Newbie questions after Ed Coan 12 week Bench cycle.

[rapidride2]

Hello,

Last week I completed the Ed Coan bench press cycle that is all over the net.

I am by no means a powerlifter but did want to increase my bench press and see how the program would work for me.

Being a new gainer I was able to add 35lbs to my bench press after the 12 week cycle. Satisfied, however I now have questions.

Question: How long before I do another 12 week cycle?
I am 42 and towards the last 3 to 4 weeks I started feeling general fatigue but pushed on through with satisfactory results.

Question: Should I go on for 8 to 12 weeks doing a higher volume/less weight and more diverse excercises for chest in order to provide an active rest. Before starting another 12 week peaking cycle?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

[osu122975]

Take a week off then start the cycle over. Looking at it its meant to be run 4 times per year with a week off between cycles.

If it worked then go for it again. You might not see as much progress the second time, but progress is progress.

It took me just under 5 years to go from a 300 to 400 lb bench press. 20lbs per year on the bench. Still climbing.

[rapidride2]

Wow! Just a week? Seems s if it could eventually be a lot of wear and tear. I was hoping for more rest....lol.

[dbunch]

LoL, No rest for the weary - one week. That being said pay attention to what your body is telling you. if you don't feel ready to start a new cycle of Coan the maybe do a lighter short cycle(4 weeks)of something else.

[osu122975]

I've seen the program. I'm not a fan because the expectations are a bit unrealistic.

Personally I just do reps in the 5-20 range at 70% and less for 2-3 weeks and then have a week of heavy singles. Lots and lots of bodybuilding reps at very light weight and high reps.

I don't do programs at this point because I know what my body needs. That's what you want to learn if you wanna get stronger.

531 program might help you out for a little while. It's a solid program.

And.....umm.......powerlifting is wear and tear.

[rapidride2]

I wanted to try the program. For me being patient seemed to help. I'm a new gainer but adding 35 lbs to my bench more than proved to me it will work.

Second time around my goals will be more modest but I also plan on giving it a chance to work again.

This time I plan on using fractional plates. Last time I was often rounding up 4 lbs on certain weeks. That definitely made weight increases less linear. Hopefully the fractional weight plates will help out, especially towards the last 3 to 4 weeks when poundages and intensity seemed to increase for me.

My shoulders began aching the last 3 to 4 weeks. It could be that I was overemphasizing my elbows being "in" putting undue stress on my front delts?

I will admit I am a newby. I've enjoyed the focus and being able to attain a new goal each week by lifting my planned weight for the Coan cycle. Personally rewarding for me.

Ive found patience has been my friend in strength training so far.

[rapidride2]

I wanted to try the program. For me being patient seemed to help. I'm a new gainer but adding 35 lbs to my bench more than proved to me it will work.

Second time around my goals will be more modest but I also plan on giving it a chance to work again.

This time I plan on using fractional plates. Last time I was often rounding up 4 lbs on certain weeks. That definitely made weight increases less linear. Hopefully the fractional weight plates will help out, especially towards the last 3 to 4 weeks when poundages and intensity seemed to increase for me.

My shoulders began aching the last 3 to 4 weeks. It could be that I was overemphasizing my elbows being "in" putting undue stress on my front delts?

I will admit I am a newby. I've enjoyed the focus and being able to attain a new goal each week by lifting my planned weight for the Coan cycle. Personally rewarding for me.

Ive found patience has been my friend in strength training so far.

[Ryan]

I mostly agree with Eric, except for one item that is relevant to this thread: I do believe in programming. Even the best in our sport program, and in fact they program to a more granular level than guys like us. Why? Because the easiest way to improve is to plan and then chart. You go on feel if you like, but that tends to be self-limiting (on the conservative side) or physically dangerous (on the liberal side).

By no means am I saying Eric is suggesting you throw programming to the wind in your case though, especially because you're brand new, but I still thought I needed to voice my feelings to give you a different take on that topic. So imo, what I think you're doing right here is following a program, especially for a new lifter. You need structure, you need guidance and you positively need precedent, all of which are absent when you're brand new.

Now where I agree entirely with Eric is that the Coan Bench pgm may not be the most appropriate training methodology for a newb. Rapidride, you cite a 35lb increase in your bench max. That's nice. But you should also understand that when going from zero to benching overnight, ANY methodology will increase your numbers northward. Eric and I are simply saying that while there are many ways to skin this cat, the way you've chosen isn't optimal for someone just getting started, regardless of the numbers. Do you know what drives growth? Forcing adaptation. In plain English, this means that if you do something your body is not used to, it will scramble to adapt to the stimulus. This is what you're seeing here.

Eric's suggestion of Wendler's 5/3/1 is spot-on and in fact, there are other suggestions that would work well too, combining safe and effective training with measured goals for good long term results.

And something I need clarity on......what are your goals? Do you want to get into powerlifting or other strength sports, are you looking to simply get stronger in general, or are you not sure yet? Understanding this would give us a better chance to help you but the one thing that's curious to me is if you're aiming at any of these things, why only benching?

In fact, I would argue that unless you're looking to become a bench-only specialist (and your first couple of posts don't come across that way), I wouldnt even suggest benching out of the gates at all. I have told many people (and been told by other elite lifters) that if I stopped the sport of powerlifting tomorrow, I'd never barbell flat bench again. Incline bench, military press, push press, possibly even C&J and power cleans, all yes. But flat barbell bench, nope. Why? Because all of the things I just mentioned and plyometrics too are way more effective at producing overall body strength and power production for the standard athlete and regular person.

So again, we need to know your goals and intentions because even suggesting programming will be off the mark if we don't truly know what it is that you're programming is aimed at.

[rapidride2]

I have been training routinely for 3 years now. Primarily slanted towards bodybuilding. I have been with a trainer as far as nutrition goes for 3 years as well.

However, my goal is purely personal. To bench 300 lbs and then 315 lbs. I never was a strong bencher in my mind. However I took a liking to being abke to achieve that weekly goal. I will not be competing in any powerlifting events. It is merely a hobbyist approach for me. I do train the entire body on a weekly basis.

I joined this forum because I figured I could get some solid advice on how to handle my original question of how long to rest between cycles. Seems like a good place to start.

[Ryan]

Ok, fair enough; so then essentially the bench is a pet lift and you have a goal to reach in that context. Got it, no problem.

Rest? Smart question because gains come when you rest, but don't get hung up on that. I am your age and I bench twice a week, have benched twice a week for the last couple years and I have not a single bench-related injury to speak of. In fact, my bench has increased from barely 300lbs to near 350 and I compete in the 198 weight class. While this isn't an awesome number, it's within shouting range of the top national-level 198s who are over 40. Granted, it's taken me 5yrs to see that increase, but part of that is due to how much time and energy I have dedicated to getting better at the sport of powerlifting in general (squat and deadlift can detract from bench gains at times). In fact, the only time I've ever sustained an upper body overuse injury was....get this....from doing pushups. Yes, pushups and I learned my lesson: No more 12 week 20k pushup challenges! lol

I think Wendler's 5/3/1 will suit your needs, or really any basic periodized approach.

Periodization in this context is simply starting a training regimen with a known max (even 3 rep max is ok) and then giving yourself let's say 10wks to ramp up to a new max by starting with light poundage and higher volume up to low volume and heavy poundage. Incidentally, volume = total reps in a workout or training session; don't get hung up on reps per set. So then each week you progressively increase poundages (with possibly a back-off/break week in the middle) while the volume decreases. It's a SUPER simple approach but it works wonders for the weekend warrior and elite athlete alike.

[vegasjon]

Jonnie Candito is one powerlifter who comes to mind that uses lift-focused training where he will focus on bench, squat, deadlift for 3 or so weeks exclusively and says that taking some time off after each is essential. I have used the same sort of program (physiqz.com/powerlifting-programs/bench-press-pyramid/) and have found that to very much be the case. I think of it like this: when you are doing a bench-only program (or w/e lift) you are essentially maxing out your adaptations for that given movement. Naturally, the more time you take after to normalize, the more of a stimulus the program will be when you do start again. It goes back to the fundamental concepts Mike Israetel talks about a lot of maximum recoverable volume and minimal effective volume, etc.