Burly Decides to Bench Again...

[burlyman30]

I don't want to regurgitate all the same stuff, so if you haven't already read all my backstory, you can find it in the first post of this thread: Burly Decides to Pull Again...

So... benching... It's not something I've done much of over the last several years, though I do dabble from time to time. I have heaps of scar tissue in my shoulders from years of injuries, so bench press has been an on/off thing for me. I really haven't cared too much about strength in the bench press, unlike some guys at the gym who seem to live by that number. Of course, I'm not immune to feeling great when numbers increase. That just hasn't been my focus since around 1990. I don't think I have performed a barbell bench press at all since July or August, so you might say it has been a while.

It has been a crazy crazy busy last couple of weeks for me, getting 4-5 hours of sleep each night and working 100+ hours a week on a coffee shop we are building. With all that craziness, I snuck in 2 workouts last week and only 1 so far this week, which was tonight. I walked (or dragged myself) into an Anytime Fitness location after a 16 hour day. It was nearby the jobsite, so I was unfamiliar with it. Most Anytime Fitness locations will not have a bench for bench pressing. However, they do have benches that are moveable into a power rack.

I walked into the gym tonight and the bench called me over to it. I have no idea why. Maybe I wanted to gauge where I am right now. Maybe I needed a change from dumbells.

Because of the shoulder issues I take a very long time warming up. You'll see a very slow progression in weight increases. I'll comment below as it warrants.

Bar 40 reps
65 lbs 25 reps
85 lbs 15 reps
95 lbs 12 reps

135 lbs 5 reps
185 lbs 5 reps I am so NOT used to the bar/style, that my arms/elbows began shaking a bit on the way down.

All the sets below were done with a 3 count down, short pause on chest, and up again.

195 lbs 3 reps Arm shaking again, but I felt more under control this time
205 lbs 1 rep Feeling a bit better control than the previous set
225 lbs 1 rep Shoulder had a short twinge, but I think I got off balance when I pulled the bar off the rack.
245 lbs 1 rep Shoulder felt much better on this set than the previous. My form now is critical as the weight begins to require everything just so.
265 lbs 1 rep. Went up well. Feeling heavy, and considered stopping the weight increases here. However, it ends up with me deciding to push it a bit more.
275 lbs 1 rep. Went up smooth and without issue. I let out a small grunt to heave up the weight, but the bar never stopped moving upward.

I called that "good enough" for a first day back. My shoulder is just a little tender after the workout, but no worse off than from any other chest workout. I finished out the chest workout with a few sets of flat dumbell flyes with reps of 12-15 and some sets of bodyweight dips in the 15-25 rep range. I finished out the night with some bi and tri work and called it good.

I don't know how frequently I will incorporate barbell bench into my training, but seeing as I am running out of the dumbells as I grow stronger, it may become more and more frequent as long as the shoulder holds up. Overall, the night went well and it helped me assess my current strength levels so I can move forward in increasing them.

I'll keep adding to this thread as I do more. In the meantime, feel free to use this thread as a discussion place for all things bench press related.

[weekend]

damn how can you hit 275 after not benching for a year...

[Coolazice]

damn how can you hit 275 after not benching for a year...

And only weighing 182ish....
And 43 years of age....
And working those ungodly hours....
And....
And....
And....

The guy is a freakin' machine!!!

You never cease to amaze me, Burly!!!

[burlyman30]

damn how can you hit 275 after not benching for a year...

And only weighing 182ish....
And 43 years of age....
And working those ungodly hours....
And....
And....
And....

The guy is a freakin' machine!!!

You never cease to amaze me, Burly!!!

Aww shucks, guys... yer gonna make me blush.

Weight is all relative. I've been stronger, and I've been weaker. I've said it before: it doesn't matter where you or I start-- it's where you go from there and what you learn on the way that really matters.

[O_RYAN_007]

Aww shucks, guys... yer gonna make me blush.

Weight is all relative. I've been stronger, and I've been weaker. I've said it before: it doesn't matter where you or I start-- it's where you go from there and what you learn on the way that really matters.

Nicely put Major Applegate!

[O_RYAN_007]

Shoulder Pain - Page 2

page 2 post 16 by Northcutt.

He brings up a great point in checking out some vids on shoulder mobility using a lacrosse ball. I started checking it out yesterday and found tons of great techniques to use to. Trigger point releases are also amazing in breaking up the muscles.

[burlyman30]

Shoulder Pain - Page 2

page 2 post 16 by Northcutt.

He brings up a great point in checking out some vids on shoulder mobility using a lacrosse ball. I started checking it out yesterday and found tons of great techniques to use to. Trigger point releases are also amazing in breaking up the muscles.

I'll check it out! Thanks!

[O_RYAN_007]

I'll check it out! Thanks!

I think this is a great vid!

Myofascial release and Biomechanics for the forearm, tricep and shoulder - YouTube

[burlyman30]

I think this is a great vid!

Myofascial release and Biomechanics for the forearm, tricep and shoulder - YouTube

I finally reviewed this and a couple others from the same PTs. I knew my shoulder mobility was reduced, but until I actually tried to lift my arm overhead as in the video, I had no idea how much. I cannot get my arms straight up. At all. They veer forward at probably a 20-25 degree angle. Where the guy in the video could get his arm past his ear... mine is about where my nose is.

I think this is beyond my skills, as I don't think the stuff in the video is applicable in my situation. When I lift my arms up, it's not my tricep that's too tight. My pec major/minor isn't really keeping the arm from rising, either. It feels like the actual joint has a stopping point built inside it. There's no pain when I do that. It just stops. Both arms are about the same.

[Sperwer]

I finally reviewed this and a couple others from the same PTs. I knew my shoulder mobility was reduced, but until I actually tried to lift my arm overhead as in the video, I had no idea how much. I cannot get my arms straight up. At all. They veer forward at probably a 20-25 degree angle. Where the guy in the video could get his arm past his ear... mine is about where my nose is.

I think this is beyond my skills, as I don't think the stuff in the video is applicable in my situation. When I lift my arms up, it's not my tricep that's too tight. My pec major/minor isn't really keeping the arm from rising, either. It feels like the actual joint has a stopping point built inside it. There's no pain when I do that. It just stops. Both arms are about the same.

Interesting. Although mine is clearly the result of two injuries - one in a helicopter crash and the other in an motorcycle accident, 20 years apart - I have a similar problem with my left shoulder. I can get it back a little farther than you, but it hurts like hell if I push it, and it makes it almost impossible to do DB Presses (unless the left is way forward). I was aware of all this because of the increasing stiffness and regular pain, but I really didn't appreciate its full extent until I saw my double biceps pose, where the right forearm is perpendicular to the floor and parallel to my body or even a bit to the rear, but my left arm is cocked forward about 15 degrees. Some of the informal pics also revealed just how round and stoop-shouldered I was/am if I'm not thinking about it. As I later learned. My head also was/is thrust forward about 17% from vertical.

This all led me to check out the office of a local chiropractor trained in NY, who also has some massage therapists and yoga and Pilates experts (who specialize in customized therapeutic/rehabilitative techniques in addition to the regular routines). He did a full body scan and exam, which was very revealing regarding the degree of shoulder, general thoracic and especially scapular immobilization I had/have - the result of the damage resulting from the previously untreated injuries, 20-40 years of unconscious compensatory adjustments and age-related calcification of the resulting bone structures and movement patterns.

Since I had a good feeling about the ability of this fellow and his crew to improve things, and I had some extra cash on hand, I signed on for 2 months of Pilates/Myofascial release massage/ chiro 3 times a week - basically to see what could be accomplished before the contest at the end of this month. The usual routine is an hour of very intense Pilates "stretching" followed by a 30 minute massage that targets the areas just worked along with any other obvious problem areas, then 20-30 minutes of (sometimes excruciating) chiro. The chiro is totally hands on - no machines - knows what I need and want and basically works on pulling apart all the muscle, connective tissue and bone adhesions at the very limit of what I can tolerate; I usually go in early in the morning before any other clients, because I invariably end up grunting and yelling in a way that probably would scare off the other clientele. The chiro says I have a very high pain threshold, and we now have a bet about whether he can actually make me cry - I say he can. LOL.

I'm now a month into it, and I am very happy with the results. My left shoulder mobility still is significantly limited, but improved. My posture is now naturally more upright, and after a little loosening up I can put the back of my head comfortably on the ground when I'm lying down on a hard surface (instead of using 2 Pilates blocks to hold it up). Scapular mobility is tremendously improved and is immediately apparent in the scope of the lat spread I can now produce w/out rounding my shoulders forward. General thoracic mobility also is dramatically improved, although there is still room for more work because of the locked down character of my mid-thoracic vertebrae. This morning we worked on my hips - basically a move that is almost a hip dislocation.

This also all is a great workout. I'm usually sweating bullets by the time it's over, and the energy expenditure is so high that I go into fat-burning mode. In order to test that last notion, the past couple of sessions,I've applied Dermatherm before going in. My experience with DT is that I feel nothing when I apply it, but later, when I've been working out or doing cardio intensely enough, it starts burning like all get out. It usually takes about 20-30 minutes of cardio to get the effect. I was there after 15 minutes of the Pilates stuff.

I encourage anyone with any hint of mobility problems to take a close look at these sorts of therapy, especially of you are holder or have had injuries. I wish I had done so at least 20 years ago, if not earlier.