Steve Coppola- What Kind of shirt do you where? Because I was looking at your training log and your numbers on the rev green band look like you should have a easy 405 in you with a shirt on.
Keep working hard Big martin
Goldie thanks. I’ll try the 3s and 5s.
And I’m hitting the accessory and supplemental work with higher reps as well…just making sure I’m on the right track.
Question for Goldie/Big Martin/Landon,
What are your guys favorite ME bench exercises? I need a new one as I just topped out on my Rack presses today. I will switch next week…
Sorry if this has been answered in the thousand or so posts here and on the original thread…
I am working myself up to starting a westside program and have a question about the weekly split. I can’t get to the gym on weekends and want to know if anyone has had reasonable success with a standard Mon.Tues.off.Thurs.Fri type of split. I know, I know… try it and see.
Also, my Gold’s Gym (if you can believe it) doesn’t have a power rack so I can’t do floor presses…any other way to do them safely without a rack??
Greek, if you have access to bands, give reverse band presses a try. If not, hitup floor presses.
I would try to take the advice of martin about how to cycle your ME bench workouts as it makes complete sense, and seems very practical.
How are things coming along greek?
Landon
greekdawg-why would you join a “gym” that does not have a power rack?
other than running directly out the door to somewhere that people actually train, do they have a smith machine (shudder)? this could work in a pinch. i train at home with a rack, but for floor presses i use 4x6’s bolted together to get the proper distance from the floor.
you could also use one of those ladder racks for squats and an aerobic step to get the propper distance.
If you have a buddy there, he can hand you the weight. Our old gym had a power rack that wouldn’t work for floor presses. The other way worked fine, since we weren’t 600 lb benchers.
greekdawg, I used to set the bar at the end of the flat benches bench, actually worked real well…
I do not have access to a safety squat bar, buffalo bar, or cambered bar. I also had shoulder surgery a year ago and holding the bar (even high bar) while benching 2 x per week stresses my shoulder too much. Does anyone have any alternatives for DE day? I was thinking about the possibility of occasional front box squatting (no bands) for speed…any thoughts?
Greek,
I have done floor presses using the ladder rack…just be sure to get a spot.
I posted my post before your other post about that you didn’t have a power rack got posted.
Board presses. u do have a bench don’t you ? 
jesus lord!!!
I really need to get a computer so i can catch up with this thread.
Again, great stuff from all…lets keep this thing going.
I want to offer some advice to everyone, if you have a good powerlifting gym or a good powerlifter anywhere around you go and train there or with that person.
I say this because i have been going out to diablo barbell for the past week and my numbers have gone up just by being in that type of environment.
And if you can’t get to a powerlifting gym, or find a good partner…do your best to cop an attitude and try and kill each of your lifts everyday.
Get a westside video, watch it and try and copy the way they lift.
It make a shit load of difference.
rock and roll kids.
j
to GB, steve, and others RE CNS and westside
read this, it’s quite good.
Greek Dawg - Landon was talking about a post I posted about how I cycle my max bench work. I posted it a few days ago check it out. But my favorites are …
training the lock out- 4 board press, 3 board press, High pin lock outs, floor press,
Ful range work- Green reverse band presses, Blue reverse band presses, 1 and 2 board presses, Steep Decline press.
Those are what I primarly use, as I have found them to work the best for me.
Deaddoc- Try this it worked for my bro up at school when he hurt his shoulder and didnt have the saftey squat bar. Take a manta ray or one of those black pads, or even tape a towel to the bar. Then carry the bar really high on the back with a close hand position, drop your percents to around 40-45% up your sets to 20x2, drop the rest periods to 30sec, and work on conditioning until your shoulder heals up and you can go heavy again. Also bring your stance in a little bit to about shoulder width.
Hope this helps Big martin
Jay, you workout at Diablo? Thats pretty badass. Give details of the gym.
I found a way to set up the bands for floor presses in my rack. If anybody wants to see a pic let me know and ill post it in the photo forum.
Goldie: goddammit, don’t ask, just post the pics. :-))
Awright, here’s the discussion between Steve and I regarding bench shirts. I know Steve has said that he is not a “know it all” on this topic; but his advice makes a whole hell of a lot sense and was just amazingly helpful.
Ko will be performing the “measurement duties” tonight. And I’m ordering my shirt tomorrow. Can’t wait.
Here goes:
[quote]
Patricia wrote: Awright…let’s discuss this shirt thang.
Didn’t want to PM you until I got in a chest session. And that was today.
Worked bench as I’ve been lately: bringing elbows in closer and bar lower (upper abs).
I noticed last session, that my front delts are the issue. It’s not my triceps, that’s for sure. It’s the front delts. So, I’ve added Plate Raises (WSB style); but we’ve also added push ups as a finisher to our session. I must also add that my weak spot in the bench is NOT the lockout or the midpoint, but at the bottom of the bench; right before I explode the bar back up.
I know I need to now to begin to work on that arch. Right? Well, that and the other “stuff” that I mentioned.
Aw, I swear. Frustrating as hell. But you probably know this. And I appreciate your kind offer for advice. ANY advice from you is greatly, greatly appreciated!
Patricia
Steve Coppola wrote:
Okay, first things first: Do you have a shirt? If so, what kind is it? What does WABDL allow?
Aside from these questions, how do you know front delts are the problem?
My weakness seems to be off of my chest as well. This explains why I can bench so much more with the shirt (I figure about a 65lb difference or so, minimum). I do, however, know that my weakness is related to triceps strength and form issues more than anything else. My triceps are ridiculously weak in the bottom position, as evidenced by the bottom of extension movements and other tricep work. Actually, the more I think about it, I suppose my front delts are pretty weak as well. It’s been said over and over again by most of the guys here: triceps, delts, lats are the biggest factors for a big bench.
What was this PM supposed to be about again?
About arching…that’s a whole 'nother topic, but the bottom line is this: if you can get a good arch without cramping or pulling any muscles, go for it. It would suck to blow your deadlift because you pulled something arching on the bench. I personally try to get a decent arch going in a meet, but as long as my shoulders, traps, and neck are driven into the bench properly I’m not too worried about how much I end up arching.
-Steve
Patricia wrote:
Yo, Steve:
No. Don’t have a shirt. Yet. I know that I’m getting one later this week. I’m looking at the Inzer “heavy duty blast” shirt; although I’m looking at another brand since Inzer is having one of his “power trips” right now and is suing a smaller brand. This smaller brand is one I was looking at. But the shirts are $135 minimum; which is rather costly when I’m only going to be competing MAYBE twice this year.
WABDL: No canvas or 3-ply. Denim and polyester allowed. Double thickness allowed. Supportive patches in the chest area or front deltoid area or arm NOT allowed. Sleeves cannot cover the elbow. Velcro straps are allowed on back and on the arms (and must be secured).
That’s the gist of it.
Do you have any “moral” issues on using equipment? I’m kind of mentally going back and forth on it. But I know that by using a bench shirt, it will help (at least) in getting that particular form correct. Right?
The reason I feel it’s my front delts is that I “feel” them working, but “nothing” is happening. And I felt that after many, many sessions of push presses, dips, and other work involving triceps (besides direct tricep work), my tris are plenty strong. BUT, now that you mention it, they may not be strong in THIS particular portion of the bench (at the chest). Also, we had not worked lats in the same plane of movement (row) in quite awhile. We’re changing that tonight. Gonna row like hell now.
Okay. So not to worry about that arch. Good. Cuz, it’s weird. And I don’t like it. I just want to work on all the necessary basic factors of the bench.
Check this vid out of that chick (who is REALLY cool and yes, pur-tee strong) who benched 330 while at Westside:
http://www.asylum-strength.com/videos/spatts330.wmv
I can see that they were working on her arch - but she’s been power lifting (competitively) for the past year. So, she’s use to all the idiosyncrasies of that form of bench.
-Patricia
Coppola
Okay, here’s my feeling on things: You need to realize that if you’re going to compete in feds that allow double ply denim when benching you damn well better learn and wear a double denim. You simply will not be on a level playing field otherwise. If you are having moral issues concerning the equipment, then your best bet is to compete in raw meets. One more time: If you’re competing in equipped meets, you’re cheating yourself if you don’t use the best equipment available…
On that note, my feeling is that Inzer double denims are simply one of the best options there are for a shirt. Some, like Karin shirts, might be on the same level, but on the whole, Inzer shirts are the most consistent. This comes from what I’ve heard some of the best say, and also from firsthand experience.
I would really recommend that you forget about the HD Blast shirt, and that you buy an Inzer double denim. Don’t listen to those who say, “start with a single poly, progress to a double, then a single denim, yadda yadda yadda.” Here’s why: by the time you learn how to use the friggin’ single poly you’re gonna be strong enough to switch to a denim, and all that time it took to learn how to use the poly will go down the tubes (and yes, this brings up another point…it DOES take some time to learn shirts for many people). Then, you’re gonna have to learn how to use a new shirt all over again. Some people are able to learn how to get a lot out of shirts relatively quickly (I am one of these lucky ones), but for most it can take quite awhile (we’re talking months and years, here). Don’t waste years of training learning shirts when you are advanced enough to go for the best right away…trust me, you are.
You have enough time to learn a double denim if you get it in the next few weeks. I would order ASAP. Make sure that you have Ko or whoever take measurements that err on the tighter side when ordering the shirt. Also, don’t simply let them give you a size
“42”, “36”, or some generalized crap. Take your arm measurements right above your elbow, again at the largest portion of your arm, an accurate shoulder width measurement, an accurate chest measurement (always fun for the man measuring), and a good measurement from the middle of your deltoid to just above your elbows (err on the longer side for this sleeve length measurement because you can always roll the shirt a bit to get it over your elbow…if it’s too short it will be more of a problem than if it’s too long of a sleeve). Make sure to tell Inzer you want the shirt built to these measurments in each spot I mentioned! Be prepared to try the shirt on upon ordering, and be ready to ship it back for alterations unless you have a skilled powerlifting tailor in your area…don’t laugh, there’s a guy here who alters our stuff.
Okay, if this is enough to convince you to order the double denim, we will begin discussing HOW to use the shirt properly…actually, no matter what shirt you get I will try to help you out. Let me know what you’re thinking…
By the way, that vid would have been so much better if that one dude wasn’t totally in the line of sight. It would have given you a better idea of how to use the shirt.
Last thing…do you have a video camera to tape sessions using the shirt? This would help oh so much.
Good God, I rambled again!
-Steve [/quote]
My response was that I was going to purchase a bench shirt and that his rambling was nothin’; considering the fact that Ike was amazed at my ability to turn any topic of conversation into one about beer. I’s got skillz, especially on rambling.
NOW, as I look at squat/deadlift suits: brands? Inzer again? How about Titan?
Patricia. Get the metal suit. Titan takes about three years to get their stuff to you. If you dont want to GOMETAL then get an inzer. Since its WABDL im guess its a push/pull. Your probably thinking no shit. If you pull sumo then they say get the Metal IPF V squatter or the pro squatter. If you pull conventional they say go with the metal deadlift suit. I have an inzer z suit and i really like pulling in it. In fact i like it better than my metal suit for pulling. Also in order to get something out of the suit on deadlift you need to drop into position after you grab to get some spring in the suit off the ground. Also, dont waste time with the HD Blast. That is what i have and its like wearing a tshirt. I get next to nothing out of it and as soon as i get the money im putting down for an inzer double denim.
OKay I will try the Floor presses. I will either rig up some low boxes or find some aerobic steps to use as we don’t have a pwoer rack.
Landon,
It is going well. I went from 275 to 305 on my lock out rack presses. My GMs went up a little. But I think I will add both Speed DL’sto my Speed Box squats on my DE day. I think I need more work for my Deads.
I can already see the speed work having an effect on my ME attempts.