I’m a little confused about bench press form. My reading and talking to bodybuilders has turned up two opinions on form:
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Lower the bar all the way to the chest, working the chest hard and hitting the anterior deltoid and clavicular head of the pectoralis major.
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Lower the bar just enough that the arms form a 90 degree angle, mostly hitting the pectoralis major’s sternal head. This one prevents shoulder injuries, and allows one to lift more weight.
Do I understand these two views correctly, and is there really much danger of damaging the shoulder by bringing the bar down low? And which method is more likely to make my chest get bigger?