Question regarding Bench press reps??? | Page 2 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Question regarding Bench press reps???

KB21 said:
The Bench Press is the most overrated lift there is when testing functional football strength. How many football players do you see on the field with their arms extended at a 90 degree angle from their torso? You don't see it much at all.

A true max on the bench gives you a good indication of upper body strength, and a true max isn't really a one rep max either.

The best indicator of functional football strength is the power clean lift. That's a lift that tests your explosion and your ability to transfer your momentum from the lower body to the upper body.
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I see it a lot as a defensive linemen. I know I did it a lot as a defensive lineman.
 
Well I was an Offensive lineman 2 years ago clocked at 4.8 and I still rep 225 20 times in warmups and there is reason I only played semi pro football. It all comes down to atletic ability and his FOOTBALL SKILL. I played with corners who on paper were top ten corners in the nfl but didnt have inherent skill to perform at that level. I have not really seen the guy play but I will trust the scouting staff if they see potential in the guy....

J-Mo
 
I'm 6'4" and have the arms of someone who's 6'7" and I can tell you that when I work out with my step-brother or my friends, I lift more than them in every single weight except bench press.
 
The bench press is a good indicator of strength, but all of the posters who mentioned that long armed individuals are at a disadvantage are very correct. Those with short arms, (we used to call them t-rex arms), and also barrel chests have better benches. Shorter distance between a and b. Also, if we are getting technical, a correct bench is done by bringing the weight down and pausing a full second then bringing it up again. It cracks me up when some guy says he benches 350 and i watch him slam it down on his chest and basically bounce it half way up. I used to do bench competitions in my younger days and guys would come in saying they were 350 guys, and then fail at 300 because they didn't realize they would have to pause a second. They couldn't get that bounce they needed. That being said the poster who said bench was overrated for football was right on. Its all about angles, physics and leverage. I could bench a lot but got blown up by some small running backs who just got lower then me.
 
inFINSible said:
The shortest distance from point A to point B is a straight line. Shorter arms=shorter straight line. :)
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couldnt of said it better myself;)
 
You're missing the point. If his long arms are putting him at a disadvantage for upper body strength, then he's also probably not all that suited to the nose tackle or defensive tackle position either. In that case, he should lose weight and try to be a defensive end.
 
ckparrothead said:
You're missing the point. If his long arms are putting him at a disadvantage for upper body strength, then he's also probably not all that suited to the nose tackle or defensive tackle position either. In that case, he should lose weight and try to be a defensive end.
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You mean he's not well suited to do bull rushes from the NT position..but leverage and angles also play a part in football..so we have to go back to what he's done at the college level to get him so many looks by NFL teams..that's probably a better indicator of his potential.
 
When a defensive tackle needs the strength to hand-punch an offensive lineman in the chest and jar him backwards, 16 reps is marginal at best (regardless of how long his arms are).
 
ckparrothead said:
You're missing the point. If his long arms are putting him at a disadvantage for upper body strength, then he's also probably not all that suited to the nose tackle or defensive tackle position either. In that case, he should lose weight and try to be a defensive end.
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I dont want to get all crazy technical but most of the long armed indivuduals problem in benching is getting the weight off the chest so the only time he would be hampered by this is when he has his arms in very close. Most of the hand fighting with lineman they usually have their arms extended somewhat.... the only disadvantage to long arms is when the are contracted (fist to shoulder) once the get past a certain point (my semi-educated guess) say 6 inches or so the leverage problem no longer exists.
 
I dont want to get all crazy technical but most of the long armed indivuduals problem in benching is getting the weight off the chest so the only time he would be hampered by this is when he has his arms in very close. Most of the hand fighting with lineman they usually have their arms extended somewhat.... the only disadvantage to long arms is when the are contracted (fist to shoulder) once the get past a certain point (my semi-educated guess) say 6 inches or so the leverage problem no longer exists.
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I think you might be reading too much into that. There aren't a whole lot of nose tackles in the league that are 6'5" or above. There's a reason. The same leverage problems that make it harder for those guys to benchpress a 225 pound bar as many times as a shorter guy, also prevent them from being able to utilize proper leverage against offensive linemen to tie two of them up at a time and not get moved.

I don't care how tall you are or what kind of mechanical leverage problems your long arms present, if those problems prevent you from being able to lift a 225 pound bar more than 16 times, you can't play nose tackle very effectively in the NFL.

To me this conversation is like discussing how a midget wasn't able to jump very high in his vertical because his legs are shorter and therefore doesn't have proper leverage, but if you look at how high he jumped in relation to his own height he actually can jump very high...now lets go play him in the NBA.
 
Another thing, Shaun Cody did 34 reps on the 225 bar, and he's 6'4" tall...only about an inch shorter than Wright, who did less than half his reps, at about 40 pounds heavier. Mike Patterson, who is 5'11" did like 26 reps, and he's 5'11" tall, and weighs about 30 or 40 less than Wright.

Basically, unless you're saying that Cody is a freak of nature or something, this whole thing about Wright actually being strong even though his bench reps were weak, just because he's 6'5" tall....its crap to me.
 
ckparrothead said:
Another thing, Shaun Cody did 34 reps on the 225 bar, and he's 6'4" tall...only about an inch shorter than Wright, who did less than half his reps, at about 40 pounds heavier. Mike Patterson, who is 5'11" did like 26 reps, and he's 5'11" tall, and weighs about 30 or 40 less than Wright.

Basically, unless you're saying that Cody is a freak of nature or something, this whole thing about Wright actually being strong even though his bench reps were weak, just because he's 6'5" tall....its crap to me.
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Dont mistake me for a Wright fan Im not...Just answering a question about benchpressing Ive know more than a few very strong men and some of the long armed types would always come of as "weak" in the bench relatively speaking.... I dont have time to do the research but I would be willing to bet there are a few lineman in the NFL that tested low at the combine for bench reps and have still made the pro-bowl...That being said the thaught Wright in Aqua and Orange doesnt get me all tingly "Lazy" is the #1 trait a team can do without imho.
 
225lbs at 16 reps is not a great number. Most people who workout for a year or 2 (including myself) can easily bench that amount. It's a relatively small amount of weight for someone that has been hitting the weight room ever since college.
 
Matt3w said:
225lbs at 16 reps is not a great number. Most people who workout for a year or 2 (including myself) can easily bench that amount. It's a relatively small amount of weight for someone that has been hitting the weight room ever since college.
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i agree, in my hayday of HS and college football, i weighed in at 185-195, was a strong safety, and could push up 225 about 20-25 times, so if a 330+ DT who weighs 6'5'' cant do more then me, thats a little scary
 
I'd take Manuel Wright still because of his speed, when you are that heavy and move that fast it's a lethal combination. I think he can hit the weight room and easily get stronger
 
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