I’d love to get in on this…
as of today my best bench is 345, and i did 405x3 lockouts from pinpresses.
and i’ve managed to put 40 lbs on my bench in 3 months with a combo of 5/3/1 and smolov jr.
good luck to everyone
Raw Meat, sounds solid man! That’s pretty damn good gains in a few months. Keep lifting hard and heavy and best of luck to you thanks for stopping in.
I squeaked out a 5lb PR today, but it’s way better than nothing! 320lbs and climbing.
Tarheel,
Thanks for starting this! Sorry for joining in late. Looks like were in the same situation.
On Saturday I put up 355 lbs on the bench with good form and it went up pretty easily. I suspect I have a 370-380 max but I’m taking it slowly (coming off a shoulder injury). Looking to hit 405 lbs (raw) by a contest next summer.
Not sure I have much advice to add but would like to feed off the motivation coming from this conversation. Good luck to all!
steveprez
My problem is going for the 1RM. I’m training using jim’s 5/3/1 and having great success on the reps but haven’t tried a 1RM in 6 months so what would be the best way to approach it as the last time I tried for a 1RM my lifts actually decreased although all my reps went through the roof. I’m training towards my first meets this year so gotta get this nailed. All you PL’s advice appreciated.
[quote]irishlifting wrote:
My problem is going for the 1RM. I’m training using jim’s 5/3/1 and having great success on the reps but haven’t tried a 1RM in 6 months so what would be the best way to approach it as the last time I tried for a 1RM my lifts actually decreased although all my reps went through the roof. I’m training towards my first meets this year so gotta get this nailed. All you PL’s advice appreciated.[/quote]
Spend more time in the 85-95% range. I was the same as you with Sheiko programming, especially on the bench. My reps, form and bar speed was amazing with 80-85%, much better than normal, but once I went above 90% I died.
What comp are ya doing?
Sorry for coming it late as well. I found out for me getting a bigger bench is well, working on bench form, lots of weighted dips with alot of weight attached (like over 100lbs for reps above 10) and heavy rowing.
Right now as of 12/28/09 max bench -completely raw is 375. I am shooting for a 405 come Feb/Mar to video for sake of me being 40 now and that is a goal of mine.
My programing is :
Mon- Max effort upper body
Wed- Max effort lower
Thur- Rep effort upper
Sat- heavy sled pulls.
Fischer
Bweight 233
height 6’1
bump - i bumped this because I think there can be some great training advice given in this thread and i don’t want it to fade away.
I know Meat described some of his methods but I’d really like to know specifically what got him to that 405 mark…I know that form is crucial…but putting form aside and putting hard work and a program that fits your needs and weaknesses i’d really like to know what meat did from a set-up stand point to get to that 405 bench.
what influenced it the most…more tricep work, how often did he deload off of heavy pressing, how much did back work influence his bench etc etc.
if he has the time of course 
lol
[quote]maraudermeat wrote:
[quote]tarheeliron wrote:
[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.
[/quote]
training is all about trial and error. i’ve tried just about everything. i’ve used boards in the past and got pretty good at board pressing. same with box squats. i became one hell of a box squatter but unfortunately neither boards or boxs had much of any carryover to my full ROM lift.
In my experience, i get the most carryover from doing full ROM movements that allow one to use supramaximal weight. my two favorites for bench are the foam press and the reverse band bench. i find that partial movements such as boards and boxes don’t allow a person to maintain their tightness which leads to form breakdown.
besides the foam press and reverse band work, i’ve found that long pause work with straight legs and no arch have been really affective as well.
having said all of this, i don’t want anyone to think i’m not advocating the use of boards or boxes. any advice that i give is given from the standpoint that it works for me. i have no idea if it will work for anyone else.
as for wraps. i use Inzer elbow sleeves. i use them more to keep pressure on my biceps. rowing big weight down to me week after week really takes a toll on my biceps. the sleeves seem to keep them from aching. i haven’t found that they add any extra weight to the bar. my wrist wraps are APT. i usually only use them on max attempts.
[/quote]
i agree with full ROM movements, reverse band benches took my regular bench from 275 to 315 in a matter of a month in a half or so and i had been stuck at 275 for about a year.
There are indeed some great advices in this thread. I have a quick question for those of you using the reverse band. Do you normally progress with adding more weight while keeping the same band assistance or do you keep the same weight while decreasing the band assistance?
Just hit 385 today… up 20 lb PR over when this thread first started. How is everyone else coming along?
Congrats on the 385 lift!
I hit 355 late last week. It went up very easy and I feel like I’ve still got about 20 pounds more in me. But I’m taking it slow due to a healing shoulder.
Lift large!!
Congrats on the new PR. Nothing new to report here. I’m finishing a deload week and will be back at it next week. I won’t max out on regular bench for a while, but I’m also no where near 405.
Hit 315x1 for Close grip tonight, which is a step in the right direction. congrats with the 385!! just 20 more lbs
not so good for me…shoulder is still bugging me so currently doing no pressing. Not even sure if pressing will bug my shoulder but rather not take any risks…aside from that though my back is gettin very strong from all the extra rowing work lol
oh challer was gonna ask you to whatd you do for your 20lb increase? and what are you thinking of setting up for the next 20lbs to hit that 405?
Thanks
Some good advice guys, I can’t wait to work on my arch by using the half roller. I’ve been doing 5/3/1 for the past couple months and have seen my bench go up. My 1RM in 5/3/1 is a safe 375 up from 335. It will probably take me awhile to hit the big 4plates due to the slow progression in 5/3/1. I was wondering which resistance bands I should consider purchasing based off my current strength and whether it would actually be beneficial.
thanks everyone!
[quote]rasturai wrote:
oh challer was gonna ask you to whatd you do for your 20lb increase? and what are you thinking of setting up for the next 20lbs to hit that 405?
Thanks[/quote]
Nothing too out there I don’t think. I’m running 5/3/1 and I’ve just been benching a bit more frequently (and heavier). On Military Press day, after working up to a set of max reps on standing overhead press, I’ll work up to a heavy set of 3-5 on the incline bench.
On bench day, I’ll do my 5/3/1 set, then I’ll drop down to 225 lbs, and work up to a heavy 1-3 sets of 5-8 reps. Getting some volume in really seems to help out my pressing strength.
Also, I think Front Squats (instead of back squats in 5/3/1) have really helped flesh out my middle erectors, which lets me hold a much tighter arch. My mid back used to cramp up and get sore from benching, but that doesn’t happen nearly as often or to the same degree now.
Damn challer great job on going up 20 lbs since the thread started! I haven’t really seen any increase in my bench max but haven’t maxed out much, I kind of just tried to maintain over the Christmas break from college and just now got back up here and in to the swing of things. I’ve just started working on my shoulder mobility daily, curious to see if that will help out my bench any at all…Great job everyone who has posted and keep up the good work. Make sure to post your progress!