static bench hold

[brianmincher]

Hey guys,

Last night after my max effort exercise, which incidentally was a 3 board press plus choked green bands plus chains (I like things as complicated as possible) I decided to try something a little bit wacky.

After reading Jay's recent post about pressing 625 (awesome) I was wondering what that even felt like on the bar. So to satisfy my curiosity, I loaded up 625, got a really good spotter, and did a 3 second static lockout with 625. It was FREAKIN HEAVY.

I had two reasons for this debacle. I wanted to see what it felt like, (see paragraph above, last line) and I am trying to delude myself into thinking that the weights I will be attempting on the 16th are not heavy. I think that I have come to a solution on the latter. I am just going to fool myself into thinking that I am someone much stronger than myself, and then my central nervous system will think that these piddly little weights aint shit.

I will let you guys know how the experiment goes following the 16th. Good luck to all competitors in their upcoming contests, and Screwball and Bigokie, drop me a line so I can be sure you have good directions to the meet on the 16th.

B.

 

[Dickvanveiner]

If you go to Fred Hatfields site, he talks about doing static holds at like 120% of ones max.

Also I'd like to mention a local meet I did in Sept of 2001, Gritter Adams from Westside was there along with other Westside lifters, and during the warmups many of them were taking static holds prior to their attempts. I asked some of them what they were doing and they said that it got them ready for their attempts and didn't tax them as much, Also I think they made mention of getting their CNS ready for their attempt. They also said that you can do these in your workouts but be careful because they tax your shoulders big time.

I haven't tried them yet and can only report on what I witnessed and was told. Anyone else have any feed back on this exercise?

 

[brianmincher]

What kind of weights were Gritter and them using in relation to thier attempts. I know that he has like a 585 bench.

Thanks.

 

[ZZuluZ]

That'll probably increase your bench for a good 2-3 weeks by potentiating your nervous system.

You can also do it with you Squat and DL.

Or by doing heavy negatives-- I don't know how effective this is however.

-Zulu

 

[brianmincher]

I am going to steal that word potentiating from you Zzulu, I like that.

I have never done walkouts, which I guess would be the squat equivalent of the static hold, but it seems like it would have to make you feel more comfortable under heavy weights, and more comfortable in setting up.

I may try and work those into my workouts after the 16th and see how I like them.


B

 

[Dickvanveiner]

Brian,

I wish I could tell you but I can't. There were a total of 16 lifters, the meet almost didn't go on, because of the small turnout. We were all getting ready at the same time and didn't really pay attention to what wt he was using. Alot of the lifters failed their attempts so I don't know if the static helped or not.

I know some of the guys were going for 600, 615, around that range.

 

[brianmincher]

Was this the getcha sum meet? Where Louie hit 575 or so, and gritter bombed with around 600?

 

[Dickvanveiner]

No, this was the IPA North American Bench Press Championship--this should have been a huge meet(Pittsburgh Area) but it wasn't I don't know what happened, It was Sept 15th, so maybe alot of people just didn't show because of Sept11th? Maybe alot of the locals were intimidated by the name of the meet, I don't know, but it still was a good time and Gritter handed out some brownies/cookies etc... to everyone there, and the meet director had food and beverages for everyone for being there, definately an upstanding guy.

 

[GRIMMER]

From what i gather holding the weight that is heavier than your max is supposed to make your max feel lighter. I can see this because yur CNS would be ready for the heavier weight and thus the lighter max would feel , well light. I'm sure there is some data on this somewhere out there.

 

[I'D RATHER BE DEADLIFTING]

I have actually tried a little experiment where I did heavy lockouts and then dropped down and did a full bench. I hit my best raw bench that day because it felt like nothing. Somthing to think about.

 

[powerlifterjay]

I do this every other week but i do it in n a suspended band , board press. I do 725lbs which is around 675 at lockout. And 600? on the board. I also load up big weight on shirt day and use my tight denim and go high 600's and bring it down till i got 3" or till it stops, then blast to lockout. And yes when you go back to your max it is LIGHT!

I do believe handling heavy weights will help you in your lifting. Before i do my next 3 lift in a couple of months i am going to do walkouts with 900plus. All so 800plus feels light when unracking.

There was a time when 550lbs felt like a cadillac when i held it at lockout. Now its a joke and feels like 315lbs. Cant wait till 650 feels like 315lbs!

 

[ZZuluZ]

Yeah, all this can be explained by means of your CNS. There are many routines out there that target this very technique.

Namely, Pavel Tsatsouline. He believes in doing a static hold every workout before starting your heavy sets.

The 1-6 routine by Charles Poliquin is also based on this principle and works very well for most people.

Then there are waves, which are yet another variation.

GVT also works for some reason, I'm having a hard time figuring it out why.

Then there's the roles of antagonists, warm-ups, etc....all there to potentiate your nervous system.

Very interesting stuff actually. T-mag is a goldmine for this.

Just figure I'd mention that in case anyone was interested.

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

i've done walkouts before on one of my squat days.. i went from my usual 205, to 220, not bad. but then i switched my stance and in a week i put up 265.... so im gonna be doing walkouts with like 335 to make 265 feel light

 

[brianmincher]

Thanks, ZZulu, Jay, and everyone else,

this has become a very interesting thread. Jay, I can tell you that right now, 625 feels for me like every ounce of 625. But 315 now feels like a joke, and I vividly remember a time when I could not lock out 300 from the pins in a power rack. I actually remember a time a while back when I felt like 315 was crushing my hands. Now I can do reps on the JM Press with it.

I kind of look at the heavy walkouts, or static holds in the same way as swinging a weighted baseball bat while in the on deck circle. Thanks for all the input guys.

B.

 

[bigokie]

Static Contraction Training

This was a routine a few years back and was said to add 30 lbs to bodyweight. You spread the workouts out very far apart and then you could keep progressing. Never tried it. Basically held the bar with elbows slightly bent, just short of lockout. You held it there for up to 10 seconds.

 

[brianmincher]

Power factor training. I tried it. It is very tough on the joints. And it did not turn me into Mike Matarazo like it promised.

B

 

[Exodus]

Power factor training. I tried it. It is very tough on the joints. And it did not turn me into Mike Matarazo like it promised.

B

wrong one brian.

peter sisqo and john little wrote : "Power Factor Training" and they wrote a whole another book called "Static Contraction"

i have read them both.

i did the 10 week static contraction workout to its extent

i felt like a moron........ i would load the bench up with 495 and hold it for 3 sets of 15 seconds and crap like that.

but here are some of the answers i belive you are looking for brian:

after i did the 495 for 3 sets of 15 seconds........ i would then go to incline bench press.......... before i started that program........ my 1 rep max was 215 on incline.

after a few weeks of the static........... i would rep out 2-4 with 225 after the first exercise............ it felt like air........(something to remember)

i was a bodybuilder at the time......... well guess what........ i didnt turn in to mike mazz either.......... dang it

but it did do something that bodybuilding did not do......... it strenghtend my joints and ligaments........ something i didnt care about then........ but is very important now.

this is what i do now since i train westside.

i do military lockouts and deadlift lockouts now with way more than my max..........

i go on schedule like this:

1 week on
1 week off
2 weeks on
1 week off
1 week on
1 week off
2 weeks on
1 week off
1 week on
1week off

i do them after max effort day......... i press them up and then hold them for 3-5 seconds........ 6 sets......... maybe 15 seconds rest.

it works great on hips for deads( i think i may give the walkouts a try) and it works on the part of the tricep tendon that runs down into the forearm next to the elbow............

you will benifit........ i promise.

sorry so long........ when i actually post about something i know about........ i get excited and take up so much room.

X

 

[Cubanito17]

BRAIN glad u posted this I thought I was the only dumbass that did this I normally when I do my warm ups for like my high school meets I'll put on, say my best pause has been 255, so after I warm up barX5 135X4 then jump on 225 for my open before all that I'll load the bar with 275 then hold it for 5 seconds then i'll put on 315 then by the time I actually go to open with 225 it really does feel like 135 i warmed up with. And I find this helps me out alot.

 

[brianmincher]

Thanks for straightening me out Exodus,

I also read both books, and tried both training systems, and I forgot about the fact that it was two different systems.

Neither one turned me into a pro, but I do have a vague memory of doing 20 leg press partials in about 15 seconds with about 1300 or 1400 lbs at about a 195 bodyweight. It is funny, I never ever do leg presses anymore, but this past winter, there were some football players home for the holidays working out at my gym, and they worked up to about 1,000 lbs for singles, and one of them caught me looking at them and asked if I thought I could do as much. I was in the middle of doing bent rows and bicep curls (this was before taking up Powerlifting) and I said, not sure, havent done them in about 3 years, but I will try.

I then proceeded to do 15 reps burying the reps at the bottom, far deeper than any one of them did for a single, and these guys were all 30 or 40 lbs heavier than me. After a couple of reps they were in disbelief, after the 10th rep, every one of them was cheering me on at the top of his lungs. It was awesome. I know that this was very immature and juvenile, but it is one of my best gym memories. And I had not done leg presses since my Powerfactor, static contraction training days. So maybe there was something to the system after all.

Cubanito, you are not the only dumbass that does this. I think the holds have a place in training, but I will give you a heads up, the 625 will make you pretty sore and tired.

B

 

[Cubanito17]

Thanks brain well I'm not quite ready for holding 625 yet I'll hold about 52% of that before I do my heavy lifts. And great gym memory, the only one i've had was about 2 months ago when I maxed out on bench I believe it was 245 I got and I thought i could've done more and my coach and everyone in the weight room said my pause wouldn't be over 185 b/c it was such a low bench and they go by a pause is about 50-100 lbs under your regular bench(with a huge bounce "cheating") and I paused 225 for them twice and shut them ALL up. And now 2 months later I'm pausing my old bench max. DID I say I love westside, wait.... I love westside.

 

[Exodus]

yeah brian.....i would hold on to that memory for some time to come.....

i went back and reread my book on static training.

some good points there......... i think may put some of it to work again.

well see......

 

[Exodus]

yeah brian.....i would hold on to that memory for some time to come.....

i went back and reread my book on static training.

some good points there......... i think may put some of it to work again.

well see......


oh yeah....... i tried walkouts for the first time with 515lbs on the bar........ yeah it was heavy but i think i could do it.

X

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

just wanted to add that I did statics at the end of my workout for 10 weeks prior to my last meet going way over the 120% recommended. MAN, my training weights and my bench 3rd attempt FELT like nothing. Highly recommended. I did 2 sets of 10-second holds with a good spot.

 

[Exodus]

so heavywear?

what all exercises did you use?

i was thinking of putting them at the end of my workout...... if you had great results with it...... i think i give myself the greenlight on them.


X