Who should press in a hummer and how to do it correctly

What is a bench press hummer

This is a lever trainer that has a chair with a backrest and two handles with pancake pins. It works very simply: a person sits on a chair, grabs the handles and squeezes them forward, and if the load is not enough, he puts pancakes on the pins.

The simulator began to be called the Hammer because of the manufacturer Hammer Strength. There are similar cars from other brands, but many still call them the same out of habit.

What are hummers

There are exercise machines with an adjustable back, as in the video above, and with a seat, which can only be changed in height. If the first option is in your gym, you can press on it both from the chest forward and at an angle.

In a study of 14 young, trained men, incline presses at 30 ° and 45 ° are better for pumping the upper pectoral muscles, as well as loading the front deltas more. At the same time, the load on the lower part of the pectoral muscles is reduced.

If the bench at the hummer is fixed, the version of the bench press depends on the design of the simulator. For example, there are horizontal press hummers in which you can only move the handles forward.

There are also simulators in which the arms will only move at an upward angle.

Choose the first option if you want to pump both the upper and lower parts of the pectoral muscles and at the same time relieve the front deltas. The second is suitable for emphasizing the upper chest.

How effective is the hummer press

This exercise can work well for the muscles of the chest, triceps of the shoulders and front delts. However, the hummer bench press is far from a champion in pumping these muscle groups.

Firstly, because all people are different - with their own length of limbs and body. And your ideal bench biomechanics can be very different from what the machine design dictates.

Second, unlike barbell, dumbbell, or crossover exercises, the machine provides shoulder and core stability so your body doesn't have to strain so hard to stay in position. This means that the overall load will be less.

This was well shown in an experiment using two machines for the seated press.

One handles were fixed, like a hummer, and it was possible to press in it only along a strictly defined, limited trajectory. The second had two cables with handles connected to the block, so there was more freedom of movement in the press, as if the participants were doing the press in a crossover.

With the help of electromyography, scientists have found out how much muscles tense during a bench press on different simulators. It turned out that with a free trajectory, both target muscle groups and stabilizers were better activated. As a result, after 8 weeks of the experiment, the performance in the bench press on both simulators was significantly better precisely in those who worked on a free trajectory.

This was confirmed by a small study by ACE (The American council on exercise). After testing several popular chest pumping movements, it turned out that the bench press in the simulator loads the chest only 79% of those indicators that the bench press provides.

For what tasks is the press in the hummer suitable?

The hummer press can take its place in your program. True, you need to use it for certain tasks:

To get the most out of your muscles after performing more effective movements - bench press and dumbbells lying, push-ups on the uneven bars with weight, hand convergence or bench press in a crossover. Stabilizers will not stop you from “finishing off” your pectoral muscles and provide them with a good stimulus to grow.
To pump up your upper chest … To do this, you need a hummer with an incline bench or an exercise machine that allows you to adjust the backrest tilt. Pressing in this position will help increase the load on the upper pectoral muscle without increasing the risk of injuring the shoulders due to stability.
To get around the injured area … If you are recovering from an injury to your shoulders, trapezium, or back muscles, the hummer press will take the strain off those muscles and allow you to safely load your chest and triceps.

Who shouldn't press in a hummer

It is not worth wasting time on this exercise if you are working for results in strength sports.

As noted in the study, good results require not only muscle strength, but also intermuscular coordination. It provides a better distribution of effort between different muscle groups, which makes you stronger. Thus, it makes no sense to strengthen the pectoral muscles in the simulator in your case.

You can also ignore the hummer if you have little time to train. For example, if you can only devote 2-4 hours a week to strength training, it’s better to spend it on more effective exercise.

How to do a press in a hummer

Adjust the seat height so that the handles are at chest level. Sit on the machine, press your feet against the floor or stand, and your lower back against the back of the chair. Grab the handles of the simulator with a straight grip, straighten your shoulders and bring your shoulder blades together, opening your chest, tighten your abs.

Do not spread your elbows to the sides like wings: the angle between the body and the shoulder should be about 45 ° or slightly more, but not 90 °. Keep your wrists in line with your forearms.

Squeeze the handles forward, contracting the pectoral muscles. You don't need to lock your elbows at the extreme point - keep them slightly bent. Then, smoothly and under control, return to the starting position and repeat.

Do not slouch, keep your back straight and your chest straight.

How to add a hummer bench press to your workouts

Do a hummer press on chest day after basic exercises. Do 3 sets of 12-15 reps. Pick up the weight so that the last repetitions are pretty heavy, but you can still finish the set.