It's been about a year now since I've competed and I have the itch again. I used to look at rankings and such when I competed, but now, I'm doing it just for myself. Well, kind of.
My training partner Karsten will be competing also. He's a particularly large land mammal tipping the scale at 400 lbs. So I had the fun idea that we could compete against each other with me weighing in at 198. I think it will serve to motivate us both. The loser has to buy the Reese's Big Cups with the Reese's Pieces in them of course.
On to the program. I have used a number of 5/3/1 variations for bench meets. This is a culmination of what has worked best. Each individual day is followed up with notes giving some insight to the what and the why.
MONDAY - DYNAMIC BENCH
-Dynamic bench with football bar 8x3
-Football bar tri ext 3-5 sets of 10
-Inverted rows 3-5 sets of 10-15 (add weight as necessary)
-Band pushdowns 3 sets of 15
-Band pullaparts 3 sets of 15
I am using dynamic bench instead of the traditional OHP day because I have never experienced carryover from the press to the bench. Conversely, I have strict pressed 405 lbs in competition. That was a result of all of the benching I have done. My bench drives up my OHP, not vice versa.
Anyway, regarding speed work. My bench has always been best when I have been able to incorporate speed work into it. I won't necessarily go by a set percentage either. I keep pushing the weights and resistance as long as it's moving fast. When I hit my first 600 raw bench my top sets of dynamic bench was with 365 and multiple bands. I am using the football bar to save my shoulders and pecs. Two days a week on a straight bar is too much for my body to handle.
I will start with the 3/5/1 plan as far as percentages. So week 1 will be 70% of TM for 8x3. Week 2 will be 65%. Week 3 will be 75%. Adjustments to the numbers will happen on the fly if necessary.
Nothing revolutionary with the assistance. I have always done well with extensions. Since I am on the football bar, I'm staying with that bar. Extensions are extensions in my book whether they be Tate presses, rolling dbl extensions, etc.
For back I love inverted rows. They are great to attack the upper back without compromising the lower back. I put my legs up on a chair and add chains to make them more difficult. I know 5/3/1 loyalists will want to do pullups, but pullups are not the best back work for benching. Rows are king here. Jim and I have even discussed this.
The band pushdowns and pullaparts are just for some finishing work. I like pumping some blood to my triceps, shoulders, and upper back at the end of a session
WEDNESDAY - CORE WORK
CIRCUIT:
-Rear elevated split squat 5 sets of 10 (each leg)
-Back raise 5 sets of 10
-Pullup 5 sets of 10
-Glute ham raise 5 sets of 10
-Roman chair situps 5 sets of 10
As I am entering a bench only meet I will be both squatting and deadlifting on Saturday. This allows for the greatest amount of rest for my 5/3/1 bench day on Friday's. Squatting and deadlifting on the same day is not fun, so I never feel like doing assistance afterwards. So I took some of the assistance work, especially those exercises that really help keep my body healthy and put them in a circuit. I already learned that if I keep this work bodyweight only, I have no problem recovering from it.
I have gone into detail in my log posts about how each one of these exercises serves an important function in keeping my body healthy. If you don't read regularly, shame on you.
FRIDAY - 3/5/1 BENCH
-Bench 3/5/1
-Close grip bench with shoulder saver and bands 3-5 sets of 3-6 reps
-Inverted barbell rows 5 sets of 10 (add weight as necessary)
-Band pushdowns 3 sets of 15
-Band pullaparts 3 sets of 15
The bench is titled 3/5/1 because those are the percentages I follow. Week one is at the 3 rep percentages with the rep max at 90% of TM. Week two is at the 5 rep percentages with the rep max at 85% of TM. Lastly, week 3 is the rep max with 95% of TM. Those of you who really know 5/3/1 programming know this is to give you a break between the heavier percentage weeks.
The close grip shoulder bench is extra volume sets like with Wendler's FSL work. For back I went with inverted rows again, but with the regular bar as opposed to the Monday workout with the football bar. This changes the angles and muscle stimulation a bit. The pushdowns and pullaparts are just there to pump some blood for recovery, same as on Monday.
SATURDAY - 3/5/1 DEADLIFT AND SQUAT
- Safety bar box squat 3/5/1 with 3x5 FSL
- Dead squat bar/Trap bar dl 3/5/1 with 3x5 FSL
- Ab wheel rollouts 5x10
Here is the fun day of squatting and deadlifting. It's even more joyous that I do it Saturday morning following right after my Friday night bench. No rest for the wicked. Due to the fact that I am entering a bench meet and not a full meet, I am using the 5 pro program with no max rep sets. This will help keep me from overly taxing my CNS. I'm also using an 85% TM instead of a 90 to help. Threw in some ab wheel to finish up with the core. Pretty self axplanatory.
This is a twelve week plan, but will be reevaluated at the end of each block/month. It is inevitable that there will be tweaks. It is rare if even at all possible to run through an entire meet cycle without some adjustments. Stay tuned.
