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After 7 weeks of training westside style...

kyle

New member
My bench max has gone backwards 20 pounds :(
from 190 to 170

A little about me: I'm 5'10" @ 157. I've been lifting mostly to gain weight (and strength too) for about the last 15 months with a 4 month break during the middle of this time because of my soccer season and school work. When I started lifting my bench max was about 85 lb :FRlol: . Before these 7 weeks traing westside I did a western periodized routine and increased my max about 30 lb. I decided to start WS for bench press only (i do specific speed training and weightlifting for lower body) and use the big bad bench routine from t-mag. i usually switched the face pull and pushdowns for other movements because i dont have the proper equipment at home. i was sick for the 5th and 6th weeks of the routine, but my strength had still increased in the lifts i did during those weeks (check out the jm press :)) and i finished all the workouts. all my lifts have increased, except the bench press itself...

some of the more important lifts:

jm press: 85x5 -> 140x3
floor press: 165 -> 190
tate press: 20x8 -> 30x6
3 board press: 175 -> 185
barbell extension: 70x5 -> 75x5
db extension: 25x4 -> 30x6

i felt good when i maxed after the 7 weeks, but i was weak. i failed about 1/2 inch off my chest when i tried 185 (i was pretty mad so i tried it :mad: ) i was expecting at least 200 :bawling: Anybody have advice on what to do next or why i'm so damn weak in the bench? maybe i justed havent benched enough times to keep that neuromuscular pathway in memory (i forgot how to bp). i might try some of pavel tsatsouline's routines soon to fix this... good idea? keep training ws?

Thanks for any replies

-kyle
 
Keep working. Learn how to improve...bands, chains, sled...keep working.

B True
 
Dont give up on it. Think about it. You have only been training 7 weeks with ws. Thats only seven max effort movents in amonth. The reason your weights in those went up is because you be gettign the technique down. Give it time. NObody ever said that Ws would put 20 lbs on your bench in 8 weeks like some of these other routines you read. It is a long term training program built on a foundation.
Yu were sick for two weeks which means yoiu really only got 5 good workouts in.
It sounds like your week off your chest so do more floor press and try some 2 boards as well. even a one board can help. Son't forget about your back. This is one of the most important parts of the bench.
What did your progra lok like and maybe we can see some weekneses in it. Were here to help so ask away.
 
agree w/ Grimmer. You have to approach it as a long-term training methodology, not as single training periods. keep at it, keep up your intensity and effort levels, and your bench will definitely increase.
 
the big bad bench routine was designed for BBers who do back work on another day......so they assume you are already doing movements for your back....if you didnt then that might part of the reason.

also what weight did you use on the "speed days"?

as grimmer said....west side is a long term thing
 
Yea bro you gotta give it more time. Honestly I never saw you post on here so I don't know what your routine looked like. What were you using for DE day, was it under 3 seconds, were you doing tri's right after,were you doing alot of running while trianing(you mentioned soccer so I know you gotta run), did you lose any bodyweight that could affect your strength ALOT. There are alot of different things that could've done it. And normally your floor press is around 30lbs less than your normal bench. Did you give yourself enough time to rest when you maxed out????? Did you eat enough before maxing out????
 
thanks

thanks for the replies everyone

The routine can be found
here

I did the first 7 weeks of it and maxed on the dynamic day of the 7th week (i did 2 dynamic sets then worked up to max with doubles and singles).

For dynamic day i used bands that gave about 20 lb tension (total) at bottom and 40 at top. I measured this with a scale to make sure it was accurate. I used the bands on weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 (i was a little overzealous). Although i never stoppwatched my dynamic sets i did have my dad watch me sometimes and he said that it was definitely under 3 seconds by looking at the clock, and this was probably one of my slowests sets, so maybe i should have actually gone heavier on DE. I varied the weight for these a lot because i had trouble figuring out what was a good weight.

Week 1 DE - 85 lb + bands (8 sets)
Week 2 DE - 95 lb + bands (8)
Week 3 DE - 85 lb + bands (8)
Week 4 DE - 85 lb + bands (6 sets, then worked up to heavy single 185 w/out bands)
Week 5 DE - 95 lb (8 set, very sick)
Week 6 DE - 115 lb (8)

Sometimes i also did 100 rep band pushdowns on days after benching.

For back i usually did either barbell row or chin ups.
Rows improved from 95x8 to 105x8.

Cubanito -
"you doing tri's right after [DE]"
yes

"were you doing alot of running while trianing"
yes, but i play soccer tons yearround, so i dont really think that was a factor. i have also been doing this crazy treadmill running once a week that makes me throw up every time if i dont rest long enough (threw up on 2 occasions)

"did you lose any bodyweight that could affect your strength ALOT."
6 pounds that havent come back, wierd think is i was still strong in my other lifts

"Did you give yourself enough time to rest when you maxed out?????"
probably not, so i'm going to rest till saturday (i maxed on tuesday) and try again in case that was the problem

"Did you eat enough before maxing out????"
probably not, i havent been eating much since i was sick

Thanks everyone. so i should keep training westside? what should i change in my routine? more back and more exercises for strength at bottom?

-kyle
 
Well when your sick most of the time you just lose water weight so that means you gotta drink more fluids than you eat. Of course at all times keep eating it's the key point here. guys on here go from 100-300+lbs. Don't you think that the big ones that are pushing big numbers are eating all day. I know jimmydean and PLJAY eat all day. And I'm sure brianmincher does b/c when i posted I ate 2,000 cals and I thought that was alot until I've started eatin more he eats that before noon time. So i'm sayin stick with it do your tri's right after bench. Do a weight you know you can do under 3 seconds. and if your a beginner to this honestly I wouldn't do bands just yet. Hell i've been training westside for 4 months and I havn't used bands yet. I don't care what anyone else says all that running does make you weaker if your not eating enough. The way I see it is how can you eat train and then rest if you have to run so damn much. And i know how much soccer players run my ex-girlfriend is a soccer player and I'd force her to eat b/c she looked anarexic since she hardly ever ate and she was glad I did b/c she wondered why her other friends wouldn't make it through 4 laps or so. And unless you have to be a certain weight than fuck it bro put that weight back on. Take a weight gainer you can either try the Cubanito Shake or if you don't like it modify it, I know deciever has tried it and modified it so has GRIMMER. So put the weight back on get strong and stick with westside(hows that for motivation :D ). Then when you find your weakpoint and put 50lbs on your bench your gonna love this training(it just keeps coming, the motivation)
 
I noticed that when I started doing things right, my weight on a few things went backwards. I would rather do 160 really well, than throw up a half assed 225 that I will plateau at later because I'm injured all the time.

Train hard; be patient.
 
Spats thats what learning how to train WS is all about. Thank you!!. Sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards.
 
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