The bench press is a fairly simple movement in which you press a barbell from your chest up until your elbows lock out. It would seem apparent that lifters with shorter arms have to move the weight a shorter distance, and have more advantageous leverage. Lifters with longer arms, therefore, have a longer distance of bar travel, and greater demands in stabilizing the bar when it is at arms length.
Bench Press Basics
To perform the bench press, you begin lying supine on a bench. The actual movement of the exercise consists of lifting the bar from a starting position on your sternum to full arm's length, with your elbows locked out. Advanced bench pressing techniques include arching your back and placing your feet to provide optimal leg drive. The back arch changes the angle of the lift, reducing the overall range of required movement. A powerful leg drive allows you involve your entire body in the movement.
Bar Path
One strategy in improving your bench press is by perfecting your control of the bar's path. Arching your back increases the involvement of the muscles of your upper back. By pushing your torso up in an arch, you also raise the surface to which you must lower the bar. Both of these tactics contribute to a shorter bar path. Allowing the bar to contact your chest higher, near your clavicles, increases the involvement of the chest muscles, and allows the bar to travel farther upward, making the lift more difficult.
Advantages of Short Arms
If your body type tends toward short arms and a barrel chest, you naturally possess all of the advantages of a high back arch, without actually getting into the arched position. With shorter arms, your elbows will not move as far back behind the bench as they would if they were longer. This means your pectoral and deltoid muscles are not stretched beyond a safe distance and the forces they experience are more even than they would be with longer arms.
Disadvantages of Short Arms
The reduced range of motion that results from short arms can in turn reduce your shoulder mobility. A high volume of training in this limited range of motion will teach your body to move only in this limited range of motion. The muscles will shorten and become hypertonic. This will limit your performance in exercises that require you to lift or throw overhead. The advantages conferred by short arms are most advantageous in a powerlifting context.
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