Relearning the Bench Shirt

Here's some vids from my first shirted day since my last meet. It has never been so hard to touch my chest with this damned shirt. One of the most frustrating days at Diablo by far. You'll see on the failed 385 that I struggled going down and tried to force the last inch. Then I was able to double it. On the 405 I was so focused on touching that I did a touch and go. I'm going in the shirt one more time to hit my opener a couple of times for clean singles. 385 x f 385 x 2 405 x 1

Luke 4-14-12 USAPL Collegiate Nationals 2012

USAPL Collegiate Nationals 2012, Baton Rouge

I did not have a very good start to this meet. I got sick with cholera (not really) and threw up the night before lifting, stayed up until 2 coughing, woke up at 6:40 and weighed in light at 158 pounds. I had a bad cough the whole trip and almost threw up again between 225 and 315 when warming up for squats. Considering this, I did pretty well.

Squat

207.5 kg (457 lbs) 2 whites. 1 red for depth. easy

217.5 kg (480 lbs) 2 whites. 1 red for depth. 16 pound meet PR. This one felt pretty hard and I only would have gone up 5 kilos, but I decided to go for 500 since I already had a big lead

227.5 kg (501 lbs) 3 reds. Failed just out of the hole. I blame the cholera.

Bench

95 kg (210 lbs) 3 whites. easy

105 kg (231 lbs) whites. pretty easy. 5 pound meet PR.

110 kg (243 lbs) 3 reds. almost had it, but failed in the transition to lockout

Deadlift

195 kg (430 lbs) 3 reds. went up super fast, but I fell forward and dropped it at the top.

202.5 kg (446 lbs) 3 whites. easy. I wanted to repeat my first because I was scared, but Mis made me move up because it was so easy

217.5 kg (480 lbs) 3 whites. easy. 28 pound meet PR. Had 10+ pounds in me.

Total: 540 kg (1190 lbs) 49 pound meet PR

Pretty good meet. I definitely had more in me, but the judging was very strict and I was not feeling near my best. I hit a triple body weight squat and deadlift. Thank you everyone that helped, especially my teammates for cranking my wraps, helping me warm up, and bringing me tums and other requests, Misael for submitting my attempts and helping in general, and Dave for handling my gear, coaching, and eating my tasty cakes.

Luke 3-27-12 Bench

Shirted Bench

225 x 3

225 x 3

235 x 3 PR

Shirted 2 Board

245 x 3

255 x 3

250 x 3

Chest Supported Rows

Cable Flys

Incline Curls

Lat Pulldowns

Abs

Triceps

Luke 3-13-12 Bench

Shirted Bench

225 x 1

225 x 1

225 x 1

225 x 1 best rep, didn't slow down at lockout

235 x 1

I'm so fucked for bench. I think my only gains have come from getting stronger. I could probably hit 235 raw.

2 Board Press in shirt

245 x 2 tired by this point

225 x 3 x 2

pullovers, reverse flys, abs

Luke 3-6-12 Bench

Raw Bench

185 x 3 @ 8

195 x 3 @ 8+

205 x 3 @ 9

210 x 3 @ 10-

215 x 3 @ 10 ties PR

shirted bench

225 x 4 board, 3 board, 2 board

235 x 3 board, 2 board, chest

245 x 3 board, 3 board, 2 board

245 x 3 board, 2 board, chest fail

245 x same

245 x 1 board, 1 board fail

Dumbbell Press

45's x 8

55's x 8 x 2

Pullovers

up to 4 plates + 50 x 10

Reverse Flyes

Weighted Crunch bench

30 x 20 x 3

Luke 1-31-12 Bench

Raw Bench

205 x 1 @ 8

225 x 1 @ 10 slow lockout, but pretty smooth, ties PR

Shirted board press

245 x 4 board, 3 board x 2

255 x 4 board, 3 board x 2 added belt

265 x 3 board x 3

275 x 3 board x fail then reset, 3 board x 3 PR but with some Gregging. This is 40 pounds over my raw 3 board.

Skullcrushers

70 x 10

80 x 10 x 2

Barbell Curls

70 x 8

80 x 8

Pendlays

135 x 4 neck was hurting

135 x 5

155 x 5

Ultra Wide Grip Bench

135 x 8

155 x 8

145 x 8

Pull Ups

BW x 12, 15

Luke 1-27-12 Bench

Bench in Dave's size 48 Inzer Phenom (aka cutter) which fit about how a 42 katana fits, pretty easy to get on and touch in

185 x 4 board, 3 board, 2 board, chest

205 x 3 board, 2 board chest

225 x 1

235 x fail I got good pop off the bottom, but couldn't quite lock it out, more 2 board work...

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder press

50's x 10

55's x 10

60's x 7

65's x 5

I did some rows and pulldowns, but I was feeling really shitty and hungry so I left early... Also I waited over half an hour to start lifting.

Luke 1-24-12 Bench

Bench in my katana

225 x 3 board, 2 board, chest

225 x 2

235 x 1 PR slow ass lockout

225 x fail, fail with belt on

2 board in shirt

235 x 3

245 x 3 PR

Ultra Wide Grip Bench

155 x 8 x 3

Pendlays

135 x 5

155 x 5

175 x 5

Close Grip Lat Pulldown chinups grip

200 x 5

stack (250) x 5, 4

Triceps Pushdowns

stack (150) x 15 x 3

Shrugs

Ab Wheel

Luke Bench 1-17-12

used Greg's 42 super Katana... still suck at shirt

Bench

205 x 3board, 2 board, chest

225 x 2 board, chest x 2 PR

225 x fail

2 board press

195 x 3

205 x 3

215 x 3

ultra wide grip bench

135 x 10

155 x 8

165 x 8

Pendlay Rows

185 x 3 x 2

Weighted Chin Ups

BW + 45 x 5

BW + 90 x 4

BW + 70 x 5

Triceps

Abs

Bench 1

I hadn't put the shirt on since Men's Nationals 2010, so I thought I would try it out for fun.

315 x 2 @ 3 board
345 x 1 @ 3 board + 1 @ 2 board
365 x 1 @ 2 board + 1 @ 1 board
365 x 1
385 x 1
405 x 1 (402 was PR)
415 x 1



Not too shabby for 18 months of raw work. Probably had a few pounds left in the tank but I'll save that for another session.

Luke 11-9-11 Bench

Most humiliating day of my life :( but the workout went ok

Bench in KATANA

205 x 1 @ 8- not hard to touch

225 x 1 good

225 x 1 shitty

225 x 1 good

3 board in KATANA

235 x 3 easy

2 board in KATANA

235 x 3 easy

...

Bench

in shirt failed 205 and 215

took off shirt hit 205 x 1 @ 9

3 Board

205 x 3 easy

225 x failfuck fail someone misloaded a 35 on what was supposed to be 215

weighted chin up

BW + 1 plate x 8

BW + 2 plates x 6

BW + 3 plates x 1 PR

and who gives a fuck about the rest

luke 10-18-11 Bench

Shirted Bench

hit 225 off chest, struggled to lockout

235 off 2 board

205 off chest

I'm learning where to touch. It's hard to get the bar down and even harder to get it back up.

Luke Bench 10-11-11

Bench

225 x 4 board, 3 board, 2 board,

235 x same as above

225 x same

245 x 3 board x 3, 2nd rep was really good

245 x 3 board x 3

255 x 3 board x 3

I just want to say I hate equipped lifting, especially shirted bench

Triceps

Pendlays

up to 185 x 6

Pull ups

Overhead Shrugs

70's x 50 x 3

Luke 8-4-11 First Equipped Bench

Bench

45 x 10, 95 x 8, 135 x 5, 185 x 1

205 x 3 to 3 board (added katana)

225 x 3 to 2 board

235 x 3 to 2 board

235 x 3 to 2 board

235 x 2 to 2 board + fail to chest= got it to chest and had no pop... fuck

245 x 3 x 2 to 3 board. lockout felt decent, but needs work

Dumbbell Triceps Extension

30's x 10 x 4

Pendlay Rows

135 x 8 x 2

155 x 8

Hammer Curls

45's x 8 x 4

Overhead shrugs on shoulder press machine

60's x 50

70's x 30

80's x 30

70's x 30

70's x 30

Ab Wheel

Cycle 2 Week 3 Shirted Bench

Bench (full commands)

275 x 1 -touched too low

275 x fail -got out of the groove on the way up and went towards my face

285 x 1 -early press call about 1/4 inch off the chest

285 x 1 -good lift, but possibly too low

The weights today went up relatively easily...the hard part is touching, and touching high enough. I will probably open up with 281 instead of 275.

Cycle 2 Week 2 Shirted Bench

Sleeves were turned more inward than last week, making the shirt a little tighter. Also, after the first set, I had the shoulders seated more properly by having the back held/anchored from the inside while swimming a little more.<---probably makes no sense at all if you haven't trained in a shirt

Bench

275 x 1

285 x 1

295 x 1

305 x 1 @10

310 x 1 @10+

Still having problems with touching too low, ass coming up, and head coming up, but at least now I have a slight idea of where my projected 3rd attempt will be (somewhere around 300) assuming I can get my opener in and not bomb out...

Finished with 3 sets of bench with 155 to work technique and 4 sets of lat pulldowns.

Cycle 2 Week 1 Shirted Bench

My goal was to try and touch in the shirt today. I did, but most of the reps were too low/ugly. I didn't belt any reps today because it became clear that the shirt was too tight to touch if it's pulled down and belted.

Bench

255 x 2 ~3-4 inches away

265 x 2 ~2 inches away

275 x 1 <1 inch away

285 x 1 touched, but about 2 inches too low

295 x 1 touched a little higher, but uneven extension

All sets were @9-10. Next week I'm going to soak the shirt beforehand to try and get the shoulders seated a little better.

Finished with 4 sets of lat pulldowns.

Cycle 1 Week 2 Shirted Bench

Bench

Went without boards today to help learn the shirt groove. Also, shirt was pulled down more than last week so it was a little tighter.

255 x 2 ~4 board

275 x 2 ~4 board

295 x 2, 2 @10- ~3 or 4 board

245 x 3, 3 -lowest one was probably at 1.5 or 2 board region

4 board press

300 x 5 @9+

285 x 5

Incline dummbbell press

40s x 15

45s x 12, 12, 12

Wide grip pullups

BW x 15, 12, 10, 10

bicep bicep bicep

Cycle 1 Week 1 Shirted Bench

Shirted Bench (w/ Katana) - had the shirt pulled down for all sets after 225 and was told to belt it as well

3 board

225 x 3

255 x 3 @8

275 x 3 @9-

2 board

275 x 2 @9

295 x 1 @9+

First time in the shirt since February, and I only used it about 4 or 5 times then so I still need to touch higher and need to find the groove in the next few weeks. Bar speed was not bad though, just need to control the bar better. Surprisingly my elbows felt fine after this too.

Close grip bench

155 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 5

185 x 5 @9

Incline dumbbell bench

60s x 8, 10, 9, 8

Wide grip pullups

BW x 15, 12, 12, 10

GHR abs

BW x 4 x 10

Post-training BW: 196.2 lbs