As a kid , THE “Manhood Test” Lift was always the Bench Press.
“How much ya bench? ” was a typical question.
It's even part of our everyday "meathead" vernacular .
The Bench Press is great at strengthening your chest (the pecs).
It’s also good at wrecking shoulders if you overdo it (along with one million Push Ups).
Worse, ( arguably?) is when you do too much chest work and you look like you have a pair of breasts.
( Believe it or not: ) One of my old friends took his shirt off, and my jaw almost hit the ground because he’d done so much chest work, he literally looked like he had a pair of breasts.
But, kettlebell work?
Not so much.
But because we’ve been so conditioned by bodybuilding, we think we need to always train the chest.
Hence, this email I got recently from Chris in Germany in which he asked the following:
“Last year, I read your book Kettlebell Strong! And used a plan for me out of this book. Then I started for several months to do the double KB clean & press.
Some weeks ago I bought the program king sized killer with the snatch to give me some variation.
The big question I have is: how do I get some impact on the chest muscles?
This question is now for both clean & press and snatch. Because after practicing almost 9 months of these training programs, I did not feel (or see) my chest growing.
Can you recommend any additional exercises to these programs or do I suffer from bad technique?
Should I slightly lean back at the press?”
My response was essentially this:
Great question. The chest is actually engaged in both the Press and the Snatch.
In the Press, it's the upper portion - the clavicular portion - which is used .
And in the Snatch, the pec extends to decelerate the the KB so you can fix it overhead.
However, they don't have the equal effect on the chest as a Bench Press, Push Ups, or Parallel Dips.
I would not arch back on the Press. It's an easy way to injure your lower back if you're not careful.
If you are looking for more chest strength , I suggest Parallel Dips.
What I didn’t mention is the following:
1- WHY Parallel Dips
… They “unload” the spine from all the spinal pressure found in KB training, which enhances recovery time and allows you to train harder - if you like that sort of thing.
Plus, they do a effective job sculpting your chest and triceps, if you’re into that sort of thing. (I’m not - I just like them for elbow, shoulder, and spine health and how they make me feel in general .)
And -
2- WHY I don’t recommend a lot of horizontal pressing like Bench Press for guys our age.
And that’s because we spend so much time stationary, that the following happens:
1. Head juts forward
2. Chest sinks , and shoulders “slump” - roll forward
3. Pecs (chest muscles) get short and tight
4. Arms internally rotate (palms start facing backwards, instead of your sides) and lats get tight
5. Pulling muscles of your back get elongated and neurologically inhibited
And those things create a imbalance at your shoulder joints.
And that means your shoulders don’t function the way they’re intended to .
And that’s why guys get shoulder problems like rotator cuff impingements, strains, and even tears from too much Bench Press or check here too many Push Ups.
If you’re having shoulder problems, direct horizontal chest work like Bench Press and Push Ups are the last things you want to try.
Instead, fix 1-5 above.
It will improve your shoulders’ proper function so you can do the Bench Press and/or Push Ups without anything nasty happening to you.
And if you want to know the best way to incorporate Parallel Dips into your program so you can build your chest?
Hope you appreciated this.
Stay Powerful,
Geoff Neupert.