Group: General Fitness & Exercise

Created: 2011/12/31, Members: 382, Messages: 54581

Various general exercise related discussions. Find out what it takes to reach your fitness goals through daily effective exercise. With so many options we try to find out what works best.

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Benching

wamo25
wamo25
Posts: 25
Joined: 2002/10/01
United States
2003/05/02, 10:49 PM
I have my form down for benching. It has taken me a while but it looks great so I am told. I am 6'3" 190 lbs. My goal is to bench twice my weight. Does any have any tips? Advice is priceless. I am stuck at an awful physical and mental plateu.
bb1fit
bb1fit
Posts: 11,105
Joined: 2001/06/30
United States
2003/05/03, 01:14 PM
Plateau's can be mental as much as physical. Try going over to the Smith machine and piling on more weight than you normally can do, and set your spotter bar just above chest height. Now, unrack the weight, and do partials with that heavier weight. Tighten the chest so you are using all chest, and make it "feel" that heavier weight to acclimate it to it. Do this for as many reps as possible. Another shocking method is (you need a good spotter), is on the regular bench, pile on more weight than you know you can do, and unrack it and hold it(time under tension)in the tensed postion for as long as you possibly can, and re-rack it. The object in both of these is to make your chest "feel" the extra heavy weight, and will have to respond to it. One other simple thing I may suggest, how is your warmups? are you doing too many? Do not waste energy on lots of warmups. They are just for that, and that only. Do one set of say 15 with about 1/2 your normal working weight. This should feel light and easy, and that is the purpose,just to get the muscle warm. The next "set", increase the weight to about 2/3 your working weight, and do just 3..to let the muscle know, ok, get ready, heavy weight coming. Now, go right into your HEAVIEST set, in fact, add 10 lbs. if this is a new warmup scheme to you, and I bet you can do it! See, you will have gone up 10 lbs. on your bench already. Hope this helps, and good luck to you.

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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.

Ron
bb1fit
bb1fit
Posts: 11,105
Joined: 2001/06/30
United States
2003/05/03, 01:16 PM
I should mention in my above post, on those first 2 shocking methods, especially the second one with the free weights, go to failure on your normal sets first before doing this. You want to shock the muscle with more than it is used to, making it respond with strength and growth.

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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.

Ron
rev8ball
rev8ball
Posts: 3,081
Joined: 2001/12/27
United States
2003/05/03, 03:56 PM
Also, look under the powerlifting thread for several related topics...

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Michael
"Trample the weak; hurdle the dead!"