T Nation

Training for a 200lb Bench at 123

Powerful Women
#1

Hey Ladies (and fellas if you dare to read:))
I am working on a 200lb raw bench at 123, just 15 more pounds to go! I’m at 185 right now, touch and go that is.

I was hoping to start a log to share my training with you, in hopes of support and feedback (good and bad).

I only bench once a week, alternating Speed work one week and Heavy work the next. I normally bench on Sundays. This past Sunday went very well, I got 185 for two singles!! Heres the rundown:

Flat Bench: (raw)
Warmups:
barx15
95lbsx10
135x5
155x5
170x1
185x1 (hips off bench, but got the weight up)
185x0- missed this one

Band and Chain work on Flat bench:
95lbs on bar with both heavy chains and purple bands doubled up
3 sets of 5

Felt really good and tried 185 again for the heck of it and got it!! (normally, I don’t do that, I keep singles at the very beginning of my workout)

Incline Barbell:
115, 2sets of 5

Decline Barbell:
155, 2sets of 5

I do have video of my band and chain work, I’ll try to post it, as soon as I figure out how to do that. As well as a video of the 185! I definitely have to work on keeping my butt down, cause that won’t fly at a meet. My best competition raw press is 175lb so I’m very excited to be moving up!

That was it for my workout. Back in the gym next Sunday for my Heavy Week.

Gina

#2

I’ll be keeping my eye on this!

When you first started lifting how much could you bench? How long did it take you to get to 185?

BTW - Thank god for this new forum section!

#3

Hi Gina!

That’s one nice bench you have there. Can’t wait to hear more about your training.

Yay for more powerful women!

#4

Thats very impressive,

what are your other lifts like? Just curious…

Good luck.

#5

Nice job on a 185, already. And if thats you in your avatar, nice physique.

Search for CT’s “8 weeks to a bigger bench.”

I’ve never personally tried it, but I’d imagine he knows what he’s talking about. :wink:

#6

That is a great bench! How do your other lifts look? I’m curious too :slight_smile: Great job, I look forward to following your progress.

#7

[quote]GBench wrote:
Hey Ladies (and fellas if you dare to read:))
I am working on a 200lb raw bench at 123, just 15 more pounds to go! I’m at 185 right now, touch and go that is.

I was hoping to start a log to share my training with you, in hopes of support and feedback (good and bad).

I only bench once a week, alternating Speed work one week and Heavy work the next. I normally bench on Sundays. This past Sunday went very well, I got 185 for two singles!! Heres the rundown:

Flat Bench: (raw)
Warmups:
barx15
95lbsx10
135x5
155x5
170x1
185x1 (hips off bench, but got the weight up)
185x0- missed this one

Band and Chain work on Flat bench:
95lbs on bar with both heavy chains and purple bands doubled up
3 sets of 5

Felt really good and tried 185 again for the heck of it and got it!! (normally, I don’t do that, I keep singles at the very beginning of my workout)

Incline Barbell:
115, 2sets of 5

Decline Barbell:
155, 2sets of 5

I do have video of my band and chain work, I’ll try to post it, as soon as I figure out how to do that. As well as a video of the 185! I definitely have to work on keeping my butt down, cause that won’t fly at a meet. My best competition raw press is 175lb so I’m very excited to be moving up!

That was it for my workout. Back in the gym next Sunday for my Heavy Week.

Gina
[/quote]

Welcome Gina. It’s nice to see more strong women joining us on this forum.

What federations do you lift in? I see the USAPL is going to start expanding their sanctioned raw competitions beyond the local and state meets they have now. Personally, I find this refreshing as there are many of us out there that may want to lift in a competition, but don’t want to deal with learning to use the gear. The other theory is that people are getting tired of the raw vs gear debate, and that the athletes are just getting too beat up from lifting with equipment.

It’s very impressive to watch a strong woman bench without a bench shirt. Jennifer Thompson was training at my gym while in town with her husband a couple of years ago (she’s ~ 5’5", 132). She warmed up with 135 and easily worked her way up to 225, raw. The pseudo bodybuilders and squat rack curlers lifting nearby were getting increasingly uncomfortable as this slight young women easily handled this weight (she’s a math teacher). Pretty soon, most of these guys were on the other side of the gym, grumbling and making excuses. It was great and I freely admit that I enjoyed it immensely.

I had recognized her as soon as she walked in and had a pretty good idea of what to expect. For the uninitiated, here’s her website:

Train hard and stay healthy.

Gojira

#8

Dang girl, even your w/o is impressive!

So you just train with the bench and nothing but the bench? No isolated type exercises for the tri’s, ect.?

[quote]GBench wrote:
Back in the gym next Sunday for my Heavy Week.
[/quote]

oh. That wasn’t heavy??? wow.

Thanks so much for sharing your training with us!

c.

#9

Hi Gina,

Great to see you logging. Love the workout. Great job on going back and nailing the 185lb again. Can’t wait to see your heavy day:)

Claire

#10

Hi Gina,
Wow, those are some numbers!
I’m not a PLer but love to see the big lifts that the ladies pull off in this forum. You’re gonna fit right in!
welcome!
db

#11

Another welcome! How long have you been training? How did you get started PLing? Did/do you play any sports?

#12

Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I’ll see if I can answer most of your questions here.

Most of my competitions are with USAPL, but I also compete with AAU and 100% RAW. I started lifting in High School for sports and continued through college. In college I benched 170 at a body weight of 145. I graduated college in 97 and stopped benching.

My first competition was in Dec. of 2005 and I benched 145 at 123lb. My next meet was in May of 2006 with USAPL and I benched 165 at 123. Thats where I met Jenn and Donovan Thompson, great people!! They encouaged me to continue and gave me some great tips and training advice. I’ve been training heavy ever since.

As for my other lifts, I have not competed in a full power meet, yet. My next step is to do a Push/Pull meet. I just started DL last month, so just working on form and trying to figure it out.

Thanks again for the support!

G

#13

[quote]c. wrote:
Dang girl, even your w/o is impressive!

So you just train with the bench and nothing but the bench? No isolated type exercises for the tri’s, ect.?

[/quote]

Thanks! On Bench day, I only bench :). I have a seperate Tricep day where my main lifts are Rack Lockouts. So in short, I have a Bench Day, a Log and DL day, and a tricep and Expolsive day- 3 days of training, thats it. Too sore and tired to train more than that :slight_smile:

G

#14

I’m curious what your diet is like, do you mind posting an average day for you?

#15

[quote]rrjc5488 wrote:
Nice job on a 185, already. And if thats you in your avatar, nice physique.

Search for CT’s “8 weeks to a bigger bench.”

I’ve never personally tried it, but I’d imagine he knows what he’s talking about. ;)[/quote]

thank you for the compliment and for the reference, I will definitely check it out!

#16

[quote]cheeta wrote:
wow I am so happy you joined the powerfull women forum!!! cant wait to see what kind of journey you will lead us through! :slight_smile:
keep up the great work!
I for sure just hope that one day i can bench as much as you.

t.[/quote]

Thanks so much! I hope to keep the “journey” interesting!

#17

[quote]sic wrote:
I’m curious what your diet is like, do you mind posting an average day for you?[/quote]

My training cycles are usually 10-12 weeks out from a meet. At this point I try to stay as clean as possible with my eating (depending on how much weight I have to lose). I try to always stay within 5lbs of my competition weight. I always have a “free day” once a week.
And the biggest thing is eating dinner for Breakfast and Breakfast for dinner. This works soooooo well for me!

Heres a typical day when I’m in a training cycle:
6:30am- turkey and pasta (one of my biggest meals of the day)
9:30am- myoplex lite protein shake
11:30- cheese stick and an apple
1pm- protein, carbs and vegs.
3:30pm- protein bar
6pm-7pm dinner, protein and vegs (I love egg white omletes for dinner with peppers and turkey and cheese)
9pm-snack before bed- cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit.

thats about it
G

#18

I’ve been doing the same thing lately with eggs, veggies and cheese for dinner. Much more satisfying at night than it is for breakfast. I bet the pasta and turkey gives you tons of energy for the morning.

#19

[quote]GBench wrote:
Heres a typical day when I’m in a training cycle:
6:30am- turkey and pasta (one of my biggest meals of the day)
9:30am- myoplex lite protein shake
11:30- cheese stick and an apple
1pm- protein, carbs and vegs.
3:30pm- protein bar
6pm-7pm dinner, protein and vegs (I love egg white omletes for dinner with peppers and turkey and cheese)
9pm-snack before bed- cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit.

thats about it
G[/quote]

THAT’S IT??

I thought for sure, being that strong, you’d have to eat a crap load!!

What about your post workout meal?

Man, I love the simplicity of your diet. I may change mine after my meet. Not that I’m a copy cat or anything, but I like to eat what the champions eat :slight_smile:

c.

#20

[quote]c. wrote:
GBench wrote:
Heres a typical day when I’m in a training cycle:
6:30am- turkey and pasta (one of my biggest meals of the day)
9:30am- myoplex lite protein shake
11:30- cheese stick and an apple
1pm- protein, carbs and vegs.
3:30pm- protein bar
6pm-7pm dinner, protein and vegs (I love egg white omletes for dinner with peppers and turkey and cheese)
9pm-snack before bed- cottage cheese or yogurt with fruit.

thats about it
G

THAT’S IT??

I thought for sure, being that strong, you’d have to eat a crap load!!

What about your post workout meal?

Man, I love the simplicity of your diet. I may change mine after my meet. Not that I’m a copy cat or anything, but I like to eat what the champions eat :slight_smile:

c.

[/quote]

I do eat alot of chicken as well, sometimes I throw in chicken and carbs at 6pm and than have egg whites at 10pm. It all depends on my workday. Every other night I work till 9pm and don’t get home til 10pm. My goal is 2000-2200 calories a day.

As for my post workout meals, I always have a protein bar right after training within 15 minutes, than within the next hour, chicken or turkey with pasta(or cousous) and vegs.

G