50 and over: Opinions on chest press machine vs bench press with free weights (muscles, lift)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A little bit of background information. I’m 54 years old, and have been working out with weights since I was in high school. My purpose for working out over the past 10 years or so is basically for maintenance and overall wellness. In fact, I have probably been prioritizing cardio over weight training for the last 14 years or so, consisting mostly of running and exercise bike. So I only do weights mostly 1x a week, and another day or 2 during the week I’ll do push ups and pull ups.
For many years I’ve done mostly free weights, but within the last 10 years, mostly 5 years, I’ve modified my workouts quite a bit, and have been doing mostly machines when doing weights. There are several different reasons for this, including minimizing injuries and safety concerns. Therefore, bench pressing with free weights was the norm for me until somewhere between 5-10 years ago. Then I began doing chest press on a machine. During that time period I would occasionally do bench press with free weights and surprisingly I could lift about the same amount of weights as before.
FAST FORWARD TO 2023- With the exception of June when I did bench press with free weights only once while I was on vacation, the rest of the year until October I did chest press. Then one day in October I went to the gym and the chest press machine was broken and out of order for several weeks, so I decided to do bench press. Even when the chest press machine was fixed, I kept doing bench press with free weights once a week when I was at the gym. However, recently I’ve noticed more aches and pains on my shoulders and rotator cuff area.
Anyone, especially anyone over 50 years of age with thoughts and opinions about this topic, and/or if they have dealt with any similar issues please leave your thoughts.
I think your body is trying to tell you something and you should listen. It's great you've been doing all that for years and that has enabled you to continue but maybe you should cut back a bit on the weights.
I think your body is trying to tell you something and you should listen. It's great you've been doing all that for years and that has enabled you to continue but maybe you should cut back a bit on the weights.
Probably! Maybe my body is telling me…”You’re not a young buck anymore, it’s now time to stick mostly with machines.” Lol.
A little bit of background information. I’m 54 years old, and have been working out with weights since I was in high school. My purpose for working out over the past 10 years or so is basically for maintenance and overall wellness. In fact, I have probably been prioritizing cardio over weight training for the last 14 years or so, consisting mostly of running and exercise bike. So I only do weights mostly 1x a week, and another day or 2 during the week I’ll do push ups and pull ups.
For many years I’ve done mostly free weights, but within the last 10 years, mostly 5 years, I’ve modified my workouts quite a bit, and have been doing mostly machines when doing weights. There are several different reasons for this, including minimizing injuries and safety concerns. Therefore, bench pressing with free weights was the norm for me until somewhere between 5-10 years ago. Then I began doing chest press on a machine. During that time period I would occasionally do bench press with free weights and surprisingly I could lift about the same amount of weights as before.
FAST FORWARD TO 2023- With the exception of June when I did bench press with free weights only once while I was on vacation, the rest of the year until October I did chest press. Then one day in October I went to the gym and the chest press machine was broken and out of order for several weeks, so I decided to do bench press. Even when the chest press machine was fixed, I kept doing bench press with free weights once a week when I was at the gym. However, recently I’ve noticed more aches and pains on my shoulders and rotator cuff area.
Anyone, especially anyone over 50 years of age with thoughts and opinions about this topic, and/or if they have dealt with any similar issues please leave your thoughts.
Many people, young and old develop shoulder problems doing the bench, and use too much shoulder as well as flare their elbows out wide. You can experiment with your hand positioning (less wide), where you touch the bar on your chest (should be right below the nipples) and you should have an arch in your back, butt firmly planted, and scapula retracted with chest forward during the bench. Oh yeah, make sure to push with the lower portion of your palms.
If this still does not work, you can always use dumbbells which allow a much more natural elbow positioning. Sometimes adding a 5 degree decline can take your shoulders out of it if you cannot quite get the arch right in your back (5 degrees, means I put a 1 inch thick plate under the bench).
Incline bench is another possibility, you will use more shoulders, but you won't put stress on your rotator cuff. Or you can just use machines if all of this is too complicated. It's all stimulus to fatigue. Do you feel the machine in your chest? Great. Machines are great because you can go to failure and do drop sets without a spotter.
Many people, young and old develop shoulder problems doing the bench, and use too much shoulder as well as flare their elbows out wide. You can experiment with your hand positioning (less wide), where you touch the bar on your chest (should be right below the nipples) and you should have an arch in your back, butt firmly planted, and scapula retracted with chest forward during the bench. Oh yeah, make sure to push with the lower portion of your palms.
If this still does not work, you can always use dumbbells which allow a much more natural elbow positioning. Sometimes adding a 5 degree decline can take your shoulders out of it if you cannot quite get the arch right in your back (5 degrees, means I put a 1 inch thick plate under the bench).
Incline bench is another possibility, you will use more shoulders, but you won't put stress on your rotator cuff. Or you can just use machines if all of this is too complicated. It's all stimulus to fatigue. Do you feel the machine in your chest? Great. Machines are great because you can go to failure and do drop sets without a spotter.
Many people, young and old develop shoulder problems doing the bench, and use too much shoulder as well as flare their elbows out wide. You can experiment with your hand positioning (less wide), where you touch the bar on your chest (should be right below the nipples) and you should have an arch in your back, butt firmly planted, and scapula retracted with chest forward during the bench. Oh yeah, make sure to push with the lower portion of your palms.
If this still does not work, you can always use dumbbells which allow a much more natural elbow positioning. Sometimes adding a 5 degree decline can take your shoulders out of it if you cannot quite get the arch right in your back (5 degrees, means I put a 1 inch thick plate under the bench).
Incline bench is another possibility, you will use more shoulders, but you won't put stress on your rotator cuff. Or you can just use machines if all of this is too complicated. It's all stimulus to fatigue. Do you feel the machine in your chest? Great. Machines are great because you can go to failure and do drop sets without a spotter.
Hope this helps.
Make sure you have the proper technique. This is what I do and it really helps because I have bad shoulders. Plus it is proper technique. Bring your elbows in to a 45 degree angle. To find your hand width use an empty bar and have someone stand at least 5 feet away. When the bar touches below your nipples your forearms should be straight up and down. The person I quoted described the rest very well.
Doing this will change from using shoulder muscles to using your chest and triceps. The arch in the back is also very important in shifting to the proper muscle groups doing the work. For me it really helps use way more triceps because of the slight angle change.
Stretch stretch stretch. I'm over 50 and though I limit my bench weight I'm still comfortable doing a plate for reps. Not trying to impress anyone anymore but want to maintain muscle mass.
I've used machines and free weights over the past 50 something years. I'm 68. For the past 20 years or so I've been doing almost only free weight bench press. Occasionally, I will use a Matrix plate loading bench press to see how much I can lift. My gym also has a Matrix seated bench press machine, but I've never used it. There are many different kinds of machine bench press. My gym also has a Smith machine, which I also avoid.
I will continue to use the free weight bench press until I experience aches and pains. You can experiment with possible issues with your form such as keeping your elbows in, and coming down below your nipples but not hitting your chest.
Machines are easier, but there is no sense in injuring yourself with free weights. I would recommend machines over experimenting with dumbell bench presses. And I doubt that incline or decline bench presses with free weights will be any different for you.
I'm 62. I've been working out since my early 30's. Over the last 10 years I've transitioned (no, not that way!!!) to more reps than weight. I average 12-20 reps per set with either the Smith machine or dumbbells. I also do 150-200 push ups each morning, although I use the "push up handles" as my wrists hurt too much without them. I also average 5000 - 7500 steps a day speed walking and always eat a heathy diet.
This workout makes me feel great. I don't gain size at all but I do feel I stay in great shape. I'm 5'10" and 175 lbs, give or take a couple depending on what I ate that day.
Free weights are out, they just cause more pain than anything else for me. I use resistance bands for other exercises too.
Be careful, as we don't recover like we used to. But do continue exercising. Its what will give you a great quality of life. It's working out quite well for me.
Last edited by SickofJersey; 12-24-2023 at 06:00 PM..
I'm 62. I've been working out since my early 30's. Over the last 10 years I've transitioned (no, not that way!!!) to more reps than weight. I average 12-20 reps per set with either the Smith machine or dumbbells. I also do 150-200 push ups each morning, although I use the "push up handles" as my wrists hurt too much without them. I also average 5000 - 7500 steps a day speed walking and always eat a heathy diet.
This workout makes me feel great. I don't gain size at all but I do feel I stay in great shape. I'm 5'10" and 175 lbs, give or take a couple depending on what I ate that day.
Free weights are out, they just cause more pain than anything else for me. I use resistance bands for other exercises too.
Be careful, as we don't recover like we used to. But do continue exercising. Its what will give you a great quality of life. It's working out quite well for me.
This is actually an optimal reps per set for muscle growth, provided you reach failure somewhere in 12-20 reps. Make sure to control the eccentric, and emphasize the portion of the lift where the muscle is maximally stretched under load.
Push up handles are great because they allow more range of motion. You can lower your chest even farther to the ground with the handles, allowing for that stretch.
Smith machine is ok, but for some it causes even more injuries than the bench press because it forces you into one plane of motion. For others its great.
I personally prefer dumbells to bench for a variety reason including the ability to get a larger stretch (some gyms have camber bars: https://www.roguefitness.com/rogue-c...yABEgKzmfD_BwE when I'm in a gym with those, I do that for bench). I can also go to failure more safely without needing to solicit a spotter, and I can adjust my elbow positioning so the stress on my joints is a little different each time.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) to more reps than weight. I average 12-20 reps per set with either the Smith machine or dumbbells. I also do 150-200 push ups each morning, although I use the "push up handles" as my wrists hurt too much without them. I also average 5000 - 7500 steps a day speed walking and always eat a heathy diet.