I don’t think that I have ever benched more than once a week. But, I do work a lot muscles more than that. Triceps can really take frequent punishment in my experience, and I often had a separate day involving some kind of OHP variation for higher reps. I don’t like reps, but I can talk myself into it if it’s an “Accessory” exercise just to give my CNS recovery time. Too many grind days drag me down, even if they’re unrelated lifts. Banging out ME work on too many things a week kind of wears me down internally and hurts progress. YMMV.
Just wondering, what was your best bench?
I think the most I ever went for as a single was 405 - raw. I was really always into Strongman so the training was geared that way. Once I started competing I dropped Bench altogether - I was doing 385 for 4 sets of 5 at the time, in a T-shirt. Which didn’t seem like a lot to me, given I went to a gym where I did hand-offs to guys benching anywhere from 600 - 850. And I did see raw 600 benches. I also didn’t see those guys doing the actual competition bench more than once a week. Every conceivable Westside variation went on, but actual comp style flat bench was once a week for all of them. I wish now I had pushed it a little longer just so I could have a really cool PR to brag about in my old age.
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Friday, July 31 - Deadlift day - easy session
Conventional DL - straps because the tear on my hand isn’t healed
515x2 singles - Only 30lbs less than the top single last week but it was easy enough
Chinups - 45 degree supinated grip
bw x10x2 sets
Saturday, August 1 - 2nd bench day - easy session
I’m changing things up a bit and I figured it wasn’t too early to start now
Floor press
295x6 - could do 2-3 more reps, I think next week I will go with 315 for a couple sets of 6
Band pushdowns
super mini band x20x2 sets - My elbows feel fine today, I just need to keep them that way
W shoulder rotation
super mini x3 sets - same old shit here but it keeps my shoulders feeling good so I’m keeping it. I started doing these with a pause to make it more challenging because the light band would be too much for sure.
So I thought about it some more and decided on a new plan. It’s not like I’m not recovering with 2 bench days a week, only my elbows got a bit beat up and my pecs get a little tight sometimes but overall I can’t complain and even if 2 sessions was too much it might be better to have an easy 2nd session. The plan goes like this:
Wednesday
Comp. bench - going to start off with a top set of 5-6 reps and a down set, same old rep ranges are getting stale
Close grip 2 board - the normal way, not with elbows flared
Floor pause DB tricep extension - this should be easier on the elbows since it will eliminate the bottom end stretch, we will see how it goes
Saturday
Floor press - Of all bench variations this is one that seemed to have the most carryover, I feel like it helps with strength off the chest for me since the bar lightly touches my chest. No leg drive at all either.
Overhead press - I had enough of Arnold pres with my adjustable dumbbells, too much of a pain in the ass to get set up. These days it looks like I’m sticking lower than before, which is an indication that shoulder strength is lacking so here we are. I do this sitting because the “ceiling” (more like floor joists, vents, and plumbing) is too low in my basement plus this is less fatigue on my back.
Side raise - why not? A bit of extra shoulder work.
W shoulder rotations
For squats I’m going to try and do a set of 5 in wraps, but if that isn’t working I will do 2 triples instead. I feel like I have a hard time maintaining decent technique in wraps when I do reps, but it will probably pay off to get better at it.
For deadlift instead of a heavy top set I’m going to do a few moderately heavy singles since I feel like I’m going to blow my back out reppping anything even slightly challenging, and then some RDLs after that.
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Sounds like a strong plann
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Monday, August 3 - Squat day
Squat - wraps - SBD
485x5 - This went well, could squeeze out another rep or two. The last two reps could have been deeper but they aren’t far off, my calves and feet were numb by that point so I can’t complain. I was thinking I should give these wraps another shot, the main complaint with them is that they hurt but lately with the Kraits I don’t really feel any major discomfort so I figured I could manage these. Every wrap has some sort of pros and cons, Kraits are comfortable but I feel like they stop me at the bottom a little too much These give more or less the same carryover but they don’t have that same stopping effect, likely due the fact that they are 52% rubber and it’s nearly impossible to pull all the slack out of them.
Squat - sleeves
425x6 - I got that 6th rep I should have done a couple weeks ago. Could do a couple more still but trying to keep something in the tank.
Split squat - SSB
115x15, 12 per leg - I didn’t go all out on the 2nd set, I learned from my mistake last time when I could barely stand after. I don’t know what it is about this exercise but it leaves me feeling like shit, it doesn’t feel bad when I’m doing it but I always feel tired and nauseous after. It’s not the reps because I squatted 225x20 back in the winter when I found out I had a hernia and wasn’t sure if I could lift heavy anymore and that wasn’t bad at all. I don’t really get it, but it is what it is. I will keep doing them for a few more weeks since they seem to be making my quads grow (VMO in particular) but I’m not enthusiastic about it.
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Wednesday. August 5 - Main bench day
Bench press
335x5 - Not sure about another rep and didn’t want to risk failing so I racked it. I wanted 6, but I made the mistake of forgetting to chalk my back which resulted in me sliding up the bench and hitting the hooks on the last few reps. That always throws me off a bit. Whatever, 5 is OK. I will make up for it next week with 5 or maybe 6 with 340.
305x8 - Chalked my back and no problems here, could still do another rep for sure.
Close grip 2 board
305x7
285x8
Floor pause dumbbell tricep extension - longest name for an exercise that I have heard of
35’s x12, 10, 8 - Felt good, didn’t bother my elbows, and pumped up my triceps. Seems like a good choice.
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It’s really annoying when that happens. Feels like somebody threw 10 pounds on at the last second or something.
The other thing is the bar can shake around too and it will mess with your setup and make you lose tightness. It’s one of the drawbacks to training alone, you have to set up high enough on the bench so you can unrack the bar yourself but if you slide a couple inches up during the set you end up with the hooks in the way. I will just make sure to chalk my upper back next time, it makes a big difference.
A7 Shirt or Hoodie. Treat yoself
The thing is I do my bench work sets in a singlet to make sure I don’t lift my ass (that has been an on and off problem for some time) so the A7 shirt wouldn’t do much. It’s pretty easy to chalk your shirt/singlet, if I can’t remember to do that then I probably wont remember to wear an A7 shirt either.
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Get monolift attachments for your rack, that way your books move out of the way!
I wouldn’t bench with that, if you get used to that then you will have problems in a meet. Mike Tuchscherer was doing that a while back and his bench was always down at the meet.
Friday, August 7 - Deadlift day
Conventional DL - no belt
525x4 singles - 1st one with hook grip, moved real good but my callouses are peeling off and my right hand is still a bit skeptical so straps for the rest. It was good with straps too but noticeably better without them, I don’t know what it is but straps just aren’t my thing.
RDL
455x8 - It’s been a while since I did this, should make up for the lack of actual DL volume. Only one set though.
Barbell row
385x8 - last one didn’t make it all the way up, lats and whatever other pulling muscles are the limiting factor because my back feels like it could take a lot more. Feeling strong.
Chin ups - 45 degree supinated grip
bw+15x12, 8
Since I’m not pulling a heavy top set at the moment I think I will do 2 weeks like this before an easier week in between. I think with deadlifts half the battle is mental because you have to produce that determination and effort to pull the weight off the floor and it’s hard to do that every week with something challenging. With squats the heavy bar on your back gets you fired up quick, not the same at all.
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Saturday, August 8 - Bench assistance day
Floor press
315x6, 5 - probably could have done 6 on the 2ndd set but failing would really suck. I’m surprisingly strong on this considering it’s been about a year since I last did it.
Military press AKA seated OHP or whatever
185x10, 8 - I’m surprisingly weak on this, hopefully building this back up gets my bench going. If that is the case then I will have to keep doing it regularly, we will see. I would still drop it during peaking phases because it’s a relatively taxing lift that doesn’t directly correlate to bench and it’s not like my bench drops suddenly without it, but I do feel like shoulder strength is lacking a bit.
Side raise - seated - holding it at the top
20s x12, 15 - I should have done a warmup set, the 2nd set felt easier. I figured 20lbs ain’t shit, but maybe I was wrong.
W shoulder rotation
super mini x3 sets
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Monday, August 1 - Squat day
Squat - wraps - SBD
495x5 - The first rep went up so fast my feet almost left the ground. I did two things different today, tried to descend a bit more aggressively since I figure that might work better in these wraps, and also pulled the wraps tighter and got 8 revolutions instead of 7. It’s always a work in progress, but I get the feeling these wraps will work better for me than the Kraits and they are less of a struggle to deal with than the Super Heavies. I could probably get 9 revs if I really fight for it but according to Ben Pollack these wraps give the most rebound at around 80% of max tightness so this is probably as good as it get.
The last couple reps my feet were totally numb, I almost racked the bar jut because of that but I knew I could finish the set. It’s not something easy to get used to. It kind of feels like if you’re standing on a beach and a wave washes over your feet, as it goes back down your feet sink into the sand, that’s what it reminds me of but with 495 on my back.
Squat - sleeves
435x5 - I would have gone for 6 but it was going to be a bit of a struggle so fuck it. I don’t even know what a PR in sleeves is anymore, I squatted 500 on the SSB a while back so 500+ for reps would be something, anything less is junk volume. Sort of.
I was going to do split squats but just thinking about it made me want to puke, I’m really not in the mood and the only thing I gave a fuck abut going into this workout was 495x5 and I did it. So I dropped that for today at least and did this instead:
Band leg curl (face down)
light band x15x2
Band leg extension - seated
super mini x15x2
The leg extensions feel a bit awkward since I never did this before, but it was alright I guess. I got my legs pumped up, for whatever that’s worth (something I hope) and I didn’t feel like dying, puking, or have to lay on the floor so that’s a win right there.
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Clean reps. What are the SBD wraps like? What wraps are they closest to?
It’s kind of hard to say what they really compare to, the way I had them wrapped today (extra tight for 8 revolutions) you could say they are similar to the EliteFTS super heavies but less stopping power and more springy. Both are about the same thickness but these are a bit softer and stretchier. The thing with these wraps is that they are pretty stretchy but the elastic is very strong, I haven’t seen any other wraps quite like that. They hurt just to have on but it doesn’t actually feel that bad to squat in them, probably because the outside has a soft finish. When I first tried them it was like the pain was fucking me up and I couldn’t focus on squatting but after using wraps regularly for a while I managed to get over that and I’m making them work now.
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These are probably not a good set of wraps for someone new to wraps, especially if you wrap them real tight. But if you squat with a lot of knee flexion and other strong wraps fuck with your depth then these might be worth a try.
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