Female Wrestlers, Love The Bench Press For Strong Chest And Shoulders
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June 18, 2022,
Upper body strength for female grapplers is essential.
There is an ideal workout to help you in that regard.
The bench press machine is much easier to work with than using a bench, dead weights and a bar.
Your chances of injury are far less than using a bench and free weights.
Having said that, let’s talk about both, since you might actually prefer the basic bench press over using a machine.
The bench press, or chest press, is an upper-body weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench.
The exercise uses the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps, among other stabilizing muscles.
A barbell is generally used to hold the weight, but a pair of dumbbells can also be used as well.
We strongly suggest the bench press machine.
Bench press strength is important in combat sports, such as female wrestling, as it tightly correlates to pushing power.
The bench press can also help female wrestlers because it can increase your performance and increase effective mass and functional hypertrophy of the upper body.
What we like about the bench press machine at the gym is that you can change the weight lift pressure with a lever pin. You can slowly keep increasing the weight pressure by yourself. You don’t need a spotter and you don’t need to take off one pair of weights and then install another.
Too, your chances of serious injury on the bench press machine is almost nil.
Be that as it may, you can pick either option and both can increase your ability to raise your shoulders up, underneath a wrestling pin.
One, two, shoulders up.
There are additional benefits.
The team at oldschoolgym.com adds, “Hand fighting involves both pushing and pulling, and you definitely need a strong chest to cradle up an opponent.”
There you have it.
In terms of your form, let’s go to the library.
Bench Press: The Science Paperback – February 7, 2014
By Josh Bryant
“Are you putting in the time at the gym without the bench press to show for it? Take advantage of the methods Josh has used to produce multiple world record holders in the bench press.
This book is a science-based approach to building a bigger bench press, all in an easy to understand format. For the cost of a couple energy drinks, you can gain the knowledge that has taken Josh years to acquire through practical experience and stringent academic study.
See what the experts have to say:
“Josh has proven that his methods work!! This book is the most comprehensive book ever written on the bench press. I recommend it to everyone wanting to get fantastic results….”
— Eddy Coan (The Undisputed Greatest Powerlifter of All-time)
“There is no doubt in my mind this is the best book ever compiled on the bench press, its science and how to train it.”
– Dave Tate, founder EliteFTS.com
“Great book Josh, just got done reading it some really great concepts. It is Officially the Bench Press Bible”
– Eric Spoto (All-Time World Record Holder – Raw Bench Press 722 Pounds)
You will learn: • How to bench press more explosively • How to use isometric methods that have been kept secret until now • How to use plyometrics to increase your bench press • How to use partials to realize your full potential • How to incorporate bands and chains • Access to routines used by champions • Miscellaneous science that can increase your bench press
After implementing what you learn in this book, you will bench more!”
Well stated.
We have always felt that if you can get one or two kernels of truth that you can use from reading a book, it is more than worth it.
The good thing about incorporating a bench press workout in your wrestling program is that it can benefit you offensively with pushing and pulling and defensively as you use your chest to push up and break free from a pin.
We now turn our attention to a visiting writer with more helpful thoughts.
Shoulder up.
Bench Press – A Guide on Proper Technique
By Lloyd Strang
How to Bench Press to Impress!
The Bench Press is probably the most popular exercise in the gym, yet how many people bench badly or know the most important techniques during each rep?
In this article I will give you tips to increase your bench press now! No specialist equipment, no additional supplements and no secret recipes. These straight forward bench press tips will instantly help you to increase your bench press to a weight that can impress.
Gripping The Bar
The starting point to any bench press rep starts with your grip on the bar. If your grip is too wide you use more chest and expend energy pushing outwards, too narrow more triceps and expending energy pushing inwards. The perfect grip for you will be able to incorporate both muscle groups but slightly favoring where you are strongest and then all power goes into pressing straight up.
- Start with no weight on the bar.
- Lie on the bench and unrack the bar.
- Lower the bar to the bottom part of your chest about to the sternum.
- Adjust the position of your hands and bar until your forearms are as close to vertical as possible. You might need the help of a training partner with this.
- Remember this hand placement and bar position.
You have now found your optimal bench press position.
Bench Positioning and Body Locking
It’s finally time to add weight to the bar. Lay back on the bench, not too close or far away from the struts as this can either waste valuable energy when taking the weight off or hitting the struts when you press the weight up.
Plant your feet firmly on the floor with your knees bent to an angle of approximately 80 degrees. I prefer to keep my feet flat and heals on the floor due to the federation I lift in. There are some immense bench press athletes who arch up onto their tip toes, however, I have never felt stable in this position.
Grip the bar as determined previously and ‘lock’ your shoulders back into the bench. My technique for doing this is as follows:
- Press the bar back into the struts and raise your glutes and back off the bench.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades together and puff your chest out.
- Drive your shoulder blades back into the bench and ‘lock’ them into position.
- Now lower your bum back down onto the bench and squeeze your glutes.
You will now be tight through you whole body and will feel locked and secure on the bench.
Cardinal Sin– Do not put your feet on the bench as this will make you very unstable.
The Downward Phase
Take a large breath in. This has two effects:
- It blows the chest out more so there is less distance for the bar to travel.
- It locks the body to the bench even tighter.
Allow a spotter to remove the bar and guide it to a position above your lower chest (sternum) and take firm control. Begin to lower the bar as you did in the first section keeping your elbows locked tightly in against your sides and your hands trying to pull the bar apart. This technique brings more lateral strength into play.
Whilst lowering the bar imagine you are storing up the energy in your chest and when that bar touches your chest the energy will literally explode out driving the bar straight up.
Touch the weight to your chest.
Cardinal Sin– Bouncing the weight off your chest can cause injury and also takes away the tension that has been built up in your body.
The First Pressing Phase
As you change the direction of the bar and begin the press up, drive with the legs. This is probably the one technique that taken alone could easily add 20kg to your best lift. The leg drive is not straight up but more attempting to push yourself along the bench, however, you will not move due to the weight on the bar and the body locked position. This transfers the power drive from your legs into pressing the bar quickly upwards.
Practice this technique with an empty bar, you will probably slide up the bench, but it will give you some idea of the movement required.
The Second Pressing Phase
Drive the bar straight upwards as hard and as fast as you can. If you kept your elbows close to your body in the downward phase these will now be driving straight up, going from A to B in the shortest route using the greatest power. Exhale forcefully throughout the press as this will help you maintain torso stability.
Keep your feet firmly planted on the floor. As soon as your feet lift off the floor you break the locked position and your power base.
Drive the bar straight up as this is the shortest possible distance to lockout. Most trainers will maintain you should have a slight backwards arc as you press, moving from your lower rib cage to over your face at the end of the rep, however, this can add a couple of inches to the movement and this is a waste of energy. Also if you start to use a bench shirt it will automatically start pulling you backwards and this can throw you badly off line if you are already pushing backwards.
If you find that there is a specific part of the lift where you struggle try to drive through that part even quicker if possible. I will talk about sticking points in a future article.
The Final Phase
Keep driving the bar upwards as fast as you can and with as much power as you can until your elbows ‘lock out’ and your arms are straight. There are many specific lock out exercises but I will delve into these deeper in another article.
Conclusion
In 2005 I could bench press what I though was a very respectable 120kg and then I met my friend Dave ‘Bulldog’ Beattie and he changed my perspective of what I thought was a good bench press. Watching him bench press close to 300kg made me realize I had to improve. He taught me the above principles and in 2009 I finished second in the WPC World Powerlifing Championship and benched 285kg just six months after injuring my pectoral muscle in a raw competition. My best ‘raw’ bench press in competition is 225kg in 2008.
Lloyd Strang
British Powerlifting Champion 2008
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Lloyd_Strang/772356
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5053862
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OPENING PHOTO fciwomenswrestling2.com fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetititor.com grapplingstars.com, fciwomenswrestling.com egyjanek-Shutterstock-photo-credit-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bench_press
https://oldschoolgym.com/blogs/news/should-wrestlers-bench-press
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
NOTE: Very important, whenever you are engaging in a new exercise or sport for the first time, please consult with your physician first.
