Fucking stoked about this. Came outta nowhere. My right leg slipped tho, lost some tightness…
I’m competing at the IPL Worlds in October (10 weeks), how much more do you guys think could I up my bench until then? I’d really like an 800kg total at 18yo or more if possible. Hasn’t been done yet.
Also hit this squat single before:
I’m supposed to hit a heavy double on Wednesday for deadlifts so I’ll see how that goes…
I’d say for now I’m about at these numbers:
270/180/300
Pretty impressive! Just learning wrist wraps would probably get you a couple pounds.
Strong work man!
Looked like you could probably hit like 410/415 on that bench though. 10 weeks out you can probably hit like 425-430 I’m guessing. Definitely have way more in the tank for squats. That was an easy ass single lol.
I wish I was strong like you at 18 lol.
Yeah man I’ve thought about that and tried them once, but it felt akward af haha. It would need some getting used to, but would it be worth it? And thank you!
I hope man. Squats were always my favorite movement. Thank you very much!
Your squat depth still scares me, but if you can get that depth better, I’d say you might end up with another 20-25kg in you. Really just depends on how comp day goes, so much plays into that.
Are you going to have to cut any water weight for weigh-in? And do you have any room to grow currently, or are you trying to maintain current bodyweight?
I’m not sure I’d call the bench easy either, lol. That looked pretty darn close to a max to me, maybe you had a few lbs left in you. I’d say you could add a few kg’s to that though. 10 weeks is a long time.
I tucked my shirt in during squats and looked at the side mirror with lower weights and from that angle, my hip crease looked to be parralel or a little lower. But I’m still working on it just incase and it’s getting better over time so hopefully I’ll get there in 10 weeks. I’m trying to maintain my weight. If I do need to cut weight, it will be 5kgs max, which is something I’ve done before.
That bench was an all out max haha. Hard af from the middle and up.
I don’t think that wrist wraps add anything to your bench at all, the main reason to use them is to reduce strain on the wrists from all the benching (and squatting, that can add to it). If your wrists feel fine then there is likely nothing to gain from them.
It’s impossible to know, and the way I look at it it’s better not to try to guess that because it can become like putting a limit on yourself. If you are making progress now then there is no reason why that should stop, so just focus on making continuous progress and take what you can get.
Take your opener light on squats if you are worried about depth, and sink it low. If you do that, you might get judges that for the 2nd and 3rd don’t scrutinize you as much as they figure the guy really sunk it on the first.
Makes sense man, thanks for the response!
I just thought about wrist wraps because when you bench without them, there is a chance they will bend a little and not all your force will go into the weight, but a little will be absorbed by your wrist (like a spring you could say lol). I hope you understand what I meant, I came home from the gym a while ago and I’m fucked up lol, so I’m not sure if I’m making any sense.
That’s how I look at it. I haven’t done a PL meet in a few years, but that’s essentially what I would do if I entered one today.
I’d pick an opener that I feel comfortable really sinking low, make sure there’s no question about depth. Missing an opener for depth can really just make the entire meet so much more difficult. And I’d watch all the other lifters before and after me as well, and get an idea of how the judging is going. That would help me determine how much weight I’d put on the bar for my subsequent lifts, and how low I’d try to sink them.
@mnben87 Alright, awesome. Thanks guys, I’ll take my opener lighter.
Yeah, I get what you are saying, if that is the case then it would be a good idea to wear wrist wraps. I started using them years ago because my left wrist used to get sore from benching, I hurt it falling off a bike and it used to bother me now and then, but low bar squatting irritates my wrists too. I don’t wrap them crazy tight, just enough to give a bit of support and prevent issues.
There are some guys out there who bench big weights and don’t use wraps, so don’t look at it like it’s mandatory. Just in many cases it can have some benefit.
I don’t really see a good reason to open too heavy anyway, unless you don’t plan on making your 2nd and 3rd attempts. Just make sure that whatever jump you are making from your opener to your 2nd is something that you are comfortable with and have done in training.
Something around 88-90% of a realistic 3rd attempt is reasonable.
I see, I also have to use wrist wraps for low bar, otherwise I got plenty of wrist pain, elbow tendinitus, etc. But I got that during smolov.
Just be glad you survived.
From what you say, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start using wrist wraps just to prevent future issues. It certainly can’t hurt.
I probably will, I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to start now before comp, because I’ll need to adjust to it and training is finally going well now.
They do for me. Everyone is different. I think for me I transfer power better with them on. Maybe I could work on my unwrapped wrist stiffness to make them about the same. I don’t think the difference is more than 5 lbs for me, though.
If they prevent deflection of the wrist, then they add more. I can usually keep a straight wrist though.
Honestly, there really isn’t much to adjust to. If you start off with a softer pair of wraps (which might be all that you ever need anyway) and just wrap moderately tight, not so that it’s uncomfortable or cuts off your circulation, it shouldn’t feel significantly different from benching without wraps. It’s not like squatting in knee wraps, there is no learning curve.
At the same time, if you don’t want to then don’t, I’m not trying to pressure you into benching with wraps.
If you decide to wrap the wrists, I recommend wrapping higher on the back of the hand. For me, the front of the wrap stops at the start of my hand, and on the back of the hand comes up about half way up the hand.
You can google it if my description is not very good.
I do know plenty of stronger people than myself that don’t wear them, but if it will get me a kilo, I’ll probably throw them on.