ENTROPY, help!

Well I didn't really know ENTROPY until we got into an argument in that one thread (I felt like we bonded at any rate). Then I remember Carnal calling us all s because we were attacking ENTROPY who evidently moves more weight than most of us combined. Then I looked at his totals from the Sherdog's strongest man and was like (to quote carped33z):

... ...

So anyway it got me thinking. I remember Carnal's post on the raw bench to be a real help for me in the gym. I mean both my bench and my squat are both comparatively weak, but I feel like I know exactly what I need to do to bring up my squat. I'm still mostly in the dark on my bench. So I figured that having two huge lifters thoughts on the raw bench would be better than just one's, and, seeing as we have ENTROPY here in addition to Carnal, I decided I would bite the bullet, forego all sense of dignity, and ask ENTROPY to kindly grace us with his own take on bench mechanics, assistance exercises, and the mystical process of actually getting a passable bench press.

So here goes:

ENTROPY TELL US PLZ! THX.

 

Would be interesting.

 

Just out of curiosity, what are you doing currently for your bench training?

 

I train the flat bench heavy once a week, work the close grip hard, and include DB Incline presses, OHP work, and other various assistance lifts for my shoulders.

My upper back and lat assistance work consists of power cleans, snatch grip shrugs, occasionally some DB shrug work, bent over rows, and weighted chins/pull ups.

Every once in a while I'll cycle out a lift that I feel stale on. I'll change out the close grip bench for the reverse bench or something of that nature. I tried to work bench assistance exercises ME for a while, but I decided I didn't have solid enough prone bench form to be worrying about that for now.

I also train grip seperately for the BENCH GRIP!

I think that's about it.

 

Personally, I find that Barbell Inclines work more effectively to compliment my Flat as opposed to DB inclines. I don't sit around all day reading PL mags and consider myself an expert. However, my bench is pretty solid and for the past year I've been working several variations of this basic template:

Flat Bench 8-12 sets
Incline Bench 6-8 sets
Weighted Dips 3 sets
OH Tri extensions or Tri pushdowns: 2-3 sets (I find tri work a key in increasing bench)

I do OHP work on Deadlift days because I feel the volume is a bit too cumbersome when I try to fit it in on bench day. Every 4th week, I'll put incline first and really focus on it. After two cycles of that, I rest one week and then start over. I've seen consistent gains on this routine. Will it work for you? I don't know. It's just what I know works for me. If that's worth anything at all.

Either way, good luck and happy lifting.

 

I also found that keeping the same rep scheme week in and week out while adding 2 1/2- 5 lbs every week helps as well. It's easy to add 5 lbs and fool your muscles, it's quite another thing to add reps. Your body is more likely to notice the difference between 300x5 one week and 300x6 the next as opposed to 300x5 one week and 305x5 the next. That's just a small increase in effort.

I believe too many people make the mistake of trying to add reps as opposed to weight.

 

I don't do all those lifts in one day. I have one press day on tuesday and another on saturday. The first one focuses on the flat bench and tricep assistance; the second focuses on the OHP and incline stuff. I am content with the framework of my press routine.

It's interesting what you said about attempting to add on weight instead of reps. It seems to make sense to me, too. I'll experiment with that over the next couple weeks.

But what I really want out of ENTROPY or some veteran bencher is a discussion on the little tricks of form--finding the right groove, perfecting your set-up, learning exactly where to drop the bar, etc.. Like I said, I think my overall approach to the bench has improved drastically, but I still feel like it suffers from a bunch of little things I'm not sure about.

But yeah thanks for your input. I know ENTROPY isn't the only dude on this board who knows a shitload more than me about lifting. I would love to hear from any forum regular who's been under the bar for a while, especially Carnal if he's got any more thoughts to add.

 

if you're wondering about certain things, ask about them, there is a chance that someone who isnt Carnal or Entropy can answer you.

 

I realize that we're likely very different in our builds and lifting needs. However, I must tell you that when I tried to split up my flat and incline like you have, my lifts really suffered. Some people, perhaps yourself, can easily get away with this and even benefit from it. I've found through my years of lifting that splitting up your flat and incline like that and expecting to go heavy on both is about as asinine as doing heavy squats and heavy deads on the same day; one or both will likely suffer.

But that's just me. I concede that my way is far from universal. I've spent a lot of time finding out what works for me as you appear to be doing for yourself.

Plus wearing that damn dinosaur suit of yours might hinder progress as well.

 

Although really, isn't 300X6 more of a "weight increase" then 5 pounds from 300 to 305 with the same number of reps?

 

I don't go heavy on my OHP day. I work my shoulders out the same way I've always heard you should work them: for volume, form, and power.

 

Of course it is. You must've just missed my point or perhaps I didn't articulate it properly. My point was that it's much easier to add weight by "fooling" your body. What I mean by that is that your muscles won't notice a 5lb change quite as much as they will and extra rep of the same weight. In my expericence, people focus too much on getting that extra rep and get bogged down trying to get there whereas adding 5 lbs a week while keeping the same rep scheme is more conducive to progress.

That's just my take on it.

 

Nah, I probably missed it.

 

Bro, I am completely swamped with meetings, emails, and a stack of work that I haven't even started yet.

I'll be working through the week end; as such, I'll provide some relevant input some time early next week.

 

Thanks a lot, man. No rush.

 

I was about to leave work about 30 minutes ago but I thought, what the heck, I'll stay for a bit longer and post something.

To begin with, lets face facts here. Unless I see you exact routine then observe you benching in person, any advice that I provide is glorified opinion at best.

The consistent dilemma I

 

Nice post

 

for tips on developing your arch and bench set up check out the following article. bumped my bench 40 lbs

http://t-nation.com/readTopic.do;jsessionid=9B52F136E37A68920357F7302DF693A2.hydra?id=570881

 

By the way, awesome post/