Aug 7 in Strength Training
The Bench Press and Safety
The bench press is the most dangerous lift most people will ever do in the gym.
This is primarily because it is a relatively heavy load that is held and moved above the head and neck, but secondarily because it is a lift most people are familiar with and therefore tend not to treat with the respect that it deserves.
With just a little bit of critical examination and preparation, we can turn the bench press into a completely safe way to train the push movement pattern however.
Here are some ways to make the bench press safer:
- Never use a thumbless grip. A thumbless grip is called a 'suicide' grip for very good reasons. Lifters do this in an attempt to articulate the bar over the bottom of the palm, directly over the bones of the wrist and forearm, to eliminate the moment arm at the wrist and the unnecessary wrist extension that may occur. This is an admirable goal, but it's not worth dropping the bar on your neck and killing yourself. Besides, you can achieve the same hand/wrist efficiency with the 'bulldog' grip, a slight interior rotation of the wrist, allowing the fingers to compress the bar into the point over the wrist bones while still allowing the thumb to wrap around the bar. It may take a few days of practice and some stretching, but it's worth it.
2. If you're not 100% sure that you're going to complete the lift, then use a spotter or lift with guards. The possibility of catastrophic failure and losing control of the bar, although rare, is always present. Spotting is a simple process and asking for it takes a few seconds. You can also use rack guards, the same ones that can catch the bar during the squat. These should be set up at a height where, during a correctly arched bench press, the bar can't touch them at the bottom, but were the lifter to relax, the guards would take the bar from the lifter.
3. Unless you have a spotter, some guards, or are not a particular kind of lifter with muscle tremors or weakness, never, ever put clips on the bench press. The clips keep the plates from sliding off the bar during the lift, which sounds like a really good idea until you realize that the only defense a lifter without a spotter has against death by barbell asphyxiation has is to let the plates slide off the bar so the lifter can un-pin him or herself. Lifting with clips and without a spotter has literally killed many athletes.
Although the bench press is not a 'dangerous' exercise, it is the most dangerous exercise that lifters do on a regular basis, but with these few considerations, you can make it as safe as a dumbbell curl.
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The Bench Press and Safety