For all you football players.....

[ibuildme]

Bench press isn't everything. Today, the bench press is the only thing the typical football player wants to get up. If someone comes up to you and says something negative and refers to bench. Please, tell them to go F off. I personally have a high bench for my age. But really I can careless about it. I would rather have a high power clean. I would respect the player who has the highest clean and the lowest bench. Rather then the player with the highest bench and the lowest clean. Don't get me wrong, benching is good for you and I suggest you to do it but too many friend of mine (and i'm sure others) think of it as the ultimate lift.

[Pakman52]

Very true, a big clean and deadlift are better for football. Bench is still very important for positions you probably don't play like OL, DL, and linebacker.

[ibuildme]

Very true, a big clean and deadlift are better for football. Bench is still very important for positions you probably don't play like OL, DL, and linebacker.

Im an outside backer

[moose45]

Uhhhh, typical HIGH SCHOOL football player. Typical College football player or any higher level is gonna know that his focus will be on Squats and Deads. Maybe cleans if the S&C coach has the team do them. But bench is as important as the other lifts, because it builds strength and MASS.

[Quanneh]

I don't worry about bench, though at this point I should. Because I'm the highest squatter on my team (sadly, my squat is pretty sad), but one of the lowest benchers..
so I guess that kind of proves your point lol
But yes, I do play O-line and d-line, so its kind of important.

[ibuildme]

Uhhhh, typical HIGH SCHOOL football player. Typical College football player or any higher level is gonna know that his focus will be on Squats and Deads. Maybe cleans if the S&C coach has the team do them. But bench is as important as the other lifts, because it builds strength and MASS.

I know i said highschool players.........college is a totally different story....

[moose45]

I know i said highschool players.........college is a totally different story....

Well then I agree, but typical highschool players...well you know.

[ibuildme]

Well then I agree, but typical highschool players...well you know.

haha ya i know. I keep telling them but it gets no where.

[BC02]

. Typical College football player or any higher level is gonna know that his focus will be on Squats and Deads. Maybe cleans if the S&C coach has them do them.

I hope the coach is having the players do cleans! cleans are more important for fb players than any other lift except MAYBE squats imo

[wrestle445]

Im an outside backer

you're also 15.

[hapanese]

too many kids these days read into the NFL combine and start dreaming. bench is there but only for reps not strength. haha

[The_Terrorist]

Even as a linemen, it's not critical to have a strong bench. When they are blocking, their arms are almost always in a locked position. Any time someone asks me my bench I tell them what my squat is, and they say, "Why do you even work your legs?" No wonder why my team sucks, and I was a starting LG and DT at 119 lbs.

[jdiritto]

I hope the coach is having the players do cleans! cleans are more important for fb players than any other lift except MAYBE squats imo

olympic lifting is highly over rated in the development of maximal strength and power. The learning curve is so complex that it literally is a waste of time in my opinion

why anyone would train an athlete to excel at their given sport with another sport is beyond me... olympic weight lifters spend years trying to master techniques, and sitll struggle with them.. most football players want to excel on sundays in front of thousands of people, not monday through friday on the olympic platform, and as a strength coach is your job to have them excel on sundays, not in the weight room.

#1 mistake of strength coaches is a narrow minded focus on weight lifting numbers, when its sport performance that matters. you don't retain your job because 75% of your team squats 600+, you retain your job because 95% of your team starts the preseason and finishes the competitive season injury free, and you actually compete in the championship season.

[Bigbri73]

olympic lifting is highly over rated in the development of maximal strength and power. The learning curve is so complex that it literally is a waste of time in my opinion

why anyone would train an athlete to excel at their given sport with another sport is beyond me... olympic weight lifters spend years trying to master techniques, and sitll struggle with them.. most football players want to excel on sundays in front of thousands of people, not monday through friday on the olympic platform, and as a strength coach is your job to have them excel on sundays, not in the weight room.

#1 mistake of strength coaches is a narrow minded focus on weight lifting numbers, when its sport performance that matters. you don't retain your job because 75% of your team squats 600+, you retain your job because 95% of your team starts the preseason and finishes the competitive season injury free, and you actually compete in the championship season.

very well said, in highschool my football coach would make my team clean and he never showed us the correct way. we all thought we were doing it right and it wasnt untill my college strength and coniditioning coach showed me the correct way..i still have a hard time getting perfect form down

[goldengopher91]

Olympic lifting is better than doing a bunch of bicep curls and pullups. Thats what our teams does Apparently it "intimidates" the opposing team if your arms are "toned".

[Couthos]

bench is the big thing everyone likes to show off yeah. but at my hs once you hit varsity an emphasis was put on squats, power clean and plyometrics to go along with bench and the iso lifts. its a good program.. if your program focuses on biceps and pullups you have a joke of a coach

[ibuildme]

you're also 15.

ya and start varsity

[Football.]

Olympic lifting is better than doing a bunch of bicep curls and pullups. Thats what our teams does Apparently it "intimidates" the opposing team if your arms are "toned".

LMAO, I don't know how some of these coaches get jobs... I feel bad for all the HS players playing under coaches that arent helping them get better.

[DRiFT2oNR]

Bench press isn't everything. Today, the bench press is the only thing the typical football player wants to get up. If someone comes up to you and says something negative and refers to bench. Please, tell them to go F off. I personally have a high bench for my age. But really I can careless about it. I would rather have a high power clean. I would respect the player who has the highest clean and the lowest bench. Rather then the player with the highest bench and the lowest clean. Don't get me wrong, benching is good for you and I suggest you to do it but too many friend of mine (and i'm sure others) think of it as the ultimate lift.

Very much so. I wish that they would use the power clean in place of the bench press in football combines.

I at least like how Nike Sparq combines utilize the power ball toss.

(not complaining that my bench is weak, but it isn't exactly strong. I can do 24 reps of 185, which may be a lot, but not really at my heavy weight). Some people do not have the muscle endurance to maintain lots of reps, yet have heavy maxes, but people don't care about that at combines.....all they care about are these half-ass, non-lockout, chest bouncing reps.

[Pakman52]

I wouldn't replace the bench with a clean because of the inability for kids to properly perform the lift. It also does not test the explosion of the chest. A push up test may be better. The medicine ball throw is probably a good alternative though.

[HCCFootball]

yeeeppp.... the thing I hear from almost every coach. I would say as a Freshman who had the opportunity to start at the Varsity OT (didnt because wanted to play defence also on JV) I owned alot of the seniors who had huge benches, but didnt squat or dead lift that much. It helped earn the spot of starter both ways as a soph. on varsity

[chuckiechan43]

i dnt think bench is super important i am a college football player and the best players i know that are on the team and in our confrence focuses on squat dead and clean that helps your explosiveness and thats what you need in football i know a kid that is terrible at bench but when he straps on the helmet i have seen him driive a kid 15 yards and then pancake him and the kid was like 280 so get your squat up

[dolphinsfan270]

I always find it funny that the bench press is singled out as the one exercise that isn’t sport specific. I have a secret for you: No exercise is sport specific! Playing your sport makes the strength that you gain in the weightroom sport specific!

Don’t get me wrong, certain exercises are more productive than others. But, remember that it’s impossible to duplicate the speed, intensity and technique of the athletic field in the weightroom. Therefore, no exercise you perform in the weightroom can be classified as a sport specific exercise.

The bottom line is that the bench press is a great, multi-joint, free-weight exercise for developing strength in the chest, triceps and shoulders. What’s wrong with that? I’m not saying that the bench press is the most important exercise in the world, but it can be effectively incorporated into the training routine of most athletes.

[calibrah2010]

Uhhhh, typical HIGH SCHOOL football player. Typical College football player or any higher level is gonna know that his focus will be on Squats and Deads. Maybe cleans if the S&C coach has the team do them. But bench is as important as the other lifts, because it builds strength and MASS.

fail college football playes dont dl i play jc and seen a d1 workout program

[beastm0de]

When you go to an NFL combine whats the #1 most talked about lift for a player.. Oh ya thats right. THE BENCH PRESS.

[QuincyQ]

When you go to an NFL combine whats the #1 most talked about lift for a player.. Oh ya thats right. THE BENCH PRESS.

Yeah and High school players should totally be worrying about that NFL combine right?

[Centurions]

dam i guess my program is no good then

monday
bench 5 x5
tuesday
bench 3 x 10
wednsday
bench 5x5
thursday
bench x max reps
friday
bench 5 x5
saturday
bench 3 x5

[Acal83]

I personally have a high bench for my age.

Im an outside backer

haha ya i know. I keep telling them but it gets no where.

ya and start varsity

lol im sure youre a good kid, but there wasnt really a point to this thread other than to stroke your ego.

[xxtwistedxx]

dam i guess my program is no good then

monday
bench 5 x5
tuesday
bench 3 x 10
wednsday
bench 5x5
thursday
bench x max reps
friday
bench 5 x5
saturday
bench 3 x5

only newbs bench 5 sets...gotta go 8 minimum brah

[UNOMav]

When you go to an NFL combine whats the #1 most talked about lift for a player.. Oh ya thats right. THE BENCH PRESS.

Join Date: May 2010
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