INCREASE 'DA' BENCH

[davedaneault]

I just wanna know if you beleave in reverse bench press (like antony clark) to increase your strength in your triceps, i read stuff on the subject on the net, ryan kennely said you have to make it in the squat cage, off pin style. So do you think it will help me to increase my bench or it's just a 'fancy' mouvement created by a 'sport loonyversity desk pencil pusher'?
thank you
-dave

[dopar66]

Howdy. I recognize the question from Josh's forum.
On the rare occaisons I do reverse grip benches, I hardly feel a thing in my front delts. That means one of two things, either I'm doing them wrong, or the bulk of the work is being done by the tris and the pecs. Of COURSE I'm not using the weight of BenchMonster Kennely, but I just do them on a regular old flat bench.
Has it improved my bench? I don't know, and I doubt it. The way I bench the declines probably help me more than reverse grips. Maybe if I made it a regular part of my routine I'd be able to give you a more definitive answer.

God Bless.
Doug P.

[davedaneault]

thank you, yes it's the same question on josh forum, i post it here to have a good answer and because josh did not answer me yet,....thank you
you said that you prefer doing decline bench to increase the power?

[dopar66]

Yeah, I bench with a slight arch, not quite as much angle as the decline bench causes but still not a "flat" bench. I try to follow benches with declines, 3-4 sets of 3-4 explosive but heavy. On "good" days I can do 20-30 pounds more on decline than on flat, on an average day about the same weight.

If you bench flat, it may not do you a lick of good to incorporate heavy declines as a regular part of your routine. Paul Bossi, Will Lynch, Bill Blackstone, Jim Ray, many others, are incredible benchers and could probably address this a whole lot better than me. I've pm'd Bill to get a reply on this topic, hopefully he's not so busy with his new role....

God Bless.
Doug P.

[davedaneault]

thank you, but if i do it in my squat cage half mvts off pin style is it productive? in my squat cage it s totaly secure, the barre can't go in my throat.
thank u

[Deleted]

Hi Dave... I witnessed Bill bench at the World Gym Ironman open last week. Three words: Bill Knows Bench!! I think he is right on track with his comments. Years ago I experimented with reverse grip in training. It did crap for me besides make my thumbs and wrists ache. Better alternatives are close grip benches, board presses, and floor presses. Big benchers have big and strong triceps - that's a fact. WHen I do close grip, I actually have my hands about 12-14 inches apart. Another quick tricep building routine I've used is after your bench workout, and after close grip benches, superset lying tricep extensions for a weight you can do at least 10 reps with, with tricep pressdowns for 15 reps. Try to do between 3 and 5 supersets. I know this sound like a bodybuilding routine with the high reps, but trust me it works.
-Jeff S

[davedaneault]

thanks guys for the 'powerlifting prescription', i will do what you said.

[Deleted]

I use to do rev grip bench, I loved it but it always left bruises on my back from where my triceps and lats came together. They are very dangerous so I stopped doing them after I almost dropped 275lbs on my face! To risky and it aint worth it. I love floor presses and lockouts, those seem to work better for me.