[quote]Bingobob wrote:
So are we really sayin that if your bench is stalling, the only way to get around it is to go up a weight class???
That sounds ridiculous, especially for a powerlifter who wishes to excel in his current weight class.
Is it any wonder powerlifting is generally perceived by the general population as a sport for fat guys who can’t be bothered to keep in shape.[/quote]
There is a difference between making relative strength gains and trying to gain strength while avoiding weight gain at all costs. If you could add 100 pounds to each of your lifts but had to gain 15 pounds of body weight to do so, would you do it? A lot of people would be afraid of the weight gain but those kinds of gains would certainly improve one’s strength-to-body weight ratio.[/quote]
I dare say anyone will gain 100 lbs per lift with just 15 lbs bodyweight gain. Maybe 100lbs in a 3 lift full meet. Maybe.
[quote]Bingobob wrote:
So are we really sayin that if your bench is stalling, the only way to get around it is to go up a weight class???
That sounds ridiculous, especially for a powerlifter who wishes to excel in his current weight class.
Is it any wonder powerlifting is generally perceived by the general population as a sport for fat guys who can’t be bothered to keep in shape.[/quote]
There is a difference between making relative strength gains and trying to gain strength while avoiding weight gain at all costs. If you could add 100 pounds to each of your lifts but had to gain 15 pounds of body weight to do so, would you do it? A lot of people would be afraid of the weight gain but those kinds of gains would certainly improve one’s strength-to-body weight ratio.[/quote]
I dare say anyone will gain 100 lbs per lift with just 15 lbs bodyweight gain. Maybe 100lbs in a 3 lift full meet. Maybe.[/quote]
Fuck I wish I could gain 100 lbs on my lifts by gaining 15 lbs. If that were the case I’d be an elite lifter in the 220;Raw
In high school I weighed ~125; now I’m ~140 (I’m 5’4" now just like I was then).
My lifts when I first started were 185-135-225 (I didn’t test the DL in high school but I got this the first time I tried to pull heavy in college) - 4.36xbwt total
My most recent meet lifts: 300-200-355 - 6.1xbwt total
Of course a lot of this is due to newbie gains (so no, I don’t expect non-beginners to put 100 lbs. on their lifts while gaining only 15 lbs. body weight), but the point is I wouldn’t be able to make this kind of progress in the first place if I were afraid of gaining ANY weight at all (a mistake I did make early on in my athletic career).
One way to intelligently analyze this is to ask “why” we can bench more with weight gain? In my own case here’s why:
Yes - admittedly, mass moves mass, but…
Larger gut pressed against belt hard generates more power AND most importantly shortens range of motion.
A fatter ass hangs down and touches the bench to make #2 possible.
Fatter arms makes biceps run into forearms and creates better platform with fat lats for pushing and shorter range of motion.
I am probably forgetting something here.
So…just ask yourself how can you tweak your set-up to mimic a fat person’s bench form?
The Answer is:
a. Retract the blades hard and put your shoulders in your pockets. Decreases range.
b. Get your gut - even if it is small - up HIGH against your belt - Hard!
c. Play with your foot position to get tighter and also to increase the arch. This may take some experimenting with wide and tucked and both.
d. Touch as low as possible without sacrificing power (I try to tuck my feet way back and make the bar path in line with my feet on its way down) This requires all of the above.
Thus you can then bench like a fat man. Also - eat things that bloat you just before you bench - whether you are skinny or not. Salted nuts and carbonated water work well for me and they won’t totally kill a diet.
This is all from the experience of a bench pressed challenge person (me)
[quote]BigRedMachina wrote:
In high school I weighed ~125; now I’m ~140 (I’m 5’4" now just like I was then).
My lifts when I first started were 185-135-225 (I didn’t test the DL in high school but I got this the first time I tried to pull heavy in college) - 4.36xbwt total
My most recent meet lifts: 300-200-355 - 6.1xbwt total
Of course a lot of this is due to newbie gains (so no, I don’t expect non-beginners to put 100 lbs. on their lifts while gaining only 15 lbs. body weight), but the point is I wouldn’t be able to make this kind of progress in the first place if I were afraid of gaining ANY weight at all (a mistake I did make early on in my athletic career).[/quote]
BigRed those are good numbers for the bench at 140lbs how manytimes a week do you train your bench ? are you using Wendlers 531 yourself ?
[quote]BigRedMachina wrote:
In high school I weighed ~125; now I’m ~140 (I’m 5’4" now just like I was then).
My lifts when I first started were 185-135-225 (I didn’t test the DL in high school but I got this the first time I tried to pull heavy in college) - 4.36xbwt total
My most recent meet lifts: 300-200-355 - 6.1xbwt total
Of course a lot of this is due to newbie gains (so no, I don’t expect non-beginners to put 100 lbs. on their lifts while gaining only 15 lbs. body weight), but the point is I wouldn’t be able to make this kind of progress in the first place if I were afraid of gaining ANY weight at all (a mistake I did make early on in my athletic career).[/quote]
But you wouldn’t have the same return on investment by gaining another 15lbs.
[quote]BigRedMachina wrote:
In high school I weighed ~125; now I’m ~140 (I’m 5’4" now just like I was then).
My lifts when I first started were 185-135-225 (I didn’t test the DL in high school but I got this the first time I tried to pull heavy in college) - 4.36xbwt total
My most recent meet lifts: 300-200-355 - 6.1xbwt total
Of course a lot of this is due to newbie gains (so no, I don’t expect non-beginners to put 100 lbs. on their lifts while gaining only 15 lbs. body weight), but the point is I wouldn’t be able to make this kind of progress in the first place if I were afraid of gaining ANY weight at all (a mistake I did make early on in my athletic career).[/quote]
BigRed those are good numbers for the bench at 140lbs how manytimes a week do you train your bench ? are you using Wendlers 531 yourself ?
[/quote]
Personally I feel like bench is my weakest lift (at least, it’s my least favorite), but thanks! I am currently doing the SSS program from Beyond 5/3/1 (I did the Strength Challenge in the 12 weeks leading up to the meet), training 4 days per week so each lift once a week.
At one point years ago I did do a 3x/week bench spec cycle for 6 weeks just because I felt like my bench was lagging so far behind the other lifts. I did make good progress on that program but my bench technique back then was just so awful I probably just needed the practice more than anything else.
I feel unless your looking to set some all time world records you should not be afraid to move up into higher weight classes. I’ve been lifting 26 years now and gains have stalled out quite a bit but recently went from 242 class to doing my last meet at 267 and I added 90lbs. on my best total.