French bench press is an old but fairly effective exercise. Its popularity has fallen slightly since the days of Arnold and Colombo, when every self-respecting athlete honed his technique, and young people squeamishly snort away from this exercise. But in vain, the effectiveness of the French bench press is not inferior to similar exercises with simulators, and therefore it is worth including it in the training program.
What's what: exercise biomechanics
This exercise refers to isolating, since only one elbow joint is involved in the movement. Do not confuse it with a pullover, which is the basic version of the training. The technique of these exercises is quite similar, but in the second embodiment, the shoulder joint is connected, and completely different muscle groups work. In the French press, the main part of the load is taken by the triceps, and all three bundles of the triceps muscle are worked out perfectly. The pectoral muscles (upper section), the deltas, and, of course, the forearms act as assistants and stabilizers.
The benefits of exercise over other types of training
What can such a simple exercise give us? After all, it works on just one single muscle, and at this time there are a huge number of other, more effective exercises, including basic ones. But not everything is so simple, even isolation training can be useful. By including the French bench press in your program, you can get:
- A significant increase in muscle volume of your hands. After all, triceps occupies more than 60% of this part of the body.
- It is good to tighten the lower part of the shoulders, the so-called chicken wings. This is very important for women, because the inside of the hand is one of the most problematic areas.
- To work out the triceps muscle in isolation, without fear that the stabilizers “stole” a significant part of the load.
- To diversify your training process with various modifications of the exercise, which means shocking the muscles with fundamentally new types of exercise.
- Stabilize the shoulder joint.
- To develop the flexibility and functionality of the elbow joint.
- Achieve good results in other sports where hand strength is required (swimming, ball games).
The right technique is a guarantee of a good result!
For maximum efficiency and safety of any exercise, it is important to strictly follow the technique. Consider the main technical features of the French bench press lying:
- To begin, choose a suitable bench, it should be quite wide so that your shoulders and lower back are well fixed.
- For exercise, you can take an ordinary barbell with a shortened bar or a heavy dumbbell. But it’s best to do an EZ-bar press, since it is with her that the correct position of the hands at a slight angle is possible. This automatically activates the effect of pronation, which means that much more muscle fibers will be included in the work.
- Use the back grip, then, holding the bar, raise your hands up.
- Starting position: deflect absolutely straight arms back, while the angle between them and the body should be about 45 degrees.
- Trying to keep the shoulder joint still, bend your elbows and lower the bar to the top of the head. At the lowest point of the trajectory, the angle of the elbow joint should be straight.
- Return to the starting position, while trying not to roll your arms forward. The limbs should be fixed, only movement in one joint is allowed.
Some valuable technical tips:
- Like all strength exercises, the bench press must be performed slowly and only by reducing muscle fibers.
- As in all types of triceps training, control the position of the elbows, they should always be motionless.
- Tighten your abs and do not bend your lower back.
- Press the shoulder blades firmly against the bench and straighten your shoulders.
- Watch your breath, inhale for relaxation, exhale with effort.
Golden Rules for Effective French Bench Press
Any exercise can be made as effective as possible, if you work a little on its technique, the experience of athletes shows that if you follow four basic rules, you can significantly improve this type of training:
- Choose an adequate weight. Performing the French bench press with dumbbells, do not rush to the heaviest shells. Remember that triceps is a rather small muscle, which means that excessive loads can simply injure it. In addition, if your stabilizers cannot boast of sufficient strength, the exercise technique will mercilessly suffer. Therefore, choose the working weight correctly and only based on your abilities, not desires.
- If you perform the exercise across the bench, you can connect the back to the training, and if you add the movement of the pelvis, which will correspond to the phases of lowering and lifting the bar, then the classic isolating training will turn into a good basic exercise.
- Bent arms. Your upper limbs should always be slightly bent at the elbow. This will allow not to remove the load from them even in the negative phase of the exercise.
- Work inside the amplitude. Never fully stretch your arms or relax the joint at the lower point, as you lose some of the load and overwork the muscles.
A few chips and secrets from professionals
Each exercise has its own chips and subtleties, the French bench press is no exception. The more you know about the nuances of this type of training, the more effective your classes will be:
- To increase the load on the triceps already in its original position, slightly tilt the bar neck vertically.
- Try not to release the load of the target muscles, the less stabilizers are included in the work, the more isolated the training.
- To better isolate the triceps, you can put your feet on the bench, so you finally get rid of the deflection in the lower back and bring the technique to perfection.
- It is necessary to control every second of the exercise, take your time, all movements are very slow and smooth.
- Do not lower the bar below the head, this will create critical pressure on the joint, and when working with heavy weight you can earn a dislocation.
- Do not forget about the pause at the peak contraction point, it falls on the lower part of the trajectory.
What you should not do: frequent athletes mistakes
The French barbell press can be ineffective only with the most serious violations of technology, and therefore try to do everything right and avoid the following:
- Do not take your shoulders off the bench, so you lose the load in the target muscles and completely change the biomechanics of the exercise.
- Work at full amplitude, shortened movements will not stretch the muscles properly, which means that mass-gathering processes will be weakly activated.
- Watch the lower back, excessive deflection in the spine reduces the load on the triceps and leads it to the chest.
Exercise Modification: French Bench Press
This exercise is practically no different from the standard type of training. In it, the shoulders and clavicular head of the thoracic muscle are only more involved in the work. But this type of bench press has its own advantages. The fact is that lying exercises are not always available to people who have problems with the lower spine, since due to the deflection of the lower back, extreme pressure is created on the inter-articular discs. Performing the exercise while standing, you can easily overcome these inconveniences, provided that the effectiveness of the training does not suffer from this at all. In this position, you can press with even one hand.
Effective Variation: Sitting
The French bench press is a very interesting variation of the classic exercise. Biomechanics and technology remain the same, but there are small changes in the issues of anatomy. In this version of the training, trapeziums and rhomboid muscles of the back are connected. The fact is that in the standing position they were completely inactive, since the deflection of the spine removes all the possible load from the back. Here the back will be absolutely straight, and stabilization of the body will occur due to the support on the back of the bench.
How to correctly insert an exercise into a training program?
The French bench press is a triceps exercise, which means it should be combined with pumping the biceps and shoulders. If you are engaged in split technology, feel free to add this type of training on the appropriate day. When training in full body style, this exercise must be put between pumping shoulders and biceps and nothing else.
Never train triceps with your chest and back, this will negatively affect the intensity of the training. The fact is that such anatomical giants as the chest and back train only in heavy basic exercises, and triceps often assists in this. Having previously tired the muscles, you will no longer be able to perform the exercise well and with high quality, which means you should postpone it for another activity.