quick chain bench questions need help by tommorow!

[brownstown89]

so i went to home depot and got chains for my bench press. I bought the 3/8 size chain and got 7 feet on each side and looped them in. the setup is all right when the bar is on my chest the chain is on the floor. When i bench it the chain is all off the floor on lockout.. so heres my question

with 7 feet on each side thats 20 pounds on the left and 20 on the right.. for 40 total, what is the recomended for a bench press of 260-270 range? i read an article somewhere that said 40-50 pounds but would that be per side or total chain weight?


and can someone give me a Dynamic effort routine for bench that i can use chains for?

 

[Chubbie]

http://www.elitefts.com/articles/article-faq/default.asp

 

[jcp2]

I am around a 450 raw bencher touch and go, and use around 120 lbs total when i bench with them.

 

[brownstown89]

450 thats so weak compare to my 265 lol jk, but i read im suppose to use 40 pounds total for under 300 bench. i can touch and go 240 x 3 and i can hit 240 x 1 with the 40 pound chain which are all of the ground at lockout.

 

[jcp2]

You could probably go up to 60 without a problem. Maybe even 80. I have gone up to 160 at times.

 

[Chubbie]

Just pay attention to bar speed. Don't turn DE work into ME work unless that is the intended goal.

 

[brownstown89]

thanks guys wide grip is my weakest bench by far.. my grips usually good bit inside the rings on the bar... did 155 for DE effort today with 3 reps plus chains at 85% of max as i heard u can add those on DE days.. 3 weeks till i max out hopefuully push 270 at least maybe 275..

can any of u give me a good recomndation when to max so i hit my goal? like when im hitting a rep at 250 plus chains or 255 plust chains then i should know when to go for 275?

 

[Chubbie]

Your post doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Need more information. What kind of training plan do you use? Do you compete? If so, RAW or Equipped?
Just need more info to go on.....

 

[brownstown89]

sorry lol i was tried when i posted that.. i use a westside barbell routine. i dont compete nor do i use shirts etc.. just raw bench i do it for fun. i will look into competing in the future.. However im curious when i should max for Westide im thinking something like this

Week 1- Chain Bench as ME and assitance work
Week 2- CHain Bench as ME and assistance work
Week 3- Chain Bench as ME and assitance work
week 4- Deload week
Week 5- ME bench press go for a flat bench max and instead of DE day do a 185 rep test?

would that work, i undetstand the westside principal of cycling Incline press, CG press, Cahin Press, Floor press... but i jsut dont wanna keep doing that all year without seeing if flat bench is going up. so something like what i posted up above work? then restart it with a CG bench for 3 weeks deload 4th and max 5th week does that work?

 

[stullsy]

whats your rep scheme and percentages on your first 3 ME days of the week?
whats your total tonage of weight lifted?

 

[Bench Champ]

Use the chain on your DE day. 3 week wave with 3 of bar weight only. With a 240 raw bench I'd probably have you start with 95-115 with the chains and go up only if bar speed was excellent.

I dont think using a full range chain bench press as your max effort movement is going to work very well for you. Get some boards.......and some bands.

"i undetstand the westside principal of cycling Incline press, CG press, Cahin Press, Floor press... but i jsut dont wanna keep doing that all year without seeing if flat bench is going up." I dont think you are really understanding it. Work the reg flat bench in every 6-8 weeks and try for a max. You CAN run your ME exercises for 3 weeks as a beginner but I strongly suggest you do not do it with a full range exercise.

 

[pmiller383]

Dude your chain weight has got to be off. 3/8 chains take about 15ft of chain to equal about 20 pounds. Since you only have 14 feet of chain total you probably only have about 20pounds of chain. Also when you are at lockout do you still have a little chain on the floor? Finally are you using a leader chain at all or just looping the chain over the bar?

 

[brownstown89]

im using a light leader chain and at lockout everything is off the floor. and idk my dads really good with math and he somehow figured it out? and said 3/8 7 feet on each side would equal close to 40 maybe 35?..

i get paid tommorow so you think its worth going to get another set if its 20 just get 2 small chains 2 connector links and 2 7ft chains of 3/8??

 

[pmiller383]

A.) The chain should not come all the way off the floor at lockout, a little should be left on the ground so its not swinging all over the place.
B.) Either you have some damn dense chain or something is off. Give this a try, stand on a scale and check your weight, then do it again but this time hold all of the chain. You should see the actual weight of the chain then.
C.) a 5ft section of 5/8 chain weighs about 20 pounds or 40 pound per set. If you want to start working with chain I would highly suggest just getting 5/8 sections because they would bundle up weird like smaller chains do. When I first started I bought 60ft of 3/8 chain for about $45, but I wish I would have spent the extra $40 and just bought a big chain because they work much better.
D.) If you have 7ft chains doubled over that means you should have two 3.5ft sections hanging off on each side. Unless you have the worlds longest bench stroke you do not need that much length. I would take the chain and fold it into thirds so that you have three strands of chains at 2'4 ft on each side. When you are at lockout there should be a few pieces of chain still on the floor. At the bottom of the press you should get the majority of the chain deloaded onto the floor. If you are not deloading the majority of the chain you are not going to get the accommodating resistance necessary to make them effective.
E.) I hope you don't take any of this offensively, Im just trying to help you get the most out of training with chains.

 

[brownstown89]

A.) The chain should not come all the way off the floor at lockout, a little should be left on the ground so its not swinging all over the place.
B.) Either you have some damn dense chain or something is off. Give this a try, stand on a scale and check your weight, then do it again but this time hold all of the chain. You should see the actual weight of the chain then.
C.) a 5ft section of 5/8 chain weighs about 20 pounds or 40 pound per set. If you want to start working with chain I would highly suggest just getting 5/8 sections because they would bundle up weird like smaller chains do. When I first started I bought 60ft of 3/8 chain for about $45, but I wish I would have spent the extra $40 and just bought a big chain because they work much better.
D.) If you have 7ft chains doubled over that means you should have two 3.5ft sections hanging off on each side. Unless you have the worlds longest bench stroke you do not need that much length. I would take the chain and fold it into thirds so that you have three strands of chains at 2'4 ft on each side. When you are at lockout there should be a few pieces of chain still on the floor. At the bottom of the press you should get the majority of the chain deloaded onto the floor. If you are not deloading the majority of the chain you are not going to get the accommodating resistance necessary to make them effective.
E.) I hope you don't take any of this offensively, Im just trying to help you get the most out of training with chains.

lol no way would i take it offensively u know what ur talking bout.

basically i have a skinny ass chain looped around the bar... then i got those clip things that u use to attach the Vbar straight bar etc to a pulley u know? i got that attached too the small chain and i have the chain in looped into the clip 3 times into even pieces so that when the bar is on my chest the chain is all on the floor and as i go up the weight increases and at lockout its all off the floor...

now its not a problem to leave a couple links on the floor cuz i can adjust how i have the chain links into the clip.

however i did try to get on and weigh myself then the chains and my scales outta battery. its really dense chain so im gonna weigh it as soon as possible.

 

[rxp1997]

A.) The chain should not come all the way off the floor at lockout, a little should be left on the ground so its not swinging all over the place.
B.) Either you have some damn dense chain or something is off. Give this a try, stand on a scale and check your weight, then do it again but this time hold all of the chain. You should see the actual weight of the chain then.
C.) a 5ft section of 5/8 chain weighs about 20 pounds or 40 pound per set. If you want to start working with chain I would highly suggest just getting 5/8 sections because they would bundle up weird like smaller chains do. When I first started I bought 60ft of 3/8 chain for about $45, but I wish I would have spent the extra $40 and just bought a big chain because they work much better.
D.) If you have 7ft chains doubled over that means you should have two 3.5ft sections hanging off on each side. Unless you have the worlds longest bench stroke you do not need that much length. I would take the chain and fold it into thirds so that you have three strands of chains at 2'4 ft on each side. When you are at lockout there should be a few pieces of chain still on the floor. At the bottom of the press you should get the majority of the chain deloaded onto the floor. If you are not deloading the majority of the chain you are not going to get the accommodating resistance necessary to make them effective.
E.) I hope you don't take any of this offensively, Im just trying to help you get the most out of training with chains.

"You must spread some reputation before......"

very informative, learned something here. Never done chains or bands as I dont feel my training has stagnated and I keep making progress, but if I ever do I will certainly remember this info....

 

[pmiller383]

"You must spread some reputation before......"

very informative, learned something here. Never done chains or bands as I dont feel my training has stagnated and I keep making progress, but if I ever do I will certainly remember this info....

I absolutely love training with chains, not only do they give you a killer training session but they also don't beat you up to much like bands do. In addition to all of that they just look and sound bad @ss when you are actually using them....

 

[rxp1997]

(minor hijack)... so if I had 2 20lb chain segments, would i drop my working weight by 40lbs or less (like 30), as you are stressing the lockout and not off the chest?

 

[pmiller383]

(minor hijack)... so if I had 2 20lb chain segments, would i drop my working weight by 40lbs or less (like 30), as you are stressing the lockout and not off the chest?

For dynamic work you would still use your regular percentage for bar weight and then just add the chain. For Max Effort work you would more else use this as a different exercise and make new records for it. With the chain you may have to utilize a lower percentage for the dynamic work, but I would still keep bar weight at least forty-fifty percent of your raw max.