# More bench talk



## stonetag (Dec 21, 2013)

I fukin love the bench press! I have one problem in the world of benching, I have knuckle dragging arms. I'm 6'2, not that tall, but my arms are about 2 1/2 to 3 inches above my knees (Gorilla). This winter I plan to go all out and try to match or beat MPR1RM just one more time before I give up on the real heavy shit because of age and the risk of ending up in the ER. Myself, lifting friends and you bro's will agree shorter arms rule in this particular lift. The problem is my arms have grown longer or my trunk has shrunk..I swear!! along with hair growing out of my ears, balls hanging to the floor, and all the other old shit that happens (it's not funny..kind of). What advice for us knuckle draggers do you bro's have? I currently am on a short winter bulk, I guess full extension of my arms will not come into play huh? Ot just tell me the fukin truth "No way it's going to happen bro" 420 is the magic number, I'm dicking around with 350 now for 4 to 5 reps, seems like a 1000 miles away to get to the land of 400's again. Can always dream I guess.


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## Introyble (Dec 22, 2013)

Rock on brother from a fellow  6 foot 2er if I use good posture.   Yeah, we have to push the shit a lot further then the short dudes.  Just to make myself feel good I'll go hit the machines sometimes.  LOL


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## Rumpy (Dec 22, 2013)

Well, I have no advice, only sympathy.  I'm 6' 2" and 45 yo.  I never try for 1rm, my joints just can't take it.  I try not to lift anything I cannot get 3 sets of 10 with, but obviously failing on the last rep or two is good.  I also do most of my bench work on iso machines.  I know it's not as good, but the machine keeps me stable and I can load the full stack without fear or a spotter.  I plan all of my lifts at about 50% what's good for the muscle and 50% what's good for the tendons and joints.  There's been too many times when I've pushed a little to hard or pushed through pain and ended up having to take a month or more off of a certain lift.  I focus on adding weight and/or reps and go for slow steady progress and try not to take too many steps back, if you know what I mean


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## AlphaD (Dec 22, 2013)

Yo stone you fukin Neanderthal!  Lol! I have no advice, just wanted to say that.....but that's coming from my 5'11" ass......!


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## Assassin32 (Dec 22, 2013)

Stone, you crazy old bastard.....get that 420, dude. How long are your feakin arms, boss? Hands at your knees? Holy shit, are you about 2 generations removed from apes in your family? Measure your wingspan from fingertip to fingertip, I'd like to hear what it is. I'm 6'3" so I feel your pain, when you watch short guys bench it looks so easy and compact. I'm gonna try and hit 450 on my next blast...you're never too old bud. Push that 420! I recently bought elbow sleeves and wrist wraps from elitefts and they definitely help. I would recommend them for old farts like us.


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## Assassin32 (Dec 22, 2013)

Stone, if your pushin 350 for 5, you are a lot closer to your goal than you think, bud. 420 is just around the corner.


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## Joliver (Dec 22, 2013)

It sounds like you are well on your way.  A couple of things that have helped me have all been technique related.

1) no flared elbows.  It is a death sentence for long armed suckers.

2) Find the point on your torso where you are comfortable bringing the bar to that includes the least shoulder rotation.  A good way to test for this position is to decline press.  Fill your belly full of air, and press to different touch points.  You will ultimately find a point where you are comfortable and have minimal shoulder movement.  Try to recreate that position on the flat bench.

3) Remember, the Triceps are the primary mover of a powerlifters benchpress.  You see a lot of pec ruptures...destroyed shoulders...but very few tricep injuries during pressing movements.  Be sure you are using your triceps.

4) Spread the bar.  Pull your hands apart when you are benching.  As you approach lockout, try to snap the bar like a pencil (away from the body).  

5) Set up a rock hard, stable position.  Your foundation to press should be your upper traps.  Arched back (not hyper-arched--nobody wants a damn back cramp), butt firmly on the bench, and feet firmly on the floor.  Nothing should move. There shouldn't be anything loose when you prepare to bench. I used to start sweating just building my bench platform...holding every muscle tense...shit was intense.

6) Do not push up on the bar to take it out of the rack.  Don't waste an ounce of energy.  Use a spotter to carry it out to you, and use your lats to pull it like you would a dumbbell pullover.  Never push up.  You will blow your foundation.  You cannot re-set after you break.  You may as well put the weight back in the rack.

7) Focus on lowering the weights with your lats as tight as possible.  Lats are an important part of big benching (that is why you should always perform you barbell lat rows to where you bring the bar during the bench)

8) Consider moving your grip out.  It decreases the distance you have to travel with the bar.  Always remember to tuck elbows no matter where your grip placement falls.  


I could go on and on....but try a few of these.  Let me know how it turns out.  

Good luck.


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## stonetag (Dec 22, 2013)

Jeezus you guys are cracking me right the fuk up! Serious good laugh, Thanks. Not sure why I'm going thru with this other than that great feeling you get when a goal is crushed, you know the one! Keep you posted, and alsomy wife thinks that I'm a huge dumdass...imagine that. Oh yeah, Assassin you're not to far from crawling of the beach of evolution either brother...lmfao


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## stonetag (Dec 22, 2013)

Spelling sucks, using cell phone. You know Alpha it's hard to type with these Neanderthal hands and to see the screen with this damn sloped forehead!


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## stonetag (Dec 22, 2013)

Assassin32 said:


> Stone, you crazy old bastard.....get that 420, dude. How long are your feakin arms, boss? Hands at your knees? Holy shit, are you about 2 generations removed from apes in your family? Measure your wingspan from fingertip to fingertip, I'd like to hear what it is. I'm 6'3" so I feel your pain, when you watch short guys bench it looks so easy and compact. I'm gonna try and hit 450 on my next blast...you're never too old bud. Push that 420! I recently bought elbow sleeves and wrist wraps from elitefts and they definitely help. I would recommend them for old farts like us.


Your an animal bro! 450,  that sounds big, brutal, massive, it is good to be big!


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## stonetag (Jan 4, 2014)

joliver said:


> It sounds like you are well on your way.  A couple of things that have helped me have all been technique related.
> 
> 1) no flared elbows.  It is a death sentence for long armed suckers.
> 
> ...


Hey Joliver if you are around here are the current figures and anyone else, I'm just referring to Joliver because of this post, and the fact I believe he knows his shit. Using #1 is a given, death sentence without a doubt. #2 Beautiful bro! I was always touching right below the swell of the lower pec,I moved this point down a mere inch and it was the ticket for that phase of the lift. #3 Another given. #4 I utilize an arc of sorts meaning when the bar is off the rack and roughly above my neck,  the bar descends in a slight arc to NOW a little lower below my pec and the lift follows the same arc up and towards the rack in a snapping motion, Make any sense? #5 Everything good here except that I also pinch my shoulder blades together spreading my chest out to full expansion, good? no? #6 Always have a seasoned lifter for a spot. #7 With moving my touch point down some as mentioned I believe I will need to move the apex of my row up a bit which will take some getting used to, but point taken. #8 Dude I keep sneaking my grip ouT more and more lol as time goes by in thinking wider grip... less distance to travel!
Ok with that said, I was able to lift 375 for 3 reps, the third being extremely rugged, I was so fatigued after that I bagged bench for the day. I think Monday I'm going to warm up more than usual (Good Idea??) and hit 375 for one clean rep and jump right to 400 and try to crush out a rep. Again, good idea?? whats your warm up look like? I stretch out my chest using just the bar moving it clear to the right and left hanging on the stretch for a minute, then bang out some 135 and 225 reps and then proceed. Appreciate the tips in a big way. Talk to you guys Monday night.


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## Assassin32 (Jan 4, 2014)

stonetag said:


> Hey Joliver if you are around here are the current figures and anyone else, I'm just referring to Joliver because of this post, and the fact I believe he knows his shit. Using #1 is a given, death sentence without a doubt. #2 Beautiful bro! I was always touching right below the swell of the lower pec,I moved this point down a mere inch and it was the ticket for that phase of the lift. #3 Another given. #4 I utilize an arc of sorts meaning when the bar is off the rack and roughly above my neck,  the bar descends in a slight arc to NOW a little lower below my pec and the lift follows the same arc up and towards the rack in a snapping motion, Make any sense? #5 Everything good here except that I also pinch my shoulder blades together spreading my chest out to full expansion, good? no? #6 Always have a seasoned lifter for a spot. #7 With moving my touch point down some as mentioned I believe I will need to move the apex of my row up a bit which will take some getting used to, but point taken. #8 Dude I keep sneaking my grip ouT more and more lol as time goes by in thinking wider grip... less distance to travel!
> 
> Ok with that said, I was able to lift 375 for 3 reps, the third being extremely rugged, I was so fatigued after that I bagged bench for the day. I think Monday I'm going to warm up more than usual (Good Idea??) and hit 375 for one clean rep and jump right to 400 and try to crush out a rep. Again, good idea?? whats your warm up look like? I stretch out my chest using just the bar moving it clear to the right and left hanging on the stretch for a minute, then bang out some 135 and 225 reps and then proceed. Appreciate the tips in a big way. Talk to you guys Monday night.



Stone, if you can bang 375 for 3, you should be able to hit 405 on Monday for sure, maybe 415 if your feelin like a maniac. Let it rip bud.


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## Joliver (Jan 4, 2014)

stonetag said:


> Hey Joliver if you are around here are the current figures and anyone else, I'm just referring to Joliver because of this post, and the fact I believe he knows his shit. Using #1 is a given, death sentence without a doubt. #2 Beautiful bro! I was always touching right below the swell of the lower pec,I moved this point down a mere inch and it was the ticket for that phase of the lift. #3 Another given. #4 I utilize an arc of sorts meaning when the bar is off the rack and roughly above my neck,  the bar descends in a slight arc to NOW a little lower below my pec and the lift follows the same arc up and towards the rack in a snapping motion, Make any sense? #5 Everything good here except that I also pinch my shoulder blades together spreading my chest out to full expansion, good? no? #6 Always have a seasoned lifter for a spot. #7 With moving my touch point down some as mentioned I believe I will need to move the apex of my row up a bit which will take some getting used to, but point taken. #8 Dude I keep sneaking my grip ouT more and more lol as time goes by in thinking wider grip... less distance to travel!
> Ok with that said, I was able to lift 375 for 3 reps, the third being extremely rugged, I was so fatigued after that I bagged bench for the day. I think Monday I'm going to warm up more than usual (Good Idea??) and hit 375 for one clean rep and jump right to 400 and try to crush out a rep. Again, good idea?? whats your warm up look like? I stretch out my chest using just the bar moving it clear to the right and left hanging on the stretch for a minute, then bang out some 135 and 225 reps and then proceed. Appreciate the tips in a big way. Talk to you guys Monday night.



Be sure that you do not max too often!  Every powerlifter bumps up against the dreaded Golgi Tendon organ (or apparatus).  The function of this organ is to measure the stimuli that you are undergoing and decide if power application leads injury.  CNS deregulation on ME lifts will lead to failure if done more that 2-3 weeks.  This used to happen to me when I was younger.  I would grab a big bench and be so happy about it that I would attempt it for the second week and get it...then try to show off for my friends a week later,  and fail.  CNS accommodation via GTO will end your run.  You must change something to accommodate for that CNS adaptation.  Usually changing your grip for a microcycle will do.  

My last  warm-up routine looked like this (after rotator warm ups):

Blue bands only on the bar x 30
135 x 20 w/Red band
185 x 15w/Red band
225 x 10 w/Red band

Each step will be increasingly difficult.  But remember, you can get volume out of your warm-up too.  I like to feel like my WU makes me sweat a bit.  Then I get busy.


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## stonetag (Jan 4, 2014)

I got the maniac part down no problem! but 415 I'm ascared, like your positive attitude Assassin! it is going to be a "feel" thing, you know what I mean.


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