Bench Presses Are Not Just For Boys!
The bench press seems to have developed a stigma that sees it viewed as a male-only exercise. With the stereotypical gym-bro question, ‘How much do you bench?’ the exercise has become intimidating and off-putting for women. Perhaps women avoid it because a lot of bench presses at the local gym seem to be dominated by large men who grunt a lot. It’s hard to determine how the bench press gained its manly-man’s exercise misnomer, but the truth is that women can and should absolutely do them.
Despite the stigma, the bench press is a most effective chest exercise. It is also a compound exercise, which means you will work several other muscle groups, including your anterior and posterior deltoids, biceps, triceps, and the latissimus dorsi (the largest back muscle which helps in flexing and extending your upper body). It will raise your heart rate and firm up your pecs.
And while you are probably familiar with other chest exercises, like push-ups and the chest fly, these don’t challenge the pecs in the same manner that the bench does. Incorporating the bench press into your chest routine is a useful way to keep your muscles on their toes.
Here’s what the bench press won’t do…they won’t increase the size of your breasts. Strengthening your pecs (the muscles underneath the breasts) does not change your breast size. That can be a pretty big worry for a lot of women, but the reality is the two have almost nothing to do with one another. Breast size has everything to do with diet, and nothing to do with the muscles underneath them. If anything, working out your pecs might give you a little extra cleavage, because more developed chest muscles will help prop up your breasts a little a more.
So as intimidating as the bench press may be, here are a few more reasons you should incorporate it into your exercise routine:
Doing a bench press can increase your upper body strength, period! If you are unable to pull off those push-ups, it can be because you lack upper body strength. Bench presses will help you activate your chest muscles.
You might be doing bench presses for the sake of your chest, but this exercise can activate your triceps, too. Triceps muscles are basically at the back of your arm and it’s really very hard to get rid of that jiggly fat hidden back there. Thankfully, doing bench presses can help you burn it.
You also get to work your core with bench presses. Just lift your legs up and tighten your core while you do bench presses, and that way you can work both the muscles in one go. But ensure that you aren’t lifting very heavy plates on that barbell, as you can hurt yourself.
Bone health becomes a major concern after you turn 30. But according to a study published in the Journal of Family and Community Medicine, you can improve your bone density by engaging yourself in this upper body regimen. In fact this study says that if you do bench presses under the guidance of an expert then it might also help you beat the possibility of osteoporosis.
Lifting weight can make you burn more calories, and the bench press is no exception. According to Harvard Health Publishing, a 125-pound individual can burn between 180 and 360 calories for every hour of weight lifting, while a 185-pound individual can burn between 266 and 532 calories per hour. Of course the number of calories burned doing bench presses varies depending on how intensely you are working out.
There you go girls, now you have got the key to unlock your super-sculpted body with bench presses. So, next time bring on your A game when it comes to this exercise. Don’t have an A game? That’s what we are here for. The professional personal trainers at Success Studio can show you how to bench press so you can get stronger safely. Just click on the button below for your complimentary assessment. And guys…”how much do you bench?” Let us know in the comments below.