Monday was a shirt day at Apollon. This was supposed to be my heaviest full range bench day of the cycle. I'll have time for one more heavy board day, then I may take an opener if I think I need it. So needless to say, a good day would be a huge confidence builder. And a bad day would f-ing suck.
I've been experimenting with my Ace bencher, having my training partner Anthony crease the material behind my triceps for more support. Liked it a lot two weeks ago, taking 715 to a two board, so I was looking forward to seeing how it would feel full range.
Warmed up raw to 315, then put the shirt on and went:
405 - 3 board
495 - 2 board
585 - 1 board
635 - touch
675 - touch
I really hadn't planned on going that far above 635, but it felt so easy I said F-it, and called for 7 plates. Below are my benches with 635 and then 675. As you can see in the video, I clipped the rack a bit at the top, but the speed was really good, especially at lockout.
I'm not concerned with the bar hitting the racks because i know what caused it. My usual hand-off man, Justin was also shirting up, so Anthony handed off for me. Anthony is very strong, but he is a fellow member of the 5-foot-nothing club, and he doesn't have the leverage to hand out all that far. So I was a little closer to the uprights to compensate. With Justin handing off at the meet, it should be smooth sailing.
I typically don't do much assistance after shirt work, because I'm usually gassed and my arms hurt. I did do 5 sets of lat pulldowns for sets of 12, and cable triceps extensions for the same sets and reps