Burly Decides to Bench Again...

[burlyman30]

Yesterday I was lifting a pressure washer out of my truck and even though I was doing a two-man lift, I pulled one of the strands on my left delt. It wasn't bad. It was more just extra tight on that one strand, and certainly not torn. I chose not to workout yesterday because of that, but decided to try it today and see how things went, knowing that I could dial it back at any moment.

I warmed up for a while prior to doing the bench workout. I had little choice. There was a guy monopolizing the power rack for his squats that were, no joke, 6" depth. He actually set the safety bars 6" below the rack he was lifting the bar from. After 30some minutes, I finally got a turn at the rack. At my network of gyms, they do not have bench press benches, so you have to use a flat bench in a power rack or a smith machine.

Even after warming up a lot with 5 lb plates doing therapy exercises pre-bench press, the shoulders needed more warming up, so I started with the bar..

Bar x 30
95 x 15
135 x 5 shoulder felt ok
185 x 3 shoulder felt a little off, but not in pain
225 x 1 felt great. I found my groove again.
235 x 5 went up no problem. could have done a couple more
235 x 5 felt real good.
235 x 5 first four were great, but number 5 was a bugger. but with a lot of oomph I got it up.

The 235 was chosen because it was 80% of my recent max of 295. Next week I will move to 85% and attempt to maintain the 5 rep scheme. Going from 80-85% will increase the weight from 235 to 250. I'm following the same protocol in my DLing thread

Thoughts: While my 295 max last week made me feel "strong", especially for just coming back to a lift, 235 x 5 seems a bit anemic to me. In the "good ol' days" I remember putting in a heavy bench workout (~275 x 6 for a few sets) and then at the end when I was tired out, I would rep out with 225 for 12-15 reps. However, my actual 1 RM was probably only 315 at the time. I'm not sure if that is just a matter of me having greater muscular endurance because I was younger, or if I had fewer fast twitch/strength-trained fibers back then, or something entirely different.

The rest of my workout concentrated on flat bench flyes with light weights and high reps, doing a few drop sets, followed by a few sets of parallel dips, followed by a tricep/bicep workout. I won't detail these since it has little to do with the thread. I did want to note that I was doing high rep stuff after the heavier workout. I do this instinctively, I think, to work different fibres, to create more blood flow, and to lessen any further strain on joints and tendons beyond the heavier stuff I am doing.

[h2s]

I love your analytical approach to monitoring progress, really inspires me to start recording more.

[olddawg]

I love your analytical approach to monitoring progress, really inspires me to start recording more.

but will you?

[h2s]

but will you?

Yes, I used to do it often. The issue I had was strength is a shitty metric for me in terms of my goals. I am purely in for visual gains. I think taking a personal notepad of strength AND measurements might help me be focused.

[burlyman30]

I love your analytical approach to monitoring progress, really inspires me to start recording more.

I remember reading that Frank Zane has a whole library of training logs that record every rep, set, and what supplements and food he had eaten that day. The logs go all the way back to the 60s. Now that is analytical!

This thread's purpose is really multi-fold. Obviously I'm recording my successes and failures here for myself, but it may have some value to others at some point. Also, I think a lot of forum members (Cobalt alluded to this) think that certain people are pushing huge amounts of weight and I thought an honest look at what a normal guy with some years behind him can or can't do might be interesting. Additionally, I figured that this could be a gathering point for all things bench press. Ideas can be discussed, different training programs rated, and PRs celebrated on all our bench press milestones.

[olddawg]

burly maybe you will want to post that pic of your old log from when you were a teen, amazing that you still have that around.

hts, I've been meaning to get a white board for my gym, a big one so I can do just that, maybe tomorrow

[burlyman30]

Yes, I used to do it often. The issue I had was strength is a shitty metric for me in terms of my goals. I am purely in for visual gains. I think taking a personal notepad of strength AND measurements might help me be focused.

Taking pictures every few months to correlate the numbers to the visual is also a good idea. The mirror is a great gauge, but since we see ourselves in it daily, unless changes are drastic, it is hard to see a lot of difference.

[burlyman30]

burly maybe you will want to post that pic of your old log from when you were a teen, amazing that you still have that around.

hts, I've been meaning to get a white board for my gym, a big one so I can do just that, maybe tomorrow

Eventually I will post it, along with other old pics, in my profile. Just haven't gotten around to that yet. The only reason I still have it was because I stuffed it in one of my bbing photo albums. I used to take photos every few months in order to be able to translate what those numbers (measurements) really meant visually. For instance, I may have put 1/2 inch on my arms, but am I just fatter or are the muscles bigger?

[burlyman30]

Well, things didn't exactly go according to plan.

Quite often, my workouts are preceeded by long work hours and sparse meals. Certainly not the ideal way to enter into a workout. And yet, I seem to pull out all the stops and do pretty well considering those conditions.

Today was a bit different. I will say that my left shoulder was a little hinky all day. It would hurt in certain positions, and stretching/mobility exercises seemed to help, but only temporarily. I, for once DID stay pretty well fed through the day and my workload was light-- I was home working on paperwork all day. So workload and diet were not the factor here.

My best benching was at another gym about 30 minutes away (there are Anytime Fitnesses all over this area). That bench and power rack (they never have bench pressing benches) were a good fit. The rack was could be adjusted to the right height and the bench was a good width and height. However, this is my second workout doing bench press at the particular location I was at tonight. And it felt "off" both times. Last week, I pulled it off. This week, my unracks felt so uncomfortable and akward that I spent quite a bit of time re stabilizing the weight and my entire body prior to the first rep.

I was hoping to do 5 sets of 5 while increasing my poundage by 15 lbs from last week. Whatever all the factors were, it was simply not to be. The rundown is below.

Bar x 40
95 x 12
135 x 5
185 x 5 as with every week, the set at this weight feels akward.
225 x 1 Felt so much better than the preceeding set.
250 x 3 Could have cranked out another, but my shoulder just didn't feel right so I shut it down.
250 x 3 Felt better on my shoulder than the preceeding set. More control and stability. 4th rep was a possibility but without a spotter it wasn't worth it.
250 x 3 after the second rep, I knew it would be tough but doable for the 3rd, so I muscled it up.

I think next week, I will plan to come back to this weight and see if the conditions that threw me off today are better next time. Also, I will be interested in how fast the CNS will respond to this load by the feel of the heaviness next week.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed today, but I know poundages can't go up linearly all the time. That being said, I don't think I could have possibly pushed up the 295 today that I did 3 weeks ago. Not based on how things felt today. So I'll give myself permission to be ok with it and hope to be in better synch in a few more days.

I finished off chest with flyes doing dropsets and parallel dips. I then worked Bis, Tris, and calves. Arms got an amazing pump today. Actually, my tris were very pumped during the bench workout. I'm thinking it was the dose of All-In. I decided to give that product a try and this is the second time I have had a chance to use it. Liking it so far, but holding back recommendations until I have more usage under my belt.

[Sorrow]

Come back stronger and get it.