Re: Bench Press Equipment - Dr Hatfield?

[Guest guest]

> Years ago, Fred Hatfield (aka Dr. Squat) supposedly developed a

> bench that would allow the scapulae to move freely during a bench

> press. Does anyone know if such a bench exists today? My

> recollection is that the " bench " was essentially 2 pieces - 1 for

> the head, neck, and traps and 1 for the mid-back on down - thereby

> allowing the scapulae to move freely vs. the standard 1 piece bench

> upon which rests the entire upper body.

The ingenious Hatfield did invent a scapular translation bench at one time --

it got less than great reviews. It was a great idea that did not seem to

work.

Jerry Telle

Lakewood CO USA

[Guest guest]

Years ago, Fred Hatfield (aka Dr. Squat) supposedly developed a

bench that would allow the scapulae to move freely during a bench

press. Does anyone know if such a bench exists today? My

recollection is that the " bench " was essentially 2 pieces - 1 for

the head, neck, and traps and 1 for the mid-back on down - thereby

allowing the scapulae to move freely vs. the standard 1 piece bench

upon which rests the entire upper body.

Again, sample size of 1 here, but I tore my labrum while bench

pressing September 2007. Recovery from that surgery was painfully

slow. Since I've been training again, I've massively de-emphasized

benching and chest training opting for increased emphasis on

shoulder and back training. The results thus far seem promising.

Hadaway

Cincinnati, OH

>

> This is from The Sports Performance Bulletin. It's part of an

attempt

> to sell a subscription, (you get the rest of the article after you

> subscribe), but the basic thesis is relevant to our discussion:

>

> The bench press: more harm than good?

>

> Doing the bench press is the gym equivalent of owning a pair of

> denims: pretty much everyone who does weight-training at any level

> will have had this chest muscle-boosting exercise written into

their

> programme at some point. Targeting pectoralis major, this barbell

> exercise can allow the athlete to get to grips with serious upper-

body

> weight-lifting.

>

> But did you know this? The bench press is " widely reported as being

> the most common cause of shoulder injuries in the gym " , according

to

> leading Australian sports physio Ulrik Larsen, writing in the new

> issue of Sports Injury Bulletin. As Larsen explains, this exercise

is

> rapidly gaining a bad reputation among sports scientists, for four

> compelling reasons:

>

> * the standard flat bench is wrongly designed for the exercise,

> leading to…

> * blocking of the scapulae (shoulder blades) during the press,

> which in turn leads to …

> * excessive movement at the humeral head (shoulder joint); plus

> * the weighted barbell restricts subtle but important freedom

of

> forearm / wrist movement (pronation and supination), also leading

to

> altered shoulder biomechanics

>

> Larsen writes:

> " The effect of most benches is to severely restrict the movement of

> the scapula, thereby artificially exag­gerating the movement of the

> gleno­humeral (main shoulder) joint. …

>

> So, in the flat bench press, instead of the scapula and humerus

moving

> synergistically, a kind of `lurching' takes place, in which the

point

> of the shoulder flicks in the opposite direction to the point of

the

> elbow. This is catastrophic for all the fragile structures in the

> glenohumeral joint. "

>

[Guest guest]

One other item that has been overlooked in the notion of " scapular freedom " is

the fact that many benchers on the platform rely on an arching style, which in

turn relies on the ability to actively dig the scapulae in to maintain the

arching position. Why arch? Simple. It reduces the literal and PHYSICAL work

you perform by reducing the distance the bar has to travel. Work being

literally a function of the mass moved through a distance... arching can be used

by raw benchers as well, and it is something intrinsic to the athlete, not

something you have to " add on " .

So those of us with longer arms or high aspirations of a 3 " ROM on the lift

would not enjoy a bench with the support portion removed we require to execute

this work reducing style! The arch I have literally cuts my extension in half

and thus makes it easier for me to move greater weights.

The Phantom

aka Schaefer, CMT, CSCS, competing powerlifter

Denver, Colorado, USA

-------------- Original message --------------

From: JRTELLE@...

> Years ago, Fred Hatfield (aka Dr. Squat) supposedly developed a

> bench that would allow the scapulae to move freely during a bench

> press. Does anyone know if such a bench exists today? My

> recollection is that the " bench " was essentially 2 pieces - 1 for

> the head, neck, and traps and 1 for the mid-back on down - thereby

> allowing the scapulae to move freely vs. the standard 1 piece bench

> upon which rests the entire upper body.

The ingenious Hatfield did invent a scapular translation bench at one time --

it got less than great reviews. It was a great idea that did not seem to

work.

==============================

[Guest guest]

Yes, he's the little person in the IPF. His best advantage though, if you've

watched him lift, is in the squat. I've thought it a bit odd his deadlift isn't

better but you might consider him somewhat underleveraged there.

The Phantom

aka Schaefer, CMT, CSCS, competing powerlifter

Denver, Colorado, USA

=========================

-------------- Original message --------------

From: efreem3407@...

I guess the perfect powerlifter would be someone like Andrzej Stanaszek

(not sure if I spelled his name right - lifter from poland in the IPF). Being a

little person he only has to move the bar and inch or two.

Edwin Freeman, Jr.

San Francisco, USA

=================================

In a message dated 8/1/2008 11:29:24 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,

deadliftdiva@... writes:

One other item that has been overlooked in the notion of " scapular freedom "

is the fact that many benchers on the platform rely on an arching style,

which in turn relies on the ability to actively dig the scapulae in to maintain

the arching position. Why arch? Simple. It reduces the literal and

PHYSICAL work you perform by reducing the distance the bar has to travel. Work

being literally a function of the mass moved through a distance... arching can

be

used by raw benchers as well, and it is something intrinsic to the athlete,

not something you have to " add on " .

So those of us with longer arms or high aspirations of a 3 " ROM on the lift

would not enjoy a bench with the support portion removed we require to

execute this work reducing style! The arch I have literally cuts my extension in

half and thus makes it easier for me to move greater weights.

===========================