I’m benching on MWFs with an emphasis on progressively lower reps and higher weights (f’rinstance, yesterday I did 8x120, 8x120, 6x130, 6x140, 6x150 - tommorow will be something like 8x120, 7x130, 6x140, 5x150, 5x150)
My max is 205.
This is mostly irrelevant.
I just want to know if doing pushups on T-Th’s will be redundant work. Are the muscles being worked in slow pushups sufficiently different from those in bench press to warrant doing them on off days from benching?
stylee
Please don’t take this as an insult; it’s not.
However, I personally believe that the ENTIRE workout is redundant. To flat bench 3x a week, with the amount of reps you listed, is a recipe for complete shoulder/rotator cuff disaster.
To add pushups to the list, (besides any other pressing work you might do) is borderline insane. More is not always better…
Good luck!
Certainly not taken as an insult - I’ve already got serious issues and though bench doesn’t really bother me that much, I probably should scale back anyway.
I’m really concerned about getting stronger (and expect some speed gains to come out of that too) and want to at least bench enough to observe improvement in my max.
Is twice a week still too much?
Can I reduce the reps and still keep the progressively higher weights?
Thanks for the help.
Stylee,
I think before anyone can give you a meaningful answer, we will need to know more about you (lifting experience and strength levels) and what you are currently doing in the weight room. However, I can state pretty definitively that absolutely no one is going to recommend that you do a high volume of bench work 3x a week with two additional days of high rep push-ups.
JMT
Alright, sweet.
I’ve been lifting since my freshman year of high school (1999…8 years?), though there was really a break from 2004-2006 where I didn’t lift nearly anything.
My bench max in high school was 155-160. When I maxed out earlier this summer I was shocked to see it had jumped to 205 though I weighed essentially the same [150-155 lbs] and was going through the aformentioned shoulder problems.
I had to take a hiatus between the summer and early fall and have really begun hitting the weights hard only since early September.
Besides bench, I do curls, a rowing machine, and a tricep-push-down-machine-thing on MWF, generally with the same scheme of ascending weight, descending reps. In light of what you two have said, it’s probably too much of that as well.
I did some deadlifting in the summer too but tweaked my bad knee in one workout and haven’t returned to it sense. I don’t feel strong enough in that area to do clean or snatch yet either.
I’m just finishing up my semi-pro football season and will be hitting the track and weight room as much as I can (or should) after this weekend.
Stylee,
In addition to all of that upper body work you are doing on MWF, what are you doing for your lower body? Also, what are your plans for speed and tempo? I ask because the amount of work you can do in the weight room is greatly influence by what you are doing on the track.
JMT
I’m very cautious about doing leg workouts because of the tendanitis in my left knee. Right now the only leg exercises I do (outside of running & football) are the nightly strengthening activities my doctor told me about - squats, raises, toe raises, etc., all without weights.
When I’m healthy, maybe I’ll be doing cleans and snatches twice a week. I’m not sure how I’d fit deadlifting into the routine, though I’d like to.
I’d like to do speed and acceleration work on MWF too, with T-Th devoted to tempo.
I hope to go from short to long, perhaps running a few open track meets before my season starts back next May-June.
My tempo will probably start at something like 15x100 for a few weeks with a 50 meter walk between each (and, because I’m not in track shape, probably a few 100 meter walks sprinkled in).
Speed stuff will be flying 30s, 25-30m hill sprints, and maybe some 50s.
Hope this isn’t information overload.
I bench press twice a week (flat bench on Monday, and incline on Wednesday). Taking from my own experience and from Dr. Bondarchuck’s studies, I believe that bench press has almost zero direct correlation with speed.
I think it’s a GREAT high intensity stimulus with fairly low risk, and no lower body impact.
I think most great sprinters bench press, but I don’t think you need to bench press to be a great sprinter.
Name one weight training exercize that correlates with speed.
Surely the bench press is the best weight training exercise for speed, and one of the few that actually improves sprint speed.
Also, pressing movements don’t just work pressing muscles. They also work the lats for example. Even bicep curls work the lats. There’s a lot of crap in books and the net, about weight training.
If he’s using a powerlifting style technique, the lats become the prime movers. But if he is using a flat back technique, the pecs will do a touch more work than the lats.
Goose, I really hope you’re joking. Everything in your last post was so wrong that it hurts.
If you were being sarcastic, then sorry.
I ask a lot of stupid questions because, frankly, I’m stupid when it comes to this stuff.
I was operating under the assumption that overall upper-body strength gains will help in the speed department - though not to the degree of “Bench 250, run 10.5” or anything. There seems to be a disagreement between at least light horse and Goose on this issue {edit:unless Goose IS being sarcastic}. My inclination is not that bench itself makes one faster, just that overall strength will lend itself somewhat to explosiveness. The weight room is definitely NOT my primary concern in the offseason - though I’d still like to get bigger and stronger for football - so please don’t think I’m overemphasizing it or anything. It’s just what I’m thinking of right now.
So my stupid questions are (let’s say I scale back to benching twice a week): can I keep the same scheme of increasing weight, decreasing reps throughout the workouts? should I switch from 5 sets to 4 sets for these workouts? would it be better to go Monday-Wednsday or Monday-Friday (if neither, what would be the best recovery time?)? Could I use pushups once a week, say, in place of one of the 3 bench workouts a week I’m doing now, or is that still too much?
Why not reduce the sets and still use 3 times a week. the advantage is that none of the sessions would be stressful and the weight seems moderate for ability. I’m always inclined toward lower numbers in sessions more often if possible. Coming at the end of speed sessions reduces the number of warm up sets required. thoughts?
I always preferred a little more frequency throughout the week versus volume in a single training session so I definately agree.
Also Stylee, what in particular is wrong with your knee? Is it tendonitis in the patella tendon?
JStu - yes. It’s been a problem, on and off, for a year. I’ve done physical therapy on it and that “cured” it for a solid 4 or 5 months before I re-injured it again deadlifting.
My doctor told me I have bilateral instability in my shoulders. Terribly painful to get hit and occasionally they bend the wrong way and it makes me wanna scream.
im pretty sure pushups would involve the abs and hip flexors as well, as you use them to keep your body straight, whereas in bench press youre lying down.
Charlie
Absolutely. It’s just that I believe that 100+ reps of flat bench a week would be ridiculous. In lower volumes, I too see no problem with this. We also weren’t told what additional pressing exercises he may or may not have been doing…
On a side not, we frequently have some of our athletes press 3x a week - but they are variations of the bench press, shoulder press, etc, and the volumes fluctuate so that we’re not always going “high”…
Surely the bench press is the best weight training exercise for speed, and one of the few that actually improves sprint speed.
Can you qualify this statement? I disagree, so I’d like to hear your interpretation.