Exercise Comparison
Bench Press - Powerlifting vs Tate Press
Side-by-Side
Muscle Analysis
Shared
Only in Bench Press - Powerlifting
Instructions
Bench Press - Powerlifting
Begin by lying on the bench, getting your head beyond the bar if possible. Tuck your feet underneath you and arch your back. Using the bar to help support your weight, lift your shoulder off the bench and retract them, squeezing the shoulder blades together. Use your feet to drive your traps into the bench. Maintain this tight body position throughout the movement.
However wide your grip, it should cover the ring on the bar. Pull the bar out of the rack without protracting your shoulders. Focus on squeezing the bar and trying to pull it apart.
Lower the bar to your lower chest or upper stomach. The bar, wrist, and elbow should stay in line at all times.
Pause when the barbell touches your torso, and then drive the bar up with as much force as possible. The elbows should be tucked in until lockout.
Tate Press
Lie down on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each hand on top of your thighs. The palms of your hand will be facing each other.
By using your thighs to help you get the dumbbells up, clean the dumbbells one arm at a time so that you can hold them in front of you at shoulder width. Note: when holding the dumbbells in front of you, make sure your arms are wider than shoulder width apart from each other using a pronated (palms forward) grip. Allow your elbows to point out. This is your starting position.
Keeping the upper arms stationary, slowly move the dumbbells in and down in a semi circular motion until they touch the upper chest while inhaling. Keep full control of the dumbbells at all times and do not move the upper arms nor rest the dumbbells on the chest.
As you breathe out, move the dumbbells up using your triceps and the same semi-circular motion but in reverse. Attempt to keep the dumbbells together as they move up. Lock your arms in the contracted position, hold for a second and then start coming down again slowly again. Tip: It should take at least twice as long to go down than to come up.
Repeat the movement for the prescribed amount of repetitions of your training program.
Verdict
Both exercises target the triceps. Bench Press - Powerlifting is a intermediate exercise using barbell, while Tate Press is intermediate and uses dumbbell. Choose Bench Press - Powerlifting if you have access to barbell, or Tate Press if you prefer dumbbell. Bench Press - Powerlifting is a compound movement working multiple joints, making it better for overall strength. Tate Press isolates the target muscle for focused development.