Written by Michael J. Rudolph, Ph.D.
08 May 2019

19benchpress-stickpoint

Blast Past Your Bench Press Sticking Point

 

The bench press movement requires the sequential activation of several different muscles, primarily consisting of the pectoralis, deltoid and triceps. The transitional activation of these different muscle groups throughout the bench press movement tends to decrease overall force production at specific points of the upward phase of the bench press. When this drop in force production combines with a poor biomechanical position of the involved muscle groups during the concentric part of the bench press movement, there is a considerable drop in the speed of the barbell, which is often referred to as the sticking point.1 Furthermore, the sticking point significantly contributes to the inability to complete the bench press movement, thus hindering the training effect.2

 Because the sticking point negatively influences bench press performance, it has become the focal point of many training programs aiming to minimize its influence on muscle force production. One of these training techniques involves independently training the muscle group that contributes most to the sticking point in order to improve its strength, ultimately improving performance through the sticking point as well as the entire movement.

Breaking up the bench press movement into different phases and concentrating on the sticking phase by using partial range of motion (ROM) training is another influential way to overcome the sticking point. Research has clearly identified that partial ROM training boosts strength more potently when compared to full ROM training.3 More recently, scientists have shown that performing different kinds of bench presses uniquely activated muscle groups involved in bench pressing— suggesting that particular chest press exercises can be used to specifically train weaker muscle groups that contribute more to the sticking point, thus mitigating its negative influence on bench press performance.

Partial ROM Training

The concentric portion of the bench press movement can be separated into pre-sticking, sticking and post-sticking phases. Partial ROM training within the pre-sticking phase can diminish the sticking point’s negative influence on bench press performance. Since muscular contraction is generated from the interaction between the two muscle proteins actin and myosin— and more of these interactions occur in the partial ROM covering the pre-sticking phase— greater muscular force is generated. This greater muscular force permits the use of heavier weight, ultimately improving muscle strength. Greater muscular strength within the pre-sticking phase generates greater momentum through the sticking point, thus mitigating the negative influence the sticking point has on bench press performance.

Demonstrating the influence partial ROM training has on strength, a study by Graves et al.4 looked at the influence that partial ROM training had on strength gains. In this study, 33 men and 25 women were randomly assigned to a partial ROM group and a full ROM group. Training was conducted once per week for 12 weeks and consisted of 1 set of 8-12 repetitions until fatigue. Prior to and after training, muscular strength was assessed for the full and partial ROM groups. Interestingly, the results showed that partial ROM training had the greatest impact on strength gains.

Although partial ROM training within the pre-sticking phase is very effective, other studies show that partial ROM training has a much larger impact on strength levels mostly within the ROM that is trained. These results imply that partial ROM training within the pre-sticking phase will have a greater influence on pre-sticking phase strength than sticking phase strength, to a certain degree. This suggests that partial ROM training should be performed within the sticking point range as well, an approach known as mixed ROM training. The positive influence of mixed ROM training on bench press strength was confirmed in a study by Clark et al.5 that investigated the ability of mixed ROM training encompassing the pre-sticking and sticking phases to improve muscle strength more effectively than full ROM training alone. The study compared five weeks of mixed ROM training to full ROM training on bench press strength. The results revealed that the mixed ROM group improved bench press power when compared to the full ROM group.

Barbell, Dumbbells Can Improve Sticking Point

There are many different ways to perform a bench press with different types of equipment to enhance your exercise regimen. The standard barbell bench press, the Smith machine bench press and the dumbbell bench press are three of these well-known variants. While these three approaches provide training diversity, a recent study by Tillaar et al.6 revealed they also activate the primary muscles involved in the bench press movement in a unique way— providing a novel approach to improve sticking point performance.

If your pectoralis muscles are a weak point that specifically hinders pre-sticking phase strength, you may want to minimize Smith machine bench presses— as Tillaar et al. showed pectoralis muscle activity within the pre-sticking region of the Smith press was significantly lower in comparison to the barbell or dumbbell bench press. In addition, Tillaar et al. demonstrated that deltoid muscle activity was significantly lower in the sticking phase during the Smith press, where the barbell bench press showed greater deltoid activity within this range of motion— suggesting the use of the barbell to enhance muscle power when trying to surmount the sticking point for greater bench press strength.

 

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