Blast your bench

[Deciever]

have any of you ever tried this program. Its where you alternate high volume and low volume workouts and bench 5 days in a row, for 3 weeks.

i know most of you are saying that its over training(which it probably is) and it wont work the slightest bit, but im actually getting results with this program.

so here is how this happened
after the contest, i decided to have an experimentation month, where i pick one routine that is said to work, but also said not to work and find out if it works for me.

So week 1, went normal benching 5 days a week, no significant gains.
For example.. my starting weight for my 15 rep workout(pyramiding down in weight) was 120... then the next 15 rep workout it was 125... and today i did a workout with the reps 10,8,6,4,2, and amazingly i got 140 x 14(i did 10, and didnt want to stop) and then 145 x 8 (could've gotten 10, but i wanted to stick to the program a bit). i was amazed. the best i've ever got prior to this was 140 x 10, and 145 x 7 .

i just thought i'd share my results, cause i find those results pretty good for only 1 week so far...

 

[ZZuluZ]

Dude, almost anything will work the first time you try it.

Try HIT, it'll probably work as well.

Anything sound should work.....those initial gains are your CNS adapating.

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

i know, im just excited about it jumping up really quick,usually my gains come a lot slower.. and the quicker the gains, the closer i get to 200!

 

[ZZuluZ]

If you can get 140*14...and not 200, you're all slow twitch fiber.

Very nice gains tho... congrats

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

one of the reasons i cant ge 200 ( yet), is im not used to the heavier weight in bench(i need to work on that), and also my 10 rep max is 145, which the projected max for that is only 192 ( and those max charts prove to be rpetty accurate for me)

 

[ZZuluZ]

When I benched 120*3 I could bench 150.

I think when I get too 140*8 I'll bench 200. I'm at 140*5, today.

I think I'm mostly fast twitch, and this is probably a big advantage when training for 1RM strength.

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

wow, your lucky.. is there anything i can do to develop more fast twitch muscle fibers? (im guessing , train heavier)... but im thinking that since im not used to the weight it plays a factor (mental)

 

[ZZuluZ]

I'm lucky from a PL persepective I guess. You're still stronger than me (especially if you factor in age and weight).

Unforuntately no there is not....fast twitch fiber is determined genetically. There is nothing you can do to change it. Don't let that stop you tho... you can still very impressive records.

Most very elite athletes however are mainly all fast twitch. On the flipside, more martahon runners are all slow twitch.

BTW, you may have more fast twitch fibers in your legs (although lets are predominately slow twitch anyway) while your lower back is predominately fast twitch. Just as an example, when I deadlifted 300 once, I could only do about 5-8 reps with 200.

-Zulu

 

[Prometheus]

You guys should print out these posts, and keep them in a drawer - in a year or 2, when you're doing warmup sets with your current maxes, you can read them and smile. I was just remembering back when I was your age(s), working through the same weights in the school weight room with my buddies, having the same discussions. great days.

Keep working, consistently, and have patience - the weight will come! good job, guys.

 

[brianmincher]

Listen to Prometheus,

I have always been able to bench 135, even when I was 14 years old, and weighed 135 lbs, but at that time it was a Hell of a struggle. By the time I graduated from High School, I had finally made it past the 2 wheels per side barrier, but the fact that I only trained about 3 or 4 months per year probably had something to do with that. And also, I did not know shit about how to get stronger, and neither did any of my coaches at school. It is nostalgic looking back to a time when I needed a spot for one plate per side when I don't use a spot now for 3 plates per side.

I try and keep my training logs, although I have lost most of the older ones, and I think it is a valuable motivational tool. When I read about a guy my size like Halbert benching more than I squat, and get a little down about it, I can look back a year or two and realize that I am far far ahead of where I was then. Rome was not built in a day, but if you keep records, looking back it can seem like it was.

Look at it like this. The next ten years of your life are going to go by whether you train like a maniac, or whether you sit on the couch doing nothing. In ten years you are going to be ten years older. You might as well have doubled all your lifts during that time, and have acheived any other goals you might have along the way. The ten years will pass either way, but the you that is standing there in ten years will be drastically different depending upon the path you choose.

B