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Weak points. Using partial range of motion is an old tried and true training trick. Even lowering the weight to pins and then pressing it back up is different as you loose tightness and unload your muscles when the bar touches the pins. For the Bench Press, the board press is much superior to the power rack pin press because you must lower the weight, establishing the right groove, staying tight, and developing some stretch reflex. Board presses allow you to overload the upper end of the Bench Press range of Motion, de-sensitize you to heavy weights and allow you to recruit all the fibers in the triceps. The Board press can be done with various grips and various board heights. You can have 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 boards in this vest.
If you have longer arms, you might need a 5 to 6 board set up. There are generally 3 main grips for board work; close grip with the index finger touching or close to the smooth part of the bar, pinky on ring where the pinkies lie on the ring that marks the max legal grip width, and meet grip with the max legal grip ring covered by the index finger. You can use a range of approaches on the board press, but favorites are a max effort workout, and an assistance workout done after full range work.
The purpose of a board press is to train specific ranges of the pressing motion in order to increase overall power for a bigger bench press.
Normally, the lifter places a stack of boards on his chest, the bar is lowered until it touches the boards, and is pressed back up. The beauty of this movement, is that both the positive and negative bench motions can be utilized in a constrained range of motion. The downside of this exercise is the lifter needs one person spotting the weights and one person holding the boards in place. With this vest you eliminate the need for the second person. And if you incorporate Bench Bands while in a Power Rack you will not need anyone to help you train. With a complete set of boards, the lifter can choose which part of his range of motion to work. The 2-board works the range of motion from 4 inches off the chest up to lockout. Each additional board height decreases the range of motion.
The lifter should set up as if performing a competition bench press, with back arched, and feet in their normal placement. The barbell is taken at arms length, and lowered to the board. It is important to lower the weight under control, and to force the weight to follow the normal bar path. When the barbell touches the board, it should be paused on the board, and the full weight of the barbell should rest on the board. After the pause, the barbell is pressed back to lockout.
So what's the point? Well, basically everyone has a sticking point in their bench, a spot where heavy weight just seems to stall out. Many people stall about 4" off the chest. Board presses can eliminate the sticking point. When doing a board press, a lifter can use heavier weight than can be used for a full bench press. This strengthens the active pressing muscles in the region of the board height, and effectively erases the sticking point.
Additionally, many champion bench pressers have found that by training the bench movement in smaller pieces, faster gains can be had.
For the more advanced bencher who is using a high end bench shirt, board presses are incredibly valuable. The high end bench shirts add tremendous strength at the bottom of the press. This added strength requires huge power from the midrange of the press to lockout. Board presses are the best way to build this power.
The beauty of the board press lies in the fact that you are able to use weights higher than your full range press, and still create both the negative and positive motion of the press. This builds muscle, pure and simple.
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