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 article....barspeed and bench pressing.
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| Author | Topic: article....barspeed and bench pressing. | ||
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Amateur Bodybuilder 
Posts: 65 |
BAR SPEED, MECHANICS AND STRENGTH PLATEUS IN THE BENCH PRESS. Talk to any experienced lifter and they will tell you of times in their training where progress simply stagnated, whether it was for a few weeks, a few months, or for some unfortunate souls, years. Progress as defined here means more weight on the bar, or more reps with the same weight. In response to such stagnation the trainee's first thought is to change something, so they add or drop sets, change rep ranges, change exercises, buy the latest supplement, pray five times a day or don't change their socks for a week all in the hope of getting the gains going again. A more logical approach would be an analysis of what it is that is stopping their progress via reference to their training diary, followed by a set course of action to remedy the fault. Some of the questions that need to be asked include: Is my lack of progress general, or specific to one lift? Did my progress suddenly cease, or was there a gradual slowing down of gains to the point that they eventually stopped? Have I changed anything in my program of late that may have contributed to the slowing of gains, and so on so forth? In this way the most common causes of plateau's can be diagnosed, and hopefully remedied. In this article I would like to set out one way of overcoming such a plateau, with specific reference to the bench press. Let us imaging a hypothetical trainee who, with many years training under his belt, is capable at the end of a strength cycle of a very respectable 3 sets of 3 reps with 315lbs in the bench press, at a bodyweight of around 190 to 200lbs. In his quest for further strength and size gains our man puts all his effort in to a set of 4 reps with 315lbs, followed by a set of 3, followed by a second set of 3. Progress has been made, but in the next weeks bench workout our man may find his 315lbs unusually heavy, perhaps only getting 3 reps on his first set, perhaps only 2 thereafter. This is a common scenario for the beginnings of monumental staleness. By extending himself to his maximal limit time and time again, the trainee will incur damage simply by overstressing his nervous system. A far more systematic approach to his workouts in the following weeks could save him from this fate, allowing him to keep his strong bench press "groove", while getting a break from heavy weights in the bench press. The only trouble with this approach is that it requires our man to set aside his ego, and, against all his instincts, take weight off the bar. That's right, I am suggesting that in order to get stronger, he lightens the bar by as much as 60%, while maintaining a similar set and rep scheme as before. Rather than 315lbs by 3, he will now bench 150lbs for 3 reps, but in an altogether different style. While his bench weight is low, his assistance work will continue as normal, with reasonably heavy work taken to a rep or two short of failure. The main difference will be in the speed at which the trainee moves the bar. With 315lbs, the speed of the bar was invariably quite slow, as our man was working at or near the limit of his strength. The maximal amount of force he could apply to the 315lb bar was just over 315lbs, i.e. just enough to keep the bar moving. However, with 50% of that weight on the bar, our man will be able to move the bar off his chest at quite some speed, and accelerate it in a way that would be impossible with limit or near limit weights. In this way he will learn to generate increasing amounts of force to the bar. The trainee will become accustomed to generating maximal force very quickly, allowing him to literally "explode" the barbell off his chest. It is this adaptation that will enable him to break through his plateau. I am more than aware that Dr Ken and many others will blast me for suggesting that increasing bar speed can be responsible for strength increases, but frankly I have seen it done too many times to discount it. I am not suggesting this approach is suitable for a new trainee, nor would I suggest that some one who has been training on a slow rep speed attempt this. It is specifically for those who have been pounding heavy weights for a few weeks consecutively, with the unavoidable slow bar speed, despite trying to move the bar as fast as possible on the ascent. Lightening and speeding up the bar drastically changes the feel of the lift. It goes from a ponderous struggle to a precise and speedy motion, and the whole lift takes on the feel of something powerful. This is also a perfect opportunity to eliminate any slight technique errors that may have strayed in to your bench press as the weights got heavier. Take a couple of weeks with 40 to 50% of your max weight, at a controlled rep speed, to get back to the benching form you want to replicate with heavy weight. Lower these light weights slowly to the chest, pause for a count of two and then begin the ascent, concentrating all the time on how the lift feels. Feel is a terribly subjective thing, but it is the only feedback you get from the bar, so make sure you use it as best you can. What you should be looking for are any slight changes of movement, thought processes, bar positioning, or body positioning that give you a strong "groove". Where the weight feels lightest is where you should aim to take it. For most trainees this, as Brooks Kubik has pointed out, will come when the elbows are directly under the hands when the bar is at the chest. The bar itself will sit somewhere around the lower pec line, the feet will be firmly planted on the floor, perhaps out away from the body, perhaps bent in close to the base of the bench. There are many possible slight variations for positioning but remember these are guidelines. What is important is that you find the bar position that, for you, makes the lift easiest. This will coincide with the technique that will allow you to lift your heavier weights with ease. So, we will take two weeks or so to re-establish our "best groove" and recover from the pounding of heavy weights. During this fortnight, the bench routine I propose would look something like this. Bench Press - 4 sets of 3 reps - 40 to 50% of max weight. Close grip presses - 2 sets of ten - with weight that would allow 2 sets of 15 if worked hard. Chins / pulldowns - 2 sets of ten - again with weight that would allow 2 sets of 15. The other training days would, of course, be built around the squat and deadlift, with moderate weights relative to limit poundages. Remember, you are trying to give your body something of a rest, so back off. The next phase of our program is to increase bar speed in the bench press, and split our workload further to allow for a "heavy day" and a "light day". I know this might be starting to ring alarm bells with regard to volume being too high, but please stay with me while I explain. All you are going to do is to take the assistance exercises you were doing on bench day, and do them on another day. If you were not doing assistance exercises on bench day, then you will have to add some. What I am asking you to do is to find an exercise (or exercises) to replace heavy bench presses. I recommend it be one (or more) of the following list�. Slight Incline Dumbbell bench presses. Decline Barbell presses. Close grip presses. Reverse Grip presses. Incline Barbell presses. Weighted dips. I put these exercises because they are the ones that I am familiar with. I know that they all have some degree of carryover to my bench press, simply from experience. Perhaps you know of some safe assistance exercises that always boost your bench. If so, use them. My use of some of these exercises produces the following bench routine, but please bare in mind that I am blessed with a recovery ability that allows me to use a lot of bench exercises, and still make excellent progress. You may have to reduce the number of exercises in order to make gains, or you may not.     | ||
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Freak 
Posts: 1558 |
good info bro thanks for posting it, always interested in reading ways to tweak lifts. ------------------ |
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posted October 28, 2000 07:56 PM