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Old Forum Why not let the bar touch your chest when benching?

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SB, some people have poor shoulder and thoracic mobility.  For them, the answer is to fix that lack of mobility to be able to bench through a full range.

Sometimes partial benches are done to emphasize a particular range of motion: board presses, floor presses, etc.  Ellen Stein, SFGII, SFL, and world champion powerlifter showed me another variation: stop and pause a fist away from the chest.  These variations are meant to compliment the full range BP; not to replace it.

 

 
 
You were told because of a lack of practical thinking. Pavel gave the best response, and there is no reason to do it. i mean, ehy build strength in a shortened range of motion? It will not transfer, this is why raw lifters need pause bench off the chest, not boards. Geared lifting has little merit for raw strength.
 
The vast majority of people should absolutely be touching their chest when they bench. Unless there was some very specific context (e.g. geared powerlifting, a la Ellen, who is at a very advanced level), but this sounds more like typical gym "bro wisdom", up there with "squatting lower than parallel is bad for your knees".
 
"Do not flare your elbows until the sticking point!
Watch a newbie or a bodybuilder bench. He will flare his elbows and keep them that
way. Sooner or later he will get hurt. Such pec dominant technique is very rough on the shoulders.
Now watch one who has been around the barbell. He will keep his elbows tucked in and
only will spread them when going through the sticking point. The experienced lifter knows
that if he flares too soon, he might get hurt and he will rob himself of an extra boost when he
needs it most.
A novice or a bodybuilder will find that this technique will initially reduce the poundage he
can lift. It happens because his triceps are weak. Do not give up. Patiently practice the new
elbows in groove, build up your tris—and you will lift more than ever—and with a much
smaller chance of an injury."

Pavel from Deadlift Dynamite. Also i suggest you to read "Corkscrew" chapter from Naked Warrior.
 
Well narrow vs wide is irrelevant without understanding what your weak point is. One build better power off chest versus better lockout strength. Best to utilize both if big bench is the goal. Could use narrow as strength work and paused wide grip as assistance.  I would highly recommended bench press science by josh bryant. Very good programs and willingness to help. Check him out at elitefts.
 
SB, instead of gathering up pieces of good BP technique, go to a single source that describes it in detail—PTP Pro, Deadlift Dynamite, etc.
 
The reason not to touch the chest with the bar - formally called a "partial bench press" -  is so that you can have more weight on the bar, thus impressing your bros. They will be even more impressed when one of them has to do an upright row to help you with moving the weight, calling loudly, "it's all you, bro!"

This is the same reason we do partial squats partial leg presses and partial chinups and swinging curls, by the way.

The number of people who actually need partial movements is vanishingly small compared to the people who are just kidding themselves.
 
Superman Beyond,

I think you should listen to this advice from Pavel.

SB, instead of gathering up pieces of good BP technique, go to a single source that describes it in detail—PTP Pro, Deadlift Dynamite, etc.

Pick one (great) source and do what it says. Look into either Deadlift Dynamite by Pavel and Andy Bolton or the "So you think you can bench?"-series by Dave Tate.

Good luck.
 
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