Magoo: The Quest for a 405 bench

[Overload]

I squat with my heals on 2.5 pound plates, only elevated about half an inch.

I only do this for ass to grass BBing style squatting. for power lifting i use my inzer shoes and use a slightly wider stance. in order for me to squat ass to grass without leaning too far forward, i have to elevate the heals a bit. with regular flats i can still get well below parallel.

[MisterMagoo]

been tired lately, but oddly enough my bench is doing fantastic.

WEDNESDAY

bench:
135x15
225x8
275x3
315x2
335x5
335x3
225x27

standing DB presses

underhand pulldowns

chins

side raises

incline close-grip bench

curls

the above was all done with 3-4 sets in the 10-12 rep range, heavy but short of failure. except for one set of DB shoulder presses where my energy absolutely shit out on me.

weighed 224.5

[thewickedtruth]

wtf man! I'm right at 400 on the numbers again and i'm struggling to get 225 for an easy set of 20 and yet you're repping 335 and hitting it for damn near 30!

piss on you! 

[MisterMagoo]

hahaha, this oughta make you feel better.

FRIDAY: squats

squat
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x2
405x2
405x2

speed pulls
365x2
365x2
365x2
365x2
365x2

lunges

leg extensions

leg curls

heavy abs

weight: 220

notes: i had no energy. long thanksgiving plus two nights out, pleah. and here, no questioning my depth NOW, bitches. 

[QuakerOats]

very good squats right there, great depth.

[MisterMagoo]

thanks man. my energy was in the pooper, but i honestly think i could have gotten 3 without too much issue on that first set. 405x5 is still doable in a month or two.

[QuakerOats]

thanks man. my energy was in the pooper, but i honestly think i could have gotten 3 without too much issue on that first set. 405x5 is still doable in a month or two.

absolutely, the first set looked fairly easy.

[Ursus]

Great squats. Cant wait to get my squat strength back

[tonymctones]

Holy FUCK BALLS man youve gotten a lot stronger bro  Good shit mang

[The Apprentice]

nice squats, yesterday i did 6 x 6 with 165kg, my legs and ass are killing me today

[MisterMagoo]

felt like benching... so i did

SUNDAY

bench:
135x15
225x8
275x5
315x3
365x1
380x0 - DAMN this was close, but i slipped out of the groove halfway up
315x7 - meant to film it, didn't
315x6 - just for the camera

standing militaries - i alternated form on all sets, just to mess around
135x5
135x5
135x5
135x5
135x5

cable rows - with the free-floating handles
200x12
215x10
230x10
230x10

some pullups

random sets of DB raises with 35 pounders

curls and pushdowns, sets of 15

weight: 220

notes: man, my form was hurting. i could NOT keep my ass down on the bench. it only came up a bit, but it was enough to piss me off. here's a video of the workout anyway.

[_bruce_]

Good stuff - copied your bench form, except the ass-liftoff, and my cg benches felt waaaaaaaaaaaay better.

Keep strong

[Overload]

Good shit Magoo.

[Stubborn]

I wasnt pressing 315 for more than a couple reps at 220lbs. Nice work!

[wes]

Fucking great benching Zack!!

Big props dude!

[MisterMagoo]

my lower back's been dodgy as shit, so I'm just doing sets of 5 on everything lower body for a little while.

WEDNESDAY: bench

pause bench:
135x5
225x5
275x3
315x2
335x2 - damn
345x1.9 - ALMOST got the 2nd
250x14 - new goal is to get 250x20

push press: minimal leg drive
135x6
155x5
175x3
195x2
135x8

neutral-grip pulldowns
180x12
180x12
180x12
180x10
180x10

swinging db front raises: like an H-roll, but standing
25x12
25x12
25x12

hammer curls and rope pushdowns


THURSDAY: squats

squats: my lower back was seriously not right
135x5
225x5
315x3
315x3
365x5
365x5
365x5
365x4 - wanted a 5x5. maybe someday

RDLs off a block:
315x6
315x6
315x6

one-legged RDLs with DBs: balance = shitty
25x10/10
25x10/10
70x10/10 - used a bar here
80x8/8 - same

some leg curls and leg extensions to finish

weight: 225??!

notes: my bench is just skyrocketing. everything else? Not so much.

[Stubborn]

Always nice to break plateaus. Good job Magoo! When do we see the 405lb attempt?

[MisterMagoo]

Always nice to break plateaus. Good job Magoo! When do we see the 405lb attempt?

hahaha, new years eve or possibly just after the 2009 changeover. i'm not entirely sure. of course, if i still can't get 380 this week then we may be in a bit of a bind. putting 30 pounds on my bench in three weeks may be a bit tricky. 

[Stubborn]

hahaha, new years eve or possibly just after the 2009 changeover. i'm not entirely sure. of course, if i still can't get 380 this week then we may be in a bit of a bind. putting 30 pounds on my bench in three weeks may be a bit tricky. 

Would you say you owe all of your progress to the implementation of close grip behind the neck presses? 

[thewickedtruth]

Would you say you owe all of your progress to the implementation of close grip behind the neck presses? 

lmfao! that was going to be MY post! 

[MisterMagoo]

Would you say you owe all of your progress to the implementation of close grip behind the neck presses? 

i wish i could do them any more. tips of my elbows have started hurting again, so i can't do ANY extensions. 

TUESDAY

box squats: parallel
135x5
225x5
315x3
365x3
405x3
455x3
405x5

touch and go pulls: no belt
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x4 - might have gotten five, but didn't want to hit total failure.

pull-throughs:
150x15
150x15
150x15

plate pinches

heavy abs

WEDNESDAY

bench:
135x10
225x6
275x3
315x2
350x4 - three was on my own except maybe a tap, four needed some help at the midspot.
325x3

incline DB presses:
100x10
110x6
110x8

rows: not quite pendlay, but tapped the floor on most reps
185x12
185x10
225x7
225x6 - way too hard to do them that deep without straps or a belt. damn.

did some light extensions, curls, and shoulder raises.

weight: 222

notes: i had some other workouts in here, but they were terrible so i don't see the need to add them. i'll say this, my beltless deadlift may not be as strong as belted, but my form feels SO much better. i've gotten to doing it so that i have my fingertips on the bar but basically squatted down with my weight on my heels. hard to describe but it felt pretty excellent.

[Hedgehog]

Great benching.

Any meets planned?

[MisterMagoo]

Great benching.

Any meets planned?

looking at one in february, but we'll see.

saturday: some bench assistance

close-grip:
135x10
185x5
225x5
275x5
295x5 - a tap of help on the last one

military press:
135x10
185x6
185x6
185x6 - wow, i normally suck at these...

weighted chins:
BWx10
50x6
50x6
50x6 - brutal, because i DO suck at these

bicep/tricep/shoulder isolation work for sets of 12-15

MONDAY: pull/squat

box squats: plus double-choked greens. ~110 pounds of tension, i think? i lost the chart
135x5
225x5
315x3 - belt on here
365x3
405x3 - holy hell this was harsh

pulls from the floor: no belt
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x5

pull-throughs:
70x15
70x15
70x15

leg press: feet close together, not very high up
5x15 - weight in plates per side
5x15
5x15

ab work

WEDNESDAY: benching

bench:
135x12
225x8
275x5
315x5
355x3 - tap of help on rep 3
315x4 - totally shot from the 355

feet-up bench:
225x8
225x8
225x8

underhand pulldowns:
160x12
180x12
200x10
200x10

a set of chins

h-rolls:
15x15
20x15
20x15

hammer curls:
55x10/10
70x8/8
70x8/8
70x6/6

dips:
20
20
20

weight: 218-223

notes: none really. except things are on the way up again now that i'm doing more beltless and 3-5 rep work instead of all those effing singles. 

[thewickedtruth]

your bench is getting sick man..i'ts right on par with mine.. not kidding. sick work bro.

[Stubborn]

your bench is getting sick man..i'ts right on par with mine.. not kidding. sick work bro.

No joke! Great work Magoo! On the box squats too.