[quote]ajweins wrote:
Wow, thanks for helping me out here. I really appreciate it. I suck at lockout for bench too, so I will be rotating some floor presses, CGBPs, maybe some inclines, etc.
Couple more questions if you will:
How often can I incorporate the main lifts as ME exercises(Regular bench, squat, and deadlift)? I was thinking every 4 weeks or so?
Also, I would like to buy some bands and would like to get them from elitefts. I am not sure which ones I need. I doubt I would need the real strong ones since I am not using gear. I was thinking maybe some minis, light, average, and some short bands for deadlifts. My gym sucks so I thought the short bands would be great for deadlifts. I don’t want to buy them all though if I don’t need them. Any suggestions?
When do I incorporate RE work?
I honestly don’t see any reason to do box squats for DE work, so I was thinking of doing pause squats, or maybe regular squats against bands when I get some. Is this reasonable.
Once again, thanks for everything. I have been spinning my wheels the past couple of months beating myself up trying to push weight and reps in regular bench, squat, and deadlift. I think I need some other methods get gaining again.
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No problem man.
As far as the main lifts, personally, I don’t do them until I get to a meet. If your numbers are going up on your squat bench and dead variations, then you are getting stronger. I think people feel the need to work the main lifts because they are either over confident or under confident. Say you take a day a few weeks before a meet and hit your openers and second attempts, maybe even a third. One of 2 things are going to happen; 1. you get all your lifts and feel great about where you are at. You cruise until the competition and then those same lifts feel like 50 billion lbs. Not good, confidence shot, meet goes to shit. 2. You attempt the weights a few weeks out, they feel heavy as shit or, even worse, you dont get them at all. You freak out, add in a bunch more volume with the main lifts, go to the meet, lift shitty weights, and your confidence is shot.
But, everyone is different and you need to find what works for you. If you really want to test your main lifts I would suggest doing them every 5 to 8 weeks. That way you can get in at least 3 hard training weeks, deload at least a week, and then be fresh to test where you are at.
For bands, you’ll probably only need a pair of minis, a pair of lights, and a pair of averages. Maybe a pair of monster minis as well. The short bands are awesome for deadlifts but be careful, they add a ton of poundage to the top of the lift. Definitely go with the lights for those. Whatever you get, make sure when you wave your speed work, you dont use bands all the time. They beat the living hell out of you. Even if you compete raw, I would suggest getting some thin breifs, a cheap squat suit, or a pair of those rehband compression shorts to keep your hips healthy when using the bands.
RE Work should be done every workout. After your main lifts of the day. These are just asistance exercises. Make sure you are constantly trying to gain some size/bring up some lagging muscle groups. These exercises also depend on the person. For example, I like to make sure my triceps are completely destroyed on heavy bench days. So, I will do moderate presses(floor, incline, flat w/ boards, etc.) for 2 sets of 15. Then I like to go to some kind of isolating extension exercises for 40-60 hard reps. Just experiement with something for a few weeks and ditch it if you dont like it or it doesnt work.
You need to use every tool in the tool box. So, do box squats. You don’t need to do them all the time, but definitely do them for at least 90% of the time you are using bands. On waves you are not using bands, dont use a box if you dont want to.
I think I answered everything. If I didnt just let me know. Good Luck man, keep me updated with how it works out.