Did I Get the Wrong Bands?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
1

So I just got my first set of bands. I ordered a pair of the monster mini bands, but am wondering if I got the wrong ones.

My current max is 245.

I would be using the bands on DE bench days for 9x3 or 9x5.

So this is where im confused, the elitefts says that the bands will provide about 135lbs of resistance when looped around the bar.

1)Is that 135lbs for a set, or ea.?
2)Also, when they say looped around the bar to they mean doubled over?

I’ll be working out in a commercial gym so my plan is to secure the bands with a heavy dumbell on each side. If it is 135lbs for each band this wont work, because their dbs only go up to 125, and I wouldn’t be able to even lift it (It would 315 at the top) But if its 135 for a set, the I should be able to secure them with like a 80lb db on each side.

3)Any idea about what the band tension would be at the bottom using this setup?

thx guys, im really looking forward to using these.

2

Why are you using bands when your current max is 245?

3

Well, you can use them either doubled or looped so I would just use them looped at first and as your bench moves up, you can double them up.

Plus, they are remarkably versatile. You can use them for anything from band pull aparts, face pulls, that behind the neck band pull that Cressey wrote about (awesome movement BTW), curls (oh yeah, baby) etc.

We do a lot of supersetting with bands. In particular when we are sled pulling and resting while someone else pulls.

I always have a mini/monster mini or both in my bag. You are never going to regret having bought bands.

Don’t worry about tension. Just set them up so they are doing what they need to do.

4

Return the bands and stop pretending you’re an elite lifter who needs advanced training techniques.

5

[quote]PublickStews wrote:
Return the bands and stop pretending you’re an elite lifter who needs advanced training techniques.[/quote]

Ya know, I actually love posts like this because I think for the most part it is right on track, but now that he has them, what’s wrong with using them for other movements and periodically for bench looped?

Seriously. I left this site for a longggg time because I couldn’t take the whole 225# squatter trying to raise his squat by not squatting and engaging in discussions about “weak point training” but lets be real.

There’s plenty of things he can do with them in teh meantime and brief cycles of incorporating them in his bench will be fine.

6

[quote]apwsearch wrote:
Well, you can use them either doubled or looped so I would just use them looped at first and as your bench moves up, you can double them up.

Plus, they are remarkably versatile. You can use them for anything from band pull aparts, face pulls, that behind the neck band pull that Cressey wrote about (awesome movement BTW), curls (oh yeah, baby) etc.

We do a lot of supersetting with bands. In particular when we are sled pulling and resting while someone else pulls.

I always have a mini/monster mini or both in my bag. You are never going to regret having bought bands.

Don’t worry about tension. Just set them up so they are doing what they need to do.[/quote]

they’re great to have in the office:

wrists or elbows a little sore from sitting at the desk all day? bang out 100 pressdowns and 100 curls - all better!

shoulders feeling a little tweaked from benching yesterday? band pull-aparts and external rotations!

lower back feeling a little stiff from sitting so much after deadlifting? do some band goodmornings!

the possibilities are endless.

7

Thanks for those of you that offered help. I’ll just try to rig something up when I go to the gym on sunday and see how it goes.

To those of you that are hating; eat a dick. Sure my bench is only 245, but thats even more reason to use bands. I’ll also be using chains as soon as I can get them. If you read any of westsides stuff, they advocate bands and chains for all levels. They have recommendations for tension for as low as a bench of 100-200. So Shutty!!!

I’d still like to know though if one band is 135lbs at the top or if this is for the set. I’ll try it and if I cant do it i’ll know its per band.

8

the guys right in a way. look at female powerlifters. julia ladewski for example has a geared best of 240-something in a bench only meet. she does band intensive cycles. she also does chain work. theres nothing wrtong with using it for DE bench. HOWEVER, iw ouldnt got the mini’s instead of the monsters.

9

[quote]dankid wrote:

To those of you that are hating; eat a dick. Sure my bench is only 245, but thats even more reason to use bands. I’ll also be using chains as soon as I can get them. If you read any of westsides stuff, they advocate bands and chains for all levels. They have recommendations for tension for as low as a bench of 100-200. So Shutty!!!

I’d still like to know though if one band is 135lbs at the top or if this is for the set. I’ll try it and if I cant do it i’ll know its per band.[/quote]

135 means both bands combined, when doubled. You should have gotten minis. Even EliteFTS recommends minis for all but the strongest benchers.

And I’m not hating. I’m giving you knowledge that I learned from experience, because I’ve been down the road you’re on. I wasted 2 years of training pretending I was an elite lifter, using bands and chains when I hadn’t even built enough of a base for those tools to be effective. Guess how much progress I made pretending I was an 800 lb bencher? Almost none. As soon as I started bench pressing with GASP straight weight for more reps, my bench went up significantly.

10

Thx guys. I dont know how I ordered the wrong ones. I think i meant to order the mini, and got the monster mini on accident.

I’ll see if I can find a way to rig them up without doubling them up and i’ll have to order the minis next time.

11

[quote]PublickStews wrote:
dankid wrote:

To those of you that are hating; eat a dick. Sure my bench is only 245, but thats even more reason to use bands. I’ll also be using chains as soon as I can get them. If you read any of westsides stuff, they advocate bands and chains for all levels. They have recommendations for tension for as low as a bench of 100-200. So Shutty!!!

I’d still like to know though if one band is 135lbs at the top or if this is for the set. I’ll try it and if I cant do it i’ll know its per band.

135 means both bands combined, when doubled. You should have gotten minis. Even EliteFTS recommends minis for all but the strongest benchers.

And I’m not hating. I’m giving you knowledge that I learned from experience, because I’ve been down the road you’re on. I wasted 2 years of training pretending I was an elite lifter, using bands and chains when I hadn’t even built enough of a base for those tools to be effective. Guess how much progress I made pretending I was an 800 lb bencher? Almost none. As soon as I started bench pressing with GASP straight weight for more reps, my bench went up significantly.[/quote]

Great post, brother. Every beginner/intermediate lifter needs to read this several times until it sinks in.

12

[quote]dankid wrote:
Thx guys. I dont know how I ordered the wrong ones. I think i meant to order the mini, and got the monster mini on accident.

I’ll see if I can find a way to rig them up without doubling them up and i’ll have to order the minis next time.[/quote]

It’s easy to do. Just set a pair of dumbbells next together on the floor, so that the handles are parallel to each other and the bench. I usually set them up so the outside of the inside dumbbell is parallel with the bench upright, if that makes sense.

Then, pass the band under both of the dumbbell handles and loop it through the far end.

13

Check out the way MarauderMeat sets up his bands. Staley Training Systems- 1 board bench press against bands 520x1 - YouTube

That will give you a lot less tension than doubling.

14

[quote]bjjwannabe152 wrote:
the guys right in a way. look at female powerlifters. julia ladewski for example has a geared best of 240-something in a bench only meet. she does band intensive cycles. she also does chain work. theres nothing wrtong with using it for DE bench. HOWEVER, iw ouldnt got the mini’s instead of the monsters.[/quote]

Exactly, Julia Ladewski is(well was) the #1 ranked powerlifter in the women’s 132lb class. When you are 5’11 benching 245 you do not need advanced training methods. I am not trying to be a dick, why use more complicated methods when you do not need to? What happens when you start to plateau later on and want to use bands… oh wait… you already are.

15

[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:
bjjwannabe152 wrote:
the guys right in a way. look at female powerlifters. julia ladewski for example has a geared best of 240-something in a bench only meet. she does band intensive cycles. she also does chain work. theres nothing wrtong with using it for DE bench. HOWEVER, iw ouldnt got the mini’s instead of the monsters.

Exactly, Julia Ladewski is(well was) the #1 ranked powerlifter in the women’s 132lb class. When you are 5’11 benching 245 you do not need advanced training methods. I am not trying to be a dick, why use more complicated methods when you do not need to? What happens when you start to plateau later on and want to use bands… oh wait… you already are. [/quote]

because dankid is dankid.

16

I agree with the above posts. If you’re dissatisfied with your bench press, then I think you should try to focus on perfecting your setup and mechanics, and try to discern any imbalances or dysfunctions that are preventing you from pressing more weight.

I’ll give you a little hint - the problem might not lie in your chest or triceps like most lifters would believe. How is your scapulo-thoracic stability? How is your lower trapezeus activation? How strong are your trapezeus and rhomboids? Have you been doing face pulls, external rotations, band pull aparts, inverted rows, etc?

If you haven’t been thinking about these things, they’re almost sure to help you put more weight on your bench than if you try to incorporate techniques that are meant for advanced lifters.

Quite frankly, I don’t know what it is about people that makes them think that they NEED all of these advanced techniques and methods, even as beginners. It just keeps them from having to take a good look at themselves and what physiological weaknesses they possess that are preventing them from making further progress.

As for the bands, mail them to me so I can do band pull throughs and X band walks.

17

Thanks apwsearch and publickstews, those options give me more ways to use what ive got right now.

Im not sure if I understand what you were suggesting apwsearch, but what I was thinking might work, is this:

Put one band per side, single looped. The other end will go down and underneath the bench to the opposite side to a heavy dumbell. Then I can adjust the distance of these db’s to make sure there is some tension at the bottom of the lift.

Otherwise waht publickstews showed in that video looks good, but its kinda hard to see the setup… I’ll figure it out.

And the basic reason im trying to incorporate bands is this:

I am pretty strong when it comes to speed work, and if I use something around 60% like westside suggests, I am still experiencing deceleration toward the top. And my triceps (or the top couple of inches) are one of my weak areas in the lift, and I want to strengthen this weakness.

18

[quote]MikeyKBiatch wrote:

Exactly, Julia Ladewski is(well was) the #1 ranked powerlifter in the women’s 132lb class. When you are 5’11 benching 245 you do not need advanced training methods. I am not trying to be a dick, why use more complicated methods when you do not need to? What happens when you start to plateau later on and want to use bands… oh wait… you already are. [/quote]

From what I understand, using “advanced methods” earlier on has no negative effects later on. But maybe you know a lot more than Dave Tate and Louie Simmons.

19

[quote]Benway wrote:

Quite frankly, I don’t know what it is about people that makes them think that they NEED all of these advanced techniques and methods, even as beginners.[/quote]

For me, it made me feel cool and better than everybody else in the public gym. Stupid attitude that really set me back.

20

Benway wrote:
“I agree with the above posts. If you’re dissatisfied with your bench press, then I think you should try to focus on perfecting your setup and mechanics, and try to discern any imbalances or dysfunctions that are preventing you from pressing more weight.”

I WORK ON “PERFECTING” MY MECHANICS EVERYTIME I BENCH. AND I HAVE FIGURED OUT WHAT IS PREVENTING ME FROM BENCHING MORE, AND THAT IS MORE STRENGTH AT THE TOP OF THE LIFT.

“I’ll give you a little hint - the problem might not lie in your chest or triceps like most lifters would believe. How is your scapulo-thoracic stability? How is your lower trapezeus activation? How strong are your trapezeus and rhomboids? Have you been doing face pulls, external rotations, band pull aparts, inverted rows, etc?”

NO, THIS ISN’T MY PROBLEM. IM MORE THAN STRONG ENOUGH IN MY PULLING MOVEMENT FOR WHERE MY STRENGTH IS PUSHING. AND, YES, YES, YES, AND YES. I WORK ALL THOSE PULLING MOVEMENTS AND KROC ROWS AND CHEST SUPPORTED ROWS AND LAT PULLDOWNS. MY TRICEPS AND SHOULDERS ARE WHAT NEED STRENGTHENING.

"If you haven’t been thinking about these things, they’re almost sure to help you put more weight on your bench than if you try to incorporate techniques that are meant for advanced lifters.

Quite frankly, I don’t know what it is about people that makes them think that they NEED all of these advanced techniques and methods, even as beginners. It just keeps them from having to take a good look at themselves and what physiological weaknesses they possess that are preventing them from making further progress."

I DONT THINK I NEED BANDS, BUT THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO USE THEM, WHEN THE EXPERTS ON THEM SUGGEST THAT I DO IF POSSIBLE. IM NOT EXPECTING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO BE WHAT MAKES OR BREAKS MY PROGRESS, BUT THERE IS NO REASON TO AVOID WHAT HAS BEEN PROVEN TO BE EFFECTIVE; EVEN FOR A BEGINNER. IM NOT TRYING TO TAKE THE FOCUS AWAY FROM WHAT I “NEED” TO DO (WHICH IS DRIVE UP MY FLOOR PRESS, TRICEP EXT, AND INCLINE BENCH) IM JUST LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION TO ONE OF MY PROBLEMS WHICH IS THAT WITHOUT BANDS, SPEED BENCH IS PRETTY MUCH USELESS TO ME AT THE MOMENT.

As for the bands, mail them to me so I can do band pull throughs and X band walks.[/quote]