How Much Ya Bench?
Bench press may be the most overrated and overused mode of upper body strengthening. I say this for a few reasons. First and foremost, biomechanically, bench press does not come close to reproducing normal movement of the shoulder complex, thus it can have minimal functional carry over to sport. Second, because of the abnormal mechanics of the shoulder during bench press, the joint is subjected to unnecessary stress and abuse. Third, the position of the spine, often is compromised in efforts to move more weight, further contributing to dysfunctional biomechanics and unnecessary stress.
To understand how the shoulder functions you must appreciate the anatomy. The shoulder complex has more mobility than almost any other region in the body. A large part of this can be attributed to the fact 4 different articulations (3 joints) comprise the shoulder complex: sternoclavicular joint, acromioclavicular joint, glenohumeral joint, and scapulothoracic (ribs and scapula) articulation. In normal shoulder flexion mechanics, the scapula rotates in all 3 planes of movement. The scapula will upwardly rotate roughly 1 degree for every 2 degrees the humerus elevates. When, where, and how this occurs varies slightly between individuals. The humerus will also move into external rotation relative to the scapula during shoulder flexion. The scapula specifically will move into upward rotation, posterior tilt, and external rotation to cradle the spherical head of the humerus in the small glenoid as the humerus elevates.
Bench press involves movement between roughly 30 degrees of shoulder extension and 90 degrees of flexion. The first 60 degrees of shoulder flexion primarily occurs at the humerus, but does involve scapular movement as well. Lying supine on a bench significantly restricts or, at the very least, alters scapular movement as the scapulae are compressed between the thorax and bench. More so, many people are taught to “engage their lats” or “set their scaps” by retracting and pinning them into the bench. This does create a stable and rigid foundation from which the humerus can be leveraged to push. Unfortunately, this further disrupts normal shoulder complex movement as the scapulae are unable to move. Additionally, support from the bench does not encourage proper engagement of the serratus anterior to support the scapulae.
As previously mentioned, the shoulder will reach 20-30degrees of shoulder extension and varying degrees of horizontal abduction (depending on technique) at the bottom of a bench press motion. As the shoulder extends, the humeral head will spin anteriorly within the glenoid and shoulder horizontal abduction will elicit an anterior glide of the humeral head. Given the load of the bench press, there is an impressive lever arm and extension moment created at the shoulder with ongoing anterior glide and roll. This can really stress the anterior capsule, labrum, and ligaments of the shoulder. More so, functional shoulder horizontal abduction and extension are typically performed in a standing posture and often unilaterally. With unilateral shoulder extension and horizontal abduction, we will also see thoracic rotation to the ipsilateral side to reduce stress on the shoulder. This is something else bench press does not allow.
Often, people will extend their spine in conjunction with scapular retraction, limiting shoulder extension and horizontal abduction and ultimately reducing the range of motion. This often allows an increased load to be used. However, more issues are created at the lumbar spine. Furthermore, many athletes will utilize this puff chest posture as a mini-trampoline to create momentum for the barbell, taking away from the exercise. Reducing the range of motion with use of boards or a towel is purported to be safer for the shoulder, but given all the aforementioned information, I believe better alternatives exist.
One alternative to bench press and standard dumbell press I have seen and utilize myself, is a single arm “half-off” bench position. The athlete is positioned with their spine on the edge of the bench so the working arm is unsupported, the ipsilateral LE is on the floor, and the contralateral LE is flexed on the bench. In this position, the serratus anterior is forced to engage to support the scapula and shoulder complex. Being off the bench also frees up the scapula for movement. More so, we challenge the athlete to produce a rigid foundation extending from their ipsilateral LE through their core for the working arm to push from. This will disadvantage many athletes and force them to significantly reduce the load they are lifting.
Other great alternatives are landmine presses, single arm cable presses, sled presses, and of course, push up variations. All of these exercises challenge the athlete to produce a rigid pillar extending from their feet to their UEs and allow the shoulder to express it’s natural degrees of freedom in conjunction with rotation and/or antirotation of the thoracic spine.
Any exercises performed with the upper extremities should not be impairing scapular movement or inhibiting proper muscular recruitment. Bench press places a ton of stress on the anterior anatomy of the shoulder and does not require pillar (scap/core/hip) stabilization reducing functional carryover. Athlete’s programming should be done with considerations to risk versus reward. Unless you want to look like Johnny Bravo for your next bodybuilding competition, I think it is pretty clear bench press is not an exercise you need to program into training.