Part 1 outlined the benefits of using a chest-width grip the bench press. Namely, the potential for higher bar speeds thanks to the biomechanical advantage of strong muscles coordinating long levers. Chest passes, jabs, blocking and shoving opponents are among the sports skills that rely on a horizontal pushing motion similar to the bench press. They are also fastest, most powerful, and most effective (technically sound) when the hands are kept within the frame of the body —i.e. chest width.1
Here, in part 2, I present some relevant functional anatomy of the gleno-humeral (shoulder) joint as it relates to the bench press and some other sports actions.
The gleno-humeral joint is inherently unstable. The ball-shaped humeral head can roll and/or glide along the glenoid fossa. It is also capable of spinning spin along its long-axis. These three actions —roll, spin and glide— can be coordinated to facilitate all sorts of amazing things (throwing, climbing, striking, catching, swinging, sprinting, hugging, swimming, crawling, pulling, carrying, painting, bench pressing…) and do each of them in a wide 3-dimensional arc. If roll, spin and glide are imperfectly coordinated, the end results may appear acceptable, however peak performance is compromised.
Because neither the ball nor socket is perfectly round, if the spin is off by a few degrees, the roll may become blocked as two bony protuberances jam into each other. Likewise if the glide is lagging by two millimetres relative to the roll, a tendon may become impinged, or the joint may become unstable. Any of these scenarios can lead to an acute or chronic injury. Since we tend to avoid pain, another joint will try to compensate giving us acceptable but sub-peak performance. The other subconscious solution our brains come up with is inhibition: reduce the number and/or frequency of motor unit requirement so that we no longer produce forces or speeds that are intense enough to hurt us. That is, we are weaker and slower than we should be.
Athletic (movement) speed, technical (sport-specific skills) speed, and cognitive (recognition, reaction, decision-making…) speed is greater among better players and in better leagues.2-11
What these, and countless other papers show is that speed equals success. It is the only factor that is consistently able to differentiates between elites and sub-elites across all team, racquet and combat sports.
If we want to move faster, we must become better coordinated and stronger. For horizontal pushing, striking, and the bench press, a chest-with grip with stable scapulae and forearms inline with the load—as discussed in part 1— represents a good start. Coordination of the roll, spin and glide thought the motion is also mandatory for achieving top speeds.
My preferred analogy for explaining this is a communications tower.
Imagine a communications tower. The bottom end is fastened to a concrete base with four bolts. Additionally, there are a number of tensioned guy wires part way up the truss, each spreading out to its own ground anchor. If the tensioning in one cable increases, the tower will start to lean in that direction. Likewise if a cable is loosened or severed the tower may fall away from it. Without the bolts the tower can slip off its base, regardless of how plentiful or strong the cables are.
The bolts and cables play equally important roles in maintaining the integrity of the tower. By tightening some bolts and loosening others in combination with varying the tension in the cables, the angle of the tower can be adjusted. The key phrase is “in combination with”. Any component working alone (or not working at all) simply weakens the entire system rather than adjusts the angle.
The tower is analogous to the arm, and the concrete base is the glenoid fossa of the scapula. The bolts are representative of the rotator cuff; namely supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor. Muscles with more distal attachments are our cables; deltoid, pectoralis major, coracobrachialis biceps brachii, teres major, triceps brachii, and latissimus dosi. Coordinating the length and tension in all of these muscles is what permits the shoulder to do those many aforementioned amazing things.
What is optimal coordination of those 11 muscles when bench pressing? How do we train and coach it?
Pectoralis major and the short heads of the triceps brachii are the prime movers, along with the anterior portions of the deltoid and coracobrachialis. These muscles contract concentrically in the pressing phase and eccentrically to lower the bar with control to the chest. The two-joint portions of the triceps and biceps brachii are active more-or-less isometrically throughout the entire repetition and transfer the shoulder motion to the elbow joint. For a detailed explanation, see part 1.
Later we will discuss the other “cables” but first let us take a look at some of the “bolts”. Because these anterior prime movers are big and strong pennate muscles with relatively long lever arms, they produce anterior gleno-humeral glide along with flexion and horizontal adduction. They also tend to protract the scapula. Both anterior glide and protraction alter the angle of pull of those muscles relative to the joint axis, rendering them less mechanically efficient. Stability between the body and bench also suffers. Excessive anterior glide can sublux the gleno-humeral joint or result in tissues getting pinched between the joint surfaces. The posterior bolts need to remain tight in order to resist the anterior glide i.e. infraspinatus in particular, with additional help from teres minor and supraspinatus at certain points in the range of motion, must generate and sustain a high eccentric force contraction. Eccentric because those muscles will elongate as the shoulder flexes and horizontally adducts, while resisting anterior glide. The rhomboids and trapezius, though not part of our analogy, contract isometrically to prevent protraction, so that the length change of all of the prime movers results in shoulder flexion and horizontal adduction and is not wasted by repositioning the scapulae. They act like the soil that underlies and surrounds the concrete base.
The band-spread horizontal press is my favourite exercise for teaching this. Stand tall with the elbows extended and shoulders flexed to 90°. Hold a band so that it is under mild tension at chest-width with overhand grip. Retract the scapula not quite maximally. Maintain that tension in the band while bringing the elbows backwards and the band towards the bottom of the chest thereby mimicking the eccentric portion of the bench press. At this point, if the athlete is having difficulty finding or maintaining the position, give them a bit of tactile feedback by leaning against a wall or the corner of a door frame, or even lying down on the bench. Without altering the band tension or losing scapular positioning, press horizontally until the elbows reach extension. Repeat for 10 reps.
That covers roll and glide. Spin is also important because when the humeral head spins a bit on the glenoid fossa, it can help the horizontal pressing muscles to gain leverage. It is tricky to describe, because the responsible muscles changes multiple times throughout the range of motion. Even latissimus dosi which is generally considered an antagonist in the bench press since it is a strong extensor and horizontal abductor, also can act synergistically thorough a small portion of the bench press motion by providing spin. In my experience it is unnecessary to break it down degree by degree because the overall spin action is similar to a movement pattern familiar to many of us. It is very much like using a pair of wrenches to tighten a pipe fitting. During the concentric portion of the bench press, the right arm should rotate clockwise and the left counterclockwise.
The bar is rigid, which means the wrist joints must rotate slightly and be accompanied by some forearm pronation/supination to accommodate the gleno-humeral spin that is taking place. It is important to note that neither the screwing force nor range of motion should be maximal, as either can overwhelm the capacity of the wrist tissues and cause injury. The screwing action therefore is subtle, yet important. Learning to use it with a chest-width grip maximizes the force and speed production capabilities of the bench press and its transfer to sport performance.
This is how we train athletes to strike faster and hit harder.
—CG
1https://goodmanspeed.com/technical/bench-press-for-speed-part-1/
2Cometti, G., et al. “Isokinetic strength and anaerobic power of elite, subelite and amateur French soccer players.” International journal of sports medicine 22.01 (2001): 45-51.
3García-Pallarés, Jesús, et al. “Physical fitness factors to predict male Olympic wrestling performance.” European journal of applied physiology 111 (2011): 1747-1758.
4Granados, C., et al. “Differences in physical fitness and throwing velocity among elite and amateur female handball players.” International journal of sports medicine 28.10 (2007): 860-867.
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9Sadowski, Jerzy, et al. “Success factors in male WTF taekwondo juniors.” J Combat Sports Martial Arts 1 (2012): 47-51.
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11Young, Warren B., et al. “Physiological and anthropometric characteristics of starters and non-starters and playing positions in elite Australian Rules football: a case study.” Journal of science and medicine in sport 8.3 (2005): 333-345.