Bench. Tuesday, 10/19/10.

**** WEIGH-IN: BODY WEIGHT AT 139LBS ... THIS IS BEFORE WORKOUT AND BEFORE DINNER ****

--> GOT MY WEIGHT BACK UP + 2 MORE POUNDS!! I'VE BEEN EATING A LOT.

Bench 3x3 (with pauses)
145 --> P.R.!!!
155x2 + fail --> P.R.!!!!
145 (tough)
-> I know that I can hit hit a triple at 155 (I failed on 3rd rep about halfway up). Given my 1 rep PR is 160, this was a huge jump for me. 145 for the first triple felt really controlled!! My bar pop off the chest is getting way better. I credit this to the extra long pause bench.

Foam Roller Bench 4x5
160 --> P.R.!!!
150
150
155

Push Press 4x5
75
75
80
80
-> stayed moderate with these. wanted to focus on form. didn't go heavy.

Pullover Machine 4x8
180 = 4 plates
180
180
180

Cable Rows 2x15
100
100
-> slow and controlled, to get blood flow through elbows. elbows feeling mostly better. little pain.

Rear Delt Flys 2x10
12s
12s

Light Hammer Curls 2x10
12s
12s
-> very light, very slow and controlled, simply to get blood flow through elbows.

Cable Ab Crunches 3x10
80
80
80

Lateral Delt Raises 2x10
12s
12s

Forearm Fingertip Holds
2 sets with the 25 plates
-> lasted about 10 seconds each set, forearms fatigued!!

Running
-> 1 mile at 9:20 pace on track, slow and easy

Meeting 148lb World Champion Narbe Mansourian who has benched 392lbs raw

I've heard about Narbe at my local home gym here in the valley by Tujunga, Ca (north of Glendale/Burbank). There are pictures of him on the wall. Last night, I finally got to meet him and see him bench!!

Narbe has been WORLD CHAMPION for his RAW BENCH 5 times if not more. Very friendly person. Gave me a lot of great tips. He is now 34 and teaches math to eager middle school students. He lifted his 392lb world record raw bench back in 2004. Today, I got to see him hit some real easy singles at 335 in a loose sweatshirt, jeans, and sandals. He took a lot of the summer off due to an injury.

I asked him about his TRAINING PROGRAM and he informed me that he trains 2-3 days a week. 2 days a week he flat benches. 1 heavy day (filled with 5-8 sets of singles/doubles/triples depending how he feels). 1 light day (filled with 8-12 sets of 10-15 reps). On both heavy or light day, he will do some tricep work afterwards. Narbe said he does not incline bench or shoulder press and hasn't for the past 3-4 years. Flat Bench and Tricep Work are his bread and butter and it obviously works very well for him given his lift. If he goes a third day in the week, he will do some calf raises and other accessory work that will further help his bench.

3 a Days - Bench, Short Run, and Back. Tuesday, 9/14/10

Bench 3x3 (with pauses)
135 @ 9
145 @ 10(can't tell if spotter helped. if so, I should have it next time. if not, PR)
135 @ 9

Incline Bench 3x4 (with pauses)
115 @ 9
115 @ 9
125 @ 10 --> P.R.!!!!

-> USED A SLIGHTLY NARROWER GRIP THAN MY NORMAL FLAT BENCH GRIP by placing my middle fingers on the rings instead of my pointer fingers ... my shoulder press is pretty weak relative to my incline bench ... and my 4 rep PR on flat bench (with pauses) is 135 while my 4 rep PR on incline is now 125 ... SO HAS MY INCLINE JUST GOTTEN REALLY STRONG OR SHOULD I USE A SLIGHTLY NARROWER GRIP ON MY FLAT BENCH TOO??? -maybe I've been a little wide all this time not fully utilizing my chest capacity and tricep lockout since my arms are so far apart??

Dumbell Shoulder Press 2x8
35s @ 10
35s @ 10
-> bringing dumbells all the way down and all the way up

Tricep Pull-aparts
-> with rope attachment, elbows slightly aggravated
80 x 10
70 x 12

********* DROVE HOME **********

2 Mile Run
-> Effort @ 9 ... pretty tough, breathing fairly hard throughout last mile. couldn't really run that fast though.
-> I want to increase my cardiovascular health but without losing too much body weight (I'm happy staying right around 132 for now) so I went for a run. Don't worry I ate a bowl of ice cream later to replenish the calories burned!!

********* LATER, AFTER DINNER **********

Bent-Over Rows 4x3
135 @ 10
135 @ 10
135 @ 10
135 @ 10

Weighted Pullups (Hammer Grip) 3x4
BW + 45 @ 10
BW + 45 @ 10
BW + 45 @ 10

Open Grip Semi-Bent-Over Rows 3x5
-> did these to get some more back work and make the biceps feel loved
easy curl bar + 50lbs each side @ 9
easy curl bar + 50lbs each side @ 9
easy curl bar + 50lbs each side @ 9

Hammer Grip Curls 3x8
27.5s
27.5s
275.s

Reverse Grip Banded Curls (no weight, just the purple band)
2x10 all the way up
2x10 going halfway up and pausing, then back down

Front Shoulder Raises 2x15
-> one set with about 15lbs weight each arm, second set with bands and pausing at top

Lateral Shoulder Raises 2x15
-> with about 15lbs weight each arm

Rear Delt Flys 2x15
-> with about 10lbs weight each arm