Can you lift as much weight with a football bar as you can with a regular barbell?
I bench with the Rogue multi grip bar because I had pain in my shoulder when I used a straight bar.
I haven’t benched with a straight bar in years and I wonder how much I could lift with a straight bar? If I can bench 100 lbs on a football bar, how much do you estimate I could bench on a straight bar?
Thank you.
I personally bench about 5-7% less with a football bar than with a straight bar. I feel like the football bar emphasizes your triceps a little more and your chest and shoulders a little less since the neutral grip forces you to tuck your elbows more. Additionally, since I bench primarily with a straight bar, it isn’t surprising that I’m not quite as good with a football bar given I’m much less trained for using one. I’d imagine you might experience the same sort of thing, at least in the short term, with a straight bar since you’re so accustomed to using a football bar. Only one way to find out, though.
Thanks Nate! That’s exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for! 
I plan to try benching with a straight bar at some point. Currently I get a bit of pain in my right shoulder when I squat with a straight bar.
I’m trying to rehab that by squatting 2x a week with a SSB and 1x a week with a straight bar using a 3-0-3 tempo to help reduce the load.
My thought is to rehab one lift at a time: Once I can can squat with a straight bar without any pain, then I can try benching with a straight bar.
My concern is that if I try to bench with a straight bar now and experience shoulder pain, how would I know if the pain is caused by benching, or if the pain is lingering from the squats?
I’m trying to be patient, embrace the process and take it one step at a time.