Bench press - do you guys count the weight of the bar or not ?
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[quote name='NTA']<br />
[quote name='Fullermorg']<br />
This might sound minimal but for a hard gainer like ,yself it has been best results yet.<br />
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At over 18st, I think you mean "fat bastard" <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /><br />
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Your gains there are interesting - flyes are excellent for chest because its pulling the whole muscle fibre in and out in reasonable isolation. Supersets of anything should be encouraged in my book <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
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Its not a direct swap to be honest, now i am religious about dumbell press/pec dec or flys/incline press/dips, whereas previously i might leave one of these out of a session if i was benching heavy.<br />
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Love the supersets, end of supersetting a lot more now i train on my own, because i want to get out of there, whereas before i would chat with training partner etc.. -
My favourite chest exercises are now press ups with a 20kg plate on my back, and close grip press ups with your hands balanced on top a medicine ball. Finish your chest workout with one of those and you'll be lovin it! The weighted press ups are especially good for athletes as I read somewhere some NFL fitness coach never advocated Bench Press, as very rarely do you have the need to lie on your back and throw something heavy up in the air, as opposed to getting up from your guts off the deck. Interesting I thought :nta Dips are superb.
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[quote]Dips are superb.[/quote] Although it is very rare that you find a pair of dip bars on the sports field and have to dip... <br />
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Bench press is for strength - nothing more, it is not a sports specific exercise, so to speak, so that is interesting, but not very releevant - as my above sentence points out - or tries too!! -
The way I weight train now I perform one push exercise, one pull, one type of squat and one core ex per workout. And I vary my exercises each time so for the push I could alternate BB Bench, DB Bench (Incline/Decline on bench or ball), Standing DB Press or Standing BB Press. I never use machines or isolation exercises, its all free weight variations of Chins, Cleans, Deadlifts, Squats, Presses etc. Usually do something like 4 sets of 5 to 10 reps per exercise and I do weights two or three time per week. Ive never been stronger in my life and my workouts are usually over in about 45 minutes. I feel fresh every time I train because I have one or two days rest between each workout. I used to do far too many exercises for each bodypart and train far too long/too many days a week. Im champing at the bit for every session now. Only took my about 18 years of weights to finally realise less is more.
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that sounds familiar RB - less is more. I have been working out pretty much the same - two main bodyparts each workout (legs, back, chest, shoulders), and then every second workout I throw in 'beach muscles' - arms!!<br />
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I will always squat, deadlift, bench press and shoulder press, but the other three exercises I do per body part will change each workout. <br />
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SO getting the the gym three times a week, and loving it to - fresh every time. Dodgy shoulder coming right too, starting to be able to lift some heavier weights on the bench and shoulder press.<br />
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Also gyming either at 6:00am or at lunch, so when I get home at the end of the day family comes first. -
Have either of you guys perused this by any chance ? <br />
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[url="http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/"]http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/69/[/url]<br />
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I've just started doing this for pull ups and bench press and it suits me pretty well. ( so far !! admittedly am on my first week ) I shoot home for lunch just about every day so will bust out 3 sets over an hour then another 5 or so over the course of the evening. Not recommended for people unless they live in a gym but as I'm lucky enough to have a bench and weights out in the garage I can go out and do them in an ad break if I feel like it. Obviously you have to resist the temptation to go to failure as that apparently messes things up totally but from what I've read this won't make you any bigger but will make you stronger which suits me down to the ground. Similiar principle to learing a musical instrument, little bits each day as opposed to going hard out and resting for days on end. Training your muscle "memory" as it were.....<br />
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Basically it goes against what everyone is taught ie "force out one more rep to tear the muscle to get bigger and stronger etcetcetc" but definitely thought provoking and surely can't do any harm so I''m keen to give it a go for awhile and see what happens. -
[quote]The synaptic facilitation power plan can be summed up as lifting heavy weights as often as possible while staying 'fresh as a cucumber' (Russkies have a thing against daisies, you wouldn't understand). Contrary to what some snobby pantywaists believe, this heavy, high volume approach is not an iron fossil but one of the most scientific approaches to strength training there is. "Chain yourself to the squat rack and call me in a year." Words to live by. [/quote]<br />
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The last paragraph - sums it up. All about keeping fresh - in mind also. The Bulgarian programme is lift heavy and lift often, and rest in between. Easy for professional athletes attached to steroid drips, not so easy for we mortals. But it worked for me all those yearsa ago. -
[quote name='BartMan'][quote]The synaptic facilitation power plan can be summed up as lifting heavy weights as often as possible while staying 'fresh as a cucumber' (Russkies have a thing against daisies, you wouldn't understand). Contrary to what some snobby pantywaists believe, this heavy, high volume approach is not an iron fossil but one of the most scientific approaches to strength training there is. "Chain yourself to the squat rack and call me in a year." Words to live by. [/quote]<br />
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The last paragraph - sums it up. All about keeping fresh - in mind also. The Bulgarian programme is lift heavy and lift often, and rest in between. Easy for professional athletes attached to steroid drips, not so easy for we mortals. But it worked for me all those yearsa ago.[/quote]<br />
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Well if I'm hanging round home getting bored I can always pop out for a quick set so that side of it appeals to me, like I said not so applicable if I was to shoot down to the gym every couple of hours. Will definitely give the joints a rest every few days though, that would appear to be the sensible thing to do ! -
[quote name='davidav']Of course you count the weight of the bar. It's weight. You're lifting it. So it counts. An olympic size bar is 45 lbs or exactly 20 kgs.[/quote]<br />
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I'm using a bar that I estimate to weigh 0.00000000001 kg, I also have an olympic bar for deadlifts that would be 10 of 15kg but is 7 feet long and I prefer the other one for benching ( although it has a slight bend due to strain from the weights ) <br />
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As discussed previously my weights set up in the garage goes against lots of health and safety rules so I'm not too concerned about a slight bend ! -
MN5, mine and Prop curils olympic bar had a massive bend in it - from dropping off our home built squat rack onto our home built bench. Was fine for everything, but for putting the bar back onto the rack after doing squats, with the bend, I could hardly get it back onto the pegs!! Had to do calf raises!!
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[quote name='BartMan']MN5, mine and Prop curils olympic bar had a massive bend in it - from dropping off our home built squat rack onto our home built bench. Was fine for everything, but for putting the bar back onto the rack after doing squats, with the bend, I could hardly get it back onto the pegs!! Had to do calf raises!![/quote]<br />
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OK my previous bar is bent beyond recognition now so have switched to the 7 foot one while benching and I have to confess it feels a lot more natural and easier to grip tightly, I chucked it on the scales and it is exactly 10kg yet feels easier to bench with 80kg on there ( ie 90kg all up ) rather than 90kg on the other bar. Perhaps its all in my mind..... eusa_think -
[quote name='Hooroo']Slight tangent here, but I'm doing all my Bench press on a swiss ball and with dumb bells and the difference is amazing, when I do go back on the hard bench. So much easier and you can do a lot more weight as well.[/quote]<br />
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May give that a go dude, always keen for a bit of variety and all of that. My one gripe would be that the wider ROM tends to fuck up my shoulders quite a bit ! xzxmad -
[quote name='Hooroo']Slight tangent here, but I'm doing all my Bench press on a swiss ball and with dumb bells and the difference is amazing, when I do go back on the hard bench. So much easier and you can do a lot more weight as well.[/quote]<br />
How much do you trust the ball? Have you checked the max wieght it can take? You must be what 135kg plus? eusa_whistle and then add to that whatever you are lifting..<br />
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Anyway it's a very quick way to break both forearms if you get it wrong<br />
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Personally I barely do any flat pressing anymore. I get very few results with it.. Incline however seems far more suited to me and I put on more muscle and gain strength faster.<br />
Anyone else find the same thing? -
[quote name='Duluth'][quote name='Hooroo']Slight tangent here, but I'm doing all my Bench press on a swiss ball and with dumb bells and the difference is amazing, when I do go back on the hard bench. So much easier and you can do a lot more weight as well.[/quote]<br />
How much do you trust the ball? Have you checked the max wieght it can take? You must be what 135kg plus? eusa_whistle and then add to that whatever you are lifting..<br />
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Anyway it's a very quick way to break both forearms if you get it wrong<br />
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Personally I barely do any flat pressing anymore. I get very few results with it.. Incline however seems far more suited to me and I put on more muscle and gain strength faster.<br />
Anyone else find the same thing?[/quote]<br />
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Yeah if you're fairly big and also doing some big weights then the thing may be in danger of exploding which wouldn't be too fun if you had the weights in mid air at the time ! ok maybe I won't try unless I do more homework. -
Hasn't popped on me yet!!! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> It was my instructor that suggested it and, so far, so good.<br />
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I'm gettting fit rather than trying to build muscle bulk per se so the weights aren't huge. The ball would be bearing a weight of around 150kg's give or take (Although that isn't allowing for the weight my legs take on the ground) -
[quote name='Hooroo']Hasn't popped on me yet!!! <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> It was my instructor that suggested it and, so far, so good.<br />
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I'm gettting fit rather than trying to build muscle bulk per se so the weights aren't huge. The ball would be bearing a weight of around 150kg's give or take (Although that isn't allowing for the weight my legs take on the ground)[/quote]<br />
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Well after an enjoyable drunken lunch at the brewery bar I got home at about 7 and in my drunken state decided to pop out to the garage to potentially give these a go. I grabbed a couple of dumbells, eased myself back ( had had a few beers so estimate my weight would have been 100kg bang on, usually 99 or so ), take away the legs, add 70 kg for the dumbells......hmmmm in any case my balance was slightly off so I wisely thought better of it placed the dumbells back in the corner and went back in to watch Shortland st with the wife.....( man I hope Ethan gets shot tonight ! eusa_whistle ) -
Did my first bench (on a Smith) on Saturday after a long lay off (work has been mental).<br />
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Have lost around 9lbs since my summer high of 15 stone 2lbs and definitely feel less effective in contact (although i am looking for it less as well in fairness). SO i am back in the gym with a vengeance.<br />
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Most i could manage on saturday was 95kgs, but the fact that i don't have a spotter makes me loath to start pushing the limits too much.<br />
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Anyone interested in gymming in East Finchley, let me know. -
[quote name='Fullermorg']Did my first bench (on a Smith) on Saturday after a long lay off (work has been mental).<br />
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Have lost around 9lbs since my summer high of 15 stone 2lbs and definitely feel less effective in contact (although i am looking for it less as well in fairness). SO i am back in the gym with a vengeance.<br />
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Most i could manage on saturday was 95kgs, but the fact that i don't have a spotter makes me loath to start pushing the limits too much.<br />
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Anyone interested in gymming in [b]East Finchley,[/b] let me know.[/quote]<br />
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Thats a bit far for me but anyone keen on membership at my "gym" ( weights in my garage eusa_whistle ) in Welly is welcome to pop up to visit for a free trial. Subsequent workouts will cost a sixer of Macs or Monteiths ( which I'm happy to share with ya xzxdrinks )
