Burly Decides to Bench Again...

[burlyman30]

Come back stronger and get it.

Thanks bud. I've never been a great bencher... I guess genetics just dealt me that card. Doesn't mean I can't keep pushing, though.

[O_RYAN_007]

Thanks bud. I've never been a great bencher... I guess genetics just dealt me that card. Doesn't mean I can't keep pushing, though.

I've never been a great bencher either Burly. When I really wanted to get stronger in that area, I just pursued a relentless path to strength and form. Since the Strength competition over on Primordial that started last June, I started on this path... Over the course of this time, I've managed to move my max bench from 275-365#s!

I know you have some minor injuries, but I know over time you'll get to where you want to be. I'm sure of this.

[burlyman30]

I've never been a great bencher either Burly. When I really wanted to get stronger in that area, I just pursued a relentless path to strength and form. Since the Strength competition over on Primordial that started last June, I started on this path... Over the course of this time, I've managed to move my max bench from 275-365#s!

I know you have some minor injuries, but I know over time you'll get to where you want to be. I'm sure of this.

You've done phenomenally well to up your bench by 90 lbs in that time period! Very cool! There was a lot of hard work involved in that increase, for sure. As for my injuries... they would probably be considered chronic rather than minor, but I deal with it as best I can while trying to not make things worse.

[burlyman30]

Today went better than last week. Things felt more solid and stable in my shoulder. Everything felt better. I was almost falling asleep though, only minutes before I dragged myself off the couch in order to get to the gym. I knew I needed to get there, but I haven't slept much the last few nights, and I was just dog tired.

Bar x 20ish
95 x 12
135 x 12
185 x 5 as usual, this weight just feels heavier than it should, but it still felt so much more solid than last week.
225 x 2 felt great. in the groove. solid. stable. Made me confident for the upcoming weight.
250 x 5 felt good.
250 x 4 a fifth rep might have gone up, but not worth the risk
250 x 4 I would have stopped at 3, but a guy stepped over to spot me, so I pushed and got the fourth.
135 w/60# chains x 12 Guy that spotted me had chains fabricated and leaves them at this gym. Interesting feel, as I've never used chains before.
135 w/chains x7 I was wiped out, as my rep count will show.

Finished out chest with DB flyes dropsetted, and dips. Finished out workout with bis/tris/calves.

Since I nearly reached my goal of 3 sets of 5, and will probably be able to do all 3 sets of 5 next week, I am thinking that I will move up to 265, which should be 90% of my 295 max. Goal will be 3 sets of 3 reps and at this point I am thinking I will attempt to get that to 3 sets of 5 reps over a period of 2-3 weeks as my CNS accommodates the load.

Shoulder is feeling pretty good tonight after the workout. No pain. A little tenderness in certain positions, but feeling better than last week, overall.

[olddawg]

nice work old man!

[O_RYAN_007]

great work Burly! I really wish I had access to chains. I want to buy some, buy they can get really expensive. I have bands and they work really well, but I still want to try chains. I've been really thinking of getting a membership at Metro Flex here in Houston, since they have bands, chains, and other power lifting equipment. I think I might just have to do it.

[burlyman30]

great work Burly! I really wish I had access to chains. I want to buy some, buy they can get really expensive. I have bands and they work really well, but I still want to try chains. I've been really thinking of getting a membership at Metro Flex here in Houston, since they have bands, chains, and other power lifting equipment. I think I might just have to do it.

The guy I talked with had these made instead of buying them premade. He went to the hardware store and got the biggest ones he could find (1/2" diameter) and found a metal tube to cut that was the right size to slide on the bar. A couple of welds and he was good to go.

[olddawg]

the weight per lb for steel is quite high, that contributes to the cost. I'd imagine you could find them in an old scrap yard, maybe a junk yard on an old dump truck or something like that, rusty though but you'd still likely pay scrap steel prices for them

[VayneZ]

Burly, you workout arms the same day as chest, correct? Since I recently changed my routine to arms the day ''before'' I do chest (which is today, and my triceps are sore as hell), It would probably be best to avoid exercises such as dips today right? Focus on them more on arm days?

[burlyman30]

Burly, you workout arms the same day as chest, correct? Since I recently changed my routine to arms the day ''before'' I do chest (which is today, and my triceps are sore as hell), It would probably be best to avoid exercises such as dips today right? Focus on them more on arm days?

Dips might be ok, but go wider grip (if your gym has angled or adjustable bars) to focus the stretch on the chest. You can also focus on the lower half of the exercise, which keeps the tris out of the movement. I would not focus on adding weight to the exercise though. Just light and high reps. Throwing a little blood in your tris wont hurt you unless you are tearing down the muscle again.