1,000 pound Bench Press failure at Mr. Olympia

[thelion2005]

I watched the Mr. Olympia on PPV and looked forward to the 1,000 pound bench press attempt.

The guy comes out appearing very fierce and ready.

And fails.

The way that bar came down on the angle was scary.

I felt sorry for him. HHH tried to get the crowd to recognize how difficult this was and how brave the guy was .... and they all sat on their hands.

Fill me in please .... Who is the guy and what happened?

 

[Devastation]

gene rychlek. his wrists got ahead of his elbows and the bar fell out of its groove. he didn't suffer any injuries and was spotted at the buffet the following day

 

[Micker]

Yeah, Gene already broke 1000, I think it was 1015 he was going for there.

 

[Throw2Far]

Ya the bar left the suits groove... what a joke...

 

[blut wump]

gene rychlek. his wrists got ahead of his elbows and the bar fell out of its groove. he didn't suffer any injuries and was spotted at the buffet the following day

After that heavy negative I can imagine he would need a spot at the buffet.

 

[JPC]

Yeah what a joke. That shows you how much the shirt helps. He should have been laughed off the stage. The shirt he uses doesn't even have a back to it. Like what's the point if it doesn't even resemble a real shirt. Uh, this odd contraption I'm wearing doesn't lift any of the weight for me, I just like to let my back breathe and walk around with my arms straight out like a zombie.

 

[silver_shadow]

Yeah what a joke. That shows you how much the shirt helps. He should have been laughed off the stage. The shirt he uses doesn't even have a back to it. Like what's the point if it doesn't even resemble a real shirt. Uh, this odd contraption I'm wearing doesn't lift any of the weight for me, I just like to let my back breathe and walk around with my arms straight out like a zombie.

yea, everyonve knows that by wearing a shirt, a 135lb raw bencher can add 500lbs to his bench

 

[perkele]

yea, everyonve knows that by wearing a shirt, a 135lb raw bencher can add 500lbs to his bench

When benchpress shirt helps 25-40% (or more) then it's gone way too fucking far. Have I ever heard audience laughing to this shirt clowing? No I have not, probably because the sport doesn't have any audience.

 

[Tweakle]

not too far from the truth, I know a 400lb bencher who puts up 700 in a shirt. THAT is a farce

 

[Inhibitor13]

not too far from the truth, I know a 400lb bencher who puts up 700 in a shirt. THAT is a farce

seriously or u just being sarcastic cant tell ?

 

[mm107]

300lbs out of a shirt damn.....

what make is it?

i get about 100lbs out of my shirt now....not even 75.....lol i need to learn the groove better


and for all you fucktards saying letme strap on a shirt and bench 200lbs over my max, has never used a shirt....

it takes training in the shirt to really be able to use it....this is why i only get 75-100lbs out of mine right now

 

[mm107]

oh yea and he hit 1010, last week at a competition

 

[Matt_M.]

Can anyone explain to me how a shirt can add so many pounds to your bench press?

 

[Scotsman]

Can anyone explain to me how a shirt can add so many pounds to your bench press?

It really doesn't it's not like if you're a 200lb bencher and put a shirt on you are suddenly a 500lb bencher. These guys setting the records train only to press in the shirt. This also means that the raw bench isn't being focused on and won't go up in kind. The training regiment for shirted is vastly different from raw. You still have to be able to stabilize the weight, lock it out, and not have it crush your joints.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[Tweakle]

Mike I don't know the make, I saw a vid of the guy on youtube last month and read his training log and was amazed at how much he was getting after a short while training shirted (he was stuck at 400 raw I believe, then trained in the shirt for a few months).

I know the belly-bencher's mantra is ''the shirt only helps a little'' and ''they could bench that much raw if they trained for it'' but that's not always the case.

 

[mm107]

Mike I don't know the make, I saw a vid of the guy on youtube last month and read his training log and was amazed at how much he was getting after a short while training shirted (he was stuck at 400 raw I believe, then trained in the shirt for a few months).

I know the belly-bencher's mantra is ''the shirt only helps a little'' and ''they could bench that much raw if they trained for it'' but that's not always the case.

looks like i need to get THAT shirt lol

i believe some equpiment is better, in fact i had a pdf where the equipment was tested for sttrenght/stretch/etc

but crap 300lbs out out a shirt is insane.....

 

[silver_shadow]

i'm not a PL and never will be but i can't understand why the shirt (and to some extent squat suits) get dissed so much when almost every sport is undergoing changes with respect to gear used.

take tennis for example, racquets used to be made of wood and heavy, they are now larger but lighter, made of alloys, bigger heads with a larger sweet spot. players now can hit the ball harder and with more spin, which in the old days would have led to wrist injuries. soccer balls and boots have changed so that the ball travels faster and swings more... the list goes on and on. and yet i see powerlifting gear is the most hated on... again NOTE: i'm not even talking from the inside.

 

[silver_shadow]

oh yea, not to forget, motor sports - will someone argue that F1 cars are getting too light and more powerful while getting stronger and safer for the drivers? or motogp bikes - just the switch from 2 stroke to 4 stroke a few yrs ago (i think 4?) resulted in huge power increases... does anybody shake their heads and say, but it's become too easy! i think, it is inevitable with every sport, people have to move on.

 

[redsamurai]

I agree that all sports undergo changes.....but lifting is something primal. I don't want to see equipment take it over. If shirts were that "functionally" good for you......football players would use them, strongmen like Pud would use them. But they're so lift specific......they don't translate into anything else. I'm appalled at learning that training in a shirt doesn't even elevate your raw bench.......there's no point then. I would use a shirt if it helped me get over a raw plateau. And they do stabilize the weight.....a TON!! That's why you can press more.......Rychlak get's out of the suit groove and misses the lift badly. Now supposedly Rychlak can't bench more than 600 raw.....the New England PL federation called him on it.....he didn't even acknowledge the charge....so there's probably some truth to it. So big gene get's 400 pounds out of his shirt. Now Mendelson......he bench's 730 raw, I'm more impressed with that boy than I am with Rychlak. 730 raw, 1000 with a shirt......so he works both. And he actually looks athletic....unlike Rychlak.

 

[Devastation]

it always amazes me the ignorance of the masses, and not just in regards to bench shirts. training in a shirt DOES increase your raw max. my own personal raw max went up 40 lbs in 5 months without me EVER doing one RAW 1RM during that entire time. people i train have also seen their raw bench go from shirt work, and world record holders i've spoken with have confirmed the same in their experiences

and layoff bashing gene. the man has accomplished what NO ONE else has in competition, benching 1010. you should give the man respect for what he's done instead of trying to tear him down, considering less then .5% of anyone on this site will ever be able to say they've benched half that much in whatever is available at the moment

also the apf recently announced the addition of raw lifting in our federation so now EVERYONE who CHOOSES to, really what all of this is about, can compete on the playing field they choose, and hopefully start to put an end to all the BULLSHIT talked in this sport, from mostly outsiders, ie gymrats, as to why equipment is allowed, how it's not fair, or that it's fake lifting(????), blah blah blah

 

[redsamurai]

it always amazes me the ignorance of the masses, and not just in regards to bench shirts. training in a shirt DOES increase your raw max. my own personal raw max went up 40 lbs in 5 months without me EVER doing one RAW 1RM during that entire time. people i train have also seen their raw bench go from shirt work, and world record holders i've spoken with have confirmed the same in their experiences

hey, I thought so too....but too many plifters have told me otherwise. Too many plifters say so in writing too. It was certainly surprising to me......I'd like to hear more about this, if other people experienced your elevation in raw max from using a shirt....??

 

[silver_shadow]

I agree that all sports undergo changes.....but lifting is something primal. I don't want to see equipment take it over. If shirts were that "functionally" good for you......football players would use them, strongmen like Pud would use them. But they're so lift specific......they don't translate into anything else. I'm appalled at learning that training in a shirt doesn't even elevate your raw bench.......there's no point then. I would use a shirt if it helped me get over a raw plateau. And they do stabilize the weight.....a TON!! That's why you can press more.......Rychlak get's out of the suit groove and misses the lift badly. Now supposedly Rychlak can't bench more than 600 raw.....the New England PL federation called him on it.....he didn't even acknowledge the charge....so there's probably some truth to it. So big gene get's 400 pounds out of his shirt. Now Mendelson......he bench's 730 raw, I'm more impressed with that boy than I am with Rychlak. 730 raw, 1000 with a shirt......so he works both. And he actually looks athletic....unlike Rychlak.

lifting isn't the only primal sport. what about swimming for instance - aren't they benefitting fromt the new suits? i don't remember anyone question why swimmers use the new suits rather than ordinary speedos.

and if we are to ask why shirts and suits, why not go a step further and ask why juice as well? and that would apply to all sports. isn't that assistance as well? but here on EF, we never question it because we rationalize that the top guys in their respective sports are doing it so anyone not juicing would be left behind. same logic with shirts and suits.

 

[Scotsman]

it always amazes me the ignorance of the masses, and not just in regards to bench shirts. training in a shirt DOES increase your raw max. my own personal raw max went up 40 lbs in 5 months without me EVER doing one RAW 1RM during that entire time. people i train have also seen their raw bench go from shirt work, and world record holders i've spoken with have confirmed the same in their experiences

and layoff bashing gene. the man has accomplished what NO ONE else has in competition, benching 1010. you should give the man respect for what he's done instead of trying to tear him down, considering less then .5% of anyone on this site will ever be able to say they've benched half that much in whatever is available at the moment

also the apf recently announced the addition of raw lifting in our federation so now EVERYONE who CHOOSES to, really what all of this is about, can compete on the playing field they choose, and hopefully start to put an end to all the BULLSHIT talked in this sport, from mostly outsiders, ie gymrats, as to why equipment is allowed, how it's not fair, or that it's fake lifting(????), blah blah blah

Exactly, my point was more that people who train specifically for shirted benching more than likely don't test their raw max.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[redsamurai]

lifting isn't the only primal sport. what about swimming for instance - aren't they benefitting fromt the new suits? i don't remember anyone question why swimmers use the new suits rather than ordinary speedos.

and if we are to ask why shirts and suits, why not go a step further and ask why juice as well? and that would apply to all sports. isn't that assistance as well? but here on EF, we never question it because we rationalize that the top guys in their respective sports are doing it so anyone not juicing would be left behind. same logic with shirts and suits.

I agree with you....I don't think swimming suits should be allowed. And even in sports like golf and tennis......you have to stop somewhere. Men's tennis is becoming ridiculous.....guys that a couple years ago would struggle to launch a 115mph serve....are putting up shit in the 120's now. And the top guys are hitting close to 150. But I have to disagree with you......none of these sports are as "primal" as lifting. I want lifting to remain pure.

 

[LAN T]

roids, bench shirts what's next hyraulic implants

 

[mm107]

roids, bench shirts what's next hyraulic implants

roids, high number of reps, no stenght, and gay porn.....oh wait thats the life of a BBer.

thats like saying roids are not used in bbing.

 

[silver_shadow]

or in soccer, football, athletics, cycling, swimming, hell even in baseball!

 

[blut wump]

Let's take Formula 1 back to Flintstone basics.

 

[cboogsrun]

looks like i need to get THAT shirt lol

i believe some equpiment is better, in fact i had a pdf where the equipment was tested for sttrenght/stretch/etc

but crap 300lbs out out a shirt is insane.....

Not a 100% but I think scott mendelson puts up 700's raw and 1000's geared up. That is 300lbs! I'm not knocking any of these guys but their range of motion is so little by the time they arch and the insanely wide grips. I'm much more impressed with a 15 year old kid putting up 315 with his back flat on the bench than I am by a guy who arches and uses a shirt that he has to pull 500lbs down to his chest just to be able to press it. just my 2 cents.

 

[Scotsman]

Not a 100% but I think scott mendelson puts up 700's raw and 1000's geared up. That is 300lbs! I'm not knocking any of these guys but their range of motion is so little by the time they arch and the insanely wide grips. I'm much more impressed with a 15 year old kid putting up 315 with his back flat on the bench than I am by a guy who arches and uses a shirt that he has to pull 500lbs down to his chest just to be able to press it. just my 2 cents.

Scott wasn't pressing 1,000 lbs when he hit the 713 raw more like low 900's. Which is still like 200lbs, but it's not just because of the shirt it's more how he trains. There is a rumor that he's going to try and break 800 raw this year.

Cheers,
Scotsman

 

[blut wump]

Not a 100% but I think scott mendelson puts up 700's raw and 1000's geared up. That is 300lbs! I'm not knocking any of these guys but their range of motion is so little by the time they arch and the insanely wide grips. I'm much more impressed with a 15 year old kid putting up 315 with his back flat on the bench than I am by a guy who arches and uses a shirt that he has to pull 500lbs down to his chest just to be able to press it. just my 2 cents.

Agreed, in principle. I'm impressed with anyone who demonstrates improvement and the more consistently they can demonstrate improvement then the more impressive it is.

However, this is mostly irrelevant to the discussion about a 1,000 pound press attempt, failed or otherwise. We go to shows either to support friends or to see freaky people doing freaky things. There's nothing freaky or impressive about seeing someone you've never seen before nor likely to see again pressing a weight that no longer bothers you in the gym. In gear or otherwise, it's freaky to witness someone handling half a ton and so the spectacle will continue.