Exercise of the Week

I usually tell trainees to make sure they use a full range of motion (ROM) with every rep of every set.  But, just like with most things in life, there is a time and place to “break the rules.”  Planning to do an exercise with a reduced ROM can be very smart to increase overall strength and/or hypertrophy (grow bigger).  Just to be clear, I do not like the idea of reducing ROM mid-set because you are too tired to finish the set the way your started it.  If form starts to break down during the set, or you can’t keep as much ROM as you did on rep #1, stop the set.  But, if you go into the set with a plan to perform the entire set with partial ROM, then I’m cool with it (as long as you do this OCCASIONALLY, and NOT all the time Mr. 1/4 depth squatter). 

Every guy that has ever lifted a weight has bench pressed before.  Us strength coaches often joke that Monday is “National Bench Press Day” because if you walk into just about any gym in America you’ll see guys waiting in line to get their bench press in. 

I’m not against the bench press per se.  But I do believe the world be a better place if guys put just a touch less emphasis into their bench, and a bit more emphasis in bringing up their chicken legs.  And when I say, “just a touch less emphasis into their bench,” what I really mean to say, is that I wish most guys would cut their bench work in 1/2  – AT LEAST!  If you are bench pressing every week, the chances of developing a shoulder injury will increase.  And this leads us to the exercise of the week.  The pin press.

Pin Press

The pin press is a great variation of the bench press.  The reduced ROM will help to keep your shoulders healthy.  It is also a great exercise for the triceps.  Your pecs and anterior delts will come into play as well.   Another benefit of temporarily reducing your ROM with lifts, is that you can use more weight.  This will allow your nervous system to get used to the bigger load, allowing you to use more weight when you return to full ROM pressing.  In the video below I set up the pins so they put my arm at about a 90 degree angle.  You can also set the pins a little higher or lower.

Now, I’m not going to ask you to stop benching forever.  That would be like me asking Hubie Brown to go more than 3 minutes without making reference to a “high percentage shooter,” – just aint gonna happen.  I am going to ask you however, to reduce the amount of time you spend bench pressing, and to start incorporating the pin press.  Please?  Now go get some horseshoe triceps…