Strength Help For Decathlete

Training Powerlifting
1

Hey guys. I’m new here on the forums though I have been frequenting the site for about a year. I have a question about my lifting. I’d like to think I know a bit about lifting, but I’m not really that strong. Anyway, I’ve been lifting throughout high school, and now that I’ve graduated, I’ve hit the weights again after a couple of weeks off. I’ve been doing the same routine for about 2 years, and I think that’s my problem.

A common upper day goes:
Bench: 5-5-5
Dumbbell Press: 8-8-8
Military Press: 10-10-10
Tricep Pushdowns: 10-10-10
Dips: 10-10-10

I’m planning on competing in college track and field as a decathlete, But I really want to get my bench up to about 350 to help my shot-put. My best ever was 275. My question is, how should I (if I need to) implement board bench, etc. into my workout. And if so, what other lifts should I do and what kind of 1rm percentages should I be using while doing these exercises. YOu seem to find plenty of info online about advanced things but nothing on basics like how much weight should I use.

2

I’m no track and field expert, but I know that the bench press is not the lift to concentrate on for throwing events. You might want to look up Dan John’s website.

3

Yes. Dan John is your man. Look for him on Prime Time.

4

I second…err third the Dan John comment. He is a thrower (and a might good one).
I did the decathlete as well and can tell you to concentrate on olympic lifts and plyos.
Bench isnt as important as most peopel think. You need legs and explosiveness.

The thing about the decathlon is that you need to be good at everything. it is ok to excel at soem things, but you cant have a BAD event. As the saying goes, you ar eonly as strong as your weakest link. Mine was high jump. I just couldnt get the form down well.
Hope this helps.