Saturday, February 27, 2010

Bench Assistance

Standing press
105 x 5
115 x 5
125 x 3
135 x 3 -PR, last rep was a grind. Happy with the PR but honestly this exercise seems to have very little carryover to my bench.

Skull crushers
70 x 12
80 x 8, 7, 7

Flat dumbbell presses
50s x 12
55s x 10
60s x 8

Dumbbell rows
So I bought a dumbbell handle from Sports Authority but unfortunately the handle rolls and grip is kind of an issue. Additionally, the damn thing isn't long enough to hold enough weights.
122 x 8 (12 lb bar)
132 x 8
There wasn't enough room on the bar for more weight using 25s so I tried using 45s and did them standing, which worked out okay.
132 x 8
142 x 8
I could probably work with this if I do them standing from now on, but I feel it somewhat in my lower back. Considering I'll probably be using dumbbell rows for a long time to come, I think I'm gonna return it and try to find a better one that doesn't roll and is longer.

10 comments:

Scott Salomon said...

I haven't seen you do standing press, but if it's not translating to your bench, you might be using too much legs.

Matt Buttimer said...

I would have to look very closely at your bench and where your exact sticking point is. But I do know you struggle with the lockout, so while your shoulder press could be getting better you won't see a translation to your bench that much.

Say you went from being able to get 225 of your chest to being able to get 235 off your chest (all because of increased front delt strength). But if you can only lockout 225, you won't be able to see the full translation of your shoulder pressing.

Bottom line is your should keep up with the overhead pressing, but focus more on lockout movements.

I hope that makes sense.

Vit said...

@Scott, I try and make it a point not to use any legs when I do standing presses, so I'm pretty sure that isn't the issue.

@Matt, that does make sense. Basically it's getting me stronger but I'm not seeing the carryover because my weak point is more of a lockout/tricep strength issue.

Juggernaut, the said...

The top of a shoulder press is mostly lockout, so it should have some carry-over there as well.

Kyle said...

Why no dips? I thought we were starting the Great Dipping Project.

Vit said...

Ya that was the plan but I couldn't find my dip belt.

Kyle said...

Oh, and nice rowing btw. I need to catch up to you on those lol.

Juggernaut, the said...

I'm guessing this is the kind of handle you were looking for? That one won't roll at all.

Nathan Beckmann said...

I'm no bencher, but I'm absolutely terrible at standing press. Despite this, the only times I've ever made any progress on bench is when I ignored my standing press and just benched a lot.

Vit said...

@Nathan: That could be a possible solution. I think standing press is a great exercise for shoulder/overall pressing strength, but it's probably not what I need to increase my bench right now.

@Dave: I've looked at that one before, I'm just concerned that the range of motion might be a little less with the elevated handle.

I'm starting to think that my grip may have been slipping just because the weight was heavy and maybe not because of the rolling handle. Has a rolling handle made a big difference in grip for you before?