If I remember correctly from Chad Westley Smith’s videos, weak shoulders contribute more to problems off the chest and weak triceps play more of a role in the middle to lock out
Who coaches more 600lb+ benchers? Josh used to coach Chad too.
The idea is that after you get the bar off your chest you have to move it horizontally until it is over your shoulder joint so that you can lock it out, the shoulders/deltoids are largely responsible for that horizontal movement.
2 Likes
I see. Got it. Thanks Chris! I have to admit, I don’t know who Josh Bryant is. My bad. Sorry about that
Speaking of Josh Bryant, I just started messing with bench press isometrics.
Pressing the bar really hard into pins set near the sticking point. And just above and below.
I expect to be a 600 bencher by August.
7 Likes
No i hadn’t considered that at all, after all who on earth would successfully complete a program and then say i improved in spite of doing the program that doesn’t make sense.
The program did what it was supposed to do and regardless of the comments people made, with me just altering it slightly i remained injury free and felt great at the end of it.
My PR was only a 3kg increase however the amount of weight i added isn’t the point, the real point is that the amount of weight i lifted on the bar went up whilst my bodyweight stayed the same.
I have always struggled with the bench compared to my squat and deadlift and as i’m getting older my strength levels are not likely to set the world on fire but if i can manage to equal my best lift from 5 years ago then i’m happy with that.
Thanks for the info it sounds like a great variation of paused benching.
Lots of people make progress on suboptimal programs.
That wasn’t my point either, but it is another point. A 3kg increase is pretty much nothing. My original point was that if you aren’t benching particularly big weights it is easier to handle more volume and frequency than someone who is lifting a lot more.
There is an article titled “How Did Dave Ricks Break the Open Squat Record at 58 Years Old” on a site called mystrengthbook, I suggest you read it. He is a drug free lifter in the IPF and also holds masters bench records, he has benched about 450lbs (raw) or more in the 93kg class at his advanced age. The main takeaway from this article is that it is possible to make progress with low volume and low-moderate frequency, and that for older lifters this is quite likely the best approach to take. Your muscles and nervous system might be able to do more, but joints and connective tissues heal at a slower rate so if you want to keep lifting for years to come it might be better to take a more conservative approach.
Whilst 3kg might not be nothing to the likes of you it was an improvement for me so i’m happy with it and that’s all that really matters so i don’t really care what you think about my progress as i’m not particularly bothered about any of your PB’s either.
That said i will indeed look up Dave Ricks however i find that you can learn more from someone who has made good gains on a lift that they are not good at rather than someone who might have great genetics for certain lifts, ie be naturally good at benching or use a ridiculous arch etc.
When you mention about low volume for older lifters i have tried this approach myself and i do prefer it however i don’t make progress on it at this moment in time.
We seem to have gone way off topic and whilst i don’t agree with everything you have said i do appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me as you have far more knowledge than i do on the subject and who knows once i’ve finished this six week cycle i might very well dial things back down again…Thank you
Edit i just had a quick look at Dave Ricks and in an interview with USA Powerlifting he stated he competes primarily in equipped meets for all three lifts which is something i don’t
1 Like
Must be an old interview. The last few years he has only done raw meets.
Look for videos of his deadlift then
I’m not telling you to do the exact same program as him, he is at an elite level and even if he was younger he wouldn’t be able to handle a ton of volume because he is moving so much weight.
Too little volume equals little or no progress, too much volume equals little or no progress and an increased risk of injury. Better to err on the side of caution, and best to find an appropriate level of volume for yourself.
1 Like
I believe he has been competing for over 30 years, at one time it was all equipped competition. Just keep that in mind.
I really like isometrics on rows.
Set up an empty bar in the rack and a loaded bar outside it.
Row to pins just at the point where your body English usually starts. Squeeze for 5-10 seconds.
Short rest then row away.
I find the back responds really well to this. You can also do it with a handle and various row machines.
I wanted to do this with deadlifts but don’t want to look like a colossal ass loading up a bunch of weight and not breaking off the floor haha
2 Likes
If you pull of a few plates between sets of isometrics and do a couple speed deadlifts it won’t look so bad.
I tried isometrics like that, with a bar loaded way over my max on the floor. It didn’t seem to actually increase my strength at all but I think it improved my starting position. I wouldn’t do it again, but apparently some people have had good results with this like Ogden Myklebust.
2 Likes
@strongmangoals
Matt Ladewski has an article over at EliteFTS about iso deadlifts to bring his up. It’s worth a read
3 Likes
I’ll definetly try the iso rows. The handle iso before row machine sounds too easy not to use.
I like deadlift isos too. Like Chris mentioned, they are good to improve positioning at weak spots or to get better recruitment in weak ranges.
I set up in the rack, or sometimes in the Smith machine. Then stand on plates or blocks, fewer plates or blocks, or the floor to get different heights.
Well as a follow up to this thread for the first 4 weeks i used spoto presses and held them for roughly 3 seconds and for the final couple of weeks i switched over to close grip benches which i actually found to be harder possibly as i had not done them for a while.
The end result was that i added another 2kg to my bench giving me a new PB whilst my body-weight stayed the same so happy days 
4 Likes
There is no one better variation. You pick a variation based on what you want to achieve.
2 Likes
I’ve been doing close grip pauses for the last 6 weeks because my triceps are by far the weakest part of my bench and It has helped my bench feel significantly easier.
Pin presses from halfway with heavyweight plus shoulder exercises like z press
1 Like
I agree with the high pin presses and used them in my training to allow for some extra overload work.
How about paused close grip