Arguably one of the most common exercises in a conventional gym today is the bench press. It’s one of the most common question you usually get once you start training is. “How much ya Bench” I realize in some circles that may or may not be the case but in the traditional gym world it is pretty common question.
Reasons for using this Exercise:
Increased range of motion: There are a couple of uses and advantages for doing it this way. Some or most of you may be familiar with the extended range of motion you get using dumbells. But… may be concerned with going to far into the negative portion of the motion potentially setting you up for a strain/tear. Using the solid bar and the boards as a deficit limiter or depth gauge would keep you from over stretching the tendons and potentially tearing or straining anything. Depending on your board configuration you can make that deficit right where you want it as well as be constant every time. Another added advantage would be your ability to create torque on the bar as well as use the same grip you use while benching with a straight bar.
Things I like about this movement.
One argument that I’d make is that when I started benching I was 155# high school kid, small chest and rib cage. Over time as I grew and got more barrel chested, so to speak, I was loosing range of motion as my chest would stop the bar. This allows me to regain some of that deep range of motion back without that fear I mentioned before of the dumbells dropping to fast right along my sides.
At first I would recommend using this as an accessory movement and not loading the bar up to much. Especially if you were a veteran lifter like myself. One thing that I have learned over time and many injuries is that, it is a mistake to find something brand new and LOAD IT UP so to speak. Let your muscles and tendons acclimate to the new range of motion. Make sure the ice is thick enough before walking on it so to speak. I’d also highly recommend limited your range of motion in the beginning to 1″ or less.
I actually just ordered this one off Amazon. It’s legit so far.