I think I might be running into a problem because our gym class grade is based on how much you improve your bench press in an 8 week period. To get an A, you generally have to gain about 10 lbs. The problem is I don't want to be doing a lot of benching (with HS baseball starting next week), and I'm not sure of the best way to go about this. Are there any other ways around this in which I would still improve max? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Wow that sucks...unbelievable really. Any chance you can speak to your teacher? What a way to give out grades...

Did you do initial baseline tests yet? My advice would be to just bench lower than what you really can do...

I had a player once who was one of our better pitchers and couldnt make a scheduled start because earlier in the day the PE teacher insisted he play dodge ball at the high school. Seems like there should be some exemption for individuals that participate in a competitive sport..

I am surprised they kids in PE involved with any weight work----are the teachers qualified not to mention the kids in PE who are not athletes

Am I correct in assuming that your son did not make the team and this kid in question did?

What is the problem with benching and playing baseball? I am generally a MIF and I bench twice a week. Why is this a problem? I also like the way my body is shaping up because of my work outs.

Is benching bad for just pitchers, or is it bad for baseball general? What about deadlifts?

Benching can possibly be bad for your shoulders, which is why many baseball players stick to dumbbells for their bench press. However, the biggest problem is the push to pull ratio, which can create muscle imbalance for a shoulder and lead to an injury.

Many people will do 2 pushes (ex. Bench) for every pulling exercise (ex. Rows). This is horrible for baseball players because of the nature of your shoulder. To maintain a healthy shoulder, one should have 2-3 pulling exercises for every push.

And Deadlifts are awesome! They should be in everyone's routine!

What's your bench at now? And how old are you, and what are your physical stats?

OK so I'm a sophomore who is fighting for a starting position on the varsity in one of the tougher leagues in WA. Baseball starts monday. I'm 5'11 160 lbs. As far as lifting goes my max lifts are: squat - 290, clean - 185, and bench - 145. I have a pretty weak upper body especially compared to my legs and body size. This situation does kind of suck but theres no other option as I have already done the baseline lift (which was my true max).

I just don't know how to go about this in the best manner.

Just talk to your coach

quote:

Originally posted by gdaBASEBALL:
What's your bench at now? And how old are you, and what are your physical stats?

5'10 150 @ 16

max bench 195.

quote:

Originally posted by Kimosabe: Seems like there should be some exemption for individuals that participate in a competitive sport..

The only problem with this, and it happened at our school is that kids who were on tryouts would take the day off of PE activities to prevent injury during a tryout week, but it became that kids would try to take the day off PE and then follow it with Math, English, History, etc.

If you think about it, you make one exception and then teens (not saying you son, myself or anyone on here) try to weasel out of work for the day.

This may sound extremely rediculous, but sadly some teens are this way and not only does it make me think that they have a very poor and weak work ethic, but also they dont know what is ahead of them at the College level adcademic/athletics.

Good points AK. BTW it wasnt my son but a player on a team I coached.

i'm a junior in high school and i play outfield....about 5'11, 195-200 lbs. my max-bench is just about 230 lbs. and i can rep 190's. I did have a shoulder problem last year but it has gotten better. I now bench maybe 2 times a week the most. maybe once a week..it depends on how i feel. I still am able to throw about 80-83 consistently from the top. Maybe benching doesn't affect everyone?

Thanks for the good advice. At this point, I think I'll just bench twice a week using dumbells for the first 4 weeks and see if I can improve with that. If I can't though, I'll have to just go with straight benching and get my max up quick...

I was workin out today and i thought of something. You could try negatives to get your bench up. BUT!! i dont know how hard it is on your shoulders.

A negative is where you controllingly let the bar come down on you and your spotter pulls it up. Got with a higher weight that your max since your not pressing it up. Spotter counts out 10 seconds and then they pull it up. Rinse and Repents.

Once again im not sure how much risk there is in injury in the shoulder.