I need to find out how to really build my bench press numbers and my squats, oh, and also, if anybody can help me, I would really like to know some different excercises to help build some serious size and strength.
I need more money, to be younger and a lot of other things. Read the articles, then ask some specific questions.
I want a Ferrari and a harem of Playboy Centerfolds.
Read all the articles bt Dave Tate, then go read everything… twice.
if u want to lift more weight in the bench and squat, powerlift. Check out all articals on westside training. Or just type it in on the SEARCH.
Happy reading
will42
Thank You.
Four sets of each of the following:
-
Overhead Pressing
-
Squatting
-
Deadlifting
-
Chin-ups
Do the above three times per week. Eat lot’s of good food and quality protein. Repeat until results are obtained.
Zeb
Come on guys we all had to start somewhere.
If you want to imrove your bench and squat the best way to do it is through benching and squatting. Assistance exercise will not help much if you don’t work the bench and squat hard.
My suggestion if you have two focus lifts (I do this for power snatch and power clean + jerk):
Day 1 - bench day
Day 2 - rest day
Day 3 - squat day
Day 4 - rest day
Maybe Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday? For two cycles
An example of a bench day:
A bench press
3 reps
60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 95%, 95% sets
B bent over barbell row (assistance to bench since it works the opposite muscles)
maybe 5 reps would work a little better than three
60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 95%, 95% sets
On squat day you could use the same outline but with back squats and hanging leg raises.
All other non focus lifts (e.g. pull-ups, deadlifts, MP etc) you could fit in when and IF you have the time and energy. Maybe as exercise 3 on either bench or squat day or on one of the rest day, but be careful of overtraining in this case. Less is more and all that.
IMHO it is the crisp (i.e. not all out but close) reps in the 95% range that work best to build strength. All out and failure lifts IMHO just burn you out and do little to add strength. Good every now and then but not all the time.
Also good technique will allow you to lift more with the same amout of strength. Every lift should be quality and try and make them all the same.
Hope this helps.
Also if you are just starting out don’t overcomplicate things. A lot of the advanced methods (e.g. bands, chains, isometrics, eccentric only, periodisation etc) are of little use except for very advanced lifters. Just put some weight on the bar and lift it!
Dont forget your diet and recuperation, there are plenty of articles that can help you in this site.
whats your training experiance and current stats?
Currently I lift 3 days a week, squat each day, bench 2 times a week. But if your a true beganer I don’t know if this would be the best program for you.
However if you have good squat form and are comfortable with heavy weight and low reps give this a try.
Monday
Squats-5x5(Do four progressively
heavier sets of 5 with the 5th set
being your 5RM.)
Deadlifts-5x5(Do the same)
Bench Press-5x5(Do the same)
Incline DB Press-2x12-20
Wednesday
Light Squats or Lunges-4x8 each leg
Good Mornings-3x8-12
Shoulder Press-5x5 or Dips-4xmax until
you get 12 each time. then add weight.
Pullups-4xmax
Friday
Squats-warmup to a 3 reps with 5 more
lbs than you used on Monday. On the
following monday use this weight for
your 5th set.
Bent Over Row-5x5
Incline Bench-5x5
Tricep Extensions-2x12-20
This is a Bill Star program some what similiar to a more advanced program in another current post. This program straight up works! 5-6 weeks ago I started squating with 210x5 and yesterday hit 245x5.
I’d go with Westside. Are you training for sports or just for the heck of it? It’s it’s football, stay away from overhead pressing and excessive olympic lifts. Don’t worry about chains and bands. Just the basic stuff.
[quote]Tungsten wrote:
I’d go with Westside. Are you training for sports or just for the heck of it? It’s it’s football, stay away from overhead pressing and excessive olympic lifts. Don’t worry about chains and bands. Just the basic stuff. [/quote]
Why would you stay away from Olympic lifts for football?
Avoid olympic lifts for football training? I’d have to respectfully disagree with that one.
Although I wouldn’t recommend competition-style olympic lifts to your average football trainee, power cleans and power snatches are great exercises for football prep.
CoachX has written some interesting stuff on this topic as to why the players at his NFL team do not use the Olympic lifts as part of their training programme.
He feels that for Football players the shoulders already take enough pounding on the field and through Squatting and the Bench press without putting further strain on them by incorporating the OL.
To quote
"Overhead pressing has the highest activation of all the cuff muscles but it is also the greatest irritant and has the highest stressful forces to the shoulder joint itself.Now you should know that once you change structure,you change function.
Orthapedically speaking as the bar travels overhead you jam the head of the humerus up into the acromin,which creates impingement.
And on the topic of the OL
“Snatching/Overhead pressing absolutely places the shoulder in a structural and functional disadvantage.If you truly desire a sublaxed shoulder,then abduct it it with external rotation,which is what a snatch does.Remember we are training athletes not Olympic lifters.
With the shoulder in that position(abducted and externally rotated)it is the most common for a dislocation.The sport of Football is destructive enough there is no need for Olympic lifting”.
I have had the opportunity to see Both X and 62 at work with their guys in the weightroom.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for them both and feel that those who are involved in the S/C of athletes would do well to follow their advice.
I actually agree with this now. It was always taught that the Olympic lifts and their variations were crucial to making athletes faster and more explosive. But you can still train for your sport without using the Olympic lifts.
I do agree that they can also cause shoulder and other problems. I have major shoulder problems now, and part of it could definitely be from years of using the Olympic lifts. I even competed in Olympic lifting at one point years ago.
Joe DeFranco has also stated that the Olympic lifts are not necessary when training football players and other athletes. Many times, it takes too long to learn the lifts, so the benefits of using them is diminished.
However, I do think they serve a wonderful purpose in anyone’s training program and can be implemented at certain times, but I don’t think they are crucial to the success of an athlete and should be used sparingly and only from the hang or power variations.
Thanks guys for defending me! You CAN still use limited variant olympic lifts as long as it doesn’t place unneccessary stress on your shoulders. I’m talking about pulls and maybe cleans but no overhead stuff. It is a pain in the ass trying to learn it if you’ve never done it before. That’s the case when I tried to teach this soccer kid wanting to get in a better shape. I gave up because there simply wasn’t enough time and it was too time consuming. He told me he knew how to do it but it was horrible. I guess he can’t tell the difference between the right form and the horrible form! REMEMBER we’re not trying to be oly lifers, we’re trying to be better althetes…
[quote]Tungsten wrote:
Thanks guys for defending me! You CAN still use limited variant olympic lifts as long as it doesn’t place unneccessary stress on your shoulders. I’m talking about pulls and maybe cleans but no overhead stuff. It is a pain in the ass trying to learn it if you’ve never done it before. That’s the case when I tried to teach this soccer kid wanting to get in a better shape. I gave up because there simply wasn’t enough time and it was too time consuming. He told me he knew how to do it but it was horrible. I guess he can’t tell the difference between the right form and the horrible form! REMEMBER we’re not trying to be oly lifers, we’re trying to be better althetes… [/quote]
Yep, this happens, and it sucks. If you can’t learn some of the variations, then don’t even bother with the O-lifts. I know how to do them, and occassionally, I will use power cleans or snatches or a few other variations in my workouts. But with my shoulder injuries, I’ve had to be more cautious.
I would like to reply to Beni’s thread about CoachX’s comments on the olympic lifts for football players. I would respectfully disagree about not incorporating the Olympic lifts into training because of the pounding the shoulders take on the field and doing bench presses and squats. First, you could drop the bench and add the O-lifts as one option of not hitting the shoulders as much in training. Also, not only do the O-lifts teach you to use your body as one piece, but they have alot more practical application on the field. How often do you block, just using your upper body? Alot of the force used from blocking comes from the lower body and upper combined, so why not train your body as one piece. This can only improve your explosiveness and power. Secondly, with the O-lifts and variations, especially the clean, you are not lifting overhead anyways. Even if you perform the snatch, you can keep the volume low. Also, the O-lifts add appropriate balance, and can prevent overuse injuries, by adding pulling exercises into their program. Benching and squating are pushing exercises, what pulling exercies does CoachX use to prevent overtraining on pushing? Check out Coach Dan John, he has many great articles explaining the importance to athletes in training the body as one piece. Just some thoughts.
What makes you so qualified in this stuff? Coach X works for a pro football team and reported that his players are doing better and their shoulders felt better. I don’t think you truly understand how it affects the body. There are others ways to do it. Oly isn’t neccessary at all. Did you even go to that website and read the posts by Coach X and 62? You still can use variants of oly lifts like pulls but NO overhead stuff. It’s too brutal on the shoulder joints. They are not training their football players to be oly lifters. jeez…
[quote]gvlahos wrote:
I would like to reply to Beni’s thread about CoachX’s comments on the olympic lifts for football players. I would respectfully disagree about not incorporating the Olympic lifts into training because of the pounding the shoulders take on the field and doing bench presses and squats. First, you could drop the bench and add the O-lifts as one option of not hitting the shoulders as much in training. Also, not only do the O-lifts teach you to use your body as one piece, but they have alot more practical application on the field. How often do you block, just using your upper body? Alot of the force used from blocking comes from the lower body and upper combined, so why not train your body as one piece. This can only improve your explosiveness and power. Secondly, with the O-lifts and variations, especially the clean, you are not lifting overhead anyways. Even if you perform the snatch, you can keep the volume low. Also, the O-lifts add appropriate balance, and can prevent overuse injuries, by adding pulling exercises into their program. Benching and squating are pushing exercises, what pulling exercies does CoachX use to prevent overtraining on pushing? Check out Coach Dan John, he has many great articles explaining the importance to athletes in training the body as one piece. Just some thoughts.[/quote]