While I still weigh about 25 pounds more than QUIKAZHELL (QUIK - 155, SK - 180 Pounds), I’m pushing my 225 bench reps up every week. I had done 225 10 times 2 weeks ago (at the end of a workout) and yesterday I did 225 13 times at the end of a more challenging workout (275-3, 295-1, 280-3, 300-1, 285-2, 305-1 w/ neutral grip chin-ups 10 Pounds Added to BW-7, BW-9, 10-7, BW-10, 10-7, BW-10, 10-7, BW-8). I plan on hitting 225 between 20 and 25 times on April 1 and I’ll keep everyone up to date with it . Of course to completely match QUIK’s reps on the 225-rep out, I’d have to do 265 20 times (the math is that QUIK’s weight compared with 225 is 68%, my weight as 68% of load is 265). I’ll probably copy this post and put a log up for the next 2 weeks.
Hahaha. Im flattered that this thread even exists. LOL. Good job though! Looks like you’ve got your goals set and you are doing what it takes to accomplish them. Something that everyone should be doing in whichever activity or sport they choose.
I myself am in the process of trying to improve my max as well as my 225. Funny that our workouts yesterday were very similar in structure. I did 225x3 275x3 300x2 320x1 fast and easy 325x1 a bit slow follwed by 225x12 and I could of gotten 15 Im sure.
I am entered in a powerlifting comp. next Wed. where I will be benching. Last yr. I broke the record with 320. This year I will be starting with 320 and trying to hit 330.
Relative strength is much more impressive at a heavier bodyweight. You doing 265 for 20 reps would blow Quik out of the water. 
Yeah, the inverse relationship of bodyweight:strength really starts to hurt as you get heavier. It’s still nice to be light and strong.
quik im just curious at what type of benching programs are you on that helped you gain that much? or do u just bench regularly like most people?
cuz damn u weigh 155 and your 1rm is 325?? you are giving hope to other 150lbs people like me that 1 day i too am be able to bench 300+.
The bench programs I have created for myself put together and periodized for the amount of time I personally have is very individual. At the same time I build off my other strength qualities without affecting my training for track. The funny thing is I do not spend much time on bench at all. 2x a week at most. However many ppl. who have trained with me have experienced great gains but I think alot of it has to do with me beign there being able to spot them, push them, and know what weight they need to use for each set.
The basis of my program is a Max strength Phase going 5x5 for week 1, 6x3 for week 2 5,4,3,2,1 for week 3 and 3x3 unloading for week 4. I then go 2x5 3x3, 6x3, 5,4,3,2,2, Unload and then test the week after. Of course the percents is what really matter as well as the other assistance work I do. Also in the first phase I alternate on the second bench day every week between incline DB Press for 4x6 with dynamic bench @ 60% for 8x3 with 1’ rest. That is basically the parameters that I use. Nothing really fancy just basic loading and knowing what weight to use and how hard to go.
You really need to get into the Siff formulae and the other OL/PL formulae to start to compare relative strength (Wills, etc), since it’s not linear and basing it on bodyweight is unfair to the larger individual.
Hi Shaf,
Could you direct us to a good starting point for reading up on that?
Thanks,
Erik
Yeah, I’d like to know that as well. But obviously I’m not trying to be too serious about the math since it’s kind’ve a silly comparison. I would like to have more insight into the comparison though.
hey quik what made you get into powerlifting seems like fun. How would i go about getting involved in the sport. i’m 17 i weigh 185 my max bench is 340 oh yeahwhat esle besides benching is powerlifting.
Longwood,
I am a track athlete but since sprinting and jumping is a strength/power/speed sport we train similar to powerlifters.
Squat,Deadlift and Bench are the lifts in Powerlifting.
To get more info on becoming involved in the sport maybe you can start a thread and people can point you in the right direction.
quik man your very good at bench pressing compared to your weight. I can lift a max of 330 but then I’m 170. You know. You’re right about your partners getting the gains. Its the same here. You just need to pick the weights and reps right and there you are. You’ll keep on going up. There is only one problem with me. I only weight lift about 2 - 3 months a year. I then get a problem with my shoulders on that 3rd month and then I quit weights and keep training for the rest of the season without them. I guess I need to put in some great emphasis on my shoulders the next time I go to the gym.
thanx.
you need to figure out what is causing the shoulder pain and do it it takes to prevent it rather than fix it after it happens. If it has been a trend then soemthing has to give.
Your third month should be a maintenance phase whilst the first two should be your max strength phase. You will then benefit. You should try to maintain not try and get stronger in that third month. Decrease the loading to 80-85% and limit the reps to save your shoulders. Do PNF on your shoulders. I am assuming you get tightness and inflexibility in your shoulders?
refer to these articles:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459577
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=39264E12C9C8C8CFF7D5D7BB968FC72B.titan?id=538204
These (and other) Cressey and Robertson articles should be mandatory reading for weight trainers without a good coach.
thanks quik and martn. The article posted are so good as well. Thank you so much again
how does one figure out the correct reps/weight that will someone to keep going up in weight…say…in bench
You have to compare your lifts to maximum capacity. As training age goes up, the number of repetitions and the intensity level needed to make progress becomes more and more restricted. On a 400-pound bench press, doing reps at 225 for strength would be useless except as speed work. Got it?
Does the lifting sets/reps apply to your squats too? Could you also tell me what percentage of your max you do in each of those phases?
I actually eliminated regular squats from my program. I feel they made me too sore which sometimes lasted days and they also made my legs feel heavy which I contributed to running slow times. As far as squats go now I only box squat and front squat. I am still playing around with rep schemes. As far as percentages of my max for each microcycle for the max strength phases I mentioned I just went with a weight I was pretty sure Id be able to do for the set # of sets and reps.I have been lifting for 9 years and I know my body pretty well.
Sorry If I did not give you much info.