On February 17, 2001, Dave Tate opened up the Q&A section on the EFS server to find the following inquiry:

“Dave, I am an 18 year-old powerlifter in the 220 class. I have been doing the Westside routine for 6 months now and my bench has gone from 405 to 445. I have been using a Heavy Duty shirt for my competitions. However, I have lost 12 pounds since I bought the shirt and it is loose. My question is how long should I train with a novice shirt before I move to a better shirt, and secondly, how long will this shirt last(# of competitions). Thanks for your help. Scott Yard”

To say things have changed a bit since Scott Yard’s “novice” days would be drastically understating the case. Truth be told, Scott’s powerlifting career has evolved to the point where he’s considered by most to be one of the absolute best in the sport – an argument supported by his astounding 2605 total – 1050 squat, 840 bench and 715 deadlift – in the 275 lbs. class.

Always accessible to EFS readers and customers for rock-solid advice and wisdom – accessible even by powerlifting standards – Scott’s training log is one of the most popular on the EFS website, and his down-to-earth “good guy” style of answering questions on the Q&A is something you should definitely check out if you’re looking to maintain some perspective while moving your total northward.

What’s been going on with you lately?

Right now life is going great. I just got married in April, and my wife and I are expecting our first baby. Work is good and everyone in my family is healthy. 

I’m coming off a pretty good year of powerlifting. In late ’06, I had a great day with a 2605 total at 275 as a junior with an 840 bench in a full meet. With that bench, I got my invite to the Arnold and ended up benching 827 for third place. I even took a shot at the world record. It crushed me, but it doesn’t hurt to miss. Once I did that meet, I decided it was time to get some perspective on my lifestyle and get a bit more healthy. 

At that time I was routinely over the 290 mark, cutting fifteen pounds in a day to make the 275 class. This was great for my lifting, but when I was at the Arnold and leaving the stage, I found myself out of breath and sweating when all I was doing was standing there watching other people move. I decided in 2007 that 290 was not where I wanted to be, and that I needed to lose weight.  I needed to drop at least twenty pounds. Not that 270 at 5’8” is great, but shit...it isn’t nearly as bad as 290. So, knowing my numbers would drop, I took the plunge anyway.

By July I was down to 270, and competed in IPA worlds. I got in my opener of 775 there, then missed two shots at 830. Not great, but a good starting point. 

Then it was time for the Pro-Am - the biggest of the big. A chance for everyone to get together and show their stuff. This was a fine idea by Louie (Simmons), and it was done the right way - good judging, timed flights, all cash. I weighed in for this meet at 268 and ended up taking third with 2455. I didn’t get any PR’s, but I played my own game and ended up walking away with some nice cash. I was buried by my opening squat of 955, then crushed it on the second but was an inch high. Instead of shooting for 1025 or 1055 as planned, we decided to stay at 955 to get one in for sure. I got my third in, went on to bench 800 in a full meet again, and finished with a 700 pull. This wasn’t a PR but it was what I needed to place. I then went on to compete at the IPA Nationals in the bench only, finishing the year with an 805 bench. 

As of now, I’m training for the Lexen Xtreme Pro-Am in January. I was not planning on doing any meets until mid-2008, but after I saw the lineup I just had to sign up for it. I want to compete against the best, and I want to be known as one of the best. To do this, you have to pick meets with the best competition and the highest quality of lifters. Training is going pretty well. I’m piggybacking my bench from Nationals training and acting as if the meet cycle is still going. We just got a monolift, so hopefully my squat is on the up and up. I just pulled a PR deadlift of 675 for a triple, so hopefully a PR will be there as well. 

Q&A:

If you had to pick just one exercise to raise your bench, which would it be, and why?

Without a doubt, board presses. Board presses not only strengthen your lockout, they also teach you how to work the groove of a bench shirt. They’re also great for raw benchers because they overload your lockout while taking the strain off your shoulders and tie-ins.

If you’re in a shirt, the higher boards 3-4-5 are going to be the most effective. If you’re going raw, stick to the 1-2-3 boards. Chains and bands are also great tools for this if you have them. If not they can be ordered on the EFS website.

If I’ve examined every aspect of my bench program and found that my biggest problem is leg drive, what tips can you offer for that?

Leg drive to some, including me, is one of the most important parts of the bench.

I like to get my feet under me slightly, flat on the floor, almost as though I’m sitting on a squat box. I get my feet set, then I adjust my body to where my legs are tight and almost uncomfortable.

When I get the bar in my hands, I begin to drive my heels away from the ground, almost like to a knee extension while doing a leg press. By doing this I can rotate my upper body up onto my upper back and traps. This immediately shortens my stroke and gives me great leverage to bring the bar down. Once the bar touches the chest, begin to push even harder anticipating the press command. Once that’s given, kick it up as hard as you can.

The best way to know if you're doing this right is to lay down with a t-shirt on and bench with an empty bar. IF you push away from the ground and towards the bench you should slide down the bench head first.

Now take your shirt off, put some stick-um all over your upper back and do it again. Your upper back will stay planted but your torso will rotate and raise your chest.

What are your thoughts on weight releasers?

Currently I don’t use them, but I do think they have a place in training. Before I got into the shirt game, I trained primarily raw and the releasers were a staple in my routine.

Their main advantage is that they will make you stronger. Weight releasing is one of the best ways to build explosive and starting strength. With the weight releasers you can add as much weight to the top and eccentric phase of the lift as you want. At the reversal point the weight releasers kick off the bar to allow you to finish the concentric phase of the lift.

For me, they increased my stability, made me more confident bringing down big weights, and they taught me how to explode out of the bottom. As for negative results, I didn’t experience any personally so I’m drawing a blank there.

Give them a shot. Another tool for the toolbox is always good.

If you were doing a raw bench meet, how would you set up your training?

I would most likely change everything. To me, to be a successful raw bencher, you have to accomplish one thing: NOT BURN OUT. We have all seen this and done it. Too much raw work causes injuries and overtraining.

First off, I would never actually max in a raw attempt for the entire training cycle. In fact, I would never go above 85-90%. I would alternate two workouts. One would be 5 singles at 85-90%, making an effort to make each rep look exactly the same. Doing this will keep your body fresh and hopefully give you a feeling of being undertrained in the movement. The second workout would consist of a light rep day. Two sets at 80% for as many as you can do (maybe 10). This workout will allow you to strain in the movement using submaximal weights.

Next, after your raw bench work, I would pick three additional exercises. I would alternate one each week. These should be geared toward your weaknesses. If you have a mid-transition problem, 2 boards, low pin presses, or floor presses would be the way to go. On these exercises, go for max triples. Since we’re not killing ourselves on the raw bench, more volume will be useful here.

The last exercise would be a dumbbell movement, done for high reps for hypertrophy. Pick one and go three sets of 15-20.

Finally, be sure to hit the accessories – lats, delts, arms, and grip. Give equal attention to these bodyparts and you should be good.

This is how I would do it for my bench. Maybe it can help yours out as well. The goal of the workout is to keep me from overtraining my raw bench, while strengthening it at the same time. By staying away from singles and high volume raw work, I’ll stay injury free, yet still be going crazy with my second exercises, which typically have less exposure to injury.

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