Bench Press Competitions
 

For me the bench press is my favorite exercise in the gym. Are there others that feel this way and if so would you do a benchpress competition?

^ pull-ups and squats are the way to go!

^ squats dont agree with my chicken legs

Only if you let me compete with my deadlift.

^Maybe squats don't agree with your chicken legs, because you're not doing enough squats?

^ lol yup probably

fml

^^ I would say that's pretty crazy ;)

The thing with a competition like that is you 1. need enough people that actually want to try and win 2. have people that don't mind losing 3. have weight classes

Maybe a combined Dead, Squat, Bench competition would be better...

Berz out.

o ya for sure - bc powerlifting association does that. but i was thinking something that would be.....maybe more casual - if that describes it. i actually compete in the bc powerlifting but its all guys who wear full gear (bench shirts, etc) including myself. so i was just seeing if there are people that would actually compete on a more casual level

um ya if youre repping 450 you should def have a solid single for comp

so what can u do raw ? ^^

i compete at 149-165 pound class. raw i can do maybe 315 pounds for a touch pause - shirted im around 355+

Jesus christ

So your doing 3 plates raw? I one repped 295 last year at 165 pounds.

my bench is TERRIBLE...way lower compared to what i can do in other excercises

tips on getting my bench capability higher?

fucking beast

tough to give tips out without seeing how you're benching now. but for the majority i can suggest 3 things you want to try to keep in mind.

bench pressing is generally associated with the chest muscle but if you're training for power, it actually is a full body press. you actually get alot of power from your legs in the benchpress and when you learn to harness that power you will find it will dramatically increase your numbers pretty much overnight. a tip on doing this is pulling your feet back on the floor as far as you can. when you lower the bar to your chest, pretend you have a grape under your feet and when you do the upward press, press down with your feet at the same time like you were to squash the grape.

also when lowering the bar, lower to around the nipple line on your chest. this will engage the tricep more and release the strain on your shoulders.

those are two quick tips

not the best example but this is a vid of my training last year

^ Thanks for the tip. I'm gonna try the grape under my foot thing tomorrow.

no probs - if you're ever in coquitlam and want to train let me know- it's alot easier to show the examples in person

Best example of powerlifting tutorial for bench I've seen.

Berz out.

i like the fact that he's talking about it in a no-nonsense way but the one thing to be aware of is that he is giving his training example based on what is termed 'belly benching' where the bar is being lowered to a point close to the sternum. also by ipf standards, your feet must be flat on the ground. only throwing that in there cause if anyone wanted to compete in bc or canada, all the organizations follow ipf rules and would disqualify the lifter for using this technique.

there is a 'new' federation in canada and its called '100 percent raw' i am in discussion the canadian head and was thinking about organizing and event for bc - wouldnt be til august next year. but it would an event where lifting apparatus wouldn't be allowed with the exception of a belt.

thoughts?

Yea his "style" isn't allowed anymore but with minor modification ie. flat feet its generally the same. I personally don't like that lift (to the sternum) as it seems that everything he is describing is in essence turning the flat bench into as much as decline bench with as short a stroke as possible. Sure you can lift more but... I'm not out for pure weight I'm out for size and definition. Coming from a guy with very long stroke, bench has always been very hard to get real heavy on for me. A shorter thick guy will always have an advantage over a tall guy.
I've been with some friends and I literally have to push the bar twice as far as they do lol

Berz out.

fml

raw 4 life
before i left for NY i could do 2 plates for 19reps ( i am 205 now )
and when i was 280ish bulk mode 5 months ago i could do 3plates and 30 for one max rep
edit: after reading berz post, and him crying about being tall, i am 6'6

^^^ I was thinking about you when I wrote that too as you know what I'm talking about :D
Imagine if you only had to push the bar half the distance we do.

Berz out.

was trying to find an old video of some dude who had a crazy arch on his back. the peak was so high that it made his range of motion about 4-6 inches!

the short advantage really blows. instead of weight classes there should be height:weight ratio classes



3 plates is legit.

at 6' 180lbs, i was up to about 4 or 5 reps of 275lbs a couple times before summer. since then my bench has dropped off abit since i've been focussing on other exercises more..