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Mon 25 Jul, 2005 09:52 pm
my friend told me that when doing bench press, you should sqeez it up. well how do you sqeez it up?? i tried 2day but im not sure that im "squeezing it up"!!!
Best to seek clarification from your friend. My guess would be he means to forcibly flex (contract) your pecs (chest muscles) as you press up the weight. This doesn't allow you to bench as much weight, but the increased tension utilizes more muscle fibers and thus produces more gains. Useful for building a physique (i.e. bodybuilding), but it would be detrimental for athletic pursuits (i.e. sports). Controlled explosiveness would generally be better for athletic gains.
Yup, once you've figured out how to flex your pecs through the entire movement, you'll figure it out. I'd say that it's not that important to do, because you risk overextension, and locking out your elbows is a no-no.
Remember, with any exercise (rows, presses etc.) never take arms down past 90 degrees. If you are doing a frontal military press, some exercises call for a deep push, but that's the only time I'd say to do it.
Many people will argue that you make bigger gains by going deeper in every exercise, but I have had injuries with that philosophy, and I'll tell you first hand it's not worth it.