I will still do the meet, but my training will not be bench only as I once thought. I still want to be a complete powerlifter, and the idea of training squat/DL once a week won't cut it. The Elite Beginners thingy is still on with the addition of bicep work and rotator stuff. And an extra three weeks: after doing all sorts of stuff but the bench, the first three weeks will bring it back.
A quick note about this meet: 190 lbs and above is the Heavyweight division, and it is not drug tested. I'm not out to score a victory, but I have to start somewhere. By August 12th, I should have accomplished a lot bench-wise.
Flat Bench Press (with Arch): 95x6, 115x5, 135x4, 155x3, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1 (the fastest 225 I've ever done, with a less than 2-second concentric), 240x0 (it came down very fast, I had nothing left to lift it.). I Don't think I'm fully recovered from Saturday but I'm happy that I have more power from below now. This did not take as much out of me, either.
3-Board Press: 195x3, 225x3, 240x2. As suspected, my lockout needs work, no speed here.
Wide Grip Pullup w/Average band: Failure at 7, 5, 4, 4, 3 reps.
Rope Pushdown: 40x12, 50x8, 60x6,70x3
Preacher Curls: tested to a 70 lbs 2RM.
4 comments:
I have found that doing front and rear lat pulls downs are helping me control the weight much more. It's funny, I used to need a lift off on anything 280 or higher. Now, I never get a lift off and I have gone all the way up to 315. What "structural balance stuff" are you doing?
Read This:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=1C3B35D6BFF767A5DBD870E6F0341EDE.hydra?id=459454
The article is called Achieving Structural Balance by Chales Poliquin. Then, take the test. In the July 2005 archive of this blog, give that post a read - - - a lot of us took that test. A lot of peoples biggest weakness were rotators. Mine were the external rotators and preacher curls (brachialis). I put insane amounts of work into fixing that, and not only did my bench get better but, in conjunction with bringing up my close grip bench press, my form was fixed to the point of having a better blast off and no pain.
I'll have a list out tonight of what the first 3 "weeks" will look like. Aside from reacquainting myself with the bench, I want to get my 240 back and then some in those weeks.
Also give this a read, in that same vein:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=922014
You always find the best articles on extra movements. I have been doing those rotar cuff things for about 3 weeks now. I do them at least twice a week. I do jerks every other week. DB presses are done every other bench day or once a week. I didn't blog when I first started, but my extra movements are 10x's more then when i started. I have so many lifts to do now that I can't fit them all in. But you know what, i'm not going to complain or try to change things up on my bench. I keep going up and keep getting stronger. I got my PB today and i'm at 182! I usually only hit those when i'm at 185 to 187. What body weight are you at now? Do you think my workouts have to many reps. I believe that you train how you feel. If you feel tired and slow only do 5-6 sets. Feel good do 8-10 sets. I don't know, that's just the way I do things. Thanks for the articles.
Lou
Thank you. The brute force part of the equation is a given, but being a technician has been what's helped me most.
I saw your PB on your blog last night. Congratulations. As long as you're gaining, don't change much.
My bodyweight right now is 235 nude in the morning, I put on a couple of pounds since I've been off for a couple of weeks. But my legs are finally recovered from the run on Saturday, so I'll be testing the deadlift at lunch today, and maybe squat in the evening.
Are you doing too many reps? If this is what works for you, I can't say otherwise. Shit, look at how many reps Brian Siders does in any given workout, and you can't argue with the results. Just always know where your weak points are and change appropriately. Surprisingly, most people who lift cannot learn this.
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