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Barbell Omitting the Bench Press-Mistake?

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I have always bench pressed. It has been the one staple of my exercise routine. And when I experienced shoulder problems from a football injury I merely switched to Incline which was a lot easier on the shoulder and did that for a long time.

This year I discovered Kettlebells and haven't benched in about 6 months. Been doing clean and press instead. Long story short: I haven't really noticed a decline in strength at all. Sure my bench probably isn't quite as high as it was, but that would come back with 2 weeks of lifting, easily (mostly just getting a feel for it after a lay off). In a lot of ways, I feel stronger and healthier in my upper body. Oddly, I feel that KB clean and press has removed most of impingement issues and rehabbed my shoulder quite a bit.

A few thoughts:
I wouldn't necessarily replace bench with push ups, unless you got access to some way to add weight - eg chains. It just doesn't mesh all that well with Starting Strength progressions. Although, I am sure you could make it work if it was your only option.
I might try, as others have said, incline press. I have always felt it was a better exercise and it is usually easier on the shoulder.
I could also highly recommend some form of clean and press with dumbells or kettlebells.
 
Hi Everyone, thank you so much for the great answers and insights. I was asked about my goal. My goal is simply to become stronger, to continue working with barbells and build raw strength. I'm loving the path that I'm currently on and plan on staying on it for a few years. That being said, I want to preserve mobility and joint stability at the same time. At 49 years of age, I want to carefully select the exercises and approaches that align with this, but also not be hesitant to push myself.

Several of you suggested the incline BP. My question is, how would it fit within the confines of the starting strength novice progression? I'm on the A-B rotation where A day is presses and B day is supposed to be bench but I switched it out for pushups. Since there is both a vertical and horizontal component to the incline BP, should I reduce overhead pressing volume somewhere else in the program?
 
Wyanokie said:
Several of you suggested the incline BP. My question is, how would it fit within the confines of the starting strength novice progression?
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I would just put it in where you would normally bench. If possible I would use a very low angle 20-30 degrees to keep the focus on the horizontal portion... 45 is almost a military press and recruits a lot of shoulder. Concentrate on the chest opening on the down and then squeezing together at the top, again to keep the emphasis on the chest rather than shoulders.
 
Wyanokie said:
Hi Everyone, thank you so much for the great answers and insights. I was asked about my goal. My goal is simply to become stronger, to continue working with barbells and build raw strength. I'm loving the path that I'm currently on and plan on staying on it for a few years. That being said, I want to preserve mobility and joint stability at the same time. At 49 years of age, I want to carefully select the exercises and approaches that align with this, but also not be hesitant to push myself.

Several of you suggested the incline BP. My question is, how would it fit within the confines of the starting strength novice progression? I'm on the A-B rotation where A day is presses and B day is supposed to be bench but I switched it out for pushups. Since there is both a vertical and horizontal component to the incline BP, should I reduce overhead pressing volume somewhere else in the program?
Click to expand...

Is your shoulder in such a condition that if you lie down on the bench, pick up an empty bar, and press it, that the shoulder immediately breaks down? Or would it be gradual and you'll actually notice before things take a turn to seriously worse?

In other words, why not just try the bench and see if it works for you or not?
 
Wyanokie said:
Since there is both a vertical and horizontal component to the incline BP, should I reduce overhead pressing volume somewhere else in the program?
Click to expand...

I would suggest using a relatively shallow incline for incline press, 30° max, preferably less. While I am a fan of incline press because it seems to better target upper pecs, I would not say it is an inherently safer lift than flat bench. Program it as if it were flat bench, don't change anything else unless you are using a steep incline.
 
Wyanokie said:
Hi Everyone,

In short, I am on the starting strength program listed in the book "The Barbell Prescription". I've been on it since September and am making steady progress.

I've had some shoulder problems in the past (including torn rotator cuff, jacked AC joint and shoulder impingement) so removed the bench press from the program and added push ups (and a finishing set of chins to round things out). I am really embracing and enjoying the overhead barbell press.

I'm wondering if my rationale for removing the BP is incorrect here. It seems to me that just about everyone who I know who bench presses eventually develops shoulder issues. I know more than one 'big bencher' who can't raise their arm overhead, despite being very strong, and I've read a number of articles supporting my suspicion about the BP. A few of them state that the bench press does not equate to shoulder health because of the lack of scapular movement, among other things. I'd be happy to keep the movement in the program but am hesitant because of others' eventual negative outcomes with it.

Three questions:

Did I make a mistake by discarding the bench press (in other words, is this a completely safe movement if done correctly)? This would tell me that most of the folks I know who do it are doing it incorrectly.

If it is a safe movement if done correctly, can anyone point to reliable resources?

If it is better to omit the BP, is adding pushups a satisfactory replacement for a pushing exercise in that movement plane?

Thanks for any help you can offer!

-W
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Have you tried benching with a Swiss Bar? A lot of people, including myself, who have shoulder issues can bench pain free with a Swiss or Football bar due to the neutral grip. If you don't have one of those bars, you can dumbbell bench with a neutral grip.

Another alternative pressing exercise is Hex Press. While it's mainly a hypertrophy exercise, I've seen Rugby players do sets so ten with 50kg dumbbells while rehabbing shoulder injuries.

Finally, you can limit the range of motion by using something like Bench Blokz or the Elite Lifts Shoulder Saver Pad. The reduced ROM also limits internal rotation of the shoulder.
 
I have nothing to add on the safety of bench press, but that cue to put your shoulder blades in your back pockets is gold.

Also, bench press is my favorite lift right now. I really look forward to bench press day.
 
BJJ Shawn said:
I have nothing to add on the safety of bench press,
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I know this wasn't the kind of safety you're talking about, but not miss an opportunity to plug bench press safety....
  1. Don't bench press alone without safeties (rack pins or safety arms).
  2. Don't put collars on the weight (so, as a last resort, you can dump the weight off the bar if it lands on you).
  3. Ideally, use safeties always, and a spotter when available.
  4. Set the J-hooks or whatever you're lifting the bar out of at the correct height, to where you can straighten your arms and move the bar out to the lockout position with straight arms. When finishing a rep, always push the bar all the way up and lock the arms up, THEN re-rack it. Don't aim for the J-hooks because you can miss with bent arms, that are fatigued at the end of the set, then the bar can come down on you.
Anyone with more or different advice, feel free to add on...
 
NormanOsborn said:
Have you tried benching with a Swiss Bar? A lot of people, including myself, who have shoulder issues can bench pain free with a Swiss or Football bar due to the neutral grip. If you don't have one of those bars, you can dumbbell bench with a neutral grip.

Another alternative pressing exercise is Hex Press. While it's mainly a hypertrophy exercise, I've seen Rugby players do sets so ten with 50kg dumbbells while rehabbing shoulder injuries.

Finally, you can limit the range of motion by using something like Bench Blokz or the Elite Lifts Shoulder Saver Pad. The reduced ROM also limits internal rotation of the shoulder.
Click to expand...
I haven't looked into these, but will. Thank you Norman.

Anna C said:
I know this wasn't the kind of safety you're talking about, but not miss an opportunity to plug bench press safety....
  1. Don't bench press alone without safeties (rack pins or safety arms).
  2. Don't put collars on the weight (so, as a last resort, you can dump the weight off the bar if it lands on you).
  3. Ideally, use safeties always, and a spotter when available.
  4. Set the J-hooks or whatever you're lifting the bar out of at the correct height, to where you can straighten your arms and move the bar out to the lockout position with straight arms. When finishing a rep, always push the bar all the way up and lock the arms up, THEN re-rack it. Don't aim for the J-hooks because you can miss with bent arms, that are fatigued at the end of the set, then the bar can come down on you.
Anyone with more or different advice, feel free to add on...
Click to expand...

@Anna C this is great advice, thank you, especially reminder #4. I am still vacillating and to be honest and leaning away from incorporating this lift between the potential safety issues and risk-to-reward ratio for injuries. I'm currently using the overhead press as my 'big push' movement and am loving it. It's been very good to me so far.
 
Anna C said:
Anyone with more or different advice, feel free to add on...
Click to expand...
This one's more for the home gym types I guess.

One piece of advice I heard that I found rather clever was that sometimes you find a mismatch in available pin locations on the rack and the desired elevation needed to keep the movement safe. Like bumping into the pins at the bottom of your reps, versus setting them too low.

If you're working out at home maybe a thin sheet of plywood or two could be slid underneath and used to make fine adjustments to the bench height underneath the bar.

Just in case.
 
I've been benching in a power rack for years. Perfectly safe.

Although I've never missed a rep before. Once, in a competition, I missed a command and failed the lift.

Eric
 
When setting the Jhooks remember to account for the bar lowering when the shoulders are fully packed. A 400lbs BP will pack the shoulders lower than a 200lbs BP and thus the hooks will need to accommodate this.
 
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