Tbone Strength Revalation and Rambling

In evaluating my own performance and my training partner's performances as of late it has come to my attention that some of us are stalling and some of us are getting stronger. In looking at everything, I've taken into account everyone's age and relative strength levels, however this isn't as big an issue as one would assume. The bench press is much more of a technical exercise than one would assume and it needs to be trained specific to one's strength levels, utilizing percentages from a one rep max established by the individual in order to gain strength, muscle, and overall body power. A problem with training the bench press is that there is a variety of training methodologies and philosophies from so many top notch lifters that it is very seductive to look at what works for one's bench that increased say Shawn Frankl's bench and say "If it works for them it must work for me!".

The old saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" definitely applies to benching. Big Steve's biggest problem is that as of late he (as are the rest of my training partners and myself) continuously is attempting a raw personal record yet is getting further and further away from what works for him. I've looked at his past training logs and what works for him (and works rather well) is a steady dose of board work and reverse band work with back and triceps assistance work as well as front deltoids work; and throwing in the occasional floor press also increased his gains because it continued to stimulate strength and muscle gains without him plateauing.

Sometimes in training, one must look back at what worked for them and just go back to what worked. It is essential for one to remember that, while a routine may look attractive, one must figure out how to incorporate it into their existing routine instead of doing a complete 180 and shunning what worked originally. I'm guilty of this myself, as I look at the routines of the Metal Militia, Westside Barbell Club, and other top gyms and say "this has to work for me" but all I did was plateau if I didn't go backwards in my training. Yes, technique is a critical element in performing the bench press or the other two power lifts correctly (squat and the deadlift) but you can be as technically sound as the best in the world but if you aren't working your Central Nervous System and muscles that are the primary movers in the bench correctly, than technique and setup are essentially useless.

I believe that it is time to go back to what worked and what worked well, as I previously mentioned a steady dose of boards (both raw and shirted) and reverse band workouts and floor presses are a key in increasing the bench press for my training partners. Over training and too much full range of motion workouts can inhibit progress a great deal as Louie Simmons put it one time. Training full range of motion too heavy and too often can greatly fatigue one's Central Nervous System and primary movers (lats, triceps, deltoids, and chest) to the point where a solid week of rest isn't enough to recover.

Another point worth making is the notion of how fast the bar is moving or in relative strength terminology: What is the rate of force development for said lifter? It is important to stress a great quote from the legendary Louie Simmons when he said "You never want to move a heavy weight slowly" which makes perfect sense. The equation f=m x a indicates that mass multiplied by speed equals force. The greater the force you generate the greater the speed of the weight on the bar. Lowering the bar too slow makes one press the bar too slow because the lats, triceps, and frontal deltoids are fatigued from trying to stabilize and control the slow descent. The faster the descent, the faster the press due to the stretch reflex being that much greater, allowing for the bar to explode off the lifters chest.

I rambled a little bit much here, but I believe this is necessary to be stated. Steve's greatest success has been with board work, reverse band work, and with floor presses and 2-3 accessory movements on a Max Effort Day. With my other training partners, anything they are doing is great at the moment because their bodies are adapting to training which is great. The greatest success sometimes for a lifter is knowing when you've hit a wall and when you need to go backwards and restart and I believe this time is now, not only for my training partners but for myself if we are to hit our long term goals.