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3) CRITICAL BENCH: Weight training obviously helped you go from a 115lbs weakling, to a shredded action figure! (You, know someone who looks huge, despite actual body weight.) How did you train specifically to go from a weakling to a very inspiring and athletic physique? It actually all started in my backyard. I used to put bricks in socks and lift trash cans full of water…you know, the basics. I know it all sounds pretty crazy, but that's what built my foundation. I still fall back on that primitive style of training every now and then when I go back home to visit from college. After training legs, for example, I might pull my dad's truck up and down the street or around the block a few times. 4) CRITICAL BENCH: That's hardcore and that's the key! As you discovered you must train with more intensity than the rest. So Eaton, how do you train before a bodybuilding show? Give us your specific routine and how do you train during the off-season? When preparing for a bodybuilding competition, my movements become more precise. I practice stricter form and perform more isolation exercises. During the off-season, however, all of my movements are compound. The only thing that remains constant year round is the weight load. There's only one way I train, and that's hard and heavy! Sample Contest Preparation (Bodybuilding) Split : Day 1: Chest & TricepsDay 2: Lower BodyDay 3: OffDay 4: Shoulders & TrapsDay 5: OffDay 6: Back & BicepsDay 7: Off 5) CRITICAL BENCH: How do you train before a bench press meet? Give us your routine! It's funny that you ask that. The way I trained before my first bench press competition was no different than the way I train to prepare for the bodybuilding competitions. I was a month out of a bodybuilding competition when I competed in and won my first bench press competition. Normally, however, I prepare for bench press competitions through a three-day (push, pull & lower body) split until I am ready to start a 6-8 week peaking cycle. On push day, the flat bench is emphasized and all other exercises are for assistance and auxiliary purposes. The same applies to the squat on lower body day and the deadlift on pull day. Sample Competition Preparation (Powerlifting) Split : Day 1: Push Muscles: Flat Bench, Incline Bench, Overhead Presses, Seated Side Laterals, Skull Crushers Day 2: Off Day 3: Lower Body:Squats, Front Squats, Zercher Squats Day 4: Off Day 5: Pull Day: Deadlifts, Bent Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Barbell Shrugs, Barbell Curls Day 6: Off Day 7: Off 6) CRITICAL BENCH: How would you compare your bench press training to your bodybuilding training? What would you say the pros and cons are between them? How has bench pressing helped you with bodybuilding? When I am training the bench, everything revolves around it. Like I mentioned before, all other exercises are just assistance and auxiliary exercises. Things changes when I am bodybuilding though. Monday is no longer the "bench" day. It's the chest day. That's the major difference between the two training styles. When I am bodybuilding the entire workout no longer revolves around the bench. Each exercise is equally important. The bench press has done wonders for my physique. As a bodybuilder, I treasure the exercise. Though, the incline bench builds a much more massive chest than the flat bench, the flat bench is unparalleled when it comes to gains in overall mass and strength in the upper body.
