just doing an off balance strict press. I should probably practice with lighter weight until I can actually feel my legs doing something.
Interestingly though I tried a BTN push press from a 1/4 squat and got 175 easily. I'm surprised at how much you and cracky can push/press overhead compared to your benchpresses though. I thought my ratio was pretty high since a few guys I know who can bench 225 for reps can barely strict press 135. The highest irl strict press i've seen is 185 and this guy can bench 315x3.

[DanielBeauchamp]

I think my problem is due to leg drive, push press from the front feels like i'm just doing an off balance strict press. I should probably practice with lighter weight until I can actually feel my legs doing something.
Interestingly though I tried a BTN push press from a 1/4 squat and got 175 easily. I'm surprised at how much you and cracky can push/press overhead compared to your benchpresses though. I thought my ratio was pretty high since a few guys I know who can bench 225 for reps can barely strict press 135. The highest irl strict press i've seen is 185 and this guy can bench 315x3.

No one really overhead presses a lot at my current gym, but I knew a few 315+ benchers with 250+ presses.

BTN presses are great. If you find them stronger than by all means...my press is around the 185 range right now and bench is in the low 200's. I'm aiming for a 225 overhead by the end of the year.

[slowman41]

I'd bet that I can push press more than I can bench. Not sure on actual maxes for either since I've never really maxed, but push presses seem easier than bench for me.

[matjusm]

I've got a question for all you Olympic lifters out there:

What is your bench press to jerk ratio?
For me personally the two have for some time now been equal, moving up hand in hand with each other.

[raffiki]

I press 60x8 and max out at 75 but can barely get any leg drive on a push press. It might be oly lifting giving you crazy awsome leg drive.

Decided to scan this for some giggles and got it. Haha Weightlifting IS leg drive.

[wesley83]

120kg press, 140kg push press, 145x2 from behind neck and about a 170/180 bench (though could be a little more now) So push press is 77% of Bench.

A while ago I tested my bench for a college assignment and did 130x10 - they didn't have enough weight for me to go for a single max.
This really surprised me as I was a lot stronger (and @ -7kg bw) than when I was actually performing the bench press weekly.

Personally I think the added upper back mass and tricep power were responsible - along with a sharper cns....(must be at least some of these as my chest is non-existant now!)

[guest89]

Triceps are a huge part of the overhead press, pushpress, the jerk, and the benchpress.


Someone with a well established ohp, jerk, or pp is going to have a pretty good benchpress as well all things considered.


I remember awhile back someone asked Frank Yang how he got a 300lb benchpress and he said a lot of it had to do with improving his triceps strength.