Bencher8 Training log

[SGreene_700]

What???? Tucked feet...blasphemy. What will Louie think? Does George know about this???.....just kidding. O.k I would understand if you hadnt made a lift since moby dick was minnow like me but dude you smoked 865 last July...feet out wide granted the lockout was shaky but your setup was better than its ever been. You been watching Kennelly or George lately? O.k. you got me there , they are 2 in 6 billion...lol. You always tell me, not broke....dont fix it. Your crew got to ya didnt they?...lol. Well I'll still carry the torch for us flat back feet out wide benchers and who kows maybe I'll even make a lift in '08....lol

BTW how does Kennelly get such a good arch w/feet out? Do we have to be 350 to get that ROM???...lol. You know I'm just messing with ya, I'd love to be able to do the MM setup effectively but I'm old school and every time I think about trying the MM setup again for the umphteenth time Kennelly,Gene,George,Carpenter,Boltz,or Lamarque show that good lifts can be made still with feet out. But goodluck with that...lol.

[Rob Luyando]

Steve I got to him.

Kennelly is retarded strong. Paul is retarded flat. Anything he can do to increase his arch has to work better for him. He keeps saying he is in a rut. So he will despreatly try anything. Hell I even talked him into trying some straight weight with a shirt!

[TWeb]

What???? Tucked feet...blasphemy. What will Louie think? Does George know about this???.....just kidding. O.k I would understand if you hadnt made a lift since moby dick was minnow like me but dude you smoked 865 last July...feet out wide granted the lockout was shaky but your setup was better than its ever been. You been watching Kennelly or George lately? O.k. you got me there , they are 2 in 6 billion...lol. You always tell me, not broke....dont fix it. Your crew got to ya didnt they?...lol. Well I'll still carry the torch for us flat back feet out wide benchers and who kows maybe I'll even make a lift in '08....lol

BTW how does Kennelly get such a good arch w/feet out? Do we have to be 350 to get that ROM???...lol. You know I'm just messing with ya, I'd love to be able to do the MM setup effectively but I'm old school and every time I think about trying the MM setup again for the umphteenth time Kennelly,Gene,George,Carpenter,Boltz,or Lamarque show that good lifts can be made still with feet out. But goodluck with that...lol.

lets not say he smoked 865 because that would have won the 308ers in july. Paul tuck your feet and dont use your back, make sure to press, no wedgeing. this will guarantee no better than 2nd place. LOL much love from your patite friend

[SGreene_700]

My bad Tom you and Clay are kicking ass with the feet out too also. I like how the trend changes. At first it was old school feet out almost always. Then MM came along, and people believed it was the only way and everyone attempted their setup. Now some of the best lifts are being done w/feet out. Whatever works for you best, historically for Paul feet out, but who knows maybe it'll work this time.

Oh and Rob you're an incredible bencher but you have strong legs, imagine if you got leg drive like Bill. Granted you may give up alittle in ROM, but guys like you,Bill,Paul,Me never had some sic-like Richie Briggs arch anyways so why not "try" the feet out with Bill alittle bit this offseason or little break your having. Like I said you may give up 1" or 2" in ROM; but I'd bet you'd be stunned with what leg drive could do for you also.....you may even get some speed....lol j/k.....like I said whatever works best for you we're all different.

[Bencher8]

wow! I never knew a sentence in my training log would generate so much excitement lol

I have always known I was pretty flat. I tried going to the MM setup before(maybe not a lot of people know this...but George tried it at the same time and he stayed with it longer than I did!) but I could never get any stability with heavier weights in this setup and just figured I would get strong enough to move the weight that extra 2". What really got me was when the injury happened.....I came back from that thinking I was going to have to change to a technique bencher...but found out that I was able to be almost as strong...and went back to training that way. Now the same may happen this time(since I haven't went heavy in this setup yet), but I think I am going to try it for a little bit and see what happens....I may change back still.

I just figure that any off the rom will help me.....I can fix the problem with my other setup(not the arch problem, I have another big problem that I have with both setups), but just plain old physics tells me that the less the rom, the more weight I can move....physics has helped me out before...F=MxS...

I told Rob I am in a rut....and I am. My problems are that I am too reliant on boards, I use bands too much(straight weight moves differently in the bottom of the rom), my rom is too long, I don't put the weight in my lats and tris, don't use my back...I am basically all fukk up and was still capable of moving high 8's with doing all that wrong....what might happen if I do it right? What happens if I don't have to move the weight as far? What happens if I find a way to use my back effectively? If I can get this setup down right.....it could be what puts me where I should be....and that's not fukk around with 800 pounds.

and fukk off Tom....It won't happen again! lol The next time I come out to compete I will be in excess of 900 pounds....or I will blow the wheels off trying!

[RevTodd]

To state the obvious, the other thing a smaller ROM does is lets you use a tighter shirt. Tighter shirt = more support = bigger bench!

I've tried to bench w/ feet out front before but it adds about 3" to my ROM. That's the same as a 2-bd!

As far as stability goes, I think that's just something you learn to do. I am usually pretty stable with my feet tucked, unless I get a crappy handoff.

The problem I have with my setup is I can't figure out how to get good leg drive. But for me the decreased ROM and tighter shirt helps me more than the leg drive I'm missing. When I bench raw my feet are out and I use the leg drive.

I say go for it Paul... Like you said, you've stalled in your progress. This could be the thing that gets you moving up again. Worth a try...

[Rob Luyando]

Oh and Rob you're an incredible bencher but you have strong legs, imagine if you got leg drive like Bill. Granted you may give up alittle in ROM, but guys like you,Bill,Paul,Me never had some sic-like Richie Briggs arch anyways so why not "try" the feet out with Bill alittle bit this offseason or little break your having. Like I said you may give up 1" or 2" in ROM; but I'd bet you'd be stunned with what leg drive could do for you also.....you may even get some speed....lol j/k.....like I said whatever works best for you we're all different.

Okay so my legs are strong and if you are saying that you and Pauls have weak chicken legs than I have one suggestion. Train them! I have played around with the leg out thing but I have to go back to if it aint broke don't fix it motto. I am not bombing out so I stick with what works. And leg drive is over rated at times. I am always up for a good slow grind. LOL!

As for not being stable Paul try bringing you legs out a little wider don't hug the bench with your thighs like Mendy. He looks like a try pod when he is set up and he is never stable four legs are on a table are always more solid then three. I am sure the Mendy clone will pipe in now that I mentioned his mentor.

The only thing I will agree with Steve on is Miller Lite and we are all different and you must find what works for you and when you hit a rut don't be afraid to take advice from others and try something different. The day you think you are to good to learn from anyone else is the day you will stop progressing.

[Bill Carpenter]

Since I put my feet out in front of me I get more of an arch and more leg drive in my bench. When I tuck my feet it was either hit or miss with my leg drive. Everyone should try both and see what fits them the best.

[Marcus]

I always thought the leg tuck vs. out front was related to the length of the lifter's legs. At least that's what I've noticed watching guys at meets. It's easier for guys with long legs to put their legs out front. Guys with shorter legs can tuck them under.

[Bill Carpenter]

I always thought the leg tuck vs. out front was related to the length of the lifter's legs. At least that's what I've noticed watching guys at meets. It's easier for guys with long legs to put their legs out front. Guys with shorter legs can tuck them under.

Easiest solution is to train both ways and see what works best for you.

[RevTodd]

I always thought the leg tuck vs. out front was related to the length of the lifter's legs. At least that's what I've noticed watching guys at meets. It's easier for guys with long legs to put their legs out front. Guys with shorter legs can tuck them under.

Actually I have quite long legs (one of the reasons my deadlift stinks, LOL!) I tuck because putting my legs back under me allows me to get my hips at an angle where my arch can be much higher. With my legs out in front, I cant get the hips pulled back as much, hence, lower arch. It also keeps my butt on the bench... nearly impossible for your ass to come up that way.

[Bencher8]

DE Bench(mm band)
245x12x1

Lat pulls(mm band)
280x3x10

Rear delts
35x10
45x10
55x10

seated CS Rows
8 platesx10
10 platesx2x10

Tri Pushdowns
who cares? lol

Band pullaparts
mm bandx3xfailure

Hammers/abs


OK....lol I don't know. I went in there and tried to setup and practice the tucked feet setup...but the benches are lower and couldn't get set up well...sooo went to the old set up....well, the new flexibility is paying off in that setup as well. I had a wayy better arch and I could get my feet out so wide that I almost had my legs straight! It felt that way anyway...ned some vid to see what it looks like. If I can get that kind of setup in the shirt I may just stay with the feet out wide setup...still kinda up in the air about it. I still didn't have as short of a ROM as with the tucked feet. I guess I may just try both on thur and see what happens.....

Anyway....had a good workout and speed was up there...as well as putting the weight in my back like I should....so I will prolly have a shitty ME day as that is what usually happens when I have good DE days lol

[Bencher8]

ME Bench(straight weight, equipped)
warmed up to 495x1

3 brd
585x1

2 brd
675x1

1 brd
765x1
855x0

reps
225x2x12

punch press
purplex3x30

well, didn't feel too great today. had a touch of the flu and everything hurt lol Missed the 855 cause I folded a little and din't arch up to the bar. Everything was good wth the tech ecept for folding up camp an inch from the board lol

[Bencher8]

Bench access on fri

4 brd(bands, raw)
315+(150)x3
405+(150)x3
405+(300)x1
405+(150)x3
315+(150)x3

Lat pulls
stackx3x10

Deads
225x3
315x3
405x1
545x1

that's it....had to go back tonight cause I couldn't finiish the access work due to everybody leaving on thur before I could do any. Felt a ton better tonight, not sick, and tech was way better as well. The 405+300 was really easy...wanted to do more, but only 2 other people showed up in time to help me out...and they were 45 min later than i thought they would be, but with only 2 people I guess safety was an issue....they didn't reallt trust them selves going any heavier....so Rob, you got me for now I guess lol

[Bencher8]

Back Day

forgot my damn belt, wrist wraps, and straps....so a little lighter

DE Bench(unequipped, mm)
bar+mmx5x3
135x5x1
...mostly just practiced setup and flexibility. Wasn't really a good night for flexibility...couldn't quite get setup as well as I wanted

Lat Pulls(mm)
250x3x10

Rear delts
50x2x10
55x1x10

Pullups
BWx3x10

Bent over rows
225x3x10

Straight arm pulldowns
85x3x10

SLDL
225x3x10

hammers/abs

[Bencher8]

ME Bench
warmed up to 405x1

Rev Bands(green choked=50# deload, equipped)

496x1 huuuge shirt
606x1 " "
716x1 2 brd in reg X
805x1 reg X
865x1 reg X PR!
922x0 tighter X

Floor Press
315x3x10 CG

well, overall, not a bad training session. I hit a PR, so I guess I have to be happy with that lol Took 6 lifts in the shirt cause I wanted to do a little more work in a shirt....tech work is a main reason for this work, so more shirt tech should help some. Should have gotten the 922, but a tech reason kept me form it again....this time touched a little high and ran out of room to bring the weight back into my lockout....just missed the fukk right at lockout. I can feel that I am losing a little explosiveness...so I need to find a way to incorporate bands back in and balance my band work with the straight weight work.

I liked the tighter X I used...doesn't have any of the tricks the other one has...it's just a stock X...but ti fits good and gives me some good pop.

BS'ed with the guys after and Jon is trying his damndest to get me to do his April meet competing in the Deadlift! LOL!! I think I will tell him I will compete in his meet if he runs a UPA meet this year....lol

Blackmail his ass...

[Bencher8]

Back Day

Lat pulls(mm)
200x10
250x10
300x8

Rear delts flys
40x10
50x2x10

Bent over rows
225x3x10

seated cs rows
3 platesx3x10

cable rear delts
20x3x10

hammers/preacher curls/abs


forgot my damn straps again...so went a little lighter on some stuff. Didn't go on fri night..since julie was in a giving mood, I took advantage...lol

[Rob Luyando]

Straps man your a cheater and you talk about Kennelly! LOL! I bet the Mendy Close doesn't use straps!

[Bencher8]

While Mendy Clone is a bench specialist ....he can pull over 8 raw. I don't think he would ever use straps....he is too hardcore!

I guess I have to admit it...I can't lift shit if I don't have my wrist wraps, straps, belt and shirts.....total gear whore lol

[Rob Luyando]

Nothing wrong with that! I like whores! LOL!