Bench Presses That RAISE YOUR TESTOSTERONE

[@zacktelander]

Please subscribe! It makes a huge difference!

[@PeteRubish]

Minimal arch club checking in! Bench is a functional movement for when a car falls on you when you're underneath it. Or when you're sleeping and get attacked by a mountain lion. Much more functional than overhead pressing.

[@НиколайТобиас]

And what if you sleep standing?

[@ArmwrestlingAcademia]

@@НиколайТобиас Then you're a horse.

[@markmele2131]

an ordinary guy can do powerlifting in an ordinary gym. where are the weightlifting gyms? special training is required zach is seriously punching down

[@randygentry2442]

Rubish!

[@janemf]

I got attacked by a mountain lion driving a fedex truck just last week, thank god I do so much crossfit

[@BaldOmniMan]

Thanks for the feature Zack! Love ya

[@petar.dj98]

The people who have the best, most honest benches I’ve seen are paraolympic athletes. Brutally strong too

[@maxxfury13]

This needs to be taken as intended and with the respect intended.. many of the adaptive benchers have no legs or completely undeveloped legs for obvious reasons.. And that skews their weight class numbers vs regular fed benchers. Now this doesn't take away the sheer impressiveness of not having leg drive and various other factors that aren't in their favour... I love seeing these guys killing it, especially after training with and helping coach some lads with cerebral palsy, so much respect

[@sakaue]

@@maxxfury13 i mean, theyre basically parsen pressing it.

[@RyanAl92]

R.I.P. Siamand Rahman.

[@ShayanGivehchian]

@@RyanAl92 greatest benches of all time

[@viklifts-zk8bl]

They also need to lock out evenly on both sides in order to get a good lift

[@Pantelifts10]

KK no elbow or wrist wraps close grip press with very minimal arch . No belt conventional deadlifts. What a legend. That's very impressive stuff!

[@jakobwing9660]

Why no wrist wraps tho they don't give +5 strength don't they?

[@teiwaztim1482]

whats more strange is him wearing a belt to squat. we all miss him. what an absolute hero.

[@juvedoo99]

@@teiwaztim1482 Helps with bracing. KK didn’t have a big stomach to assist in bracing the belt becomes necessary at that point. Dude was a machine

[@divicospower9112]

True! And I lift like this. It is so much more pleasant.

[@sandrost4243]

Zack’s reaction to Kennelly is hilarious. I was balls deep in PL back then, everyone knew Kennelly, he had a 1076 shirted bench at one time. He was also open about his PED use, one time talking about how he got tired of all the shots, so he just used a 3 cc syringe and mixed all his gear into that and did one injection per day. Legendary. I’m so glad to be out of PL and into oly now. Haha

[@scottessery100]

3 ml of “super juice” a day. That’s 2 g a week 😮

[@nathanbiggs96]

I remember watching videos of ryan kennelly when he had the WR equipped bench

[@cjmorgani3642]

I sent this to Ryan Kennelly, said it gave him a good laugh and he liked it. Was stoked on your reaction. Even played a clip of it on the livestream tonight

[@EmilBBechGrip]

Honourable mention is Andrew Collura, he benched 650lbs raw in his first powerlifting meet with no specific training and suboptimal technique. Also training partner of Big Lenny the one and only.

[@javiersanz29]

Bro, the guy at 11:00 who helps unrack the weights looks like an action figure. Damn.

[@rtsstream]

its hulk

[@orthohub1057]

Waiting for "Squats that raise your testosterone" !

[@theparadisesnare]

And it’s just a 45 minute tribute to our Lord Tom Platz

[@ShinSuperSaiyajin]

Kirk Karwoski's 1000lbs for 2 has to be in that video!

[@orthohub1057]

@@ShinSuperSaiyajin absolutely!

[@TheSlowMethod]

That 0 ROM bench is THE reason they actually changed the rules 😂

[@3O2MuStAnG]

Ryan Kennelly is my all time favourite bench presser. His explosive technique is just insane.

[@joeysummers8644]

dude said he fell asleep watchching the grandmaster Daiki Kodama bench yeah okkk thats like saying you fell asleep watching Naim Süleymanoğlu

[@andersgustavsson8232]

Zach is like the teenager's watching Stranger Things and hearing Metallica for the first time. It's cute.

[@yetanotherRjven]

The cafeteria benching clip is absolutely legendary ngl

[@chrism45]

Forgot how insane Julius Maddox WR was. Looked like a RPE 7 at most. Just out of this world strength

[@mustang8206]

Fr I would love for him to get that 800 but even if he doesn't he's still a beast

[@Bombsuitsandkilts]

Good old Joe Kovacs didn't bench anything under 250 Kg this season and is now that 3rd person to shotput over 23 M 2nd to go over 23.20, so there's a function I guess

[@paulbuschman]

4 over 23 meters 1. Ryan Crouser 23.37 2. Joe Kovacs 23.23 3. Randy Barnes 23.12 4. Ulf Timmerman 23.08

[@Bombsuitsandkilts]

@@paulbuschman good call wouldn't want to forget ol ulf

[@tanngrisnr5076]

might be hard to tell but I think that second girl's bench might actually be within the rules because her arms bent level with her shoulders.

[@tanngrisnr5076]

@Punished Huey yeah true upon rewatch, I think a ref might also have an opinion on wether she's making enough contact to the bench with her glutes. but as far as range of motion in her arms I don't think she'd be disqualified.

[@Real28]

I have never seen Zack lose it like this and I'm here for it.

[@xinsanedefeatx]

4:36 Daiki Kodama is still a beast of a bencher with a small arch, pretty sure he's still done 190-200kg with full ROM

[@deadcakesandpanlifts2019]

The Mariana girl actually had decent ROM and her elbows almost looked depth with new ipf rules

[@communityiscringe4087]

Just fucking look at her bench its a joke

[@travisoutlaw9511]

"Help him off the bench, you peasants." -ZT Lol 😂 Every serious lifter should shoot for that level of respect in the gym. We are all peasants in the presence of The Grizzly 👑🏋️

[@CeroAshura]

10:45 when your bench is so heavy you gotta call in Ed Coan for a spot.

[@carlosgruss7289]

Zack, I'm glad to let you know you can change your intro back to "Ladies and gentlemen" since I began making my girlfriend watch your videos with me while we have lunch every day, thus raising your female viewer count unoficially to 2.

[@merrieleiderman1885]

Ok, but when you come home from your next business trip or weekend away and discover she's been binge watching his videos late at night, that's on you.

[@carlosgruss7289]

@@merrieleiderman1885 I would be proud

[@MellonVegan]

Zack not knowing Ryan Kennelly (who was huge when I started lifting) makes me feel really old somehow. Even though I might possibly be younger than Zack ^^

[@ryanaulia4840]

i mean, the guy knows every weightlifter ever, not his sport i guess

[@jakubbaran6357]

Kenelly even in shirt managed to put his elbows in line with shoulders.

[@maxschiefer8585]

Yusuke Suzuki and Daiki Kodama at the time both @-74kg almost benching your squat and you fell asleep huh This was one of the most insane battles you'll ever see on the bench "Yesterday was very fun! 200-205-212 was my attempts.@70.7kg Daiki Kodama was 203.5-211-212.5@72.1(468 lbs. at 158.9) I couldnt beat him but we both got over the current IPF world record @ 74kg class!" ~ Suzuki

[@snorlaxcom]

Daiki will remain 🐐 after this rules update.

[@JinnDante]

The moment the video of Ryan Kenelly popped up I thought this is as American as it gets. All this coming from a Greek. Something about the attitude and the way he carries himself screams MURICA to me. Favorite from all these videos though has to go to Konstantinovs. He lifted that and looked extremely aesthetic as well.

[@liamengram6326]

1:00 That's why OHP is superior. "Hey, watch me put something that weighs more than you above my head for reps!"

[@spartakos3178]

Bring back the old-school ball barbells where ya gotta do all that funky lateral raise stuff to get it up of the floor

[@liamengram6326]

@@spartakos3178 Martins Licis holds the record for the Steinborn Squat and set it at a Giants Live event relatively recently. As for OHP, why would you bother doing it that way? You can always clean more than you can press overhead, so why bend your spine to get the weight in to a position to press it when you can just clean it up to your chest?

[@spartakos3178]

@@liamengram6326 because cleans are super technical. Also I don't think you can do a clean with the old school ball weights, that's why the strongman axle presses look so different.... It doesn't rotate like a traditional barbell .... I guess log press and axle press already cover what I was thinking about, the fun of the brute force of picking an awkward super heavy object and lifting it over your head.

[@liamengram6326]

@@spartakos3178 A steinborn squat is just as technical and at least 5x as risky since you are bending your spine sideways and loading the bar on to your back off balance. The strongman axle press is different because the bar they are gripping is 51mm in diameter instead of 28mm. It would be like trying to do a clean, but your hand is holding the collars instead of the bar itself.

[@spartakos3178]

@@liamengram6326 the axle bar load bearing sleeves don't rotate either. Cleans get a lot of momentum going, and require a crap ton of mobility, while there is technique involved especially in axle presses that is similar to clean, what I'm after is basically the equivalent of picking up a giant rock from the ground and pressing it. I find that a "funner" and more accessible expression of pure strength than Olympic cleans/jerks/presses. That being said if I could go back 20 years and gain/maintain the mobility of an Olympic lifter that'd be cool, but I don't think realistic given how my joints have felt even when I was younger.

[@saberounissi6950]

The bar goes down ❌ You go up ✅🥇👀

[@-Azure.EXE-]

Imagine laying down to prove how strong you are.... That's just jiu jistu. Crying laughing x3

[@bmstylee]

Where is that great French powerlifter who ran the 4 minute mile while wearing a slingshot under his singlet? That's a good bench right there.

[@moz5831]

I’m 3 min into the video and I’m most impressed how their spine is able to do that. I try to arch as much as I can when I bench and I can just about squeeze my flat hand between my back and the bench - and I’ve done gymnastics etc when I was a kid. So basically I have to actually lift some iron with my muskles (that are getting stronker) instead of bending twice over backwards.

[@SliPsHoTiFc]

I feel like you have never begun a shoving match with a strong bencher… it’s quite humbling as I was shoved through three bushes. Lol

[@iielysiumx5811]

I have gone back to powerlifting recently from weightlifting and a few things i noticed from training bench pros: 1) I can bench more 2) my physique is wider and fuller Cons 1) my shoulder mobility sucks now 2) me elbows hurt (and yes im benching correctly) 3) OHP feels harder now

[@lolzroflcopterzzz]

Keep it up with these RAISE YOUR TESTOSTERONE-series

[@o0KAPPi0o]

Smulter talking about benchpress is very interesting. The things he does with bench start to look interesting and make sense after he gets to explain the crazyness.

[@x2lazy2die]

lumping the paralympic guy with the larsen presses XD

[@awildstrongmonappears6770]

I would love to see super total competition take off someday; one of the rules that could affect the bench would be that your clean grip and your bench grip have to be the same. Or rather your bench width is limited by the width of your clean grip.

[@Kobe005]

M'lord is so massive he made me think "why are there so many 35s on the bar"

[@Supremebean303]

This guy reminds me of a buff Nick Miller from New Girl. Especially, how he laughs😂

[@thereasonabletroll68]

KK's bench is how i feel all powerlifter bench should look that shit was impressive as fuck

[@tacokarl]

Your reaction to the guy getting up all bloody had me cracking up. This was a fun video thanks

[@retardno002]

These benches are just mind blowing. Some of these guys bench 100+ kg more than I can deadlift, that's just hard to comprehend.

[@MRPmatt]

EPIC OUTRO MUSIC

[@DavenportBarbell]

Ryan Kennelly put my bench presses in his last show benchmonster

[@neilvandeloo429]

Why don't we have a "overhead presses to raise your bench press"???

[@mustang8206]

Ryan Kennelly is what powerlifting is supposed to be - just strong dudes lifting heavy stuff, but instead its turned into people trying to bend the rules as much as possible

[@MediHusky]

5:35 he just got so big he ran out of room.

[@markmele2131]

zack is the arbiter of authority on all things and not a condescending rick.

[@SuperSilver316]

Needed some more Danial Zamani in there!

[@tanngrisnr5076]

now we need squats, then presses, then snatches, then clean and jerks.

[@yagsipcc287]

I love when people can do a "full bench press" with a half inch press, amazing hahaha

[@braedonkerska1845]

Love these vids

[@tristensifuentes1712]

great video!!

[@hakarl_]

I've seen a lot of comments by lifters/lifting enthusiasts that they prefer to see benchers with very high ROM, even if they're on steroids. They also tend to comment on ROM reduction specifically over any other technique that helps lift more, such as bouncing off the chest, partial lockouts, using the hips, etc. Arch is seen as cheating, but steroids use is not, and neither are any of those other aiding techniques. Comments on low ROM being boring or cheating are also made at smaller lifters who simply have short arms, who have a lower range of motion even with a very modest arch. I get that it's an aesthetic thing for those people, but from a technical standpoint, it makes no sense. There might also be some cultural difference between USA and the rest of the world when it comes to perception of technique in weight lifting sports. This is not to defend "rainbow girl" or other feats of bizarre contortionism. As someone who trains in powerlifting, I know that for benchers who are able to drastically reduce their ROM by arching, at a certain point every little bit of additional ROM reduction has greater and greater returns. This causes a situation where lifters adopt techniques in addition to their arch that are inherently less powerful, but that allow them to reduce the ROM even further. When it gets to the point that lifters are deliberately using techniques that make for weaker pressing in order to press more weight according to the rules, the rules need adjusting. I have no disagreements there. But there's a massive double standard when it comes to bench pressing techniques and athletes that I think is worth pointing out. Exploiting ROM reduction to the extreme is not good for the sport, but neither are glaring biases when it comes to form.

[@I_am_goose.]

I don't Ryan kennelly personally, but he used train at a gym in my town, he is beast of a fella, he is now out of tricities washington, if anyone is interested. Eric Spoto also is an awesome arm wrestler.

[@grants4177]

now we just need squats, the best of the big 3.

[@maxrockatansky3896]

Dude in the cut off did the most 80s thing you could ever do in the 80s. Max out in a high school cafeteria with AC/DC blasting in the background.

[@zeonlink6662]

The dude spotting Mendelson is huuuuuge.

[@zg4705]

13:55 watching someone bench your squat. also the bloat at the end TOYING with 200.

[@misterhat6395]

I’ll try any method at least once, definitely wearing Jean shorts to the gym tomorrow

[@lachyfreestone9311]

Fuck me, the tribute to M'lord was just a beautiful reaction. Qualiteee

[@khmak9387]

Not a bencher myself. I prefer pushups. Does arching actually provide a mechanical benefit to the bencher other than reducing the range of motion?

[@snorlaxcom]

2:14 This was after she was popped for roids at 13 and benched 240lbs. Her numbers tanked and we haven't heard of her since.

[@rtsstream]

dude has the actual incredible hulk spotting for him at 11:02

[@broncosfan92]

The lifter at 5:00 sounds like a steam pump motor in a UK factory from the industrial revolution circa 1760-1840

[@kgajjahnhutchinson-baldwin6411]

repping 440lbs, repping 500lbs and 600lbs, hitting 884 lbs on bench.... bruh Holy shit 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@BrennanCh06]

Stuff like this though is why strong man is so much more fun to watch. Because yeah you can kind of try to cheat it but basically the weights are so f****** heavy that you just have to be as absolutely strong as possible. There's next to no sneaky technique that will help you win an event

[@jaygonya8383]

No Big James Henderson = a mids video about the progression of the bench/heavy benching.

[@JohnSmith-yx8kf]

"Substantial lads" is my new favorite term.

[@maxxfury13]

Oh man.... A new 'generation' getting to see the bench monster in his prime! Ryan kennelly is still a goat!

[@CnCstrengthperformance]

Went from im gonna fall asleep. to this is the most insane video I’ve done in along time. real quick there huh Zack? 😂

[@justinbohner595]

No one is talking about the Street Fighter character unracking for Scott Mendelson

[@mynameisnobody3931]

Small range of motion can be useful in training to overcome sticking points. But shouldn't be allowed in competition in my opinion. As with the super high arch.

[@ItsPandatory]

9:57 great view of the gooch there

[@ericfronczak4177]

Kirill is a frickin' beast !!

[@jasonfu2094]

Not just Japanese people, it is called the “Asian Squat” for a reason. Yes we all have that mobility, I am only half Chinese from my dad’s side and I can sit ass to Achilles comfortably for hours, do my taxes like that. I think Lu could C&J a world record barefoot, idk why East Asian weightlifters even wear WL shoes.

[@guykershtein4931]

squats that raise your testosterone

[@Stefanocg]

Surprised Riku Kiri wasn’t mentioned with his 200kg x 14 reps. No one mentioned it in the comments either. It’s on KZbin.

[@showrobber]

Yusuke Suzuki is actually a real strong presser 212kg with 83kg bw is strong as fck

[@tigahstyle]

"Help him off the bench...you peasants." hahahahah

[@PoguliPogalu]

2:55 the lady in the back is me when i see someone bench like that

[@peterabel1057]

I know it's a huge arch and looks pretty weird, but I think this second Girl Mariana has actually surprisingly decent ROM imo (If you Look at the distance the bar travels and her elbow angle at least).

[@ljco6106]

I am so glad that the arch has come under attack and scrutiny lately.

[@bpolo80]

This is amazing

[@JuggoJuggo]

They don't drink Bush Light, it's Miller High Life.

[@Lollonman1]

Funniest part is that if you watch that girl's bench, outside of the foot not being completely anchored to the ground, there's a chance her elbow actually hit depth and for this reason that may be a legit setup for the IPF. She just has incredibly long arms.

[@sergiocalderon6325]

lmao you might be right, it looks that way from that angle. and honestly, that's a decent ROM too

[@SteffenThomsen]

The best thing about the Mendelson clip is the spotter.

[@ruvimsemenyuk8224]

The sumo of bench press is the the super arch plus the super wide grip

[@richardsanchez9190]

11:03 is that Martyn Ford in the white?

[@maxxxmodelz4061]

Unlike many people here, I actually LOVE the bench press. By far my fav lift. However, those crazy arches piss me off more than anything. A good arch is critical to the stability and most upper body muscle activation, but when your ROM is literally less than 2 inches, that's not a display of strength or power. It's cheating.

[@robertlauber9021]

Sonic the Hedgehog music at the close triggered an acid flashback

[@cheapR1]

Ryan Kennelly's bloody face just screams profile pic

[@johnd5619]

this was an adventure!

[@miladirani4313]

Big James Henderson did 700+(320+kg) without arch or leg help

[@HudsonHandel]

What an INSANE ride that was!!!!!

[@djyeah-nah9781]

Kirill Sarychev's bench ROM is more than most guys ROM in sumo deads. fuark.

[@malikaminor]

The second girls arch is so crazy her feet are positioned under her head

[@tab8803]

10:28 Zack, you're very familiar with this.

[@pallekjrlaursen8388]

Next: the no-unrack lift.