Sophisticating the bench press

[Nick1974]

EDITED: Post removed due to inappropriate content which offended our guests.

[Coach Flanagan]

Sophicating a bench press could be taking it to the floor with a kettlebell and making it into a turkish get up.

As for the blocks on chest. Strange looks, yes. Sophisticated, no.

[KD Jones]

There's 30 seconds (plus a little more, I watched it in fast forward to make it seem more familiar. ha.) of my life that immediately came back up as a digital hairball.

But I do have "fond" memories of the days when we all got most of our motivation from calling each other assorted unprintable names while lifting, because like, anger is power, um, dude. And if only I'd stuck with it, I'd be saying things today like "WHOA MAN. I'm going to duct tape one of those CST guys to a POST. Then I'm gonna hit him. Really hard." (mumbling in the background mic noise) "No, man, he won't come loose." (more mumbling) "OK, yeah, so if he did come loose, well... you guys step in, OK?"

[William J]

Hey, where can I order the totaly engineered wood block device? (smileys not working, see me smashimg my Mac, Actually that would be a sin, nevermind)

[wildman]

interesting

[Coach Tran]

Sopisticating the bench Press?

No comment.

[JasonE]

At my gym, I see bench pressers arching their backs and grunting all the time... but I don't think they're thinking about Spinal Waves and Performance Breathing. My favorites are the guys who wear lifting belts during weighted crunches, followed closely by the guys who scream through every rep of heavy lat pulls but never attempt pullups on the bar.

[Coach Tran]

Nick,

I will not comment about your video clip, but I will address athleticism and benching. As I have come to understand, benching will never help anyone become athletic. Before I explain my point of view, I think we have to examine what we mean by "athleticism." In the English dictionary, athleticism can be defined in five ways.

• Physically active and strong; good at athletics or sports: an athletic child.

• of, like, or befitting an athlete.

• of or pertaining to athletes; involving the use of physical skills or capabilities, as strength, agility, or stamina: athletic sports; athletic training.

• for athletics: an athletic field.

• Psychology. (of a physical type) having a sturdy build or well-proportioned body structure.

Benching does not does not carry over to athletics or sport except Power Lifting. There is plenty of scientific research, the experience of this community, and intuitive wisdom of the past showing benching has no carry over to real world. Just recently Coach Scott Sonnon wrote two articles about this. Please check these out:

• Weight-lifting = Anti-Health? http://www.rmaxinternational.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13438
• Building Muscle-Smoking Joints http://www.rmaxinternational.com/for...ad.php?t=13312

Just look at elite athletes in sophisticated sports like boxing, cycling, running, martial arts, and etc. Compare the breathing, movement, and structure of these elite athletes and compare to the bench masters in the gym. Intuitively, did you notice that it was very different than the masters of the bench? Personally as an athlete, I do not want their breathing habits, movement skill, and their structure. It is totally opposite to my idea of health and fitness.

Benching does not befit an athlete because benching is a two dimensional skill, it does not help an athlete integrate his movement, breathing, and structure, it does harm his joints, and does not allow his being to enter what is known as "flow performance." An athlete would need multi-dimensional strength like CST because he or she performs in a three dimensional environment.

Benching does not involve any physical skills or capabilities of an athlete such strength, agility, stamina, and etc. There is no complexity in Benching. How can you make a line more complex?

Benching is good only those who want to be power lifting athlete. Does power lifting represent the whole? Would you drive your car like a Race Car driver daily? In some cases of emergency, yes, we need to drive like a racecar driver, especially if you are a taxi driver in NYC. However it is quite rare in most cases and in the long run it is not safe, smart, and intelligence for your health and your body, which is the most precious gift given to you.

Lastly, a master of the bench does not have the structure of an athlete. I am not speaking about muscle to fat ratio. I am speaking about the difference in an athlete's Myofascial system vs. the master of the bench. There are more residual tension chains in a master of bench that would limit his performance than support it. Maybe my definition of an athlete is different from your idea. I am not claiming my idea is absolutely right, but does make a lot of sense to me. So by definition and my understanding of CST, I do not see any form of athleticism in Benching. I hope my two cents was worth your time.

Yours in CST,

[Coach Flanagan]

Good summary Bao on how powerlifting IS NOT athletic conditioning, by the very definition. I'd love to see it in the next magazine.

[Ryan Murdock]

I'd love to see it in the next magazine

Did someone go and make you Senior Editor there, Flanagan? That's my line.