Almost got 300 today.

[Onenameleft]

275 on flat bench is my PB, but I'd been way under that for a while. I've been dieting since Dec, and I was down to 215, and it stalled. I tried everything, and I was just stuck for like 3 weeks. I started taking GH and after about 2 weeks I was up to 220, without any fat gain, but I wasn't really looking leaner, and then I just kept gaining.. I decided to bulk, so I'm doing a 10 week bulking cycle Cyprio/deca/GH.. Three weeks in, I'm up to about 245 (puffy as hell) but my strength is just ballooning. I got 225 easy last workout, and then did a set of 3 a 245. Today, I cranked out 6 at 225, and just decided to go for it. Just feeling the 300lbs in my hands was more than I'd ever held. I've never gotten under anymore than 275. But as I brought it down, I knew I was going to get it.. I took about a second on the way down tapped my chest to keep my mommentum going, and it started up. I knew it was moving, but at about 4-5 inches off my chest, it just hit a wall. I strained, and it went up a little more, but then my left got ahead. My spotter, helped enough to get my back evened up, and to keep me moving up. then he moved his hands away and I finished. I was close, but I know it was assisted. I've got maybe 2 more weeks, and I own 300lbs.. I know I need to hit my shoulders hard. My workout partner is really strong, and he's saying my shoulders and triceps are really my weakness. Any of you with suggestions I'm certainly open. I know a 300lb bench isn't much around here, but I was psyched about how close I got, and how fast my strength came back. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[The mann]

i would also say shoulders and tri's from where you say it stalled,i would mostly concentrate ontriceps though.that will bring your bench up.do you do any floor presses or board presses?

 

[Onenameleft]

I don't know what a floor or board press is. Can you explain those to me? I usually do either flat or incline bench, and then do the other with dumbells. I always do dips for chest, and I've really seen good strength gains since adding dips in. I usually finish off with cables or peck deck. I'm starting to believe that dips are the best all around chest exercise there is.

 

[The mann]

board press..

 

[The mann]

board press..

 

[The mann]

sorry,i tried to add pictures but some reason won't work,anyway,board press : you take 2 by 4's and stack them on top of eachother and screw them toghether.you can use from 1 up to 5 or 6 .they work the point where you are gettin' stuck.so in addition to hittin the tri's,you can use 2-3 boards and have someone place the boards on your chest and hold and you bring the bar down,pause on the boards andpush up..4-5 boards,we use like you would the lock out in a rack.it's harder because you have to bring the bar out and lower to the boards,pause,then push up.in a rack lock out you are spared from all that,you just lay under and push up.all reps on board and floor presses are to be done with pinky finger inside the lines on the bar.that is a must.
floor press:lay on the floor,(in rack)lower bar till elbows touch the ground,pause,explode up.this also helps midpoint and some say helps initial start off chest.they are wierd exercises,bt they have helped me greatly.they just add variety.go to "bill crawford page" and you'll find photo's of both.also "elite fitness by dave tate' goes into this.sorry so long.

 

[The mann]

ok,here's the board press..

and here's the floor press..

i didn't want to leave you confused so i went and found theses pic's.also go to Testosterone.net,it has awesome info.later,bro!!

 

[Onenameleft]

Thanks for the reply

I do rack lockouts, but I've never tried either of those exercises. I appreciate the input.

 

[jbw55]

go a little wider with your grip and that'll help you get 300, since you're very close to getting it, just watch your shoulders for pain and don't do this often at first, work into it a bit. Wider grip places a lot more strain on your shoulders. If you have a training partner, do negatives, in your case do 'em with 315, just handling the weight will boost your mental capability, and 300 will feel like nothing the next time you pick it up.

I agree with the other advice given as well.

 

[The mann]

onenameleft...........when are you going to try ti hit the 300 again??

talk is cheap

 

[Valdez]

I'm stuck at the same weight pretty much, 280 is the most I feel comfortable without a spotter. what has been helping me lately is working with 195-225 and doing fast eccentric reps and not going all the way to failure. say 7 seps and rack it.

you should get on a powerlifting program where you plan out how much weight and reps your gonna do each week and gradually get heavier and lower reps until you hit your goal weight of 315 (I know you want 3 pies)

 

[Tuna Guy]

If you really want a 300bench(if it is realistic) then your training should be geared towards that. If numbers are all that you are interested in then change your style of pressing if it is currently inefficient and remember to drive with your legs, use some blocks if need be. By the way there is a big difference between powerlifting benching and conventional bodybuilding benching.

 

[The mann]

tuna guy is right about that.it depends how far you want to go.depends on those big goals,bro.but the info here should help you.hard to say without seeing you lift,but he's right,when you bench the way we do in competition,you keep elbows tucked,bring the bar down low on chest,actually closer to your upper abs,then pause and explode.if your not doing a meet i wouldn't too much worry about all that,in any event i still wish you luck with 300!!!!!!!

 

[Onenameleft]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm not sure when I'll try it again. I think I'll take my next chest workout which should be Tuesday, and do a couple of sets at 275, and some negatives at 315. Then my next chest workout, next weekend (we're on a 5 day split) I'll hit 300. The next time I get under 300, I own it. Form is certainly an issue with me. I'm not really in this for powerlifting, or at least I wasn't until I got 3 plates in my sights. Valdez, you're right, now that I can see it, I want 3 plates bad. I always told myself, I was just doing this to look and feel better and be in better shape, but now I'm wanting those numbers too. Tuna Guy, I bring the bar down pretty high. Too high actually, but it's a hard habit to break. It hits my chest right below my nipples. I've been reading that just below the sternum is actually the best place for power. As you can see from my post, my form needs work in other areas too. I mean, my left hand getting ahead of my right is what killed me on this one. They get off plane sometimes as I push through a heavy weight too. What I mean is that one gets higher on my body. I'm working hard to fix these things. I know it's all about doing it perfectly on the lower weights, and just training my body to do it right. I hit shoulders yesterday, and went heavier on military presses than I've ever done before. I got 185 for 4. My strength is really going up on this cycle. Any suggestions on my shoulder routine? I know that is a big part of bench. I always do at least one pressing movement. Usually one with a barbell, and then either normal dumbell presses or Arnold presses. I do lateral raises, and bent over raises for the outer and rear delt, and every other shoulder workout, I do shrugs. I do 4-5 sets per pressing exercise, 3 sets per raising exercise, and I do every set to failure. When I can get more than 7 or eight with a pressing weight, I go up, and I usually shoot for around 8-10 with the raises. What do you guys think? My tricep workout is usually skullcrushers for 3 or 4 sets to failure. Then either reverse grip bench or rack lockouts. We finish up with cable pressdowns. Any suggestions on that would be appreciated as well. All and all I've been happy with this cycle. I mean this is the start of week 4, and I'm up almost 30lbs with my waist only going up 1/2". Every lift is up 25-30%. It's the best I've had yet for sure. I figure after I drop the water, I may get 25lbs out of this before it's over. Then it will be time to drop fat.

 

[The mann]

yea bro,yur workout looks good and you are making gains so don't change a thing.n tricep day when you getbored with the skull crushers start jm presses.they are like doing skul crushers with the straight bar an they are harder.thy helped my bench alot.also sometimes do the pushdowns at the start of the workut to just use as warmup,then do 4-5 heavy jm presses or skull crushers and keep the reps at 6.log yoor tri workouts and go up 5 lbs a week.you'll love it!let me know when you hit the 300,alright?????!
PEACE

talk is cheap

 

[Onenameleft]

Thanks for taking the time to help me out, Mann. Thanks to everyone else that replied as well. You better believe, I'll let you know when I hit 300. It's something I've wanted for 2 years now. I can actually see it now...

 

[DOM]

Not to flame you, but if you weigh a solid 245 lbs, I think you either should be able to bench 300 easily or shouldn't be doing a steroid cycle at all, especially a cycle that incorporates hgh into it. Seriously, this is not a flame, with that much muscle on your body, you could simply adjust your training style and be benching 400 within 6 months -- no AS at all.

 

[Onenameleft]

Got it.. finally

I got 300 yesterday on flat bench without any help from my spotter. It wasn't pretty, but I got it.. My left still got a little ahead of my right and I stalled about 4 inches up, but I was able to get back inline, and get the rep.. I went for a second one, but it wasn't even close.. 300X1 is all I had.. It's time to start leaning out now.. Not because I got 300, but because it's about time.. I'm around 240 right now, and I'd say I need to lose 35 or 40 lbs to be where I want.. Thanks for all the suggestions and support guys.. It was nice to get it. And DOM, no offense taken from your comment. I agree I should be stronger.. 2 years ago, I couldn't do 115 for more than 2 or 3, and I weighed 270lbs.. I'm stronger, but I still need a lot of muscle maturity and work on my form to get the weights higher.. I'm doing the HGH more to help me keep muscle and get stronger as I lose weight. For most of the time I've been taking it, I've been dieting. I take a really low dose, and the cycle with cypriotest and deca is just about done. If you want to send me a routine that you think can get me to 400lbs in 6 months, I'd sure love to give it a try though. thanks for the input.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

great job man, that is a real plateau. 3 plates coming next!

 

[k1401]

Great job!

Maybe someone out there can help me.

No juice yet, thinking about it though.

Had 320 last year, sore elbows so I went light.
Felt fat at 215 so dropped weight now 192.
Can't get 290.

Everything else is stronger or the same.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[devil245]

good work. i a few weeks ago i did 295 no problem. my goal is 315 which i hope to do next week. i am only 185 but have good size. i hope to get that 315 before my d-bol cycle in a couple of weeks.

 

[The mann]

onenameleft........you got it..yeeaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! now for three plates a side right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????