@mattjp Have you played about with your bench width? Got a video of your bench? Where do you fail?
Sounds wierd but when i was powerlifting I progressed on Squat with lower volume more frequency and more intensity , with bench i find a less intensity higher volume approach worked better for me … have you tried the oposite end of the spectrum to what you are currently doing?
EDIT - Also , if you really want to increase bench , speed work seperatly and use chains for your main sets if you have access , that helped me break a sticking point at one stage!
@dagill2 I mean, I’m sure I can outbench the average man on the street but that’s because the average man on the street hasn’t ever benched before.
@Koestrizer it’s probably only going to be the Wednesdays, maybe the odd Sunday but I’d like to keep the weekend clearer than not. So just the one session a week of sport, which is basically going to act as a conditioning tool. If it doesn’t work in tandem with the PHAT setup I’ll go back to a 3/4-day 5/3/1 thing or similar.
@tj55 I went wider (index finger on inner rings) this past few months, but I actually think that I’m probably better off reverting back to narrower (pinky on inner rings). It’s something (else) to play around with. There’s an older video or two up in the log somewhere but I’ll have to take more and keep spamming everyone here with them. You’re not the first source I’ve seen to say that bench responds well to volume/frequency, so I’ve upped to 3x a week.
I’d go a step further and say you bench more than the average guy in a gym. I’ve rarely seen anyone putting up more than 1 plate and a bit of change, in 3+ years in different commercial gyms.
I’m not trying to say you’re a strong bencher, just not as weak as you’re saying.
I find that Googling “Greg Nuckols 28 programs” or similar actually gives you the free, spam-less spreadsheet before Stronger By Science’s result comes up.
Though I just subscribed to the spam. Some of it is pretty decent.
I think I might just subscribe to the spam, the spreadsheets looked a bit lacking in detail. Maybe because I’m trying to multitask and it’s not my strong suit. I already get bombarded with spam from Jon Anderson and Wendler anyway
Look at @simo74’s approach 3 days a week
1 day heavy strength based focus 4-5 sets
1 day medium higher reps 3-4 sets sets
1 day easy could be a variation like paused, CG, or tempo bench 4 - 5 sets
But Simo knows better.
At the moment I’m benching two days a week one day 531 amrap one day 5 sets double progression 5 - 8 reps. (Don’t know if it works I just started, but I like it).
Down to 236.8 today in spite of a smoothie/protein bar/pint last night after 10pm.
Touch went well yesterday; definitely felt improvements in play and conditioning. The advice I’m getting from the veteran lads is becoming marginally more technical and I actually managed to get close to scoring a couple of times so I must be doing something better.
I am super fucking slow, though. Couple of skinny lads were running absolute rings around me.
Less beaten up today than I was last week. Definitely helps that I switched leg day to Monday.
Training (Bench & Back & Shoulders)
Bench Press
6x70kg (154lbs)
6x70kg (154lbs)
6x70kg (154lbs)
Better! Last reps of the last set were very tough, but setup is definitely improving. First 2-3 reps each set felt like RPE0.
Pendlay Row
3x80kg (176lbs)
3x80kg (176lbs)
3x80kg (176lbs)
3x80kg (176lbs)
7x80kg (176lbs) (strapped and a bit cheaty)
The woman was aghast at my post-squat back but I was happy to have a picture in which my back looked like there was more than just fat and gravy in it. More so considering how huge my head is.
Good to know I’m consistent with my bar position as well.
I’m barely down at all (lost around 2.5lbs since the start of Jan, really) but my waistline is slimmer and I’m overall stronger, so I can’t complain.
Everything went wrong today, though, so I will complain!
Dropped a 30kg DB on my finger setting up bands for squats. Think I got away without breaking it (typing painlessly now) but it was a real cunt for the session.
My leather belt had a screw loose (literally) so I had to use my shitty neoprene one for trap bar deads.
A calf tweak from Wednesday evening started playing up during deadlifts, got worse on the leg press and by the time I was carrying over weights for split squats I was full-on limping. Cut it short there - I don’t need much excuse to skip split squats anyway.
Shouldn’t be much to worry about, but hoping it’s sorted by Monday because I want to hit another squat PR.
Training (Lower Body Hypertrophy)
Squats w/red minibands (approx. 30kg/66lbs band tension at the top)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate)
2x60kg (132lbs/1 plate) Not as fast as I was aiming for.
Trap Bar Deadlift
8x133kg (293lbs)
8x133kg (293lbs)
8x133kg (293lbs)
Leg Press
10x192.5kg (424lbs)
10x192.5kg (424lbs)
Back Extension
15x10kg (22lbs)
15x10kg (22lbs)
Short and sweet; over in about 40m. A real punch-the-clock session, but the first of those I’ve had in a while.
