# half way bench press



## pagliajoseph (Aug 23, 2006)

What is the deal with people doing bench half the way down,  ie. not going all the way to their chest..?

And what are everyones opinions on what the purpose is..

I ask because I met someone who says he benches 365...half way benches though..is he really benching 365?


----------



## CowPimp (Aug 23, 2006)

Because they need to check their egos at the door and do a real bench press.  Welcome to the world of people who don't know what the fuck they're doing.  Partials have their place, but most gymgoers have no idea how to implement them properly.


----------



## kenwood (Aug 23, 2006)

CowPimp said:


> Because they need to check their egos at the door and do a real bench press.  Welcome to the world of people who don't know what the fuck they're doing.  Partials have their place, but most gymgoers have no idea how to implement them properly.



  well said.  if they can do 365 for 1/2 rep, cut that weight in half and they can now do a full rep


----------



## Yanick (Aug 23, 2006)

i agree with everything said, chances are if they can half rep 365 i doubt their bench will be over 300 if they always work in the half rep ROM.


----------



## pagliajoseph (Aug 24, 2006)

Cowpimp: what would you say the real use of partials are, because some people tell me it's the real way to do bench and incline and that I'm just hurting my shoulders by doing a full bench press...wtf?

I don't have and biomechanical training like these "trainers" so I have no response to them other than " I lift like power lifters"...??


----------



## Mudge (Aug 24, 2006)

Partials are partials, period. That is not a "real" bench press.

They aren't working the chest much either by doing half reps, they are working the triceps quite nicely though.


----------



## CowPimp (Aug 24, 2006)

pagliajoseph said:


> Cowpimp: what would you say the real use of partials are, because some people tell me it's the real way to do bench and incline and that I'm just hurting my shoulders by doing a full bench press...wtf?
> 
> I don't have and biomechanical training like these "trainers" so I have no response to them other than " I lift like power lifters"...??



Tell them they're fucking idiots.  You hurt your shoulders by creating muscular imbalances and bench pressing improperly.  Done properly, you can have a long lifting career involving bench pressing.  You are more likely to trash your shoulders by bench pressing too much, no matter how you do it.

Partials are used to strengthen the range of motion you're working in.  So, if your bench press is weak at lockout, then use some accomodating resistance or implement partials.


----------



## Witchblade (Aug 24, 2006)

CowPimp said:


> Tell them they're fucking idiots.


Literally. Don't forget to tape it and show it to us.


----------



## Diablo1990 (Aug 24, 2006)

So your saying no matter what in time your shoulders will be messed up?


----------



## MACCA (Aug 24, 2006)

I would just like to say that i asked how to increase my benchpress awhile ago and cowpimp said to try 1 and 1/2 reps and this should help, my bench has gone up so for me this has worked and many thanks too cowpimp...


----------



## wilwn (Aug 24, 2006)

board presses without the boards  .


----------



## Tough Old Man (Aug 24, 2006)

But partials every once in a while can be good to get you use to heavier iron.

Now I know a lot of you have heard of board presses. Aren't they partials and doesn't WST use board presses.. So it's not always a ego thing.


----------



## viet_jon (Aug 24, 2006)

I see some people bench with their feet on the bench, and knees at 45degree angle. What's the use of this?

This same guy also leans back like he's trying to touch his head to his ass, doing bicep curls.


----------



## Seanp156 (Aug 24, 2006)

Tough Old Man said:


> But partials every once in a while can be good to get you use to heavier iron.
> 
> Now I know a lot of you have heard of board presses. Aren't they partials and doesn't WST use board presses.. So it's not always a ego thing.



Yeah, people who train westside often use boards, but it's to overcome a weakpoint. Many people who train Westside use bench shirts which help out a ton at the bottom of the rep, so they board press to work on tricep and lockout strength.

The argument is just the average gym-goer doing half reps with 365 and claiming that he can bench 365 when he really can't.


----------



## Tough Old Man (Aug 24, 2006)

Seanp156 said:


> Yeah, people who train westside often use boards, but it's to overcome a weakpoint. Many people who train Westside use bench shirts which help out a ton at the bottom of the rep, so they board press to work on tricep and lockout strength.
> 
> The argument is just the average gym-goer doing half reps with 365 and claiming that he can bench 365 when he really can't.


Agree if it's ego only. But there are some advantages (*once in a while)* for partial.


----------



## Mudge (Aug 24, 2006)

Seanp156 said:


> Yeah, people who train westside often use boards, but it's to overcome a weakpoint



I would have left out this sentence, its not so much a weak point as they are simply trying to optimize shirt results.

A 500 bencher for instance, is not going to lock out 700 from the half way point, without specialized triceps training. So, a 500 shirted bencher wearing a shirt without specialized training might best 550, without that direct triceps specialty work.

Glen Chabot who was known for raw benching, only got about 30 out of his double ply poly shirt. I got about 25-30 out of my single ply poly (training tightness, not competition).


----------



## Tough Old Man (Aug 24, 2006)

Mudge said:


> I got about 25-30 out of my single ply poly (training tightness, not competition).


Quit spending so much time in the car during working hours and stop by the gym and get that bench up lad......whoa did I say that to Mr. Mudge? Damn right I did.....Ho Buddy.


----------



## CowPimp (Aug 24, 2006)

Diablo1990 said:


> So your saying no matter what in time your shoulders will be messed up?



Not at all.  I'm just saying, look at the volume of bench pressing variations you might find in someone's routine at the gym:

Bench pyramid, 5 sets
Incline bench, 3 sets
DB bench, 3 sets
Dips, 3 sets

Then they go and do some overhead pressing too and don't balance any of that out with pulling movements, and probably do nothing in the way of additional movements involing external rotation either.  The problem is chronic overuse, not intelligent usage in the long term.


----------



## Mudge (Aug 24, 2006)

I just train raw now TOM, not super interested in shirt lifting right now.


----------

