I needed a gym to work out at during break, and I found Orange County Strength Club on PLwatch. It's a mile from my house in a guy's garage. The owner, Manny, is pretty cool and said he lets guys work out for free...as long as they respect the equipment, the other lifters, and maybe bring in some waters to fill the fridge up.
The gym is a legit powerlifting gym...as you can tell if you look at the web site. They do equipped bench Mondays, deadlift Tuesday, bench Thursdays, and squats Saturday.
There was a girl putting up 300lbs, and a guy named Dennis that put up 585lbs...and he realized afterward that he had the wrong shirt on. It's an old one that's a size too big.
Also, a few of the guys that work out there remember UCLA Powerlifting from the Push-Pull at Venice Beach. Props to Dave for the shirts and to everyone for kicking butt.
Anways, I worked out last week unequipped. I hit 235 for a few triples, and Manny was really surprised when I told him the most I've hit equipped was 255. He said I should work in the shirt with them next week (today). They gave me a lot of good pointers, as equipped benching seems to be their specialty.
135x1x5
155x1x4
175x1x4
185x1x3
205x1x3
225x1x1
Shirted:
245x1x3 off of 3 boards
255x1x3 off of 2 boards
265x1x3 off of 2 boards
275x1x2 off of 1 board
285x1x2 belted, off of 1 board
245 was a terrible set, but I started feeling better and better as I did a few more sets, focusing on keeping my arch, driving with the legs, keeping everything tight, spreading the bar. I felt like I was actually feeling the groove of the Katana.
On a few of the reps I felt my butt come off the bench, and I need to work on making sure I touch high enough to get white lights. However, I was still extremely happy with this workout.
A 300 lb. bench @132 doesn't seem so impossible after all.
4 comments:
Nice! That's some amazing progress to hit 285 off a 1 board. 300 is definitely doable, which is really impressive.
What kind of pointers did the guys give you about the shirt?
They had me really focus on spreading the bar, which helped keep my back tight and prevented my arms from folding accordion style.
With my first set, my elbows bent as if I were doing a skull crusher...and I was fighting against the shirt. Bending my elbows like that is probably how I was able to touch with 255. I don't know if this makes sense, but I think I was keeping my elbows in without really tucking them correctly.
They also noticed that my arch would go as the rep or set progressed, so they emphasized driving my feet down to help keep the arch.
A lot of things they were telling me I've heard before and have tried to utilize, but these guys knew what to look for and how to correct it. Apparently, the guy who benched 585 came in only benching about 400 unequipped.
Wow. That gym looks friggin sweet. Nice work on the bench Dean. Please don't get stronger than me.
Good work Nemesis
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