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I remember back in highschool when I pulled off my first 135 after 3months of training (Started with only 55). That meant the world to me.

wake up babe, new bromley video just dropped (the voices are getting louder)

I actually had this realization when it came to my calves. I squat 250kg and calf raised 100kg but I was always bothered with my calf size. Then I decided to do a bodybuilding block for my off season and it really emphasized doing a deep stretch over weights. After 2 blocks my calves exploded in size

I’ve watched probably over 50 bench press technique videos in the past, but this is probably the best I’ve seen. Discusses both angles of powerlifting and hypertrophy, which others just skim over.

You raise a really good point about being well rounded. I neglected putting my pecs through deep ROM, and I've had off and on pec strains, likely as a result. I think powerlifting's one of those things that's tough to enjoy when you're not at the top, and getting injured just trying to leave mediocrity has been demoralizing to say the least lol

As a long time viewer, this was some of the most simultaneously engaging and informative content I've seen in quite some time from both you and fitness youtube as a whole. Keep it up!

I’ve been with you since the days of your forum. Just chiming in to say that your videos have become really good - information, logic, production, and funny as all hell.

I've been lifting almost daily for about 2 years now, and this video is my first real foray into weightlifting youtube. You are super articulate, and I've come away with a lot of stuff to think about even outside of my approach to benching. Thanks for making this, Alex

You know at the beginning I was worried that you were only going to show the extremes of both sides to benching, (arching and not), but you went in and explained the differences and even showed us what they should be used for. Coming from someone that needs adivce like this, thank you. You earned a sub.

I bench often, I had a goal in mind to be able to bench 405lb at 160lb. I tried to copy ufpwrlifter lifting program, who is a verified lifter that is 152lb with a bench of 410lb and no exaggerated movement or arching. Following his bench schedule, I have moved my bench up over the course of 3 years to 315lb, starting from 225lb. I don't see anything more in sight for me, there is a large chasm between 315lb and 405lb. I bench every other day, and unfortunately, fatigue has gotten the better of me. I've developed a SLAP tear and have seen a significant reduction in my bench press numbers since August of last year. I still bench often, but now it's to get to where I was. Things that often seemed to be a warm-up for me are now a painful working set. I've learned a lot on my bench journey, I started when I was 24, I am now 36. The most important pearl I've learned from all these years of training is, the most important key to working out and lifting heavy is to avoid injury. Your progress may be slow, like a bell curve, but stay consistent and it will come. Do not ever risk injury for an exciting one session max. Be mindful of your form at ALL times while lifting, one slip up of not staying "tight" or in "closed-kinetic chain" can be a costly injury. Stay safe out there friends.

Bromley makes the best strength content on KZfaq right now by far. Also has a philosophy I agree with. Strength training is to actually be strong. Not take shortcuts to make it look like you are

Not only is this One of the best videos you’ve made, it is also one of the best I’ve seen made on this topic EVER. You mediate between the two methodologies very well academically. Your personal anecdotes/stories ground you.

“So you can brag to people who didn’t ask” 😂😂 Bromley, you sir are a talented man!

Wow, what an awesome video Alex. I don't even bench anymore (stopped after I gave up powerlifting and changed my training goals) but this was an easy half-hour listen - great knowledge and storytelling on your part. Would gladly watch again if you do more videos like this in the future

Giving yourself every disadvantage while training a specific movement just seems like a no-brainer thing, but it is very comforting to know just how much difference something like increased range of motion could contribute to the bench right after my coach incorporated some duffalo bar bench presses into my workout. Great video, as usual! 👍

This is why I dropped flat bench entirely, now I just do incline press, no way to cheat, more rom, more upper peck which is more aesthetic. I'm at 225x5 and it's going great.

Yet again, you answered longtime questions I kept in the back of my head, gave me an even-keeled view of which techniques are appropriate for which contexts, and why. Thank you for your clarity, your humor, and your thoroughness!

So cool! By far Jeff and Eugene are my number 1 and 2 favorite fitness content creators, so seeing this sort of "review" on their advices for bench press is really interesting

Dr Mike finally has some true competition in the fitness space. Excellent presentation, humour and insight.

I use a somewhat powerlifting style setup for my bench press, but because I have long arms, I still get a long range of motion and my elbows end up below my shoulder joints. I get a deep stretch of the pecs at the bottom and I pause reps at the chest to exaggerate that stretch. I have gained both muscle mass and strength over time, and I'm not a weak person overall. I have a good military press and I'm stronger than almost every person who has a similar bench to me, even being stronger than people with a bigger bench than me. I definitely think the powerlifting can be helpful and beneficial for some people and not for others, it all depends on your anatomy

I side with Nippard here, first of all, all his videos are based on research not just personal experience. Engaging lats is critical to creating proper alignment, stability and bar path. Overarching is counter-intuitive for hypertrophy, but if the counter-argument is your shoulders should move naturally, you can achieve that with exercises that are less likely to injure your shoulders than a heavy, unstable bench.

This has to be one of the best videos I’ve seen recently from you in regards to entertainment. Quality always high and I loved the comparison from Eugene and Jeff’s opposite stances. I am “lucky” enough that my long arms give me enough strength that my chest was able to be grow from barbell bench, but just this offseason from powerlifting I’ve stepped away from competition style lifts and have been having my most productive bulk so far.

I haven't seen any of your videos before - but I will definitely binge-watch them now. This is simply FANTASTIC! Thank you for your effort creating this content!

He is one eloquent man. Highly intelligent and great verbal abililties.

Thanks for the shout out! Some powerlifting competition benches look absolutely ridiculous and are clearly an example of metric gaming. That being said, there are a bunch of people who absolutely refuse to bench any kind of heavy weight because they think doing anything whatsoever to increase the weight they lift will kill their gains. I don't think it necessarily makes sense to try to emphasize "full rom" on barbell bench press at the expense of everything else because it's just not ever going to be a true full range of motion exercise. If the stretch is what you want, use dumbells, rings, dips. Just like barbell curls or conventional deadlifts won't ever actually take the muscles involved through "full range of motion" and it is necessary to use other exercises to actually stretch them. So why not treat these exercises as worthy demonstrations of strength and care about our full stretch dumbell incline or zercher deadlift as much as our barbell bench and conventional/sumo deadlift as a way to combat gaming? I actually got a lot out of decline bench, which is sacrilege because it's "not full rom" but neither is flat, and I found it super grindy and progressable. So I don't think you have to emphasize rom to get something out of it, especially if you're training in a bodybuilding rep range, not just 1rms. But then again I have ridiculously long arms. Btw I'm still working on a response to your last video, maybe 70% done btw, sucks being a filthy casual.

The way this video is written and structured! It was so entertaining I didn't want it to end.

I have a lot of shoulder pain issues and I actually came to the arched back somewhat recently as a way to keep my shoulders in the more protected movement pattern it provides. Having said that, I just focus on trying to bring my lats in toward each other. I also mainly do dumbell presses and perform a limited ROM, following the advice of James Grage's recent videos about how to protect your shoulders when you're already dealing with pain, specifically related to bicep tendonitis from going into a deep stretch on pressing movements.

I am certainly guilty of ego lifting with „powerlifting technique“ on bench press. Recently hit 225 after 6 months of training. Later I tried again but couldn’t repeat it. This was when I noticed that the only reason I got it was not because I was strong enough, but because my technique took away many inches on my range of motion. This video is what I needed when I started benching. It’s great advice!

The Bench Press is a path to many abilities some consider to be unnatural

My max was 135 when I was 17. My strength coach told me about trying to lower the weight and find a weight I can easily do 5 reps. I went in 1 year from 135 to 225. I would start with the lower weight and rep 5 times than add 10 to 5 lbs until I couldn't do 5 reps and then dropped weight by 5 or 10 lbs until I could not do the bar lol. It killed but had major growth.

This is brilliant. It's informative, and entertaining. Not just that, it's something people need to hear. This is the epitome of keeping it real. The most valuable information you have for newer lifters than yourself is your experience, because they already have to learn a lot from experience, so if you can shorten that learning curve as much as possible with experience that is transferrable to them you will be more valuable than somebody who did science with the internet, and likes to talk. This stuff that seems small, and normal to you is huge, and often a missing piece to alot of us. Sometimes it's shit that we know, but we need to hear it a certain way before we can gauge it's importance. If KZfaq wasn't defiled you would have the highest subscriber count among the fitness influencers.

So much value! I feel like I just got a professors course on benching. Your delivery was awesome too man thank you for putting in the work to make this vid happen 💪🏻

For me, really maturing at the gym and building a body I can say I'm proud of required dropping the bench press. I only really benched socially to compete with my friends and to build an initial strong frame of muscle. But after 2+ years at the gym and 6 months of PT for shoulder impingement, I no longer bench at all, and my body can't thank me enough. I use chest press machines, cables, flys, and push ups for my chest now and I'm stronger and healthier than ever. As a general rule of thumb, listen to your body and swallow your pride. Bench works for some people but not for all.

When I first started learning I did what I guess is called a "guillotine press" for a long time. Bringing the bar down around my neck and collar bone. I always felt like it was a good workout and my chest would get really sore. But the chest really started to fill out better when I learned to bring the bar down around the ribs.

Beautiful explanations. I've been to snap city with 175 lb bench. Now I've mastered dumbbells and all is good. Also I have a 65 gram gaming mouse, because a man has got to optimize something.

Great video. The one thing that saved me from a poverty bench more than anything was switching away from 1x a week to 2x (or more) per week. Back in high school (90's for me) I got my first programs out of magazines that all preached training each body part 1x per week, which I blindly followed. Going to 2x a week was a game changer.

One of the best videos ever made in the history of making videos…of any kind.

Of all the people on the planet, you talk to yourself more than anyone… make sure you’re saying the right things.

I was 6’4” about 230lbs naturally I benched 410lbs as my max I think I could have a bit more but unfortunately I had a car accident lost both legs broke my back in 3 places broke my neck in 3 places lost a few internal organs I shit and piss in plastic bags so let’s just say my power lifting days are over and it sucks I tried to do 150lbs on a bow flex and couldn’t do I’m paralyzed from the rib cage down so all I can use is arms and partial chest so let’s just say when woke up from cone I went from 255lbs down to 104lbs in 5 months in a coma now I drink to cope and my fat dunk ass is now 195lbs my face is fat I do t look fat in my stomach cus I lost part of my stomach my colon and most of my intestines so when I eat I’ll shit it out in about 45 minutes and it looks the same as when I ate it so I don’t oddest food anymore I pretty much waste it but hey drinking 24-30 beers a day thanks disability for allowing me to afford to drink does help you gain weight, my life is over it sucks my wife left after I had a second spinal cord Injury by moving from my wheelchair to a sofa my spine broke and collapsed in 3 places lucky number 3 so I was stuck on a couch for 8 months healing but I would non stop shit and kiss all over mysejf cuz I shit water so I ruined the sofa she got mad we had a 18 month old and newborn son so she said it was too much washing me up and changing me since I couldn’t mice so she left me now my doctors said the government is threatening dr licensed if they prescribe pain meds or anxiety meds and sleep meds so I list all those meds now I’m suffering and a mess in and out of hospitals all the time so I tried medical weed but way too expensive in Pennsylvania so now I drink Johnny bootlegger malt liquor I list my taste for beer plus it made me hungover after a 30 pack a day so I drink 18 bootleggers there 6.8fluid ounce bottles at 12% alcohol and there $1.88 a bottle so disability covers that thank you tax payers fir allowing me to drink alcohol all day everyday so I don’t shoot up a Walmart or kill myself from being sick and tired of feeling like shot all day everyday and doctors no longer willing to help cus the us government decided they now better how to treat patients then that patients own doctor they had fur 15 years so fuck the government yes I’ll keep sitting at home on my ass using my tax payer funded disability to get drunk everyday so I feel better I used to feel bad about it now I don’t sorry I don’t anymore the government both sides Democrat and republicans are nothing but pieces of pure shit and I no longer feel bad anymore cus people still support both sides at election time knowing both sides don’t care about you yet your stupid enough to vote fir them so I don’t feel bad taking everyone’s money and spending it on alcohol so I can not suffer the alternative is not good for the general public but with 3 simple prescriptions all my problems will be solved but noooo Mr government knows better then my doctor I’ve had for over 15 years so fuck it all I collect my disability sit on my add at home and drink my pain and anxiety away and I’ll actually finally sleep at night so thank all of yous I appreciate it like thousands of others who are exactly like me appreciate it

Another reason to bench: to get your OHP up

This is quickly becoming my new favorite channel! I love the old-school, almost silver-era mentality before the lines between bodybuilding and strength training got drawn so sharply.

I like the honest no bs approach to your teaching. This is definitely something a lot of people need to hear

Awesome vid. I had a similar situation where I benched 295 w a goofy ass powerlifting setup. I switched to a flat back, slight incline, paused bodybuilding style that I'd be lucky to hit 275 with but my chest, shoulders and arms look great and are growing consistently, and, I'm using anywhere between 195/145 for sets of 8/20. It's definitely a better trade-off for my overall development since my arms are super long and over pressing leads to some shoulder pain.

Small arch, guillotine press, close grip. People ask me why I bench to build my chest, mind blowing 😂

Gone for a week and then you come back with this banger of a video, which has it all. Great info with tons of humor and relatability. Great job!

4:01 hey that’s me in the middle! Had to do a double take. I usually wrap bands around that bench, but had to opt for a mat that day cause I forgot my bands. The benches at that Y are so thin and slippery, benching without bands on them is like squatting on ice

Love this. Subscribed. Engaging stories, awesome dissemination of info, and entertaining and informative! Thank you.

Bodybuilder here. Appreciate this video a lot. U made 30 mins feel like 5 mins , subbed.

This video got recommended in my side bar - the thumbnail and title really intrigued me. After watching your video, i love your analogies and delivery, and subscribed immediately. Cant wait to check out more of your content. Thanks for sharing!

Amazing content, how did you just have an intro on youtube without being annoying? Also, your vids are packed with info, zero babbeling. Subbed!

Glad to see you are back posting! Been hitting a wall on my bench lately. Specifically finding my attempt to adopt a powerlifting style setup has actually messed up my technique in a way that sucks for my shoulders. I don’t compete but had seen so much about how scapular retraction was a must for safety I’d been fixated on it to my detriment.

Bodybuilding: Small arch or None 8-12 reps Chest focus only Powerlifting: As big arch as possible 1-5 reps Chest, delts, triceps, abs, quads, Recruit as many other muscles as possible !

This was one of the most in-depth benching videos I have ever seen. Great job, saving friends all around the earth.

First video I have seen, very impressed. You epitomize the fact that muscular guys aren’t meatheads. You show wisdom, integrity and a healthy dosis of self-deprecating humor. Educational and entertaining indeed. Although I have started my lifting without the handicap of ego, that is only because those lessons came to me from other prior sports where I made similar errors for the same reasons. And I still find value in the lesson to sufficiently plan for everything you do. Pushing ourselves to our maximum cannot be do done with both carelessness and longevity/consistency. Thanks for this quality video advice!

I bench powerlifting style, but I got so long arms and such a poor arch (bad hip mobility), that it hardly affects my range of motion. I find that the tension I'm able to create is what helps me the most.

The tuck of the shoulders is needed to activate the pecs, as in proper push up. The shoulder protocols are the same for push and, or, pull exercises. The retraction of the scapula must be there in order to activate the pecs and protect the articulations. Powerlifters exaggerate to shorten range of motion If one as back problems, like myself, try decline bench press, as a pec exercise, still with regular scapula retraction, but with a flatter back, in order to activate the pecs. Flat bench press without scapular retraction, like the sexy long haired dude advocates, probably with flared elbows, isn’t a pec exercise. Triceps, front delts and your health are the major targets. That style was in fashion in the 80, popularized by the magazines, full of errors and miss conceptions, leaving young dudes, like myself, that believed that our heroes and role models at the Mr. Olimpia line up were all naturals, with little too show but a lot of over training, money spent on whatever they were pushing back then and self esteem issues. Thanks for the report.

A load of great info all in one place with no frills is uncommon on KZfaq these days. I don’t stretch enough and it shows. Thanks for the reminder.

the takeaway I get from a lot of your vids is stop overthinking shit and just go work out hard. its reassuring

Great video! Entertaining and informative… I’ve been a fan of pressing since 19. I trained with guys that were in Power House magazine. Unfortunately I can relate to the squaty short armed types that put up amazing numbers. Being 6’2” was gifted with arms of a 6’6” basketball player. I was still able to put up a 405 and reverse dunk a basketball. God makes us in various ways.

Thanks, I love my serratus anterior from pushups and I am dipping my toe into weights. I was locking my shoulder blades back because videos were saying it will prevent injury. It does feel nice and stable but I am going to do lower weights and get my serratus to spiderman levels. It will be my only muscle 💪

this is a eye opening video my bench is always my worst lift but I have a great chest everytime I tried to do a power lifter bench and set up I would feel stronger off the bat but would slowly decline over time and sure enough he explained it perfectly I thought I was getting caught up in the technique I was alienating my main goal building size now I'm just going to drive my shoulders into the bench with as little arch as possible and just do what feels best for me

This video is amazing. Just started seeing all these powerlifting techniques and assumed that it was the newly accepted standard for bench, that science had proven it was safest and best. Tried to find a history of the bench press to discover when things changed. Months later, stumbled across this video and it has quite possibly saved my body from unnecessary abuse. I’m gonna focus on good technique and consistency

My advice as someone who is gym rat for 15 years is to always do the full range of motion. This is how you strengthen your ligaments, and you prevent injuries. As we are discussing bench there are few things you can do to increase your strength in bench press or any pec exercise. 1. Do weighted dips. The weighted dips so you can do around 6-10 reps. and this exercise should be after your few main pec exercises. Also do a full motion, which means stretch, drop as low as possible and slowly controlled. 2. increase grip strength by haggling one handed. If you don't have the streetlight to hand with one hand for at least 3sec start with 2 hands and slowly shift the weight in one hand and vice versa. Your goal is to be able to hang with one hand as much as possible preferably at least 10-15sec, and do it as reps in the end when you are done with every exercise. This will dramatically improve your strength in Bench, deadlift, etc. This is the 2 things that helped me be more strong and put more muscle mass. I prefer more of a dumbbell press but unfortunately the biggest dumbbell in almost every gym around me is only 110lb /50kg which is not enough for me. Extra advice, never do a 1rep PR this is how you get hurt. Lat time I did 1 rep PR was 10 years ago.

Great content as always. Also, your style humor is great

This video is a PhD thesis. Essays on Bench Technique History and Development and Modern Standards in Powerlifting and Bodybuilding. Congrats Dr Bromley.

Initially thought your narrating style was redundant but then found it kept me engaged and interested. I'm subscribing.

When I hit 315 at 175lbs bodyweight I remember walking around like I just won WSM. The lift was so bad but I didn’t even care. I quit lifting for a decade and recently decided I want to get 315 again but clean and before my 40th birthday.

Thank you so much for such an excellent video, Alex. I guess a pro of being female is that I don't care a whole lot about having a big bench. I do what feels most natural and comfortable and it's been working just fine for my goals. That said I often get criticized for having a somewhat narrow grip and for not arching much. Anyhow, your video makes me feel pretty good about my technique 😊

Content like this is the reason I sub. Gives a straightforward, easy to understand answer that is often missed. Plus some dry humor and admitting that, like all of us, there are parts of our lifting history that are fucking embarrassing.

The best advice was definitely channeling Vegeta before a big lift.

I bench to push violently

I got the big wing span (6’2” tall) so even with the fully optimized bench my ROM is still providing decent chest development. Ironically, I didn’t get much chest growth early on because I was over tucking my elbows out of an irrational fear for my shoulders. My particular limb lengths allows for more weight and more chest stimulus by internally rotating as I set my grip. While I still think about tucking as I descend I’m starting from a way more flared position. And since I still have a good amount of ROM more weight does equal more growth for me.

It's pretty crazy how I came to rely on flys to round out my chest after years of powerlifting style benching thinking I was just build weird, so much so that I needed specific accessory lifts to grow my pecs. Thanks for the video. This info really filled in a gap in my knowledge and helped me see the bigger picture.

Amazing content Alex, also you’re really good at telling stories and helping us actually envision the scene

Thanks for making this man. I’ve been only lifting for 4 months but have been gunning it almost 5-6 days per week. I’ve noticed noob gains but am starting to focus more on form. Tbh I haven’t moved past dumbbell chest press because I’m a bit intimidated by the barbell. Looking forward to trying out barbells once the gym gets less busy.

Still new to the gym (7mo or so) and have been grinding at my bench. I feel like a slightly arched and tucked in bench has given me good stability to progress on the lift. I have had to take some time off due to getting sick and other issues and hover at around 80kg for five reps currently. Started at 60kg for 1RM (after 3mo at home program with bodyweight and resistance bands). Without the time off the gym I would estimate to be around 90kg for five reps. I bench twice a week on the flat bench with the barbell (5x5), once a week on an incline with dumbbells and have added two different flye variants for chest as well. The progress has been steady and I have stayed focused on the lift itself. I feel like the routine for setting up for my bench has helped me to standardize my technique and kept me stable to learn the movement. I don't practice arching and aim to pause every rep and feel a stretch at the bottom, but I do tuck in my scapula to an extent, activate my lats and arch a little. Might eventually move to a different variation on the technique, but for now this style of semi-powerlifting style setup has served me well! Edit: Would like to add that I train for size/physique, but when I stared I was still figuring out weather I would like to train more powerlifting style or bodybuilding, so I have stuck with my powerbuilding style training that I have started to modify more towards the hypertrophy side of things.

I did powerlifting style bench for a couple of years and busted my right shoulder to the point where I stopped and had to rehab. After 2 years of not touching a barbell for bench, I managed to rehab my shoulder by starting over with low weight dumbbells and focusing on maximum ROM and slow tempo to find exactly what my shoulder will and will not permit. The other week I decided to test the barbell again, this time using the sort of super wide grip and overall form that Arnold did. No shoulder issues, best chest pump of my life, and my chest has been sore like never before. This is despite doing so many things I thought would cause more shoulder issues, not less. Also super wide grip behind the neck presses are way kinder to my shoulders than regular ohp. Incline benching is still a bit finniky, but there is a sweet spot where I get no issues, I just need to get it properly programmed into my marrow

I can't stop laughing. The video was so informative and on point, but the comedy was something else.

I’m 6’4, 238lbs and have been going to the gym for 8 months. My bench started at 110lbs for 1 rep. It’s now up to 175 for 2 reps. That said, I started going mainly for weight loss, I’ve gone from 315lbs to 238lbs. My bench has gone up 65lbs though. Body recomposition is energy draining, (almost all my calorie intake is protein) but it’s been effective.

First off, congratulations. I first got into lifting at the age of twelve, I'm now 53. In all that time you are the first guy I've heard talk actual sense and logic. Seriously, I stay on the very fringe of the hobby because I can't stand being around the people involved. I have no problem admitting my flaws, I can't bench. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Four decades of reading articles, watching videos... I just can't move the weight. Now, for background, I'm "country strong". Meaning if I don't know how heavy something is, I can pick it up. I used to walk across construction sites with two bags of cement on each shoulder, I could drag a railroad tie off a trailer and carry it across the yard on my shoulder, and I would routinely do 400# barbell shrugs for reps. So my shoulders and arms are quite capable of handling a fair bit of weight. But I've never benched more than 260 or so.

You had me at "we're gonna de-turd this vacuum "

I laughed way too hard at "bumper plates like a squatty potty" 😂😂😂

Thanks a lot for this video, my bench is by far my weakest lift (65 kg at 65 kg bw), and I see a lot of people in my gym putting numbers way higher than that. But after checking their form, I realized that it is difficult to compare to another person since the technique used is usually different. I hope I can keep improving on my bench while using the technique I am used to (basically one that I enjoy and does not put any pressure on my shoulders). Your video was eye opening for me!

Same high school just 10 years later! Awesome man, loving the info keep it up!

Excellent video dude. Your content lately has leveled up and the effort is appreciated 👍some of the best advice on the tubes

The actual content of this video was way better than I thought it’d be from the title

I love benching and trying to work my numbers up. I don’t have a crazy arch and literally just retract my shoulder blades to create one (no setting up with my feet on the bench or juicing my belt at a crazy angle mid stomach) however even with no arch whatsoever and my shoulders not retracted using any sort of leg drive triggers a sharp pain in my lower back. How am I supposed to juice my numbers up when I can’t confidently safely bench

Loving the format! Very entertaining and still highly educational. Keep 'em coming!

This video is amazing Bromleys, pure gold throughout, love the editing and humour

Thank you Alexander and all of the chickens that were hung by their wings, for making this video possible !

Agreed, there are no "bad" movements. I think Eugene over emphasized the potential cost to you joints when discussing arching. Programming can always come to the rescue. Maybe in the limited case of a person that only ever does a max arched bench press as their only upper body development tool, he might have a point. However most people, powerlifters included, don't train this way. By using assistance movements, changing angles, implements, grip widths, frequency, intensity, and of course volume; you can easily incorporate an arched heavy bench press in with little to no actual cost (other than more fatigue of course). If anything it gives you exposure to heavier weights than you would otherwise touch without the benefit of this technique which, in that way alone, provides a different, perhaps novel, tool to complement your overall training.

The amount of prose in this video would make any meathead walk away. Good job on saying a lot of nothing. Brevity is the soul of wit my friend.

Alexander, I started benchpressing at Poway High in 1979. My first try was 75 pounds and I failed. I was 14 years old, 6' 1" and 125 pounds with lanky limbs. I could only do 3 pushups on the Presidential Fitness Test day. A senior football player gently tossed an arching tennis ball when I was on the Universal benchpress machine once. It landed right on my shnuds and I spent the next few minutes in severe pain in the fetal position. The head football coach was the PE teacher and all he said to me was "don't worry, kid, in a year or so your balls will drop". Back then the Poway High weight room was a scary place for skinny boys. By my junior year I was one of the "muscle guys" in there and no one lobbed tennis balls at my nuts while benching anymore.

3 minutes into the video and I’m liking the nihilistic/cynical takes on lifting, especially movements we really do assign arbitrary importance to haha. I’m sure the rest of the vid is gonna be a banger but I love the reality check about lifting you’ve been providing lately

Articulate and well-spoken. Loved the story-telling. Great vid!

Excellent video, Bromley. This is top notch.

I learned my lesson (luckily not the hard way) when I was 17. I went from benching 50kg to 100kg for 4-6 reps in about a year. But that was not it. What really did it for me, was my weak-ass, chubby, best buddy, who on the first day could barely do 5 reps with the 20kg bar to lifting 80kg at the end of the same year. I was way more impressed with his performance than with mine and I was so proud of him. Yes, I was still stronger and my 18yo ego was intact, but the fact, that he quadrupeled his strenght while I only doubeled it, made him the clear "winner" in my eyes. This is when I learned, that the only one you are competing with, is your yesterday self.

I don't do bench press at all.

I’m 6’8” with matching wingspan. I struggle to bench 200 lbs. But because of the insane ROM (and subsequent difficulty) my chest looks good. Bodies are weird