What exactly makes the bench press less practical for athletes, especially fighters?

spdrew2143 said:
Those bench press standards are low. You're saying 1.25x bodyweight bench is acceptable for a professional fighter?
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Bench press is insanely overrated for fighting. It is acceptable because most fighters don't bother training it.
 
ChickenBrother said it best. It’s one of the least useful strength vectors for grappling, where everything is pulling.

For striking, very few strikers see increasing single rep absolute strength as a conditioning mode they want to increase. Speed and ‘sting’ is what they are trying to add. You would think boxers would do bench press to increase punching power, but it just isn’t that useful given the demands that so much actual punching they are doing in training already places on the arms.

Plus nobody is trying to put on size for the most part, due to having to cut weight for their division. Muscle hypertrophy is not a goal in the same way it is for those trying to get bigger and look swole. If you need to lift to put on muscle mass you are in the wrong division.
 
NoSmilez said:
Strength in clinch or throwing hard strikes has nothing to with the weight room. Even pressure on the mats has nothing to do with weight room. When I make a statement like he feels strong in the clinch. I am not talking about how much he can bench or squat. What makes strength the easiest attribute to increase?

There are some basic strength bench press standards. I don't believe you need to be advanced or elite.
Strength Level Bodyweight Ratio
Beginner 0.50x
Novice 0.75x
Intermediate 1.25x
Advanced 1.75x
Elite 2.00x

I am not saying strength is useless. You just don't need overwhelming strength to be successful. If so then the football players and strongman will dominate fighting.
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Again there are no strength standards for fighters. A 1 25 bench is all well and good but how do you know if that's helpful for fighting or not?

You've never trained with an elite strength athlete. And those guys Do dominate at local shows. Nobody is saying strength is the only factor but being stupid strong is a game changer.
 
spdrew2143 said:
Those bench press standards are low. You're saying 1.25x bodyweight bench is acceptable for a professional fighter?
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Depends on the weight class. The lighter weights 1.25 is monster levels.
 
vision1 said:
He was never rag dolled, not even close.
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iu
 
Anyways, back to topic, I don’t think the bench press is necessary less practical than other pressing exercises for athletes.
The fact that your scapula is stabilized on the bench can lead to a weak-link in real world pressing applications.
 
spdrew2143 said:
A 155 fighter benching 195 is monster levels?
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Khabib can only bench 195lb for 2 reps, and this is before the weight cut.

195lb bench press is not monster level, but it seems to work for the LW GOAT.
 
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thugpoet said:
How so
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Pretty any much strength sport you see will show you that the lighter competitors are stronger proportionally to their body weight.

For instance, in competition Ray Williams weighs 400lbs and has a 2452lbs total. Compare that to Charles Okpoko who is 145lbs and has a 1555lbs total. Williams is more than twice the size of Okpoko but nowhere near twice as strong. So as you go down in weight 1.25 x BW for a lighter guy who's proportioned similarly isn't shit.

As body size goes up, absolute strength does as well, but you see a decrease in relative strength. The inverse is true when body size/weight decreases. I'm not sure why this has to be explained, it seems to be common knowledge at this point.
 
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hardheart said:
You have to be "a special mma fan" to remember that GSP had 0 S&C before the first Hughes fight. When Hughes ragdolled him all around he went to Christian Thibaudeau. GSP was of "average" strength when he went there and was freak strong by the time he fought Hughes again and he maintained that strength through the rest of his career.
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Ah, the old "GSP couldn't even do 1 pull up" explanation. I don't buy that. I think GSP was already hella strong by the time he fought Hughes and while he got stronger afterwards, their first fight was anything but GSP getting "ragdolled." Here's the fight:



They start the match by trading TDs but neither man can capitalize and bottom man is able to stand back up. GSP defends another TD attempt and is getting the better of striking exchanges. Hughes then lands the final TD of the match. GSP goes for a kimura trap from knee shield half guard (which I go for all the time) and Hughes does the "kimura the kimura" counter for the win. Fight was competitive but GSP got outgrappled by the more skilled grappler at the time.
 
wufabufa said:
Pretty any much strength sport you see will show you that the lighter competitors are stronger proportionally to their body weight.



For instance, in competition Ray Williams weighs 400lbs and has a 2452lbs total. Compare that to Charles Okpoko who is 145lbs and has a 1555lbs total. Williams is more than twice the size of Okpoko but nowhere near twice as strong. So as you go down in weight 1.25 x BW for a lighter guy who's proportioned similarly isn't shit.

As body size goes up, absolute strength does as well, but you see a decrease in relative strength. The inverse is true when body size/weight decreases. I'm not sure why this has to be explained, it seems to be common knowledge at this point.
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I only asked because i assumed you were disagreeing with me. We are on the same page. Maybe i didn't explain myself correctly. I have a habit of not proof reading.

At lighter weights relative strength is profound. Someone who can bench 2x their bodyweight at 125 isn't strong on an absolute level but compared to other fighters at 125 he'd be in the top 10%.
 
It’s injury risk. We do a bunch of pressing variations but the barbell bench is something we rarely do.
 
ChickenBrother said:
Ah, the old "GSP couldn't even do 1 pull up" explanation. I don't buy that. I think GSP was already hella strong by the time he fought Hughes and while he got stronger afterwards, their first fight was anything but GSP getting "ragdolled." Here's the fight:
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1-1:24: Hughes just pushes GSP off after a ground sequence, GSP's superior technique is completely negated by Hughes superior strength
2:10-2:30: Hughes again derps through GSP's correct takedown defense, superior strength again, also quite the ragdolling, but not quite Kabib level
4:15-4:22: This is getting kind of boring pointing out where Hughes used his strength to outmatch GSP

They start the match by trading TDs but neither man can capitalize and bottom man is able to stand back up. GSP defends another TD attempt and is getting the better of striking exchanges. Hughes then lands the final TD of the match. GSP goes for a kimura trap from knee shield half guard (which I go for all the time) and Hughes does the "kimura the kimura" counter for the win. Fight was competitive but GSP got outgrappled by the more skilled grappler at the time.
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Did you even watch the fight? Hughes won by armbar...not kimura and it was at no point a Kimura.

GSP has spoken on the record multiple times that he sought out CT after this fight. CT is on record speaking about how when GSP came to him he couldn't even DB Bench 70s but was repping 120s less than six months later. I get it, for some, GSP is their MMA religious symbol and they have some weird ass romanticized version of his career in their head and some even have the cognitive dissonance to deny he got KTFO by a guy with a serious reach and skill disadvantage.

I suppose you'll also say GSP didn't kick Hughes in the dick four times in the second fight either, right?
 
hardheart said:
1-1:24: Hughes just pushes GSP off after a ground sequence, GSP's superior technique is completely negated by Hughes superior strength
2:10-2:30: Hughes again derps through GSP's correct takedown defense, superior strength again, also quite the ragdolling, but not quite Kabib level
4:15-4:22: This is getting kind of boring pointing out where Hughes used his strength to outmatch GSP



Did you even watch the fight? Hughes won by armbar...not kimura and it was at no point a Kimura.

GSP has spoken on the record multiple times that he sought out CT after this fight. CT is on record speaking about how when GSP came to him he couldn't even DB Bench 70s but was repping 120s less than six months later. I get it, for some, GSP is their MMA religious symbol and they have some weird ass romanticized version of his career in their head and some even have the cognitive dissonance to deny he got KTFO by a guy with a serious reach and skill disadvantage.

I suppose you'll also say GSP didn't kick Hughes in the dick four times in the second fight either, right?
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I'm no GSP fanboy. I respect what he did as a fighter but was never on his nuts especially when he went from "Rush" to "Take My Sweetass Time." But he's a classy dude and plumps for his trainers and teammates. Of course he's going to talk up his strength coach.

Hughes appears to be the stronger man in their first match. But if what you're seeing is Hughes simply outmuscling GSP, I have to question how much grappling experience you have. In the final sequence when GSP has the kimura trap locked in, Hughes uses a common defense where he steps over bottom man's head - that gets him out of danger and enables him to take a kimura grip of his own, which he converts into an armbar. Kimura to armbar is a common chain but Hughes does it seamlessly. GSP made the mistake of holding onto the kimura for too long - had he let go and gotten his elbows in before Hughes stepped over his head (or repositioned to deny Hughes stepping over), he would have survived the round. This can be summarized as "GSP got outgrappled by a more skilled grappler."
 
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