Bench Pressing for the Olympic Lifter - Tommy Suggs (1970)

 

Yuri Vlasov 

John Davis

Doug Hepburn

Bob Bednarski

Phil Grippaldi

I found Charlie at the Dairy Bar deeply engrossed in a quart of orange juice and the latest Muscular Development. 

"Don't bloat up, Charlie, today's a heavy workout day." 

"Boy is it hot outside. The thermometer on my porch said 97 degrees when I left home. Sure glad my house and your gym are air conditioned."

"You really have it tough, little fella, but you may just break into a sweat this afternoon." 

"Oh, I don't mind sweating as long as I pick the time and place," he said with a big grin on his face.

"How's your program going?"

"Fine, I got over the soreness and I think I'm picking up a good pattern on the power cleans. I wanted to ask you something . . ."

There was a long pause and Charlie appeared uneasy.

"What's the problem?"

"Well, it's not that I'm critical of your program, but everything I've read says that bench pressing isn't good for Olympic lifters, that it's strictly a power lift."

"Did it say that in MD?"

"No, not exactly, but all these fellows are powerlifters." 

"Charlie, while it is true that the bench press is one of the official powerlifts and very few Olympic lifters use it in their programs, it is, still, an excellent strength builder. In fact, no other single exercise works the entire shoulder girdle so thoroughly as the bench press."

"How come I never read where the top Olympic lifters do them?"

"You answered your own question in part. Because they are top lifters. You, my young friend, are a beginning lifter and you should be more interested in building a firm strength foundation than anything else at this time. You will be able to convert your acquired arm and shoulder strength overhead since this is part of the program we designed."

"Still, if they added strength for a beginner, why shouldn't they add strength for an advanced lifter?"

"A good question that deserves an answer. The fact is, a great many top lifters do use bench presses in their programs. The reason you do not read about bench presses in their routine write-ups is because they almost exclusively print their pre-meet training programs. Most top lifters use two or three different programs such as a conditioning program, a strength program, and a pre-contest program. The authors of Lifter's Corner just cannot list all of these cycles and since they generally are handling the highest poundages during the pre-meet cycle they usually list this one as typical. The unaware reader may assume that this is all they ever do which, of course, is a false assumption."

"Then some Master lifters do bench presses?" He seemed rather startled with this fact.

"Certainly. Bob Bednarski and Bill Starr had a bench press contest every Monday afternoon for nearly two months straight. It was during that time, curiously enough, that Barski did his world record press of 567.5."

"Wow, I didn't know Barski did benches."

"That's why I'm around, Charlie, to help you over these hurdles. One additional point has to be made before you run off. The Olympic lifter does bench presses slightly differently than the powerlifter." 

"How's that? A bench press is a bench press . . . isn't it?" 

"Not quite. A small variation in the manner of performing the exercise makes all the difference in the world. The big difference between the bench press the Olympic lifter does and the bench presses the powerlifter performs is in the HAND SPACING AND THE POSITION OF THE ELBOWS."

"You're putting me on." 

"Just listen and if what I tell you doesn't make sense I'm sure you'll catch it. The Olympic lifter wants to convert the strength he achieves on the bench overhead. With me so far?"

"I'm right with you." 

"In order to do this most effectively the lifter should assume a grip exactly like his overhead press grip. Likewise, since the Olympic lifter keeps his elbows tucked close to his sides at the start of the press, then he should do the same at the start of the bench press."

"That sounds hard."

"As a matter of fact, it is more difficult than wide-grip benches, but the Olympic lifter is not interested in seeing how much he can bench press per se, but rather how much he can improve his shoulder strength for overhead pressing."

"I may have to learn the bench press all over." 

"Perhaps. It will seem strange at first, but you'll make gains using the close grip and the gains will reflect in your overhead strength much more so than if you used a wide grip."

"How much should I use today since I'm to use the narrow grip?"

"Just work up as you usually would and see what you can handle. I know some fellows who can do just as much with the close grip as they can with the wide grip, because they have developed those specific muscles."

"Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact there is. I've noticed that you rebound the bar off your chest. This is a poor practice for two reasons. One, you can actually injure the muscles of the chest with the bar and two, you are not working the muscles as thoroughly as if you were doing them strict." 

"By strict do you mean slow?"

"Definitely not. The faster the bar explodes off the chest the better. This fast start will also carry over to the Olympic-style press, but there is a world of difference between a fast start off the chest and a rebound." 

"Okay, I'm convinced, but I don't forward to backing up on my poundages."

"No one does, Charlie, but think of it as the price of fame. Your goal is to become a good Olympic lifter, not a good bench presser. Perhaps if you apply yourself you can do both, but the bench press is a fringe benefit not a goal in itself."

"Charlie downed the remainder of the carton and tucked the MD in his gym bag. You be around to watch me bench? I do them first." 

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Charlie." 

"That's what I was afraid you'd say. Be out in a minute." 

Next month Charlie learns that there is more to squatting than merely going up and down. The Role of the Squat in Olympic lifting is the subject of October's Lifter's Platform. 

Enjoy Your Lifting!