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By Root 475 0

the anterior shoulder girdle and the triceps, as well as the forearm muscles, the upper back, and the lats. The primary movers are the pectoralis major and the anterior deltoid, which drive the bar up off the chest, and the triceps, which drive the elbow extension to lockout. The bigger posterior muscles – the trapezius, the rhomboideus, and other smaller muscles along the cervical and thoracic spine – act isometrically to adduct the shoulder blades and keep the back stable against the bench. The pectoralis minor helps stabilize the rib cage into the arched position when the scapulae are anchored by the traps and rhomboids. The posterior rotator cuff muscles stabilize and prevent the rotation of the humerus during the movement. The lats, or latissimus dorsi muscles, rotate the rib cage up, arched relative to the lower back, thereby decreasing the distance the bar has to travel and adding to the stability of the position. They also act as a counter to the deltoids, preventing the elbows from adducting, or rising up toward the head, while the humerus is driving up out of the bottom, thus preventing the angle between the upper arm and torso from changing during the lower part of the range of motion. The muscles of the lower back, hips, and legs act as a bridge between the upper body and the ground, anchoring and stabilizing the chest and arms as they do the work of handling the bar. And the neck muscles contract isometrically to stabilize the cervical spine – hopefully not while pressing too hard against the bench with the back of the head. Yes, bench pressing makes your neck grow, too, making new dress shirts inevitable. Since the bench press is a free-weight exercise, control of the bar is integral to the movement, and improvement in control is part of the benefit of doing it.

You will be using standard power bars and benches for the bench press. Standard power bars are widely available, and this configuration has proven itself as the most useful over the years for general-purpose gym use. It is probably the type that will be most available to you, at your gym or to buy for a reasonable price, Olympic weightlifting bars being quite a bit more expensive. The specifications are simple: the bar diameter should be 28 to 29 mm; the length is about 7 feet 2.5 inches; and the knurling should be adequate but not too sharp, and will extend in from the sleeves so that a 16.5-inch gap is left in the middle, with center knurling of 4.5 to 6 inches provided. The knurling will be scored with a ring at either end of the bar, with a distance of 32 inches between the marks, denoting the maximum legal grip width for competition. If standard power bars are not available, use what you have until better equipment can be obtained. If you have to use a non-standard bar, be familiar with its marking dimensions so that you can correctly apply the instructions for grip dimensions. Bars are absolutely the wrong place to save money, either when you buy one or when your gym does (Figure 5-2).

Figure 5-2. Bars for weight training can be obtained from several sources. “Power” bars are best for our purposes here because they are marked in ways that are the most useful for the exercises that constitute the bulk of this program. High-quality bars have uniform dimensions and similar mechanical characteristics, but there are differences that should be evaluated before you buy one. Subtle differences in diameter and tensile characteristics make some bars better for certain applications than others: whippier bars are better for cleans and presses, and stiffer bars are better for squats, benches, and deadlifts.

The benches should also conform to standard specs, although there is no standard configuration for constructing them. Standard specifications require the height of the bench surface to be 17 inches, and if this is too tall for short trainees, then blocks for the lifter’s feet (or usually just barbell plates) will need to be provided. Uprights can be either fixed or adjustable, with a distance of about 45 inches between the uprights. Or you can