[quote]HeavyTriple wrote:
[quote]Power GnP wrote:
@HeavyTriple
Thanks, everything is slowly moving upwards. Frequent beltless squats seem to be doing wonders for me lately though. What have you found most success with in getting you bench moving?[/quote]
I wish I could give you a nice, scientific answer; but in reality, I’ve trained it the longest and it’s the one lift that mentally I just HAD to get stronger. I still have yet to do any real programming for it. What I’m doing right now-4 weeks 7R, 4 6R, 4 5R, etc-is my first real experiment with that sort of thing.
I can tell you this: I’ve always responded best to 4-5 rep sets. Lately I’ve preferred 4’s. Also, the top set is the only thing I care about (3 total), and I don’t repeat weights if I get my target reps. Floor press has helped me bust through a plateau here and there, but mostly I just hammer my rear delts and back. My shoulders are the definite weak link, but I have shoulder issues that limit what I can do; right now it’s DB shoulder press and no other pressing. However, I never thought military press did anything for my bench…just not specific enough to the movement.
Technique stuff: I don’t bench with elbows tucked. It causes me significant shoulder pain, and it also doesn’t translate to raw benching very well, IMO. Usually I’m at about 60 degrees abduction, give or take. My heels are always on the ground and my leg drive is very good. That, with overall tightness, would be the first thing I would say to get in order. With that setup, it’s really easy to drive your heels into the ground without coming off the bench, and I never stick near my chest. I have plenty of bench vids in my log a page or two back if you’re interested in the setup. The 405x2 vid isn’t a good angle, but most of the others are.[/quote]
Thanks for the insight.
With most I think a scientific answer is rarely the case, I got to a 600lb deadlift without any real structure [this was years ago].
I train bench mostly in the 3-5 rep range as well, with the rare bench marathon/pyramid, and sometimes 2’s for speed bench. Shoulders have always been a weakness of mine as well, so I’ve started adding a lot direct shoulder work and more 2-3 boards, nailing the back work etc. Seems to be helping a bit so far. I’ve accepted that I’m not a natural BP’er and will have to grind for ever 10lbs I add to my raw lift.
I think my setup is pretty solid, I’ve alway got decent leg drive and my arch is pretty big. I’ll get a video put up here in a week or so to give you a better idea. I’ll have a look at your vids, thanks man.
