Road to a 405 Raw Bench

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

Hey guys, I saw the thread that was made for those chasing a 400 lb squat and thought it was a great idea, so I figured I would make one for the bench since I am finally getting closer to the mark.

My current best bench is a 375 1RM, which I got at the end of a recent Dave Tate’s Six Week Bench Cure. My max went up roughly 25-30 lbs using the program, so I’d say it was a great improvement.

I don’t know how long it will take to get up to the 405 mark since progress slows the heavier weights get. Anyone who has reached this weight previously who could give any advice or input would be greatly appreciated, as well as those of us who are striving to reach this mark. I think it will be a great place to post our progress and hopefully keep each other motivated!

Look forward to hearing from all of you, and thanks for the input!

1 Like
2

I’ve gotten 385 paused twice. this last time, I still had some pounds left in me. I hope to have the big 4 plates here soon.

3

While I’m still a long way off from even getting 375lbs, I did just hit my bench max (315lbs) with a close grip and a little strength to spare, so hopefully my bench is on the up-swing, and I’ll be pushing some bigger numbers before too long.

I don’t have any advice to offer, but good luck to you two none-the-less.

4

Just pressed 365 last week… but that was after a long lay-off from low rep ME work - I think with a few more weeks of heavier training that will increase quite a bit.

Doing a raw meet Jan 30th - we’ll see what happens then!

5

elitefts sells short bands for the benchpress, a great toll to use.

yesterdays workout

flat bench

405 for 4 reps
405 for 3 reps
405 for 3 reps

pause bench

worked up to a 3 rep max
315 for 3 reps with a 4 second pause at the bottom for each rep.

incline bench
work up to a 3 rep max
315 for 3 reps

DB Flyes
2 sets of 12 with a medium weight

bradford press
135 for 9 reps
135 for 7 reps

plyometric pushups
3 sets of 10

6

On a separate note: for all you guys who bench 365 and above ,

you all can bench 405 already but you need to perfect your technique, improve your arch and for the love of god videotape yourselves , it is the best option for any lifter looking to improve his prs.

7

[quote]Captain Zero wrote:
On a separate note: for all you guys who bench 365 and above ,

you all can bench 405 already but you need to perfect your technique, improve your arch and for the love of god videotape yourselves , it is the best option for any lifter looking to improve his prs.

[/quote]

[video]1535[/video]

tips are welcome

8

DoubleDuce, holy shit bro that is awesome.

You really exploded off your fucking chest with that.

9

http://www.flexcart.com/members/elitefts/default.asp?cid=114&m=PD&pid=1478

AXIS Foam Roller Half (12"X3" - BLK)

elite sells this, what you do is place the foam under your mid/lower back, while you bench you must make an effort to keep yor body from resting on or touching the foam, improving your arch on the lift and creating better leverages.

double deuce, how far back are your feet?, I cannot tell from this angle, you have solid technique, but I need to see feet placement and a side angle of your arch, try these tips above.

if you bench on monday, bench (close grip) on friday

friday routine:

close grip bench
work up to a 4 or 5 rep max
315 x 5, will try 335 for 3 or 4

tricep pushdowns
4 sets of 15 to 20 reps, as heavy as possible
these are done panora style: you do not let the forearms turn parallel to the ground but short hard thrusts to lockout. lockout then let the bar rise a couple of inches then press down to lockout.

Tate press (lookup please)
2 sets of 10

Hammer Curls

2 sets of 5 or 8 reps, as heavy as possible

10

About 7 weeks ago I benched 365 for a single pretty easy, but since then I’ve dropped about 15-20 pounds of body-weight about 300-280 and my bench has really gone to shit because of it. The highest single I’ve taken since then was 355 and it was heavy. I would like to hit 405 by the first week in June, and I’m thinking I need to do some kind of structured program.

Right now I’m doing a ME day rotating floor press, regular bench, 2 board presses, and chains; and I’ve been doing 3 week waves of speed bench with bands. I really need to tape a couple of my presses to get some technique feedback so I’ll try and get that done sometime. TarHeel mentioned the the 6 week bench cure maybe ill give that a go.

11

Captain Zero: Is your Friday workout a replacement workout for speed work? How do you fit lower body into that schedule (I realize this isn’t a how to increase your squat/dead thread; I’m just curious)?

12

Thanks alot for all the responses guys! I really appriciate the input.

DoubleDuce: Great job blowing up 385, you should be able to get to the four plates soon.

Challer: Good job with that 365 after a break from ME work. Was that an all time PR still, or you trying to get back up to an old max? Hopefully you can see some quick gains.

Captain Zero: Great job on being able to rep out 405, that’s very impressive. How long did it take you to get from the 375 area to 405 if you remember, and what did you do to get there?

Mar: Good with 365, and congrats on the weight loss. I know that’s tough but keep lifting heavy. Your training setup looks really similar to mine.

Currently I’m using a ME rotation with three weeks each of: Floor Press,2 Board, Close Grip, 1 Board, then Incline Bench. I’ve only made it through the close grip so far since the 6 week bench cure. I do this on Mondays and then on Thursdays I have speed bench, rotating with and without bands every 2-3 weeks.

I’m really curious to know what all of your training is set up like, wondering if anyone else has a similar setup to mine and Mar’s. Look forward to hearing what everyone’s training looks like!

13

[quote]tarheeliron wrote:

Challer: Good job with that 365 after a break from ME work. Was that an all time PR still, or you trying to get back up to an old max? Hopefully you can see some quick gains.

I’m really curious to know what all of your training is set up like, wondering if anyone else has a similar setup to mine and Mar’s. Look forward to hearing what everyone’s training looks like!
[/quote]

thanks! It was still an all-time PR (old was 355). I hit 355 @ a bodyweight of 170lbs though… after finally hitting the double bodyweight bench I decided to bulk up a bit.

I’ve been running 5/3/1 since June and completely took out flat bench out of my routine for quite some time, doing standing military press and bb incline press as my main upper body 5/3/1 lifts for 5-6 cycles. Made some big strength gains on those lifts during that time… with just no flat benching for 3 months and a little bit of rep work after that.

I hit just over 200 lbs about 2 months ago, dropped about 10 lbs of body fat, and have done 2 total cycles of 5/3/1 with flat bench press replacing the incline press. At end of the second cycle (just a couple days ago), I ended up hitting 365. In the past 6 months, I had only pressed 315 lbs one time (last month on the 1 week), everything else was lighter than that.

I’m starting to work bench pressing in a little more frequently now, so I think with some more rounds of benching I’ll be able to get a lot of extra pressing strength from my bigger size. I’m still running 5/3/1, but with an extra session for direct tricep work and general prehab stuff.

14

I just about hate you all, Im still at 290. Hopefully I can get it up to a comp max of 330 by march.

But you are all older than me…Im gonna go back to the gym and bench again, bye!

15

[quote]Steve the PLer wrote:
Captain Zero: Is your Friday workout a replacement workout for speed work? How do you fit lower body into that schedule (I realize this isn’t a how to increase your squat/dead thread; I’m just curious)?[/quote]

friday is kind of replacement but I do through some speed bench in there once in a while.

Monday - Chest , and some shoulder work, abs
Tuesday- day off, abs
Wednesday- Squat and hamstring work
Thursday- Deadlift (conventional) and Back, abs
Friday- triceps, triceps, and some bicep work, abs
Saturday- Day Off
Sunday- Day Off

16

[quote]tarheeliron wrote:
Thanks alot for all the responses guys! I really appriciate the input.

DoubleDuce: Great job blowing up 385, you should be able to get to the four plates soon.

Challer: Good job with that 365 after a break from ME work. Was that an all time PR still, or you trying to get back up to an old max? Hopefully you can see some quick gains.

Captain Zero: Great job on being able to rep out 405, that’s very impressive. How long did it take you to get from the 375 area to 405 if you remember, and what did you do to get there?

Mar: Good with 365, and congrats on the weight loss. I know that’s tough but keep lifting heavy. Your training setup looks really similar to mine.

Currently I’m using a ME rotation with three weeks each of: Floor Press,2 Board, Close Grip, 1 Board, then Incline Bench. I’ve only made it through the close grip so far since the 6 week bench cure. I do this on Mondays and then on Thursdays I have speed bench, rotating with and without bands every 2-3 weeks.

I’m really curious to know what all of your training is set up like, wondering if anyone else has a similar setup to mine and Mar’s. Look forward to hearing what everyone’s training looks like![/quote]

"I never benched 375, ever, I went from 365 to 405 because I worked hard on my arching and hit my triceps as hard as possible. I constantly work on my technique.

17

i have a raw bench in the 500’s. i would say that learning proper powerlifting bench form got me to 400 pretty quickly. getting into the 500’s took awhile… about 3 years. i get the most carryover to my full ROM bench with bench variations that allow me to train with supramaximal weights.

this is my new favorite bench variation, the foam press. it gives some pop off the chest allowing you to overload the top end with more weight than you would be able to handle otherwise while still being a full ROM movement.

18

[quote]Captain Zero wrote:

[quote]tarheeliron wrote:
Thanks alot for all the responses guys! I really appriciate the input.

DoubleDuce: Great job blowing up 385, you should be able to get to the four plates soon.

Challer: Good job with that 365 after a break from ME work. Was that an all time PR still, or you trying to get back up to an old max? Hopefully you can see some quick gains.

Captain Zero: Great job on being able to rep out 405, that’s very impressive. How long did it take you to get from the 375 area to 405 if you remember, and what did you do to get there?

Mar: Good with 365, and congrats on the weight loss. I know that’s tough but keep lifting heavy. Your training setup looks really similar to mine.

Currently I’m using a ME rotation with three weeks each of: Floor Press,2 Board, Close Grip, 1 Board, then Incline Bench. I’ve only made it through the close grip so far since the 6 week bench cure. I do this on Mondays and then on Thursdays I have speed bench, rotating with and without bands every 2-3 weeks.

I’m really curious to know what all of your training is set up like, wondering if anyone else has a similar setup to mine and Mar’s. Look forward to hearing what everyone’s training looks like![/quote]

"I never benched 375, ever, I went from 365 to 405 because I worked hard on my arching and hit my triceps as hard as possible. I constantly work on my technique.[/quote]

Damn, what was your technique looking like when you hit 365? And even then, how much time did it take improving your technique and blasting your triceps to work your way up from 365 to a 405 bench?

19

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i have a raw bench in the 500’s. i would say that learning proper powerlifting bench form got me to 400 pretty quickly. getting into the 500’s took awhile… about 3 years. i get the most carryover to my full ROM bench with bench variations that allow me to train with supramaximal weights.

this is my new favorite bench variation, the foam press. it gives some pop off the chest allowing you to overload the top end with more weight than you would be able to handle otherwise while still being a full ROM movement.
[/quote]

It also helps that you use fake weights you big cheater :wink: How’s the organizing for the BOF meet coming?

20

[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
i have a raw bench in the 500’s. i would say that learning proper powerlifting bench form got me to 400 pretty quickly. getting into the 500’s took awhile… about 3 years. i get the most carryover to my full ROM bench with bench variations that allow me to train with supramaximal weights.

this is my new favorite bench variation, the foam press. it gives some pop off the chest allowing you to overload the top end with more weight than you would be able to handle otherwise while still being a full ROM movement.

[/quote]

Meat! Man I just want to start off by saying that I’m honored to have you posting in my thread! I have followed your training log for a long time, and have been really really impressed with your lifts and just training in general.

I’ve been doing some board work here in the last month or so that me and my training partner built, we were pretty satisfied with the way they turned out. What board work do you use, if any, and which board do you think has the best carryover for raw benching? That is really the only supramaximal exercise I’ve done on the bench as of now, but watching your videos has likely encouraged me to start using reverse bands here soon. Which bands do you reccommend using for the reverse band bench? (We have all Elite FTS Bands other than the heavy) The foam press video looks like you definitely still get a full ROM, but I’m assuming it’s a little easier than straight bench due to the slight rebound off the bottom of the lift?

I’ve also wanted to look into getting some wrist wraps/elbow wraps and noticed you use them. Which ones do you use and how much if any do you think they help out? (Rebound off the chest with elbow wraps)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I’m sorry I asked you so many questions. Hope you don’t fall asleep reading my endless reply to you.