re: Freshman don't bench their first semester at Auburn

quote:

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"We don't care if a guy can bench 450 when he gets here, he better be able to do 20 strict push-ups because they're not going to be benching that whole first summer that they're here. They'll learn to be good with their own body weight and then once they get those things right, the other things fall in place." Russell explained.

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A little bit different than first semester.

I imagine it has something to do with the enormous weight (figuratively) that people put on 'how much can you bench.' He probably wants to make sure that they're not just benching but doing squats, cleans, etc.

Having a heavy bench is just masturbatory if you aren't squatting heavy and doing other stuff in the weight room that's just as much or more important for athletic purposes.