I’m competing in a meet on June 2nd, and I was wondering how far out you guys start paused benching. If I do volume sets with pauses, I tend to get aches and pains after a while, so I was wondering if touch and go will transfer well if I do slow, controlled eccentrics.
Also, the federation I am competing in uses a deadlift bar. I’ve used them a bunch in the past, but I have been training using a stiff bar for months. Anyone have experience training with both? If so, did it screw you up?
all the time
Never heard that before, you must be doing something wrong
That makes no sense
When I first started using a deadlift bar my technique was thrown off and I couldn’t lift as much as before. I wouldn’t want to train on a stiff bar if I’m competing on a deadlift bar, that is for sure.
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@chris_ottawa
To point 1&2: I’ve had ulnar nerve subluxation issues, don’t know if you’ve heard of it. Touch and go doesn’t aggravate it as much. Doctors say some people are just predisposed to it
To point 3: some people bounce the bar off of their chests. My descents are slower than that and touch the chest with little momentum.
To point 4: I’ve used deadlift bars before in competition and training, but don’t have access to one right now.
I pause every bench rep in training.
Buy a DL bar and leave it at your gym.
You’re going to have to pause some reps in training for sure, if it hurts to do too much then just pause your heaviest set or two. When you are further out from a meet you could try pausing the first rep of each set and doing the rest t&g.
There is no good reason to bounce the bar off your chest, ever. That doesn’t mean that you should lower the bar slowly though, the faster you can lower the bar the more you will get out of the stretch reflex. Lower the bar as fast as you technique allows and try to keep it the same speed on all sets regardless of weight.
If you can’t train on a deadlift bar then you are at a major disadvantage.
Thanks for the insight. I’ve had a bit of trouble stabilizing the weight when descending quickly, I’ve been told it’s because I lack triceps development due to my elbows. I’ll try pausing my top sets and see if that will work. I did all pause work leading up to my last meet and had a subluxation during my peak. Left about 10 lbs on the platform
I’ll have access to a deadlift bar around 3 weeks out from the meet, so hopefully I have enough time to get used to it again. Trying to get 600 for the first time, so I don’t want that to be a limiting factor.
I noticed a big difference pulling 600+ on a deadlift bar vs a stiff bar. After you get the timing down, it’s easier. We have had a lot of 600 pullers on the noodle. Not many guys pull that on the power bar.
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Interesting. I train with a fairly stiff Texas PL bar and pull much more in meets with a whippier bar. Even the standard Eleiko comp bar is whippier and I count on that to boost my numbers. However, I’ve done a lot of meets so I’m used to the transition.
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It could be that I wasn’t getting tight enough when I set up and the bar whip really exposed that weakness. I’m used to it now but it still doesn’t seem any easier than a stiff bar, aside from the grip. I hear a lot of people saying they can pull way more on a DL bar, I wish it worked for me too. On the other hand, I see Pete Rubish pulling with a squat bar in training.
I would agree. From what I’ve seen, the guys that get the most out of it stay tight, pull conventional, and pull explosively.
Update: Started Pausing my top sets on bench and doing touch and go for the rest. Seems like the carryover is there at least for those sets. Still training with a stiff bar on deads, but I’ll have access to a DL bar in about a month.
That sounds OK. If you can use a DL bar for the last month or so then you should be fine.
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I don’t see slow negatives translating in any meaningful way to paused benching. the descent and the pause just aren’t the same thing. I don’t pause all my reps, but on sets of 5 or more, I usually pause the first and last rep. A lot of times, I’ll pause the last rep of a set for multiple seconds.
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I guess everyone is different, and ideally you want to train on the same type of equipment you’ll compete with, but when I went into my first powerlifting meet, I had never even TOUCHED a deadlift bar in my life. Just trained with shitty bars at a commercial gym. I PR’ed with both my 2nd and 3rd attempts. It felt easy. If you are at least familiar with a DL bar, that should be enough to pick your attempts wisely.
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No doubt.
You ever try an axle bar? Literally no whip (plus it’s 2" thick). They’re awful to pull from standard height. Even using straps, I’m likely 20-30 lbs weaker on the axle than a deadlift bar.
I can’t even imagine how bad that must suck. I’m way too short to even consider strongman. They have stones at my gym and I’m pretty sure they’re glued to the ground.
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how tall are you? Being short is not a terrible thing for the LW division. Means you can pack on more muscle onto a smaller frame and still make weight. I mean, if you’re like 5’2, yea you’re too short lol. But if you’re at least 5’6, and lean, that’s really a good place to be for strongman. I’m really too tall for the LW division, but that’s where I compete, at 5’11. There are only a handful of events where being short is truly a detriment. Small hands can suck on some things too, but overall, not a huge problem.
I’m 5’7" still sitting at a leanish 230 without training or dieting for the last month. It always looked like fun. My wife’s hometown has a small competition I might try in the fall. Once I’m recovered from my injury, I might have some questions if that’s cool.
yea, ask away whenever you feel like it.
Solid.
Thanks. Slowly recomping in the wrong direction with the lay off. I honestly thought I would have lost more. Hopefully I’ll be able to train before dadbod mode kicks in.
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