Bench Pressing Twice your Body Weight.

[The True Adonis]

"Don`t Bench Press Anymore" = Embarrassed to do it in front of anyone because I don`t want them to think I am weak, my gym peers expect more out of me than I can deliver at the moment. 

[The True Adonis]

haha yes.

they expect me to move brutal weight and then i go and use less weight than some of the smallest twinks there

I love it.  I can`t tell you how many times I have heard the "I have bad shoulders" excuse, or "I use to bench a lot for 10 years now I just do Dumbbells", only to find them using a military press on shoulder day. 

How does that work out?   



Anyone who tells you that they don`t bench press anymore or can`t is just embarrassed and not confident enough to do it in front of anyone.

[Primemuscle]

To be honest, I could give a flying fuck how much I can bench press. What interests me more is how to grow some slabs of muscle on my chest. If anyone has any ideas about doing this, I am all ears (or eyes as the case may be).

[T-REX007]

I had some decent growth using a GVT type of workout a few years back
Also did some cambered bar benches supersetted with high rep flyes and got some decent results, but I definitely felt it on my rotators if I went too heavy

Just my 2 cents bro

[deceiver]

Bench pressing twice your bodyweight in IPF sanctioned competition is a feat that only top-elite can do. Now when it comes to gym-bench that's different story. I benched 140kg in the gym at around 78kg and 130kg in competition at 73.9kg. I honestly believe I could bench more than 140kg if I didn't have to worry about my feet staying on the floor, 1 sec pause, strict movement and so on. Pause vs touch and go is about 5kg. Touch and go vs bounce is another 5kg. If you lift your ass then you have another 5kg or even more if you abuse it...

I've finished my bench with 125kg in previous competition coz my 130kg got red flagged due to my left foot being slightly eleveated during lift.

Squat comes easy for me because I'm confident there, bench is very hard and deadlift is tactical. You can never "fight" more than once during competition on deadlift. If you go too high during 2nd attempt you won't lift shit in third attempt. If you fail during 2nd attempt after a fight then you're done. I attempted 220kg, barbell was slippery and my grip failed when I was dropping the bar. In the third attempt (220kg again) I haven't even lifted the bar off the floor...

[dj181]

Bench pressing twice your bodyweight in IPF sanctioned competition is a feat that only top-elite can do. Now when it comes to gym-bench that's different story. I benched 140kg in the gym at around 78kg and 130kg in competition at 73.9kg. I honestly believe I could bench more than 140kg if I didn't have to worry about my feet staying on the floor, 1 sec pause, strict movement and so on. Pause vs touch and go is about 5kg. Touch and go vs bounce is another 5kg. If you lift your ass then you have another 5kg or even more if you abuse it...

I've finished my bench with 125kg in previous competition coz my 130kg got red flagged due to my left foot being slightly eleveated during lift.

what's your training like for the bench?

is it twice a week with one day focused on the bench and then another day focused on tri work?

[deceiver]

what's your training like for the bench?

is it twice a week with one day focused on the bench and then another day focused on tri work?

Twice a week heavy bench. Now I've switched and squat 4 times a week and bench 3-4 times a week and switched from preplanned progression to intuition and daily max. I'm still experimenting alot.

[dj181]

Twice a week heavy bench. Now I've switched and squat 4 times a week and bench 3-4 times a week and switched from preplanned progression to intuition and daily max. I'm still experimenting alot.

but you're not benching heavy each workout are you?

[T-REX007]

I definitely think volume work for the bench press is important, more so than for the other lifts

Gotta have freakish strong tri's too !

[deceiver]

but you're not benching heavy each workout are you?

Yes, I am.

Pre contest was like - 2.5kg each week more on the bar, twice a week same weight, accessory lifts as needed if recovery was good.

Top benchers bench 3-4 times per week with 2 days for heavy bench.

With squat it is even more crazy, top olympic lifters squat 6 days per week, about 2 days going for max (even 1 rep max). This is brutal but sure as hell works for them. Light olympic lifters squat more than any powerlifter could imagine.

[dj181]

Yes, I am.

Pre contest was like - 2.5kg each week more on the bar, twice a week same weight, accessory lifts as needed if recovery was good.

Top benchers bench 3-4 times per week with 2 days for heavy bench.

With squat it is even more crazy, top olympic lifters squat 6 days per week, about 2 days going for max (even 1 rep max). This is brutal but sure as hell works for them. Light olympic lifters squat more than any powerlifter could imagine.

most top benchers in the jew s a train it twice a week

for example: sunday is heavy bench day and wednesday is heavy tri work ie. floor press, jm press, etc

but dudes in the 70's and early 80's did train heavy bench 3 times a week, like this fella

[T-REX007]

Hepburn,Pacifico, McDonald ,Williams ... all trained bench multiple times a week and went very heavy
Had pretty good results too

[deceiver]

most top benchers in the jew s a train it twice a week

for example: sunday is heavy bench day and wednesday is heavy tri work ie. floor press, jm press, etc

but dudes in the 70's and early 80's did train heavy bench 3 times a week, like this fella

That's american style, suitable for very big guys who rely on their insane muscle mass. Russians train more often, most of medium-weight guys train very often. Training 1-2 times per week came from powerlifting suits (it's impossible to squat daily in a suit  or bench daily in a shirt) and bodybuilding influence.

[CalvinH]

Nope and as the years go by it gets farther away as I get fatter

[deceiver]

By the way, many casual lifters who have daily job don't think they're good because they compare themselves to other casual lifters. Like me - I deadlift 220kg (missed attempt but we can count it - my grip failed when dropping the bar), bench 130kg (with pause) and squat 180kg (in competition) all at below 74kg. Compared to other gym rats, I'm good. Compared to professional athletes like olympic lifters... I'm nothing. Stoitsov squats 300kg at around that weight, Tokola squats 250kg, many guys on youtube who squat daily and follow structured olympic lifting programme squat over 220kg at this weight. Your response prolly will be - oh steroids, oh, they look like shit... Well, nobody gives a fuck and trust me, in the end it's all about hard work. I was unable to admit it for years but now I understand that.

[Rammstein]

There was a good series on chaosandpain regarding benching:

http://chaosandpain.blogspot.nl/2012/05/stop-bitching-and-start-benching.html

http://chaosandpain.blogspot.nl/2012/05/stop-bitching-and-start-benching-2.html

http://chaosandpain.blogspot.nl/2012/06/stop-bitching-and-start-benching-3-more.html

http://chaosandpain.blogspot.nl/2012/06/stop-bitching-and-start-benching-4-my.html

[Vince G, CSN MFT]

I did it once. In 1975 when training for the Mr Australia contest and dieting I did 400 pounds while weighing 200. Strict bench with butt on the bench with no bounce. Ah, the good old days. Left shoulder has been sore for decades so I don't bench anymore.

You didn't bench that much you old lying sack of shit