bench routine help

[fatty]

Joe

It looks solid. My floor press is lower then my bench, everyone is connected just alittle different. I also use alot of the WS poriciples because I know they work for me.

I would say keep plugging away, your goal is very realistic. Remember you suppliments and good rest.

Fatty

[pwrlftr]

You don't mention whether you lift shirted or RAW but the exercises you mention will probably benefit your shirted bench much more than your RAW bench. I say this because the exercises you mention are designed to strengthen triceps and lockout power. For RAW bench training I like more of a volume routine like that of Sheiko and I like to supplement a lot of chest stuff like weighted dips and heavy DB presses plus a lot of shoulder work. I like the other stuff you use but mainly for shirted benches to improve my lockout strength.

Now that I have rambled my point is what you are doing will probably not transfer much over to a RAW bench but should transfer a lot to your shirted bench. That's my thoughts anyway, hope it helps.

[3speed]

When the Sheiko calls for 2 workouts, the second is performed any time from immediately following the intervening exercise up to 12 hours later. If you try Sheiko, make sure you use cissus and monitor all aspects of your training very carefully. The Sheiko is designed to overtrain you and take advantage of some rebound to post a new PR.

[pwrlftr]

I am lucky enough to be able to do high volume so I just combine the two squat sections, benches or deadlifts into one setting. Takes me about 21/2 hours to finish. I rest as needed, drink lots of fluids and BCAAs. You can do some things to help also. For instance on the day you have two bench sessions you might do regular bench on one session and 3bd bench on the second session. I like to do this and incorporate bands and chains into the workouts. I use the same percentages and just compensate for the resistance of the chains and bands. If I am training for a raw meet I train Raw and use percentages based on my raw !RMs. If I'm training equipped I use loose equipment and of course raise my numbers accordingly. I would disagree with the overtraining part of Sheiko. I believe the point was to increase overall strength and technique by huge volume at high percents. The Russians put a lot of emphasis on recuperation. I often ice my legs and arms after a particularly intense session. I also believe strongly in deep tissue massage. Sheiko has a bench press routine specifically for the bench that is really good for increasing raw strength. It used to be posted on the ZyWeb site but it's no longer up. You might look for that and examine it. Just as an example here is how I would do just bench for Sheiko incorporating some Westside stuff:

Sunday: Bench presses using sheiko percentages and black mini bands. (Subtract 60 lbs. from 1RM to compensate for 60% of band strength. (Bands are supposed to add about 100 lbs. resistance at top when doubled.)

Tuesday: Floor presses with Sheiko percentages of Floorpress !RM. Do lockouts also after wards.

Thursday: Bench press session one same as Sheiko
Bench press two do 3bd presses with sheiko percentages and based on 3bd 1RM.

Saturday: I like military presses and DB. milt. presses rather than inclines for assistance.
I usually throw in JM presses here, or some heavy dumbell benches.

Anyway you get the picture. You can make these routines work for you and still deal with any weaknesses you have. If you notice this application has a lot of emphasis on triceps which is my weakness.

[RustoleusMaximus]

Hey Joe ... you might wanna incorporate some speed training for your bench ... maybe use some bands. At our age, recuperation is a key consideration also. Pauses on the chest might help also. God Bless

[jp]

joebear said:

I am a soon to be 40 yr. old drug free / raw bencher . I weigh 195 lbs. and have a touch and go (with good form- no bounce etc...) 405 lb. bench . I would like to hit low 400's- say 425 ish by October for a local bench press fundraiser in my home town . Currently I bench once every seven days and follow a Westside type of template- ME day I rotate the following every two weeks : a) floor presses b) 3 boards c) 2 boards d) low pin rack lockouts e) shallow inclines . Every 4th week I do dumbbell work for a deload type of workout for higher reps . For ME movements I work up to max single every other week and a max triple the other week. I then follow with heavy tricep and back work in the 8 sets of 10-12 reps range . I have a separate tri / back day during the week ( 3 days later) where I will go higher reps more for hypertrophy. Is this too much volume for an experienced 40 yr. old lifter ?

I have been doing floor presses the last 2 weeks and have hit new PR'S of 390 and 395 lbs. ( good pauses and legs flat on floor) I was benching the other night just messing around with a young guy at the gym (showing him some form tips like retracting shoulder blades etc..) and my flat bench did not feel any stronger at the weight I was using than before I hit the PR'S on the floor presses, I always assumed when my floor press went up so would my flat bench- maybe I am not getting enough leg drive on my flat bench - ?

Alot of info. I know. If anybody has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate the help ! I have a similar post listed hoping I would get points of view from the younger guys and older guys. Thanks !

Hey Joe,

I'm 46 and have competed for years. I lay off the bench from time to time as I find it helps heal up any nagging injuries I might have. Unfortunately, Westside has never produced the results I wanted. I think its a bit too much volume for me. I'm a lighter lifter 165/181 Master's lifter who competes in full meets and bench/deadlift meets. My deadlift is my strongest lift with the bench being my weakest.

Lately, I've been doing this:

I have four different bench days. Out of the four, one is light and three are heavy. The heavy are deemed A/B/C.....I do an A workout and the next bench day is a light day followed by B, then light then C, and so forth.

The A day is a 4x5 day with around 80%. The B day is 4x4 with about 85% or at least 5 pounds heavier than A, and C is a 4x3 day with about 90%. The light day is about 50-60% and 4x8-12 reps for recovery. I try to add weight every week and frankly, as I've gotten older, I find 5 pounds or less a week is about normal for an older lifter. IMHO, one is really pushing the envelope if they add too much weight, too fast.

Here's an example of how I set things up:

Mon - Bench press A day...warm ups include about 5 progressively heavier sets starting with 2x8 reps and working down to 1 set of 2. I then pile on the weight and do 4 sets of 5. After that I perform weighted pull ups and weighted chin ups and one tricep exercise. I finish with ab work.

Wed - Squat and Deadlift plus calf raises, ab work and pullups/chin ups if not too tired.

Fri - Would be the light bench day starting with a similiar warm up, followed by 4 sets of 12,10,8,8 or so. I would do weighted dips, pull ups and chins & abs.

I would rest Sat/Sun and start Monday with Squat, no deadlifts, leg curls instead, same assistance work.

Wed - would be a bench day and I would do the "B" day and so on....

It keeps the volume reasonable and not too demanding. I try to keep the assistance to a minimum and select only those assistance exercises which I feel work the best for me and which are the most productive in terms of giving me added poundage on my lifts.

I think weighted dips are perhaps one of the best bench assistnace exercises one can do. I also tend to bench with a closer grip too. It seems to work better for me.

John

[dopar66]

Hey big dog! Haven't seen you around in a while, great to see you posting again!

:')

God Bless!