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BenchMonster, BigOkie, and screwball training pics

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I'd love to give those rev band presses a try...but I just know that my bands would snap in two and I'd be one squished little guy then...

B True
 
yeah they look huge. I did reverse bands today w/ the light bands. i hit 210... only 440 more lbs until i catch up to benchmonster
 
Thanks, Deciever! I really appreciate you taking the time to post the pics. You are now an honorary member of the "Okie Crew".

Thanks to Benchmonster for allowing BigOkie and I to train at the Dungeon again. My best workouts come when I train with the Okie crew. This is how the workout went:

Reverse Blue Band Press off of a 2-board

We worked up in weight and then put our shirts on. BigOkie hit 405 easy and fast. He missed at 455 because he didn't stay in his groove. I hit 550 pretty easy but it was a little sloppy. I went for 600 but it was too much. I think I'm good for 575 right now and the next time I hit these I'll hit 600. Benchmonster hit 600 easy and fast. He went for 650 but he fell out of his groove and had an uneven extension. But it was quick off of the bottom and I'm sure he'll nail 650+ the next time he hits these.

Side note on my 600 attempt. I strained for a long time and my right hammy cramped real bad. After I racked the weight I proceeded in performing a 1-legged jig for Benchmonster & BigOkie. It was a nice little dance, if I do say so myself. Hurt though.

Reverse Blue Band Close-grip Press

We worked up in weight, hitting 5's, then 3's, then singles. BigOkie hit in the low 400's I believe and Benchmonster & I gave 500 a ride.

Prone Blue Band Rows - Barbell Suspended in the Rack

We pulled the suspended barbell (blue bands) down to the point where we want our competition bench press to touch. We did 4-5 sets of 12-15 reps with a static contraction hold on the last rep for 5+ seconds. Worked really well.

Seated Dumbbell Cleans

We all used a 25 lb. dumbbell and did 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Finished up with some light hammers.

Great workout and I'm still sore as hell. Can't wait to do it all again.
 
Thanks for posting those pics, Deceiver.

Honestly, though, those pictures do not do bigokie and Screwball justice. They are both so huge it is scary. bigokie is 6 foot 5 and around 280 and growing fast, and Screwball is 6 foot 2 and a shade over 300 lbs, and you can see by the pics, neither one of them is fat. I am five seven, and about 225 to 230 in the pics.

Next time we will have to take a side by side pic of the three of us.

A wider angle would have allowed you to see the plates on the bar, but the plates we are claiming were there . . . honest.

Thanks again to Deceiver.

B.
 
It may be important to note that we only had 8 - 45 lb. plates. So, when we go above 405 lbs. we have to start slapping mutiple 35 lb. & 25 lb. plates on, as well as 10's, 5's & 2 1/2's. The digital camera I used is really basic. I needed a wide angle lens in order to get the entire power rack with loaded barbell. Next time I'll take a video camera and do a much better job at capturing the moment.
 
any time guys...such an honor to be part of the 'okie crew', thanks.

ALL the weight you guys were movin is incredible... and your right, the pics didnt do you guys justice... You guys looked like normal size people, except screwball, he's just scary, Next time you take a pic, get eveyrone in together and have Mrs bench monster stand next to you. That could be pretty comical.

Looks like you need to go out and buy some 100lb plates... you guys are getting too strong for those 45s
 
I am thinking about buying another pair of 45's and maybe a pair of 100's, but they are a bastard to store and not much fun to move around either, but honestly using the smaller plates we are starting to run out of room on the bar. on the 650 there was not much room left after we put on the collars.

Damn, that felt good to say.

B.
 
Benchmonster, don't buy any 100's until I give you the go ahead. I'm trying to work on a deal so that I can make a small donation to the Dungeon.
 
No you are not. You guys make a major contribution every time we get together, and you are not buying plates. I am not kidding about this, unless you plan on hauling those heavy sumbitches back and forth with you, you better not be bringing anything but your self when you come to the dungeon.

That goes for all board members. All the regulars are welcome here anytime. Mrs. Benchmonster is very accomodating to having huge monsters in her house, but nobody is making contributions to the dungeon.

I appreciate the thought, but I am serious, I would not feel right about that at all. Let me know when your training will be on track for a friday night workout, and I will meet you guys in Stillwater.

B.
 
You guys rock!! That's some hardcore home-gym liftin!


Screwball does look quite freaky and like Bench Monster said he doesn't look fat either. Combine that with the fact that he's tall and I wouldn't want to meet up with him in a dark ally, lol.

We have the Asylum, the Dungeon, WTF am I gonna call my gym??
 
If I can get the 100's for little to no money, I will buy them and they will be added to the Dungeon and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. If I have to, I'll get BigOkie to whoop your ass.

Oh, by the way, I was reading Ricky's forum and a guy posted something on finding a powerlifting meet in Oklahoma. I responded to the guy and he lives in Tulsa and works out at Eastside Gym. He was a Hihghland Games competitor but he ruptured his patella tendon. His chiro is a powerlifter and recommended the sport. He's interested so I offered him some advice and if he wants to train we'll try to work something out. Sound okay? Could be another member for the "Okie Crew". I'm waiting for a response from him.
 
Great pictures guys, I did 500 for 5 reps yesterday on rev. band benching with the lighter green bands raw. Now if only I can get the shirt on that I just received, LOL.
 
Damn I look out of shape in that picture. All the sweating...must be loading all those damn plates for benchmonster and screwball!

Benchmonster we owe you for letting us lift at your pad. I've been looking for a pair of 45's that need a home and will probably find there way to your gym. It's the least we can do for letting us lift at your house and running your family out.
 
hey...

thanks for the pics!!! always good to see new stuff in action.

i had a comment/question (NOT a criticism mind you).....

how come you guys are using denim shirts for these lifts? i go back and forth with an ex-training partner about this.

my $0.02: if you put on a shirt that is really tight (tight enough to be your competition shirt), then of course you are going to be stronger at a 2 board or 3 board then with a flat bench.

I wonder whether or not it would be smarter to use a loose shirt (like you guys did in one of your pics)... or even a cut polyester for a little protection but not a lot of help.

my reasoning is this.... lets say you plan on benching 500 at a meet, why would you use 540 or 550 off of a 2 board? wouldn't it be better instead to find what is limiting you from getting the 500 bench? maybe it really IS the 2 board position, but if you used a looser shirt (or even no shirt), you could probably get the same effect from only using 450 lbs of weight.

have you guys found that these overloads carry over to the meet? i know that i trained for one meet like this and wound up with a 640 board press off the double board in my competition shirt. when i got to the meet, i couldnt get 585 or 600 down to my chest and bombed out :( So I am not sure if the shirted ME board presses were effective.


BTW: please keep posting the training routines and pics. good stuff!

/irish
 
Irish,

I came up with the idea of training in the shirt precisely because I was hitting gym pr's all the time raw and could not transfer it over to the platform come shirt time. I now am able to keep any weight I choose in the groove, where before I was having trouble keeping maximal weights in the groove I wanted them in.

My last meet I got 475, and 505 was redlighted on butt raise, and I had done a 550 3 board/shirt a couple weeks before the meet. It may be all in my head, although I don't think so, but handling bigger than normal weights in the comp groove really seems to have worked wonders for me.

If the 505 had not been red lighted, I would have gone for 525, and feel pretty confident about it. 8 weeks before this meet, I had been doing no shirt work, very light speed work, everything as outlined by Louie and Dave, and bombed with 450!!!

I will open close to 500 at my next meet, only 16 weeks after bombing with 450, and the major change in my training has been the addition of the shirt/board press, and doing speed bench only every other week, and then, going heavier than I was before. As you have said, do what works, and right now, this is working like a madman.

Screwball,

Sounds great about the highland games guy. Find out how we can get a hold of him, and we can drag his ass over to the dungeon. See you guys soon.

B.
 
benchmonste, bigokie and screwball.. how long have you guys been training for, and how big were you when you started? just wonderin..
 
Great liftin', guys! I envy you, having the opportunity to meet other members of this board. I'd really love the opportunity to meet and train with many of you guys too! But hell, I'm sitting on the other side of the planet so chances are pretty slim. I've been thinking about going on Pilgrimage for a long time. No, not to Mecca, but to the Westside Gym in Ohio. Maybe one day...
 
Thanks Arioch,

Deciever,

I am 27 years old, will be 28 this summer, and have been actively lifting for the last 10 years. I lifted a little starting at age 16, but played all 3 sports, and only lifted between seasons, did manage a 255 raw bench at 155 bodyweight my senior year, though.

When I first benched I weighed 135 and was 14 years old, and was able to bench my bodyweight for about 5 reps. But when I started to get serious at age 18, I was benching mid 200's weighed 155, and was five foot seven and 1/2 inches tall. As of this writing, I am still same height, weigh 225 to 230, and am benching a little over 500 with a shirt. Raw, I have no idea and could not care less.

I have been powerlifting for 10 months. My first meet was July of last year, and I hope to outbench last year's mark by 150 to 175 lbs this year.

I will let Screwball and bigokie tell their own tales, but I can say that Screwball's transformation has been much more dramatic than mine. bigokie is very young. When he has been training for 10 years, you may very well be reading about him challenging the total records in the superheavies. His potential is unimaginable. If I knew what I know now at his age there is no telling where I would be right now.

B.
 
wow, so when you first benched you were my size right now... but i can my bodyweight for 10+ reps.

Looks like you were just built to bench... 255 at 155 is pretty damn good, especially for not powerlifting at the time. and now your mid 500's and still have plenty of time left to improve.

When i first started i could hardly bench 90 lbs, and weighed about 95... boy have i changed.
 
Good pics guys. Ya'll do got it down to a science.

I myself have done these with no shirt and my carry over with no shirt is abou tthe same with a shirt. Excellent exercise though and hell ya with the shirt your able to lock out a house! Excellen tfor the top end.

We use the green suspended mostly for our board work, but found the blues are about what my shirt is. I did like 635 loaded suspended in blues with no shirt and that is roughly on a good day what i can bench shirted. I do know (at least was) that kenny Patterson found his max doing the blues no shirt.

Keep hittin Pr's and see where it goes. That is the name of th egame. Who knows you may get to a 700lb bench doing these. When you hit a plateu then do them another way.

YOu guys are huge! Dam Scewball is a thick ass cracker! Big Okie how old are you? Benchmonster looks like a maniac! YOu look intense bro. Cool!

Dam we all know what each other looks like now. Except a few. I am sure everyone else will put picks up in the future. Good job fella's i would love to train with you guys sometime if i could.
 
bigokie is only 21, I think.

Jay, I would love to get together sometime to train. I know we live a long way apart, but who knows what the future may bring. You and I are the same age, but you are way ahead of me on this road, but a get together when we are both around age 30 would be insane. Hide the women and children!!!

I videotaped this workout as well as Screwball taking still pics. I don't have a digital video camera, so it is just on regular tape right now. If someone is willing and knows how to transfer video tape to something that will play on the net, I could edit the video to show just the best lifts from each of us that day, and mail a vhs tape. Just throwin out an idea.

I agree that the suspended bands should be around where the shirt max is. I did a close grip with 495 after all the board/shirt work, which I think is shown in one of the pics, and it was all I had in the tank. I am thinking with a wide grip and a fresh body, that I could have done around 525 or 530 which is about where I estimate my shirt max to be. What is so cool about these exercises we have been doing lately is that I absolutely know I can lock out 550 to 600, so when I have 500 sitting on my chest, I know it is going up, because bigger weights have gone up before.

I appreciate the comment regarding the intense look. At my miniscule size, intensity is about all I can bring to the table, but what I lack in physical stature, I try and make up in intensity and insanity. We will post a pic of all 3 of us side by side with a normal sized person for reference. Even in those pics, you cannot appreciate how big and massive bigokie and Screwball are, or how good lookin I am.

B.
 
Well i know one day soon you will want to test your max against the best and since the WPO is Based in Florida, when you feel the erge to hit it big at the bash take a week or so Vac and we can hit it then.

Dude without intensity i couldnt move anything. I have apartner who trains wih us (no Computer) he is 181 and is around 500lb bench, i swear he can talk about women , sit down on the bench yawn and hit a PR. No intensity. He is the only person i know that is like that. The rest of us need it.

You guys keep pushing each other big numbers will fall.

Shti Screwball looks like a 700 bencher already. I cant get over how big he is. Good back up!

Musclehed275 sent me some pics of him and Ryan Kennelly at teh Arnold and at the gym. Dude his arms are massive! He looks about the same size as screwball. Guys like us can hit big numbers true. But a guy thats 300 lbs and low fat and big bones has potential that we only could dream of. Gray Frank comes to mind. I am sure we'll here of some rising numbers from all of ya'll! Way to push each other!
 
I kinda agree with Irish here...im not bashing, but giving my .02 also...I pretty much hit the same weights in a meet that i hit on two, or even 3 board press, and this is counting total lockout weight, for example, I went 335 bar weight, blue bands and purple and one set of chains for a total of around 555, two board, this was before I ever had used the denim, the next week i popped an incredibley easy 535 paused single, with my denim! My wife hit a 310 two board, this was lockout weight, she broke the Florida state record with 275 and had 300 at lockout but got out of the groove, and she just uses a poly!so i think it carries over, In the old days, I used to squat "raw" up until about 8 weeks out, then go with straps down, for 2 weeks, then full suit for the last two weeks, point is, save a little boost for the meet, I practice in the shirt the last 4, not max singles, just an opener, after my ME exercise...Great pics guys!! Enjoyed looking at you beasts slingin Iron!
 
Reply to IrishPower & Musclehed275 concerning the use a bench shirts while training and Deciever concerning my training history:

I'll start with my training history. I played defensive back and tight-end in highschool. I also ran track and was a sprinter. I ran the 100, the 200, relays and sometimes the 400. I was all-conference in football and should have been all-state but that's another story not worth getting into. I went to state in the 100 & 200 but did not place in the top 5. I could have played Division 1 football but made a very poor decision to go to the University of Oklahoma (no football offer - Sooners were stacked in the mid to late 80's) because all of my friends were going there. How pathetic! I could have played football and had my school paid for. Young, dumb and full of cum. Well, the decision is something I regret to this very day but live & learn I guess. Anyway, back to training. In high school I lifted in the off-season but did not take it seriously. When I graduated highschool I was 6'2" @ 185 lbs. Very skinny! And weak! My best lifts at that time were close to a 350 lb. squat, a 185 lb. bench and a 405 lb. deadlift. My legs and lower back were pretty strong from sprinting but my upper body was pitiful. In college I lifted when I was in school but when the Summer came around all I did was party. So, I would lift for 8-9 months each year and take 3-4 months off. Once I graduated and began working, I was very sporadic in training. I would lift for a few months then fall out of it, then pick it back up for a few months. Consistancy was not there at all. Each time I got back into training I would surpass my previous lifts and push them up and my bodyweight would go up as well. I always worked the compound movements hard when I trained even though I was basically doing the bodybuilding thing. On October 2, 2000, I got back into lifting with an emphasis on powerlifting. I researched everything I could find on powerlifting and eventually stumbled onto Westside. I have trained Westside or a slightly modified version ever since. It will be 2 years straight for me next Oct 2 and I won't ever stop training again. I'm 32 now and have been training on & off for 15+ years. I trained naturally up until about 8 weeks ago. I was 292 lbs. when I began and reached a high of 303 lbs. My future with "supps" is still being determined.

My goals right now are as follows:

Offseason Bodyweight: 320-325 lbs. - 12%-15% bodyfat
Competition Bodyweight: <308 - 10% bodyfat
Squat: 800+
Bench: 500+
Dead: 700+
Total: 2,000+

All of these goals by the time I turn a Sub-master. 34-35 depending on Federation.

In response to the use of equipment in training question. I was a die-hard raw and gearless trainer for much of my career but recently I started to incorporate more equipment (shirts, suits, wraps, etc...) into my training and my strength is climbing again. The additional poundage I can handle with gear allows an overload and my body is adapting to the stress. If I was training raw with my ME exercises I would be working in the 350 lb. - 450 lb. range but when I add the additional gear I can work up into the 600+ lb. range. It's working for sure. Do I think we should all throw on maximum gear everytime we step into the gym? No way! I think a balanced attack is the way to go. Raw sometimes and gear sometimes.

My shirt (Double Denim courtesy of Karen) was brand, spanking new so I had to throw it on. I mean if we had been squatting I would of thrown it on and squatted in it. I had to use it! My plan for upcoming ME days is to lift raw until I fail and then use the shirt for a couple of reps to see if I can get more. I need to spend as much time in the shirt as possible before July 4. July 4 is a bench meet. I really want to hit 500+ at this meet. With the help of Benchmonster & BigOkie I have an excellent chance.
 
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History: played football and football in high school, nothing else. The only real sport so why mess with lesser sports:) Had quite a few injuries and decided against going on, I only had one offer to play ball in Missouri at a little school, shoulda gone, but too late now. I was always big, weighed about 225-235 in high school at 6'5". I grew up on a farm and working there made me pretty big, but not real strong. I could do all the chores, it's just I wasn't real strong in the gym. So I did the bare minimum to get by in the gym. Once in college my strength really went up. I'm only 22 now and 6'5" and 270+. Haven't weighed recently. Hope to break 300-310 this year. No doubts I'll break it by the end of this year. I'd prefer to weigh in the neighborhood of 350-360 at 12 or so bodyfat, I definately have the frame for it. I just don't think I'll do much good until I fill my frame out.

Screwball will definately hit 500+ in July. Brian will go around 550.

In response to the shirt press with bands question. It definately trained our lockout. It was a killer. But I think alot of people get too caught up in the exercises that they are strongest on. People like to show off how much they can lift, everyone does it. I think alot of people work the exercises that they are strongest on and neglect the ones that they are weaker on. You want to work the ones that you are weaker on and in doing so your stronger ones will go up, too. I think eventually this will cause a muscle imbalance and you will get hurt. But on the other hand you have to handle heavy weights to get used to them. It's a fine line and one that has to be learned, I'm still trying to figure out which ones work best for me. Hopefully in the next few years I'll be able to get it figured out and my bench will make a big jump.
 
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Too often, I don't focus my training around my weaknesses but I'm getting better.

Personal weaknesses:

Squat - Core muscles (erectors, abdominals, obliques)

Bench - Triceps (arms in general)

Deadlift - Core muscles (erectors, abdominals, obliques)
 
Great Post! Screwball, I totally agree with your use of gear, this is what I'm doing now and it works well.

I had a question on your band setup, What kind of tension are you getting at the chest level and how much at the top? I set my bands up differently, I use the blues but only set them up so they help off the chest and there is no tension towards the lockout. I get approximately 85-90lbs of tension off the chest.
 
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