Anabolics, Competitions, and the Journey to a 500lbs bench
- Thread starter ckcrown84
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Awesome idea...Thinking about logging some peptides[emoji123][emoji123][emoji123]
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I t end to get the most questions about bench... The "Bro" lift... But also believe it or not one of the most challenging lifts. The key to improving any lift, not just bench, is consistency and training.... Seems obvious right ? Yet many fall short.
First let's talk about Training. Brings to mind some words by Swede Burns. There is a big difference between training and working out. Training is methodical, tracked, and evaluated. Working out is... Not only going through the motions but often quite directionless. The big strong guy at the gym "working out" and benching 405 will likely be benching the same weight in a year or two. So, your take away? Track your workouts and have a plan! That simple. If you plan 6 weeks and nothing improved reevaluate that plan. Have a purpose and a goal and work toward it... TRAIN
Consistency is another big one, and it ties directly into training. Be consistent, give things TIME to work. Don't program hop, don't throw something aside after a week or two.... Stick to the program and give it time to work. Sure it sucks if six weeks goes by and those shoulder presses didn't pay off for your bench, but that's part of the journey, learning what works and what doesn't.
Too often people get caught up in too many variations and changes that they don't really give something time to work and progress. Another problem is people do so many variations that they don't know what is working and what isn't.
A big component of my bench training is simplicity. I track a few primary movements and look at the progression and how that carries over to my lift. If it doesn't I abandon it. If it's working I continue the progression until I reach a wall then I switch to a variation.
Soon I will be releasing an excel sheet that will help individuals do exactly that in a way that I believe to be most effective for strength performance.
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First let's talk about Training. Brings to mind some words by Swede Burns. There is a big difference between training and working out. Training is methodical, tracked, and evaluated. Working out is... Not only going through the motions but often quite directionless. The big strong guy at the gym "working out" and benching 405 will likely be benching the same weight in a year or two. So, your take away? Track your workouts and have a plan! That simple. If you plan 6 weeks and nothing improved reevaluate that plan. Have a purpose and a goal and work toward it... TRAIN
Consistency is another big one, and it ties directly into training. Be consistent, give things TIME to work. Don't program hop, don't throw something aside after a week or two.... Stick to the program and give it time to work. Sure it sucks if six weeks goes by and those shoulder presses didn't pay off for your bench, but that's part of the journey, learning what works and what doesn't.
Too often people get caught up in too many variations and changes that they don't really give something time to work and progress. Another problem is people do so many variations that they don't know what is working and what isn't.
A big component of my bench training is simplicity. I track a few primary movements and look at the progression and how that carries over to my lift. If it doesn't I abandon it. If it's working I continue the progression until I reach a wall then I switch to a variation.
Soon I will be releasing an excel sheet that will help individuals do exactly that in a way that I believe to be most effective for strength performance.
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Words to live by!
We have all heard the body mechanics argument for why someone is good or great at a certain lift. It usually goes something like this: “Yeah, you got a good bench…those short arms help immensely.” Or “Yeah, nice deadlift his long arms make him built to pull.” These little statements are meant to protect the ego and have the simultaneous effect of downgrading the other individual’s accomplishment.
As a lifter with short arms I hear the short arm reason as to why I am a good bencher quite often… but truth is, my short arms have very little to do with why I am a descent bencher. I am an okay bencher because I love it, I train and train and train, and I have been consistently lifting and training for 13 years and I am STILL learning.
People are usually good at something because they put years of effort into increasing their performance, despite the setbacks. We all progress at a certain rate, face certain obstacles and have different starting points all of which are parts of what makes each person’s journey unique.
I decided to give a little timeline of my workout history, a glimpse into how “easy” my bench press journey was.
2003-2005 Free weights – Never benched 315
2005-2009 Machine weight training
2009-Summer 2012 College parties and Curls for the Girls. Lots of benching… LOTS the bro spots and chest bounces were on point!
Summer 2012 I began PL Training
March 2013 425lbs Bench Press SPF Ironman Pro/AM
December 2013 415lbs RPS Winter Warfare
April 2014 450lbs RPS Push Pull presented by River City Barbell
June 2014 470lbs LexenXtreme Summer Slam
December 2014 480lbs Lexen XXX
February 2015 two distal bicep tears and surgeries
December 2015 470lbs SPF Presented by Sweat Shop
That is a lot of years of pressing and I still haven’t broken into the 500lbs+ which to me are the great benchers. 13 years of benching…
My squat and deadlift are still works in progress. 3 years in and I still suck. Guess what? It might take me another 10 years…but descent numbers will happen.
There are many variables in performance: mechanics, training style, genetic predisposition, sports background, labor background, general athleticism, diet, supplementation, lifestyle, environment, etc.
Next time you are crying about “short arms” “long arms” or some other advantage a lifter has ask yourself one question: How many fucking years have you put in? How dedicated are you? What obstacles have you faced? Shutup and train don’t make excuses about your arms, your chest, your shoulders, your back, and your biceps.
I have one opening available for online coaching, my goal is to help you become a better lifter.
Contact me for details
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As a lifter with short arms I hear the short arm reason as to why I am a good bencher quite often… but truth is, my short arms have very little to do with why I am a descent bencher. I am an okay bencher because I love it, I train and train and train, and I have been consistently lifting and training for 13 years and I am STILL learning.
People are usually good at something because they put years of effort into increasing their performance, despite the setbacks. We all progress at a certain rate, face certain obstacles and have different starting points all of which are parts of what makes each person’s journey unique.
I decided to give a little timeline of my workout history, a glimpse into how “easy” my bench press journey was.
2003-2005 Free weights – Never benched 315
2005-2009 Machine weight training
2009-Summer 2012 College parties and Curls for the Girls. Lots of benching… LOTS the bro spots and chest bounces were on point!
Summer 2012 I began PL Training
March 2013 425lbs Bench Press SPF Ironman Pro/AM
December 2013 415lbs RPS Winter Warfare
April 2014 450lbs RPS Push Pull presented by River City Barbell
June 2014 470lbs LexenXtreme Summer Slam
December 2014 480lbs Lexen XXX
February 2015 two distal bicep tears and surgeries
December 2015 470lbs SPF Presented by Sweat Shop
That is a lot of years of pressing and I still haven’t broken into the 500lbs+ which to me are the great benchers. 13 years of benching…
My squat and deadlift are still works in progress. 3 years in and I still suck. Guess what? It might take me another 10 years…but descent numbers will happen.
There are many variables in performance: mechanics, training style, genetic predisposition, sports background, labor background, general athleticism, diet, supplementation, lifestyle, environment, etc.
Next time you are crying about “short arms” “long arms” or some other advantage a lifter has ask yourself one question: How many fucking years have you put in? How dedicated are you? What obstacles have you faced? Shutup and train don’t make excuses about your arms, your chest, your shoulders, your back, and your biceps.
I have one opening available for online coaching, my goal is to help you become a better lifter.
Contact me for details
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cybrsage
Full Access
Drove 8 hours today and when I get back home I hit some deadlifts... Didn't do a real workout but was happy to pull 485 and hold it for 4 seconds. Making progress on my grip.
Next week will be fluff workouts for a week long deload. Then the week after we go back to battle !!!
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I love the look on the dog's face. It looks like he is thinking "holy shit, dude!!!"
Hit 500 for a single today in sleeves, weight around 208lbs
Things are looking good, 6 weeks out from competition.
Have a max bench this upcoming Friday, hopefully a damn good number comes up.
Things have been going really well,
Making some cycle changes due to sides, also upping dose
1gram test cyp
600mg tren E
50mg anadrol
Going to add
40mg anavar
60mg halo/day weeks 5 and 6
The Cheque drops are definitely good additions on heavy days I only use them on big compound days
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A few thoughts on warmups:
A lot of people just don't do enough. They get to the gym and just hop under the bar.
Lately I have literally trippled the amount of rehab/prehab/warmup work that I do and my lifts and conditioning haven't ever felt better. If you are so poorly conditioned that some sprints, jogs, skipping, sled drags, prowler, etc run you down and take away from your lifting then maybe you should just pick up competitive eating as a sport. Lazy fuck. Seriosly, so many gyms and workouts downplay the warmup process. Don't be afraid to get that blood flowing and your system really firing. I promise, getting some work in isn't going to hurt you... its gonna help you. I am not saying run a 10k or jog 5 miles, but doo some sport specific conditioning.
My warm up:
5 sets of plyo warmup
3 sets of 15 Plyo with red band and 3 plates
2 tours with the sled doing back work
2 tours of Donnie Thompsons Cross for the pecs
3 sets of 10 135+chain
5 triples on speed work
Then worked up to a heavy double on floor press
405 and about 46lbs of chains so yeah whatever 405 and a chain lol.
Ended with more sled work, dumbbell flyes and shoulder shrugs.
Max bench Friday! Can't wait!
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507lbs after a small pyramid... Small is relative I guess every set is above 90% of my 1rm sooo... [emoji867]
467 x4
477 x3
487 x2
507 X1
Big barrier for me, but time to dial that squat back, April 9th we test max squat on competition bar. Plenty of time to recover [emoji123]
Special thanks to the team today for pushing me, progress baby !
#lightsout
Almost
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Long video,
515 for a smooth single, crooked as hell but smooth.
Got real excited and all the shit I lecture the team on went out the window... I decided the 11lbs collars didn't fucking count and the 2.5lbs certainly didn't count...So went for 550lbs which.... Failed.
First failed lift in quite a while.
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