Improving my bench
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Hi all,
Used to compete in powerlifting as a master in the IPF a few years ago then took approx. 4 years off training. Got a bench and some weights about 5 weeks ago and have decided to bench only as it was my weakest lift by some distance. Have notions of competing again in WPNZ next year as just a bencher but will need to improve a lot in a relatively short space of time. I work a relatively physically demanding job which requires a lot of lifting and walking during the day and im way out of condition so its been quite tough to get back into. Ill give it a go though and see what happens.Stats currently
45 yrs old 5 7 100 kgs
Flat bench 115x5
Military press 70x7
Closegrip bench 105x6
High incline 95x5All im doing is doing the 4 different lifts on different days,low volume because my arms are quite fucked after work and I need to recover for the drudgery the next day and trying to progress lineally. Im slowly starting to hit a brick wall with linear progression but will try and eek out some more gains.
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Welcome aboard @geebee! Those numbers are nothing to sneeze out, especially after a few years out of the game!
Is the work fatigue the main reason for keeping the training on bench variations? So no accessory stuff for triceps or shoulders/stabilisers?
What were your lifts in your last comp - holy shit I've seen some big numbers in the Masters categories!
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Put Sam Cane on your bench. That will improve it although maybe at the detriment of the team....oh wait...
I would incorporate some long pause bench sets and some eccentric slow lowers with increased load on one day and then a day with heavy load tough and go.
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@Paekakboyz cheers for reading and replying. My last comp was the Aussie masters nats in 2015 where i went 210-130-235@93 bw. I quit lifting a few months later when i came back to NZ.
Work is my priority bro,one of the guys carries a fitbit around at work and he covers about 20 km a day and thats including time in the office,so I estimate i cover 20+ km a day as well as carrying between 13-15 tonne of product. So im not completely rekt by the end of the day but i need to weight train judiciously so as not to feel broken the next morning. Hence the ridiculously low volume. Im training as frequently as I can manage but as its getting heavier i might have to shuffle the heavier days to the weekend.
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@Magpie_in_aus yeah true. Im just gaining confidence for now but at some stage will have to get more specific and incorporate pauses. I found a 2 count pause pretty much covers competition calls. Touch and go can give a false belief because im using stretch reflex,pausing eliminates that.
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@Wairau we have parallel bars at work which I jump on during lulls but that's sort of frowned upon by management as horseplay so I stopped doing them. They definitely help. I train at home with minimal equipment but would darely love to figure out a way to do them with added weight.
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Tonight.
Bench
warmups
110x5x3 sets 100x5x3 sets 90x5x3 setsIm not naturally good at benching,small arms and wrists and flatback technique on a cheap bench on tippytoes so no leg drive. I also train alone so lose a bit of tightness with my shoulders rolling forward unracking it myself. Ive seen good benchers in competition and they arch hard,touch low and drive it back over their face. My lower back is too rigid for that carry on.
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Grab a ruck sack, chuck in 20 kg and find a corner of the kitchen bench. All the places I've lived in in last 20 years have had one and it allowed me to do dips with flat hands. Need to try without weights to get hand position right as if not you can get unnatural positioning for elbows and shoulders.
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Incline bench
warm ups
95x5x3 sets 90x5x2 sets 85x5x3 sets 80x5x3 setsel cheapo bench so unracking it off my face rather than full extension of arms. Almost another rep just with the unrack lol but im not counting it. I couldn't get 90 unracked without possibly knocking the rest of whats left of my teeth out 5 weeks ago so im progressing. I enjoy incline benching,the biomechanics of it are tougher in my opinion so its a good strength builder. Plus anyone who lifts weights has a bit of bodybuilder in them so incline gives the upper chest a good going over.
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Closegrip bench
warm ups
90x8x4 sets
Military press
30x5 40x3 50x2 then 60x8x4 sets
Shoulder dumbbell press
21.5x10x4 sets.
Light laterals to finish.I overhead shoulder press without a belt,due to the fact im too fat to fit my comp belt and also Eddie Hall who in my opinion is the strongest shoulder presser in the world recommends not to. Hopefully will get a stronger core.
