Bench press
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The bench press is an exercise in powerlifting and bodybuilding in which the lifter lies on his/her back on a bench, raising and lowering the bar directly above the chest. It is intended for the development of the chest, or pectoral, muscles, but a variation exists for the triceps. In powerlifting, however, where the focus is to achieve a single very heavy repitition, the force for a bench press is exerted by both the pectoral and tricep muscles.
It is properly performed while laying on one's back with one's shoulder blades pinched together on a specially designed bench with a weighted barbell suspended on a rack over one's chest. Not pinching one's shoulder blades together causes the anterior deltoids (frontal shoulders) to take over. Form a slight arch in one's lower back for stability, but don't let one's buttocks lift off the bench. While keeping one's feet planted on the ground, one then takes the barbell, lift it off the rack, and lower it to one's chest at about the middle of one's sternum. The weight is then raised back up to the starting position. This exercise should always be performed with a spotter to catch the bar in case one drop it on your chest.
Other variations on this exercise:
- Can be performed on an incline, on a decline, or on a stabilizer ball.
- Varying width grips can be used to shift stress between pectorals and triceps
- Can also be performed with dumbbells to incorporate greater use of stabilizer muscles
Each variation is intended to work different subgroups of muscles, or work the same muscles in slightly different ways.
The world record for the heaviest bench press at 1005 lb (456.8 kg) was set by Gene Rychlak under International Powerlifting Association rules in November 2004. It must be noted that the different federations have subtly different rules on technique, the equipment that is allowed and whether performance enhancing drugs are tested for.
The heaviest "raw" benchpress (without equipment such as denim shirts) is 713 lbs (324kg) by Scott Mendelson. Many people regard this as a greater achievement than Rychlak's 1005 lb press.