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benchpress?

Started by greg-unknown, November 07, 2007, 09:16:37 PM

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greg-unknown

a girl at my school said that benchpressing often can build muscle in your chest, and if you're not very gifted in that area it will flatten it out even more. and broaden your shoulders, is this true?
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Christo

whoo hoo :laugh:  ur talkin to the expert :laugh:  I can do 122 lbs bench press :icon_joy: .  had to stop for a few months after top surgery but I'm game again ;)  yep it builds ur chest muscles, ur arms & shoulders. 
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Dennis

Don't do it without a spotter if you're using free weights. I learned that from experience. Luckily I didn't hurt myself, but I couldn't get the bar off me and had to roll it down my body, which was rather painful.

Dennis
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Bobbie

Bench presses will build up you shoulder arms etc, but if you're going to do weights you want to work out an all round program that does your whole body.

Concentrating one one part can make you look out of proportion. A big top half perched on chicken legs looks silly.

I used to spend an hour a day on a multi gym and alternated between body parts. That way it gives one part time to recover while you're working on another.

Like Dennis says, have a spotter stand by if you're using free weights...I ended up throwing them next to me and had to replace the floor boards.

Also don't forget to warm up and cool down before and after or you'll regret it the next day.

My prob now is trying to get rid of the darn things...thats what living in denial does for you!

Bobbie  :icon_lalala:

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greg-unknown

thanks everyone, im starting to lift weights to build muscle and stength. hopefully it will broaden my shoulders a bit. my main focus is on strength so i can get stronger for judo. any tips on starting out? i know we've got some experts here :)
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Annwyn

Flat and incline bench press build the shoulders and chest, but I wouldn't really say it, "widens" the frame.  It gives an illusion of it IF the chest muscles can be seen, and that's only if you're bodybuilding and only if you've been doing it intelligently for years.
Decline bench press really hits the lower chest.  It's the ONLY excercise I've ever heard anyone complaining of, "putting on too much mass."  A lot of bodybuilders say that doing this builds the lower chest so much it gives them saggy boobs.  The fact is that decline movements, flyes, dips, and bench press, are the most effective way of hitting the pectoralis major, hitting a much larger percentage of its fibers than any other exercise.

The bench press is a great exercise, but don't forget the legs, and remember for every push, you need to do a pull, SO DON'T FORGET THINGS LIKE PULLUPS AND ROWS EITHER.

I bench 200, close to twice my BW, I win at local and state powerlifting comps w/ the WPU and so I figure I'm a decent authority on the subject, hehe.

Honestly for widening the frame you need to do things like side laterals, upright rows, and overhead movements to hit up the shoulders.  Deadlifts wouldn't hurt either.  To get WIDE, you need to work on pullups, any kind of rowing or pulling motion.  Gymnists are the widest mofuggs on the planet and it's from doing pullups and crucifix thingies all day.
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