JEgol71
Retired High School Football Stud
I've not had access to the combine coverage on NFL Network in the past, so I have yet to see what the format for the bench press is:
1. Do the players participating receive a lift-off or do they unrack it themselves?
2. Are they forced into a certain width for gripping the bar? The wider you go, the shorter your rep span.
3. Are reps with visible momentum from bouncing counted?
4. Are spots dynamic or static, meaning do they guide you until you've got nothing left in the tank and then they let you keep going, or once you're stuck, you're done and they rerack it no questions asked?
5. Do they go by the five-points-on-the-bench rule (head, shoulders, lower back and both hips), or can they arc themselves?
7. Are they touch-and-go reps, or do they not have to touch?
8. Lockout required?
6. Who really cares?
I'm somewhat of a bench enthusiast, but the fact that this is the test for strength is ludicrous. I know of people who have perfected the form for bench press endurance and repped out 225 for 52 reps, but throw 315 on there and they can't get it 10 times! A high school recruit out of Utah (?) named Simi Fili apparently bench pressed 185 74 times, but only maxes at 435. Igor Olshansky got 41 reps of 225 and maxes at 500, while Justin Geisinger got 43 on campus (read: less stringent rules) and maxes at about 635. Apparently Amobi Okoye has done 52 reps of 225, but only maxes at 475. What is this? It's not strength. Like the SAT, a high score (1300 +) guarantees that you are of a high intellectual capacity, whereas a low score does not precisely translate to being dumb. The NFL is a game of power and speed, and while endurance matters, that's what a whistle blows for, at least from a dynamic force effort.
1. If they want to determine strength for football, there should be a battery of strength tests, primarily involving power clean, squat, deadlift and bench press (incline bench press I believe would actually translate better to the upward force inflicted by opposing linemen, they use it in the NFL Lineman challenge).
2. It is all about wiggle room. Once you've locked into 225 and your technique is pristine, you can go until your lactic acid builds up beyond your muscle tolerance. Put 315 on there and suddenly it's a question of how much power you can exert. Put 405 on there and you're excluding a lot of players, but suddenly you're getting an even more accurate depiction of how this man can plow people with his chest and arms. Put 700 on there, and you've got Larry Allen. 225 should be a feather for even the weakest NFL players not named Gramatica or Gould. Where is somebody repping this out on the field, or anywhere? Watch the guys who got 26 reps versus 40 reps of 225 suddenly get 9-10 reps of 315, and watch the guys who got 40 get about the same.
3. The tried and true maxim for tests off the field: It's a contest in a vacuum, not a game. The 40 yd. dash has some (questionable) predictive validity, but people always talk about football speed as something else. People also talk about weight room strength versus football strength. 225 for reps is a weight room number. Leif Larsen. Mike Kudla. Mike Mamula.
Just something to lift your spirits as you await the combine. Thoughts?:dolphins:
1. Do the players participating receive a lift-off or do they unrack it themselves?
2. Are they forced into a certain width for gripping the bar? The wider you go, the shorter your rep span.
3. Are reps with visible momentum from bouncing counted?
4. Are spots dynamic or static, meaning do they guide you until you've got nothing left in the tank and then they let you keep going, or once you're stuck, you're done and they rerack it no questions asked?
5. Do they go by the five-points-on-the-bench rule (head, shoulders, lower back and both hips), or can they arc themselves?
7. Are they touch-and-go reps, or do they not have to touch?
8. Lockout required?
6. Who really cares?
I'm somewhat of a bench enthusiast, but the fact that this is the test for strength is ludicrous. I know of people who have perfected the form for bench press endurance and repped out 225 for 52 reps, but throw 315 on there and they can't get it 10 times! A high school recruit out of Utah (?) named Simi Fili apparently bench pressed 185 74 times, but only maxes at 435. Igor Olshansky got 41 reps of 225 and maxes at 500, while Justin Geisinger got 43 on campus (read: less stringent rules) and maxes at about 635. Apparently Amobi Okoye has done 52 reps of 225, but only maxes at 475. What is this? It's not strength. Like the SAT, a high score (1300 +) guarantees that you are of a high intellectual capacity, whereas a low score does not precisely translate to being dumb. The NFL is a game of power and speed, and while endurance matters, that's what a whistle blows for, at least from a dynamic force effort.
1. If they want to determine strength for football, there should be a battery of strength tests, primarily involving power clean, squat, deadlift and bench press (incline bench press I believe would actually translate better to the upward force inflicted by opposing linemen, they use it in the NFL Lineman challenge).
2. It is all about wiggle room. Once you've locked into 225 and your technique is pristine, you can go until your lactic acid builds up beyond your muscle tolerance. Put 315 on there and suddenly it's a question of how much power you can exert. Put 405 on there and you're excluding a lot of players, but suddenly you're getting an even more accurate depiction of how this man can plow people with his chest and arms. Put 700 on there, and you've got Larry Allen. 225 should be a feather for even the weakest NFL players not named Gramatica or Gould. Where is somebody repping this out on the field, or anywhere? Watch the guys who got 26 reps versus 40 reps of 225 suddenly get 9-10 reps of 315, and watch the guys who got 40 get about the same.
3. The tried and true maxim for tests off the field: It's a contest in a vacuum, not a game. The 40 yd. dash has some (questionable) predictive validity, but people always talk about football speed as something else. People also talk about weight room strength versus football strength. 225 for reps is a weight room number. Leif Larsen. Mike Kudla. Mike Mamula.
Just something to lift your spirits as you await the combine. Thoughts?:dolphins:
