Road to 500 Bench 200 BW

[f4iguy]

Hi all. I've been lifting for 29 years. I started strength training for wrestling at 12 then took an interest in bodybuilding. Most of my lifting journey has been focused on adding muscle while remaining under 14% bodyfat as a natural lifter. Early on I realized I have a propensity for strength. I don't enjoy powerlifting as much as hypertrophy focused training but decided about 8 years ago after encouragement from coaches to push the compound lifts and compete in powerlifting. So far I've been able to deadlift 650, squat 550 (no wraps), and I'll be hitting a lifetime PR on bench soon. My state record bench 5 years ago at 195 pounds was 442 pounds with a long pause. When I pressed 442 I was depleted from a weight cut and only had 2 minutes to warm up (1 warm up set). I was also exhausted from traveling so not my best performance. At the start of COVID I decided to focus on what I do best. Bench press. I'm currently 3 weeks into my 6 week peaking program. I'll add some videos of my progress below. My goal in 2022 is a 500 bench at no more than 205 bodyweight. Let me know if you have any questions about bench training.

Week 1: 405x9 Reps youtu.be/trRJE4kKeBM

Week 3: 405x19 Reps (across 3 sets) youtu.be/UaG69VeRnDM

Week 4: 425x5 Reps (This was my 3rd set. Set 1 & 2 were 425x4 RPE 8) youtu.be/XJGd-3JLl2c

 

[KvanH]

How tall are you, mate? You don't look like under 200 lbs in the YT clip. More like 220-230, lol. (I mean it in a good way)

To me it looks like you're using pretty narrow grip. What's your take on the optimal grip width and how to determine it individually?

 

[f4iguy]

I'm 5'6"and weight was 198 pounds this morning. A lot of people think I weigh more. You're right about the narrow grip. I benched with a wider grip for 20 years. When the weight started getting above 405 for reps my left shoulder started having issues. I took a year off from barbell benching and learned how to adjust my technique for better shoulder stability. The narrower grip enabled me to bench pain free and I eventually surpassed my wider grip bench weight.

Grip width is very individual. A good starting point would be just outside of shoulder width. A wider grip gets the pecs more involved and narrower will use the triceps to a greater extent. I could say it depends on your limb length and leverages but that hasn't been my experience. I've seen a lot of lifters with the same leverages use completely different grip widths successfully. I like the narrower grip because everything feels tighter on heavier sets. When I bench I feel it everywhere. Quads, glutes, lats, tris, etc.

A narrower grip is generally safer on the shoulders in the long run. If you aren't training at high percentages it's not as important. Jay Cutler benches super wide with lighter weight and his shoulders are in great shape. He also flares his elbows out to really target his pecs. If he used the same technique with much heavier weight his shoulder health would likely be compromised. Keeping the elbows at a 45 degree angle is essential to long term shoulder health if you're pushing heavy weights and going close to failure. The narrower grip put my elbows at that angle.

The key is listening to your body and abandoning a set the second something feels off. Sometimes a small change in grip width get things back on track. If you want a really technical breakdown of bench press technique for a powerlifter I put this video together for a client. youtu.be/0l84ISRKOGo

 

[SkRaw85]

Oh I’m definitely subbing this! Get you some!!!

 

[Hyde]

Good luck!

 

[f4iguy]

Today's top set will be 445 pounds for reps. My spotter (wife) weighs 140 pounds. Best I can do for now. Currently dealing with a muscle strain in the right forearm. The strain came from doing hanging leg raises to failure. My forearms usually burn on my 4th and final set around rep 35 but I pushed to 44 reps. I knew I should have ended the set at rep 40 but wanted to trash abs. Wound up with a strain. Best advice I have trouble following is end the set when something feels off. I push too far sometimes. Training to failure is fun but should be done sparingly. I have spoken with several champion bodybuilders including Phillip Ricardo Jr. (legend) and doug miller who stop 1-2 reps short on all sets. Dorian Yates and Ronnie hit failure all the time and paid the price with injuries. I want to be jacked until my final day so I need to do a better job of following my own advice and limit the failure sets.

 

[Hyde]

You gotta train hard, but leaving one in the tank means you get to train hard again much sooner!

 

[f4iguy]

Week 4: 445x3 Reps (This was my 3rd set. Set 1 & 2 were 410x3 and 425x3 RPE 7)

I have one minor injury but nothing to stop my benching. I strained my right forearm a couple weeks ago doing hanging leg raises. It was a stupid thing that could've easily been avoided. I was hanging from a pull up bar and wanted to go for a REP PR on my fourth set. At around rep 35 my forearms were burning and not in a good way. I pushed through the pain to get 45 reps. Great PR but stupid decision. I would estimate 3 weeks away from the exercises that hit that muscle (laterals, hanging leg raises) to fully recover. Not a big deal but could have easily been avoided. In the future I'll be reducing reps on hanging leg raises but adding an extra set to keep volume high. Lifetime bench PR comming soon!

 

[SkRaw85]

Beastin! Hell yeah man those sets looked like butter

 

[Hyde]

Your wife’s sweater the real MVP in that video! Probably where she gets her liftoff powers. Or the Chong Li references

Watching each set, you should consider raising your safeties at least one, possibly 2 holes and it won’t interfere with your current setup. The wife is a liftoff, but the pins are your safety in a miss/dump scenario. I bench in my garage same way with my wife for liftoff.

 

[f4iguy]

Your wife’s sweater the real MVP in that video! Probably where she gets her liftoff powers. Or the Chong Li references

Watching each set, you should consider raising your safeties at least one, possibly 2 holes and it won’t interfere with your current setup. The wife is a liftoff, but the pins are your safety in a miss/dump scenario. I bench in my garage same way with my wife for liftoff.

You just made me realize something hilarious. My wife had her PJs on before the Christmas sweater. I told her I would be recording and asked if she wanted to change since it would be a shared video. She came back in her festive sweater. I think she's trolling me!

 

[SkRaw85]

Well played

 

[Hyde]

That’s great stuff

 

[f4iguy]

Son has a fever. My temp is elevated 1 degree and energy is down. Small amount of congestion but not too bad. I'm taking a couple days off from lifting. Hopefully that's all I need. If I need longer I'll repeat the last week in my program before moving on. Week 5 is where I get the info. needed to determine 1RM weight in week 6. My muscles and joints feel great but beating up my CNS in the gym with a low grade fever and mild congestion is not something I plan to do.

 

[Hyde]

Son has a fever. My temp is elevated 1 degree and energy is down. Small amount of congestion but not too bad. I'm taking a couple days off from lifting. Hopefully that's all I need. If I need longer I'll repeat the last week in my program before moving on. Week 5 is where I get the info. needed to determine 1RM weight in week 6. My muscles and joints feel great but beating up my CNS in the gym with a low grade fever and mild congestion is not something I plan to do.

Hope you guys feel better soon! Keep the sodium intake up with your fluids.

 

[SkRaw85]

How ya feelin man?

 

[f4iguy]

How ya feelin man?

I'm feeling a bit better today. Protein intake is still high, sleep is good, and lots of vitamin C. I doubt I'll loose anything taking a few days but I'm going to repeat the week before going heavier next week.

 

[KvanH]

I'm feeling a bit better today. Protein intake is still high, sleep is good, and lots of vitamin C. I doubt I'll loose anything taking a few days but I'm going to repeat the week before going heavier next week.

That's usually a good plan.

 

[jinxie]

Damn, this is inspirational. You’re a fucking beast!!! In a good way!

 

[f4iguy]

Quick update. Today was my first time training in 9 days. Normally not a big deal but my body was primed for heavy weight before the forced break. Wife and both sons were sick and I had a low grade fever for several days. I took some extra time because the CNS takes a beating in this part of the peaking program. I jumped back to week 3 so I can work with 405 then progress back to the higher percentage sets next week. My physical strength is still up but mentally I have to prepare for that heavy weight again. Today's bench set was 405 for 3 sets of 6. Everything felt great! After that 3 sets of spoto presses with 285 for 5 reps each. Big fan of the Spoto press. I lower the weight quickly and pause 5 seconds 6 inches off my chest which was a previous 1RM sticking point. Next bench day will be Saturday.

 

[Hyde]

I’d say waving back makes a ton of sense here; good on you for looking at the big picture! It is coming soon enough.

 

[f4iguy]

I'm going to be getting back to the higher percentages later this week with bench. I hit a lifetime OHP PR!

 

[f4iguy]

The bench workout below is from last week. My strength was there and no aches or pains. Unfortunately... fever has returned accompanied by sore throat and major congestion. 10/10 do not recommend peaking with a child in daycare and another in preschool while staying up late for work because coworkers are on leave and **** needs to get done.

What now? Now I rest for a solid week. The good news is no changes in diet and I have no trouble eating and keeping food down. Stength usually takes 2+ weeks to drop off but my recovery ability will take a hit so time. After this week if my health is 100% I'll do two weeks with lower volume and no more than RPE 7 on any compounds. After that back to peaking so now the timeline for that lifetime 1RM bench PR is looking more like the last week of April/ first week of March.

I'm confident about 485 in late April/early March. After that I'll take 3 months to push calories a little higher and do 2 a days to pack on some additional mass. Then back to peaking. 500 will happen this year...

 

[SkRaw85]

When it rains, it pours. Looks like a solid backup plan though man. You got this!

 

[f4iguy]

When it rains, it pours. Looks like a solid backup plan though man. You got this!

Thanks brother! I have a history of not letting off the gas and it doesn't often work out lol.

 

[SkRaw85]

Thanks brother! I have a history of not letting off the gas and it doesn't often work out lol.

Same. Trial and terror.

 

[Hyde]

Thanks brother! I have a history of not letting off the gas and it doesn't often work out lol.

But you are learning how to navigate better! That is the key. Niggles, injuries, illness, life stressors beyond your control will rear their heads - it’s our job to learn how best to avoid what we can, and pivot whenever the rest inevitably hit.

I believe in you! Bide your time & keeping doing what needs done.

 

[f4iguy]

But you are learning how to navigate better! That is the key. Niggles, injuries, illness, life stressors beyond your control will rear their heads - it’s our job to learn how best to avoid what we can, and pivot whenever the rest inevitably hit.

I believe in you! Bide your time & keeping doing what needs done.

Great point! That's a win. I know for a fact 2 years ago I wouldn't have been able to follow my current recovery plan. My mom used to say I would break myself to achieve a goal. Now I have the ability to think further down the road and possibly achieve an even greater goal with patience.

 

[Hyde]

Great point! That's a win. I know for a fact 2 years ago I wouldn't have been able to follow my current recovery plan. My mom used to say I would break myself to achieve a goal. Now I have the ability to think further down the road and possibly achieve an even greater goal with patience.

When you realize the only way to achieve your goal is to NOT break, it all becomes a lot more clear. It’s about durability and perseverance!

 

[jinxie]

Good god that 225x7 OHP was impressive! And we’re you really benching 405 lbs without a spot, lol — I only saw your wife in the first set for 8?

You look a lot bigger than 200 lbs!

 

[Hyde]

Good god that 225x7 OHP was impressive! And we’re you really benching 405 lbs without a spot, lol — I only saw your wife in the first set for 8?

You look a lot bigger than 200 lbs!

When you aren’t particularly tall and keep your bodyfat down low, 200lbs can be a very muscular weight indeed!

 

[f4iguy]

I need to start a new thread. Ben Pollack invited me to The Amarican Pro! He'll be coaching me through the peak and handling me at this livestreamed event. Haack will be in the house putting it on the platform. I have some BIG plans for this meet. Right now I'm 4 months out. Here's a recent video of high bar and paused squats.

 

[Hyde]

Very exciting stuff man; post a link here when you make the new training log. Ben seems like a cool dude; always enjoyed his YouTube content and podcasts I’ve heard him on.

Squats looked super easy for you! I do think they will be too high for competition as is, but you have a lot of time and only need to get them just there that day on those 3 attempts, with 2/3 whites. When I could squat 450x10, I was able to do 600 in the gym before 617 at the meet. I expect you can do over 600 right now, or at least if you ramped up over a few weeks, so you should expect some big things coming this meet!

Also, I have that exact shirt in that color. It’s a great squat shirt

 

[f4iguy]

Very exciting stuff man; post a link here when you make the new training log. Ben seems like a cool dude; always enjoyed his YouTube content and podcasts I’ve heard him on.

Squats looked super easy for you! I do think they will be too high for competition as is, but you have a lot of time and only need to get them just there that day on those 3 attempts, with 2/3 whites. When I could squat 450x10, I was able to do 600 in the gym before 617 at the meet. I expect you can do over 600 right now, or at least if you ramped up over a few weeks, so you should expect some big things coming this meet!

Also, I have that exact shirt in that color. It’s a great squat shirt

Thanks for the info! I was hoping to just go for a bench record but he convinced me full meet top 3 is also doable. The judge at my last meet actually said I went too far down. I'm having trouble getting into low bar position with all the extra mass on my upper body. It was easy when I was 15 pounds lighter and bench was a bit lower but now I spend extra time just getting my shoulder loosened up. My hand position used to be much narrower.

 

[Hyde]

Thanks for the info! I was hoping to just go for a bench record but he convinced me full meet top 3 is also doable. The judge at my last meet actually said I went too far down. I'm having trouble getting into low bar position with all the extra mass on my upper body. It was easy when I was 15 pounds lighter and bench was a bit lower but now I spend extra time just getting my shoulder loosened up. My hand position used to be much narrower.

Some of the best squatters ever were fairly hi bar; if you are strong enough to maintain position with it then it’s totally fine. Many of the old multiply guard hitting 1,000+ squats did not have the bar far down at all; you wanted the weight right over those canvas suits.

Plus keeping the bar higher is way less likely to eat into your benching, which is your special strength, so another positive.

 

[f4iguy]

Some of the best squatters ever were fairly hi bar; if you are strong enough to maintain position with it then it’s totally fine. Many of the old multiply guard hitting 1,000+ squats did not have the bar far down at all; you wanted the weight right over those canvas suits.

Plus keeping the bar higher is way less likely to eat into your benching, which is your special strength, so another positive.

Thanks brother. Good to know. I won't mess about forcing low bar when this feels more comfortable.

 

[f4iguy]

480 pounds flew up! Check it out. Ben is predicting ATWR.

I'll be competing at The American Pro (full meet, sleeves) on July 30th. I'm working with Ben Pollack to peak for the competition. Stats are 41, 5'7" (with my Adipowers), 205 pounds. I'll be competing at 90kg (198 pounds). John Haack will be there and many new world records are going to happen. It's going to be awesome!

 

[Hyde]

Lookin’ joocey man, and so did that press! Very pretty lift. Hoping for big things coming at this meet for you!

Really enjoyed the kids getting excited too!

 

[BBiceps]

What’s your cycle for this competition?

 

[f4iguy]

Lookin’ joocey man, and so did that press! Very pretty lift. Hoping for big things coming at this meet for you!

Really enjoyed the kids getting excited too!

Thanks Hyde!

 

[f4iguy]

What’s your cycle for this competition?

I sent you a message.

 

[SkRaw85]

That gonna be a banger of a comp, with some legends as well!

 

[BBiceps]

What happened here, gave up on the log or stopped training for the big bench?

 

[f4iguy]

Well, I didn't hit the lifts I was planning. The weight cut and some not so great news three days prior to competing tanked my performance. My walk around weight is about 210. I weight in at 197.5lbs. I had some digestion issues the day after weigh-in and wasn't able to get my weight back up where Ben and I planned. Overall it was still pretty awesome! Fist bumping Haack between attempts, connected with lots of cool people, got invited to a local gym with some top level lifters too. If anybody's wondering Haack is super cool in person. We chatted a few times about balancing work (he's a chemist) with lifting and everything else in life. I asked for a pic and he said sure then asked if I wanted to head over to a better spot across the room. Here's a couple videos. First is 490x2 bench (best was 500x2 paused but no video) second in my recap of lifts with video from the meet. Will I go after it again? Absolutely. I need to be more present with family and work is busy. The fire is still there and I have a game plan. I was about an inch from the world record and I know even with the rough week before the meet it would have been there if I had more time to hammer triceps with heavier weight. We kept the tricep work pretty moderate until the last few weeks to play it safe after recovering from the tendinitis. Have a great week!

490x2 Bench Press

The American Pro

 

[dapack]

Great recap of the meet. Sucks you had some issue going on. Still can't believe you weighed in at 197lbs. You look like the Hulk!!

 

[f4iguy]

Great recap of the meet. Sucks you had some issue going on. Still can't believe you weighed in at 197lbs. You look like the Hulk!!

I've heard that throughout my life. Back when I wrestled at 135 in HS people thought I was 160. At 210 people think I'm around 225. It's the smaller joints with peaky muscle structure. My wrestling partner was a Teen National bodybuilding champ. He made a video with Kevin Levrone. Brett did a few magazines interviews and my name came up. A guy from iron man called. I answered a few questions and he said my structure was better than Brett's for bodybuilding. I had bigger arms, shoulder width, and smaller waist. I wasn't even lifting for hypertrophy at the time. Crazy he basically said I would be a champion if I wanted it. I didn't at the time. My focus was making money while going to college and getting A's to make even more money at a better career without any debt upon graduating. I achieved that goal and realized my purpose which is helping people in the field of education and coaching lifters.