TACTICS
I QUIT: The Barbell Bench Press
By Ebenezer Samuel, Fitness expert
THE BARBELL BENCH PRESS is widely viewed as one of the gold standards of fitness. In the US, it’s the only strength exercise that football players test at the yearly NFL Scouting Combine. It’s also one that took me years to master. I eventually beefed up my bench to more than 112kg and was able to pump out reps at 100 kg with ease.
For a long time, I had no interest in quitting the move I’d done every single week since high school. But a few years ago, I was in a Bronx gym talking about a nagging shoulder pain. An older bodybuilder
