Hi friends,
Every 4-6 weeks I like to rotate my lifts around to prevent obveruse injuries and to stimulate the muscles differently etc.
Usually I rotate the barbell bench press with the barbell floor press, but this time around I am thinking about trying out the swiss bar bench press.
Anything I should know about the swiss bar before I use it? I plan to use it for strength purposes, doing no more than 5 reps a set. Will I be able to bench more than usual? Do I use a different technique/set-up?
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It’s a little more difficult. It’s harder to get your back tight. The difference is kind of similar to the ssb vs barbell squats imo. So you’ll probably use less weight. It’s also more tricep dominant. I know alot of people love it bc it’s easier on the shoulders. Ive not used it in forever bc I just don’t get a ton of carry-over to bench. But that varies person to person.
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Thanks Tim.
My shoulders are usually pretty good. The other alternative is the fat bar.
Maybe that’s a better option?
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The Swiss bar isn’t a bad option depending on goals. Personally I actually really like fat bar bench. Specifically I like bench with fat grips because it gives you about an extra inch of range of motion.
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@timcarpenter: thanks again. I got some fat gripz, so that’s an option.
My gym goals is overall strength development.
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Swiss bar seems more manageable for floor pressing and incline benching for me. Trying to flat bench with it always sucks.
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If you go heavy make sure you have strong thumbs.
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I have one through necessity with a nagging shoulder issue. You certainly cannot arch as well under the bar. Positives are hand spacing, allowing narrow to wide positions. I believe this would give you a decent change of stimulus.
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I like swiss bar floor presses. If I am using a bench I would rather just use close grip bench.
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I use the swiss bar a fair bit on incline presses, to kinda sorta simulate log pressing.
I personally like any movement with a neutral grip. I wouldn’t go super heavy for full range of motion, balance can get a little tricky, but for floor presses and pin presses, I’ve gone pretty heavy and liked it.
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It’s actually quite a versatile tool. I bought it to bench and press but now I also use it for zercher squats and carries, as it sits well in the cradle. I’ve used it for inverted rows, skull crushers too. Decent piece of kit in the home gym.
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It’s my primary pull up bar these days. A little wobbly but works like a charm.
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I suspend kettle bells from strength bands for zercher carries and let that mother wobble!
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