Big chest with OHP, Push Press and CJ only possible?

[ephs]

hey,

i'm a big fan of olympic weightlifting and especially Klokov.

Klokov always says in his seminars he doesn't bench press, other Russians also seem not to do it and the athletes from Califonrnia Strength seem also not do it. Klokov and some guys from California Strength have big chests anyway. Is this possible with OHP, Push Press and CJ only or are they just saying they don't train their chest directly?

What do you guys think?

[stuward]

If your goal is to be good at weightlifting, there's not a lot of point in direct chest and arm exercises, especially if you want to stay in a weight class. Your chest and arms are going to benefit anyway.

[ephs]

Yes, for weightlifting it's obvious that bench press is no need to be good.

i'm just wondering how they can have big chests with weightlifting and other overhead stuff only, cause the general opinion is that overhead work only hits the upper and not the whole chest.

is this true or not?

[Jeannay]

There are some reasons coming to my mind:
he said he doesnt benchpress, but maybe he is doing other exercises for his chest, just to balance things out. When you mention russians as far as i know they follow more of a "get-strong-all-around" mentality meaning that they try to get strong at more movements than just the olympic lifts like the bulgarians do. It could also be that he did benchpresses or direct chest work in his younger years.
Genetics?
Steroids? I`ve read that they also increase muscle mass in men who dont train, so perhaps they gained some muscles all around by them? Provided they use them

Or maybe its not even needed and just grows as a byproduct of all the olympic variations. (another example would be sprinters and their muscular arms)
IF thats the case, then im sure this would only happen if you train the overheadpressing variations for many years and have great chest genetics. Otherwise i wouldnt rely solely on OHwork if you want your chest to grow.

[Kenny Croxdale]

There are some reasons coming to my mind:
he said he doesnt benchpress, but maybe he is doing other exercises for his chest, just to balance things out. When you mention russians as far as i know they follow more of a "get-strong-all-around" mentality meaning that they try to get strong at more movements than just the olympic lifts like the bulgarians do.

Varied Exercises

The Russians and Bulgarian (athlete in general) utilize a variety of exercise to increase strength.

With that said, varying the exercise can be as simple as changing the hand spacing or foot position in the movement.

Research

Research have verified that anecdotal evidence that changes in movement will increase strength.

It could also be that he did bench presses or direct chest work in his younger years. Genetics?

Both of those are probably true.

Another reasons Olympic Lifter do not preform the bench press is because it decreases flexibility in the shoulders.

Extreme flexibility in the shoulders in necessary for the Snatch.

Steroids? I`ve read that they also increase muscle mass in men who dont train,

Steroids

It doesn't quite work that way.

Sitting on a sofa, watching TV and eating Dianabol tablets like "M&M" minutely increases muscle mass.

For them to really work, hard training is mandatory.

An example of this is a study that demonstrated...

Couch Potatoes Grow Increase Muscle Mass

Couch potatoes who sat watching TV and consuming a lot of calories actually grew muscle from NOT training.

That the good news.

The Bad News

Twenty percent of their weight gain was muscle.

The remaining eighty percent was body fat.

Or maybe its not even needed and just grows as a byproduct of all the olympic variations. (another example would be sprinters and their muscular arms)

Good Point

There is some over all increases in muscle mass when compound movement are employed.

That why one of the old adages is, "If you want big arms squat!"

However, some direct work is necessary.

Sprinters who increase upper body strength are able to propel themselves down the track faster.

NO Arms

A way of testing this is to perform a sprint without the use of your arms. Keep them pinned to you side.

Then preform the sprint with you arms.

Kenny Croxdale

[ephs]

Thanks for the answers.

@Kenny:

So you think the chest grows just, cause they grow overall? Or ist the whole chest also hit a bit with overhead presses?

[Stefan 93]

If you read this, you will learn why is the bench press so popular today, and I think that this man is telling the truth:
The Olympic-Style Press - Bill Starr

Now to tell what I think. I never liked bodybuilders and powerlifters. They can't do anything in real life. I liked soldiers and olympic lifters so when I had to make a choice on which technical exercises I would learn, I never considered bench press, but I learned overhead press and one-arm one-leg push-ups. You should define your goals and then decide what you need.

By the way, if someone is doing bench press because he thinks that the girls would like it, there aren't many people who like to see boobs on man, it doesn't matter whether they are made from fat or from muscle.