| Training Discussion Ask workout questions or share your knowledge. |
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02-16-2008, 12:01 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Being skinny is overrated
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
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Lats important for benching?
I got a tour of the Syracuse University football teams training facility and go to listen and talk with their strength and conditioning coach. It was a great experience. However, there was one thing he said that I can't really make sense of and I'm hoping someone here might be able to clarify. He was talking about the bench press and how some of the guys can bench around 500 lbs. Then he said in order to be able to bench this much the strength can't all come from the pecs, and that the lats are extremely important for benching this kind of weight. Why is this so? Is this due to the increased stability?
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"The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment"- unknown
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02-16-2008, 12:19 PM
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#2 (permalink)
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Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 59
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Article by Dave Tate TESTOSTERONE NATION
Read point 5 and 12, explanation. |
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02-16-2008, 02:49 PM
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#3 (permalink)
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Link-Zilla
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 5,013
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Strong lats stabilize the back (and assist in stabilizing the scapulae) and transfer force from the lower body to the shoulders/arms. If you can't squeeze your lats during a bench press, then you won't get any leg drive. Big bench presses rely on leg drive, as do big squats and deadlifts.
Eric Cressey goes into more detail on the subject in this article: Lats: Not Just for Pulldowns!
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Lisa Holladay, CSCS
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
--Thomas Carlyle
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02-16-2008, 03:03 PM
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#4 (permalink)
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Watertown, MA
Posts: 6,663
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Good stuff in the above posts.
Experiment on yourself: when I do a couple sets of chinups/pullups before I bench press, I feel tighter/stronger during the pressing... and I never have any shoulder issues. (Careful not to overdo the chinups, though, because worn out lats won't do you much good either!) So take those "activated" lats and slam them together for your bench!
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"Who the f*ck is Jack Narklison?"
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02-17-2008, 12:37 AM
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#5 (permalink)
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Being skinny is overrated
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
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Great info. Thanks! Looks like I have some new tricks to play with.
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"The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment"- unknown
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02-17-2008, 03:22 AM
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#6 (permalink)
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Butterfly Viking General
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Norway
Posts: 1,587
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisa~
Strong lats stabilize the back (and assist in stabilizing the scapulae) and transfer force from the lower body to the shoulders/arms. If you can't squeeze your lats during a bench press, then you won't get any leg drive. Big bench presses rely on leg drive, as do big squats and deadlifts.
Eric Cressey goes into more detail on the subject in this article: Lats: Not Just for Pulldowns! |
Seriously? you ned to drive with your legs on squats? Man.. I've been bracing my abs, retracting my scapulae, keeping my elbows down... why has no one told me this before?  |
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02-17-2008, 05:41 AM
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#7 (permalink)
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Ben. Just Ben.
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 5,928
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Quote:
Originally Posted by karky
Seriously? you ned to drive with your legs on squats? Man.. I've been bracing my abs, retracting my scapulae, keeping my elbows down... why has no one told me this before? |
Because you're the (ambiguously gay) viking butterfly general, remember?
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02-17-2008, 08:13 AM
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#8 (permalink)
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Link-Zilla
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Alabama
Posts: 5,013
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You learn something new every day huh? Just think how much better your squats are gonna be now!
Too funny karky. 
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Lisa Holladay, CSCS
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
--Thomas Carlyle
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02-19-2008, 07:10 PM
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#9 (permalink)
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Being skinny is overrated
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
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I wish I would have known this info a long time ago. I took the above advice and tried it out today, up'd my bench 20 lbs. No joke. Good stuff guys, its very much appreciated.
__________________
"The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment"- unknown
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02-20-2008, 01:24 PM
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#10 (permalink)
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Landing Is An Issue Dept.
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: East Coast
Posts: 775
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Quote:
Originally Posted by smittygouv
I wish I would have known this info a long time ago. I took the above advice and tried it out today, up'd my bench 20 lbs. No joke. Good stuff guys, its very much appreciated.
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I hope today wasn't the first time you worked your back lol 
Anyways, the body is tied together like a big puzzle. All pieces interlock, and as such the body will resist letting one piece get too much stronger than the others.
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"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
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02-20-2008, 06:09 PM
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#11 (permalink)
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Being skinny is overrated
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 138
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I've always worked my back... I just never tied in proper form for the bench press. I took the advice and locked my scapula's and drove with my feet. That was what the change I was referring to.
I see many people think its ok to workout just pushing without pulling to counterbalance. Silly people.
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"The reason most people fail instead of succeed is that they trade what they want most for what they want at the moment"- unknown
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