Hammer Strength BP Weights

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

[quote]waldo21212 wrote:

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
i barely squeak out 8 with spot on the HS incline with 5. One of the big problems with the machine is simply fitting in it. I have to leverage out of the starting position if i dont have a spot because how squeezed in i am. I still dont see how you fit in em prof lol.[/quote]

I help a guy that’s around 270 lbs at my gym get in the HS incline machine, I lift up and hold one arm so he can wedge in the machine and start, it’s quite the production.[/quote]

Lol seriously. I never thought about lifting it up before i get in, but before id have to sit down, and then angle myself in, then like i said, if i didnt have a spot, i know i would not be able to get 5 up, i barely got 4 up, just because the angle of the bars and the starting position feels so…weird i guess lol. I think my gym has a shittier model too.

Cant really say i can comment on the OP question tho, since i dont really work with barbells anymore. I will say that i am an ever growing fan of HS machines though. The isolateral row is becoming one of my favorite back movements.[/quote]

I have a hard time getting really focused on the HS row machines – something about having a pad in my sternum that I don’t care for. My back workouts always have a barbell row and pull ups, the rest is interchangeable.

[quote]Chi-Towns-Finest wrote:

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:

[quote]waldo21212 wrote:

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
i barely squeak out 8 with spot on the HS incline with 5. One of the big problems with the machine is simply fitting in it. I have to leverage out of the starting position if i dont have a spot because how squeezed in i am. I still dont see how you fit in em prof lol.[/quote]

I help a guy that’s around 270 lbs at my gym get in the HS incline machine, I lift up and hold one arm so he can wedge in the machine and start, it’s quite the production.[/quote]

Lol seriously. I never thought about lifting it up before i get in, but before id have to sit down, and then angle myself in, then like i said, if i didnt have a spot, i know i would not be able to get 5 up, i barely got 4 up, just because the angle of the bars and the starting position feels so…weird i guess lol. I think my gym has a shittier model too.

Cant really say i can comment on the OP question tho, since i dont really work with barbells anymore. I will say that i am an ever growing fan of HS machines though. The isolateral row is becoming one of my favorite back movements.[/quote]

I have a hard time getting really focused on the HS row machines – something about having a pad in my sternum that I don’t care for. My back workouts always have a barbell row and pull ups, the rest is interchangeable.
[/quote]

Thats why i dont use the Tbar machine, but on the HS i lean back a bit. But to each their own.

If it works, it works. People are so caught up in the numbers of their lifts they miss the point in this game. Does it help you work the muscle hard and help you grow? Is it safe for you to lift heavier and progress over time? Cool.

Its hard to compare HS and free with greater training age, since someone will become great at a movement owing to having mass, as well as having the skill of the movement. Switching from one movement to another will probably induce some “exercise transition lag” (been trying to use my copyrighted expression for awhile) which could throw off any comparison for how ‘accurate’ something is to a similar movement, unless you are equally proficient and experienced at each.

A few examples; maybe the guy in a recent thread talking about doing 5 @ 265 free but not being able to do 275 (possibly mental, possibly technique) should switch to an HS machine and get all that shit out of his head.

I completely agree with an above post about different leverages influencing this as well. Got one guy built like a brick shithouse at my gym who does 5 plates per side free, but it ain’t exactly moving far. Then I’ve seen him on the HS machine, where he actually has a bigger ROM owing to the set-up and not having a bar touch his big gut/chest, and he drops down to 3 per side.

Anyways, horses for courses. Find what works your muscle to a high relative intensity that you can progress heavy on over time and keep growing. Comparison of HS to free shouldn’t be a concern.

Enough of my rant, to the OP…HS incline is pretty similar for me, HS flat actually a bit less on the machine than free, decline HS heaps more on the machine (PX reasoning). HS shoulder press is pretty similar too.

Happy lifting :slight_smile:

which hs bench variation is the hardest?

The lying down flat press (like in prof x’s video) I can get 4 plates for 5-6 reps

HS seated incline I can get 4 plates for 8-9

flat barbell bench I can only do 315 for 2,

I don’t have to worry about stability or technique on HS, so I can just press without worry, I use them on days where I am feeling shitty.

[quote]Akuma01 wrote:
i barely squeak out 8 with spot on the HS incline with 5. One of the big problems with the machine is simply fitting in it. I have to leverage out of the starting position if i dont have a spot because how squeezed in i am. I still dont see how you fit in em prof lol.[/quote]

Gotta get yourself something like PVC pipe or something that wont crush when using that weight and put it where the swing arm meets the stablizing rack. Then load like one plate on then load up the weight and press out. The pvc will fall to the ground and offer a better ROM but you will be able to press out of the hole better.

lol @ 3-5lb difference. Free weights are a lot harder, Id say if you do 3 plates for reps on bench youd be able to do 4-5 plates for reps on HS machines. No advanced bodybuilder relies only on HS machines. Look at the top pros, jay, phil, branch, coleman, levrone, all include free weight compound pressing moves either with barbells or dumbells. HS machines are a great addtion, but not a replacement.

[quote]rocksolid12 wrote:
lol @ 3-5lb difference. Free weights are a lot harder, Id say if you do 3 plates for reps on bench youd be able to do 4-5 plates for reps on HS machines. No advanced bodybuilder relies only on HS machines. Look at the top pros, jay, phil, branch, coleman, levrone, all include free weight compound pressing moves either with barbells or dumbells. HS machines are a great addtion, but not a replacement.[/quote]

Uhm, Dennis James trained by Charles Glass trained almost exclusively on HS machines for chest for this last contest. Also, I do 5 plates a side on the laying bench press and can bench more than 405 considering I first hit that on a barbell about ten years ago. I don’t see anyone who can only press 3 plates a side on a barbell moving 5 plates a side on the laying hs machine.

If that is you in your avatar, how would you know what advanced lifters do? You aren’t one.

I think I am going to put up a 400+ flat bench video and then I will get a day pass to the local gym and see what I can rep out on the HS machines, maybe get an attractive female to video me. :). Stay tuned try to do this within the next few weeks.

I started using the Hammer Strength Machines at the beginning of the summer, and I really love the chest ones. I normally use the seated bench press and wide chest, and on the seated BP I can hit 4 plates for maybe 6, and on the wide chest, best is 5 plates each side for 8. I bench 315 x 6-8 and can incline 315 x 2, so I dont know how that works out. I really like the H/S, they have helped my chest grow in a way it had not been doing using solely free weights.

[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
I started using the Hammer Strength Machines at the beginning of the summer, and I really love the chest ones. I normally use the seated bench press and wide chest, and on the seated BP I can hit 4 plates for maybe 6, and on the wide chest, best is 5 plates each side for 8. I bench 315 x 6-8 and can incline 315 x 2, so I dont know how that works out. I really like the H/S, they have helped my chest grow in a way it had not been doing using solely free weights. [/quote]

Yeah bro, there is definitely a different feel to them than on free weights. I can squeeze my pecs better at the top of the movement on HS machines.

I will say though, I am the type of trainer that could only use flat bench and have stimulated my pecs fully. It’s just one of those muscles for me that grows easily and doesn’t need a lot of diversity when it comes to exercises.

It seems the ratio of HS/BB is closer to unity for more developed lifters such as Prof X because of torso thickness. When X is BB benching his ROM is probably 75% of his ROM on a HS flat press. As I got thicker and thicker, I noticed this also.

[quote]austin_bicep wrote:

[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
I started using the Hammer Strength Machines at the beginning of the summer, and I really love the chest ones. I normally use the seated bench press and wide chest, and on the seated BP I can hit 4 plates for maybe 6, and on the wide chest, best is 5 plates each side for 8. I bench 315 x 6-8 and can incline 315 x 2, so I dont know how that works out. I really like the H/S, they have helped my chest grow in a way it had not been doing using solely free weights. [/quote]

Yeah bro, there is definitely a different feel to them than on free weights. I can squeeze my pecs better at the top of the movement on HS machines.

I will say though, I am the type of trainer that could only use flat bench and have stimulated my pecs fully. It’s just one of those muscles for me that grows easily and doesn’t need a lot of diversity when it comes to exercises.[/quote]

Ya, I like to use them if I am doing a really slow controlled tempo as well. I too feel my chest a great deal with the bench press, Ive been lucky that way too.

[quote]rocksolid12 wrote:
lol @ 3-5lb difference. Free weights are a lot harder, Id say if you do 3 plates for reps on bench youd be able to do 4-5 plates for reps on HS machines. No advanced bodybuilder relies only on HS machines. Look at the top pros, jay, phil, branch, coleman, levrone, all include free weight compound pressing moves either with barbells or dumbells. HS machines are a great addtion, but not a replacement.[/quote]

looks up DC training and tell me no advanced bodybuilder relies on HS.

[quote]Professor X wrote:

[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
I bench around two plates on the barbell, and can press maybe three plates per side for one or two reps on the seated wide HS press. [/quote]

That machine is great. I will say though that if you can only get one or two reps on it (or anything for that matter) then you need to drop the weight and work on your form and increasing the reps before moving up.[/quote]

I like it. I don’t usually work in the 1-2 rep range. I usually do 2 plates or 2 plates and a 25 per side for sets of six to eight. I was just trying to give a lower rep range for comparison purposes.

I don’t usually use it as my primary lift, but instead will do either flat or incline db press and follow it up with the corresponding HS machine, as I do chest/tri days so it’s a good secondary lift for both of those bodyparts.

[quote]actionboy wrote:

[quote]rocksolid12 wrote:
lol @ 3-5lb difference. Free weights are a lot harder, Id say if you do 3 plates for reps on bench youd be able to do 4-5 plates for reps on HS machines. No advanced bodybuilder relies only on HS machines. Look at the top pros, jay, phil, branch, coleman, levrone, all include free weight compound pressing moves either with barbells or dumbells. HS machines are a great addtion, but not a replacement.[/quote]

looks up DC training and tell me no advanced bodybuilder relies on HS.

embedded link is not working on my computer :frowning:

And remember guys, you have a 45 pound bar when benching free weight, you take out that bar and 3 PPS on a HS machine is 270 pounds. So obviously you will be able to press more PPS on one of those machines, plus the leverages and the fact that you don’t need your stabalizers to come into play equals more weight on those lifts.

[quote]austin_bicep wrote:

[quote]actionboy wrote:

[quote]rocksolid12 wrote:
lol @ 3-5lb difference. Free weights are a lot harder, Id say if you do 3 plates for reps on bench youd be able to do 4-5 plates for reps on HS machines. No advanced bodybuilder relies only on HS machines. Look at the top pros, jay, phil, branch, coleman, levrone, all include free weight compound pressing moves either with barbells or dumbells. HS machines are a great addtion, but not a replacement.[/quote]

looks up DC training and tell me no advanced bodybuilder relies on HS.

embedded link is not working on my computer :frowning:

And remember guys, you have a 45 pound bar when benching free weight, you take out that bar and 3 PPS on a HS machine is 270 pounds. So obviously you will be able to press more PPS on one of those machines, plus the leverages and the fact that you don’t need your stabalizers to come into play equals more weight on those lifts.

[/quote]

sorry brother! the link is dumb

here:

its the classic in-human clip inclining 8 plates a side!

edit:

[quote]actionboy wrote:

[quote]austin_bicep wrote:

[quote]actionboy wrote:

[quote]rocksolid12 wrote:
lol @ 3-5lb difference. Free weights are a lot harder, Id say if you do 3 plates for reps on bench youd be able to do 4-5 plates for reps on HS machines. No advanced bodybuilder relies only on HS machines. Look at the top pros, jay, phil, branch, coleman, levrone, all include free weight compound pressing moves either with barbells or dumbells. HS machines are a great addtion, but not a replacement.[/quote]

looks up DC training and tell me no advanced bodybuilder relies on HS.

embedded link is not working on my computer :frowning:

And remember guys, you have a 45 pound bar when benching free weight, you take out that bar and 3 PPS on a HS machine is 270 pounds. So obviously you will be able to press more PPS on one of those machines, plus the leverages and the fact that you don’t need your stabalizers to come into play equals more weight on those lifts.

[/quote]

sorry brother! the link is dumb

here:

its the classic in-human clip inclining 8 plates a side!

edit:

that’s gotta be some sort of world record or something.

damn. That machine holds a ton of plates.
7 plates per side for 5, almost 6 reps.
Crazy.

[quote]Blaze_108 wrote:
damn. That machine holds a ton of plates.
7 plates per side for 5, almost 6 reps.
Crazy.[/quote]

Must be custom. Most of those machines don’t hold more than 5-6 plates a side…which sucks considering how many big dudes seem to be using them now.

I got up to 6 plates a side on the laying press but keep it at 5 plates lately because my shoulder was feeling sore (because I was bouncing the weight on contractions and caused inflammation).

In fact, KIDS, if you plan to be doing this for more than a decade without a severe injury, learn to listen to your body very well when it comes to your shoulders, knees and back.