"The bench press per se is not a risky exercise. When done right, it can help improve upper body strength and size. It's only when form takes a back seat to numbers and when it's grossly overtrained that problems result. Injuries occur in the shoulders and elbows when the bench press is overtrained, poor technique is used, such as rebounding the bar off the chest and bridging, no other exercises for the upper body are included in the program, and there are no core exercises done for the upper back. Quite often, it's a combination all these factors."

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Source: Quoted in Colin Jarman The Guinness Dictionary of Sports Quotations (1990).

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Bill Starr

Weightlifting Coach

Bill Starr was a renowned strength coach and author, known for his influential work in weightlifting and strength training methodologies.

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Bill Starr Weightlifting Coach

"I know of only a few truisms, one being [that] if your parents didn't have children, you won't have children. Another is whenever you make a strength program easier, you will get weaker."

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