maxing out

[DemonInside]

i'm going to be entering a bench competition next month and looking for some tips on maxing out on the bench.

i did 350 pretty easy a few weeks ago and that was like my 8th set

at the competitions how do these guys warm up?

i've never started a lift cold i usually start at 225 for 10 255 for 10 then 285 for 6 300 for 4 then 335 for 1 and 350 for 1

but i know that i could definitly do more if i didn't do all these sets but just don't want to hurt my self so what do you guys think?

i've never been to one of these competitions so i don't know if you have weights to warm up with or what

thanks in advance

[Dude-Man]

wow, you max after all that? That's practically a whole workout.

My max bench is 345. (not that much, i know)

When i max, I do the bar for 5, 135 for 4, 225 for 1, 285 for 1. Then i go for a personal best.

[DemonInside]

i feel stronger after doing that which sounds wierd but i 'll try something like 225 for 5, 315 then so on

[Benches505]

I find that warming up with very light weight helps me out more when maxing than if I were to warm up with medium weight.

I hit 12 reps with something extremely light and then I'm ready to max.

[rockinred]

Everyone is different. I am not sure if there is really a fool proof method. I know there are probably some pretty proven methods that work good. I maxed at 355 this past friday. I had to warm up with pec dec real real light to stretch chest. Then I warmed up with 135x10, 225X8, 315X4 and then went for my best. This sounds like a lot, but the 135 really doesn't count. 225 is the warm up and 315 just to feel it, then boom. I know some that jump right into it after a minimal warm up, but I need to get going. When I was younger it seemd that it would be wasted energy on the 315, but now it is a lot different. I don't know maybe it's the age? maybe it's the weight? I couldn't do that much when I was lifting in the Army. Experiment a little. My form is perfect now and when I was young I would through everything into the lift just to say I got up X amount.

[UberSteroids]

wow, you max after all that? That's practically a whole workout.

My max bench is 345. (not that much, i know)

When i max, I do the bar for 5, 135 for 4, 225 for 1, 285 for 1. Then i go for a personal best.

This is the way to go! Not only to max out, but for lifting where last set would be about %80-90 of the 1 rep max.

[Renesis]

Theres another little trick you can do also. (Not for contest, but for training its good). After you warm up load up the bar with 10% more than your max and have someone spot you very carefully while you put up the weight. Your max should be easier to do and you should be able to lift it more times. I do this to improve my bench since our college dumbbells end at 100lbs (wtf?)