Post by Steve Gardener on Dec 5, 2007 15:17:29 GMT
Benching 4 plates a side
By Steve 'cor ain't your chest got thicker looking?' G
Those of you paying very close attention to my training log will have seen my Close Grip Bench Press slowly but surely increase over the weeks and months I've been working on it. With the due date of December 22nd for the whey power challenge fast approaching I'm nigh on there.
Several weeks ago we had one of those post workout natters wherein we decided there are not enough events late in the year. Combining it with an excuse for some Xmas turkey and a pint after we posted up that all were invited down for a chance to break some PB's. I set mine, after umming and ahhing, to the 2 hand pinch and the close grip bench press.
I started out doing a little background research on some of the 10 and 12 week 'improve your bench' type programs. Add a little peek at one of my Westside Barbell videos and some more tricks and tips of the trade and I thought I was ready. Well the whole 'work the percentages' thing did not work for me at all. 4-5 weeks of starting at 60% and increasing etc was wasted. I quickly went back to my usual 'do what it takes to get 140-kilos' and the worked from there upwards.
The basic program I am currently following is split in two. A max weight session and a speed / groove session.
Max weight
20-kilos a side x 8 reps, 40-kilos a side x 8 reps, 60-kilos a side x a rep then work in proper steps to the max weigh of the day. Once I am there I do 3 singles with it.
Speed / groove
This session follows the exact same framework to the 140-kilo mark and then using about 15-kilos less than my all out max from the max weight session I do 8 singles with it. The 'trick' if there is one is to bring the bar down slow and then, as fast as possible, press it back up. The combination of repeatedly using a sub maximal weight is where the groove part first comes in. Then you have practicing a perfect set up each (neural pattern reinforcement and or so-called learned response) and every time and then finally the fast pressing works different muscle fibre types than a slower moving bar.
I've used for some time and new ones as well more recently a bunch of the ticks of the trade. Examples are:
A lung full of air.
Anyone seeing me go for a max sees me stretching up to the bar and puffing loads of air into my lungs. This gives me a full feeling in the chest and has the added benefit of shortening, by an inch maybe, the distance to press.
Perfect set up
I follow the same set up: feet set etc etc for each and every max set. You leave nothing to chance.
Close grip (works for me - you will need to find your best spacing)
Years of wider grip benching meant I used to get serious discomfort in my shoulders. A change to a narrower grip suited me so well I passed my old normal grip PB shortly after.
Locking the shoulder blades in place.
I make sure they are nice n flat and feel solid on the bench pad. This is where you are pushing from as much as anywhere.
Back work
Rows, pullovers. Indeed any upper back thickener helps with the push point (see above)
Tricep work
Bit obvious really but thicker arms equal better benching
Feet properly anchored to the floor.
Newbies allow their feet to flutter all over the place when benching and while I will never be flexible enough to tuck my heels under me arse as some benchers now do I do make sure the shoes and my feet are solidly planted on the floor. This is the other place you push from after back.
No suicide grip
For mugs only. Indeed squeeze the bar like a mutha and you'll lift better.
A good bench
We have one which I do not like. Being long armed its uprights are too low for me to pick up from and so I much prefer to bench using our adjustable bench in our power rack (or Gymnations). If you read up on the very best benches they are around 10-12 inches across, 4 feet long and solid and unmoving. Depending on where the bar comes down - the groove if you will - the position of the uprights is also important.
Eyes under the bar etc.
Either after hand off if spotted or in the rack if lifting yourself you want the bar at eye level. It then comes down at a shallow angle to the lower part of the chest. Those using shirts exaggerate this even more as many shirts are built for this kind of lifting. Straight up and down is more BB style, the groove style is all power.
Mind
As always your desire, hunger and passion to hit the target are as important as any tip. The stuff that goes through my mind at 100mph just before a lift all help me do what I've set out for.
Since writing the original articles Rob Thomas, our web man and massive bench presser himself suggested the following tips might also be useful. Annoyingly I knew the first one and forgot to include it!
1. When you grip the bar, grip it as though you are trying to crush it. That way, all the muscles in your arms will be fully tensed and ready for it.
2. Alternate your grip width each session. Even if you are only moving your hands in or out 2 to 3 inches.
3. After you have un-racked, as well as squeezing your shoulder blades, try to "wrap your lats" around the bench and tense your delts to keep everything nice and tight.
By Steve 'cor ain't your chest got thicker looking?' G
Those of you paying very close attention to my training log will have seen my Close Grip Bench Press slowly but surely increase over the weeks and months I've been working on it. With the due date of December 22nd for the whey power challenge fast approaching I'm nigh on there.
Several weeks ago we had one of those post workout natters wherein we decided there are not enough events late in the year. Combining it with an excuse for some Xmas turkey and a pint after we posted up that all were invited down for a chance to break some PB's. I set mine, after umming and ahhing, to the 2 hand pinch and the close grip bench press.
I started out doing a little background research on some of the 10 and 12 week 'improve your bench' type programs. Add a little peek at one of my Westside Barbell videos and some more tricks and tips of the trade and I thought I was ready. Well the whole 'work the percentages' thing did not work for me at all. 4-5 weeks of starting at 60% and increasing etc was wasted. I quickly went back to my usual 'do what it takes to get 140-kilos' and the worked from there upwards.
The basic program I am currently following is split in two. A max weight session and a speed / groove session.
Max weight
20-kilos a side x 8 reps, 40-kilos a side x 8 reps, 60-kilos a side x a rep then work in proper steps to the max weigh of the day. Once I am there I do 3 singles with it.
Speed / groove
This session follows the exact same framework to the 140-kilo mark and then using about 15-kilos less than my all out max from the max weight session I do 8 singles with it. The 'trick' if there is one is to bring the bar down slow and then, as fast as possible, press it back up. The combination of repeatedly using a sub maximal weight is where the groove part first comes in. Then you have practicing a perfect set up each (neural pattern reinforcement and or so-called learned response) and every time and then finally the fast pressing works different muscle fibre types than a slower moving bar.
I've used for some time and new ones as well more recently a bunch of the ticks of the trade. Examples are:
A lung full of air.
Anyone seeing me go for a max sees me stretching up to the bar and puffing loads of air into my lungs. This gives me a full feeling in the chest and has the added benefit of shortening, by an inch maybe, the distance to press.
Perfect set up
I follow the same set up: feet set etc etc for each and every max set. You leave nothing to chance.
Close grip (works for me - you will need to find your best spacing)
Years of wider grip benching meant I used to get serious discomfort in my shoulders. A change to a narrower grip suited me so well I passed my old normal grip PB shortly after.
Locking the shoulder blades in place.
I make sure they are nice n flat and feel solid on the bench pad. This is where you are pushing from as much as anywhere.
Back work
Rows, pullovers. Indeed any upper back thickener helps with the push point (see above)
Tricep work
Bit obvious really but thicker arms equal better benching
Feet properly anchored to the floor.
Newbies allow their feet to flutter all over the place when benching and while I will never be flexible enough to tuck my heels under me arse as some benchers now do I do make sure the shoes and my feet are solidly planted on the floor. This is the other place you push from after back.
No suicide grip
For mugs only. Indeed squeeze the bar like a mutha and you'll lift better.
A good bench
We have one which I do not like. Being long armed its uprights are too low for me to pick up from and so I much prefer to bench using our adjustable bench in our power rack (or Gymnations). If you read up on the very best benches they are around 10-12 inches across, 4 feet long and solid and unmoving. Depending on where the bar comes down - the groove if you will - the position of the uprights is also important.
Eyes under the bar etc.
Either after hand off if spotted or in the rack if lifting yourself you want the bar at eye level. It then comes down at a shallow angle to the lower part of the chest. Those using shirts exaggerate this even more as many shirts are built for this kind of lifting. Straight up and down is more BB style, the groove style is all power.
Mind
As always your desire, hunger and passion to hit the target are as important as any tip. The stuff that goes through my mind at 100mph just before a lift all help me do what I've set out for.
Since writing the original articles Rob Thomas, our web man and massive bench presser himself suggested the following tips might also be useful. Annoyingly I knew the first one and forgot to include it!
1. When you grip the bar, grip it as though you are trying to crush it. That way, all the muscles in your arms will be fully tensed and ready for it.
2. Alternate your grip width each session. Even if you are only moving your hands in or out 2 to 3 inches.
3. After you have un-racked, as well as squeezing your shoulder blades, try to "wrap your lats" around the bench and tense your delts to keep everything nice and tight.
