man , I never thought about shifting the grip one way or the other to offset un-even lockout.thats how my max-bench looks…left shoulder A LOT slower than right. dont think it would be wise to train like that all the time , but it may be worth tinkering with on occasion ; maybe just to get the feel for coming into a meet .
[quote]Hanley wrote:
zephead4747 wrote:
1.I don’t know if this has been brought up yet but what’s your favorite bench ME cycle lifts, I think I’ll do:
Floor press
Normal Flat bench
2 board
does this look good?
What are the best ways to assess weakness in the bench?
I’d probably switch the normal bench to close grip, and add in miniband presses too (that’d actually be my exact ME rotation and it’s done great work for my raw strength). I kept my normal benching on DE day and did RE work with it.
And worked up to a heavy 5, 3, 2 or 1 with regular bench grip for my ME day after the ME movement, and before putting my shirt on. These were weights I knew I could get and wouldn’t fail on.
As for assessing weaknesses…VERY broadly speaking
-right off the chest = lats
-a few inches off = chest/shoulders
-mid range = chest/shoulders
-top end = tris
Of course of these could be over come by speed and a tighter set up too.
I fail around halfway in my raw squat. I’m good for the first few inches coming up and the last few at the top, but the middle is a long grind. On squat days I do:
Squats to single double or triple
Glute ham raises 2-3x 8-10
leg press 5-5-5-3-20 rep widowmaker
calves
Ditto… I miss 6-8 inches out of the hole raw. I don’t think it’s a specific weakness tbh, I think it’s just where most people miss their squats!! If you’re getting pulled forward as you miss, look at your ab strength.
[/quote]
Thanks for the advice. I really want to keep normal benches in there and I don’t I don’t have bands either. Would adding close grip chain bench as my tricep movement at the end of my press day be a good compromise?
When I say my weakness in the squat, I don’t get pulled forward, my legs just either grind it out, or I stall. Since it’s leg strength I thought adding leg presses and glute hams could help without further taxing my low back. Does this make sense, or am I just not getting it?
[quote]gavra wrote:
zephead4747 wrote:
1.I don’t know if this has been brought up yet but what’s your favorite bench ME cycle lifts, I think I’ll do:
Floor press
Normal Flat bench
2 board
does this look good?
What are the best ways to assess weakness in the bench?
besides the assistance work for specific muscle groups… like lower part chest/lats… mid part chest/shoulders upper part shoulder/tris and so on…
sticking points depend on technique… so if your lockout is stronger and off the chest is weaker, try moving grip a little bit in, which will even out the strengths with weaknesses…
so you’ll get it off the chest easier, and maybe lifit more weight…
if you’re strong off the chest try widening the grip…
if one arm lockouts unevenly, move the grip for arm that lockouts later a little bit closer to the plates, and the other arm a little bit farther away from the plates… (like if right arm is late, move right arm one finger to the right, and left arm one finger to the right also)…
things like this… which can serve as a quick fix…
of course, plain on get stronger in all muscle groups is the best solution, but we all know it is not that easy to achieve…
same for squat, manipulating the bar position, grip and stance… you can move your sticking point to more favorable position… a position in which dominant muscle is the one that can get stronger faster… like if you’re having problems strenghtening hams/glutes move your stance closer, so quads would be dominant, and for example quads are easier for you to strenghten them… then you just need to train squat/quads, and do hams/glutes on the way, so they can keep up, and as long as quads are improving so will squat… of course it can only go so much… but you get the point…
actually for raw lifting… form/style/technique like RDC would say are more important than routine and assistanc work…
like the old problem of knees going in, I remmember few years back, I listened to advice of RDC (rickey dale crain)… I started with 60kg working up every day, just concetrating that my knees dont come in… I havent done any one of those exercises that like strenghten the weak points, I just practised the perfect squat… and after some time, my squats started getting better, and knees coming in was not a problem anymore even with maximum weights…
so sometimes, sticking point can be solved just by finding adequate technique for your body type, and of course practising the lifts the way they should be… especially important for raw lifting… sometime you dont need special exercises to address it… altough both ways seems logical, see what works better for you…
always see if your problem is weakness related or technique related… maybe just learning to position your elbows right through the lift will be enough to solve lockout weakness, you dont necessarily need to get triceps stronger…
damn my posts are long… sorry…
gavra
[/quote]
more stuff to think about. I read about someone who had a offset grip in competition, but trained with an even grip, I think it was because they had a messed up shoulder or pec and that let them make more lifts.
[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
more stuff to think about. I read about someone who had a offset grip in competition, but trained with an even grip, I think it was because they had a messed up shoulder or pec and that let them make more lifts.[/quote]
I train with an even grip, but sometime, with a really maximum or above maximum (if I go for PR in a meet) I tend to lockout unevenly, so I just move the grip, and get the quick fix… I never had problems, it worked every time…
it doesnt have to be connected with any type of muscle imbalances/problems… sometimes its just like that… so if I miss an attempt due to uneven lockout or spot the problem before it happens, I know what to do…
gavra
Gavra…
so how much of a shift/slide you talkin’ ?
1 finger ? more than 1 finger ?
Bump
re bumped lol
He suggested moving it a finger width:
[quote]if one arm lockouts unevenly, move the grip for arm that lockouts later a little bit closer to the plates, and the other arm a little bit farther away from the plates… (like if right arm is late, move right arm one finger to the right, and left arm one finger to the right also)…
[/quote]
(first post on this page)
oh yeah
missed that
thanks Modi
KEEP THIS THREAD ALIVE
Wish there were some Raw comps in Australia… just not enough PL’ers here in the first place here though. This means if I ever compete, to have any chance of winning i would have to use gear 
[quote]marlboroman wrote:
Gavra…
so how much of a shift/slide you talkin’ ?
1 finger ? more than 1 finger ?[/quote]
sorry, wasnt around few days… anyway, I do it around 1 finger, but depends on finger thickness… hehehehe
move it as much as needed to lockout evenly, experiment a little bit, not much is needed anyway, one finger is the measuer I use…
dont train this way except maybe BIG MEET attempts, just to practise them how they should be, and try to perfect your technique so uneven extension disappears…
this is just a quick solution…
but like my father like to say “all temporary solutions are permanent”…
so, I use this for years as a “temporary solution”… hehehe… but it works…
gavra