My speed work on bench for Aug 5th!!

Ok guys keep in mind i am new to this speed work. My old routine had worked great for me and i always said i had decent speed considering. Well i listend to you guys but tested the waters on actual speed. How?? We had a stop watch. Thats right a stop watch! Thew watch started when the bar was at lockout and right when the elbows broke it went on. Then at the lockout of the third rep it stopped. weights look like this

bar and green bands
115x 3 sets of 3
first set starts with 185 plus green bands
185 x 3 2.1 seconds (or so)
185 x 3 now i am below 2 seconds for 3 reps
185 x 3 1.5 seconds were at now!!
205 x 3 under 2 seconds
225 x 3 just over 2 seconds
245 x 3 2.2 ish!!
275 x 3 2.4 seconds! All sets had green bands double looped down.

I say this time wise cause you said westside says under 3 seconds. And i also heard they were over 3. Should i have gone up like i did if i am not losing speed? I mean fast is fast right?

One thing iam not doing is catching the weight off my chest. Its hitting my chest then i am reversing it. I just am too new to catch it. Dont think i will either. My shoulders will not allow it.

Anyway i will get the form down soon. But what do you guys think on the speed? Is this correct? After this we did board presses for reps. Grimmer came to train with Jimmie Dean and I and both guys were under 3 seconds as well. Awesome workout!!

You are a freakin bench machine!! You are like the Russian from Rocky 4, lol.

I don't think I could press the bar and no bands for 3 reps in under 2 seconds. Crazy!

hey pljay:

have you had a chance to look at my journal at any of our speed days recently? dave t said they were the appropriate speed and form.

talk soon. sorry i didnt call 2night... i got stuck at work.

/irish

So you had greens choked with a double loop? Okay so that's gonna be good tension at the top, but was there any tension at all on your chest? Once you get everything sorted out by 2 or 3 pairs of the minis.

I think that you should stick with mid 200's with the tension you are using. Say from 250 to 275. I wouldn't go any heavier, yet. Then when you get the minis use Halbert's formula.

I think the main reason they say to drop and catch the bar is so you don't bounce off your chest. I've found out for my elbows that if I just drop it, not pull it down like I used to, that my elbows don't complain. If you can do it, do it. Otherwise just do them normally without bouncing them off your chest.

Like it's been said, in the old videos they were no where near 3 seconds. I think that's only been in the last couple years that they started saying that. When looking at the workout video they were right at 3 on most sets. Then in the Secrets video they were way over that, Kenny and Halbert were both up about 4 seconds in that video. Now in the reactive video they are back right under 3 seconds again. Interestingly in the Workout videos they used up to about 335. Then in the secrets Kenny used 365 and 405. Now in the Reactive Louie uses 245 and two chains per side. So they have gone way down as they became better and more advanced.

Good luck

Jay, If you are still maintaining good speed, then your weight should be find. What is your current max BP? If you are using that weight for speed benches, then you probably have a bench somewhere in the 500's. There has been a lot of experimentation with speed benches recently. Bob Youngs formerly of Westside said that he is experimenting using a 1-board for speed benches. That way, it will take out the bottom portion of the lift (like catching the bar does), but without the ill effects of catching the bar. Other lifters have even gone to pausing speed benches. They will still do 3 reps, but more of a quick touch and go exploding the weight back up. Basically, you just have to experiment and see what fits you best.

If you haven't did the reverse/catching the bar about 2" off the chest and exploding up...I would advise you use some caution when trying it for the first time. I separated a shoulder doing it (I had AC joint problems prior though). Good luck.

Chad T.
www.CarolinaPower.net

Jay, If you are still maintaining good speed, then your weight should be fine. What is your current max BP? If you are using that weight for speed benches, then you probably have a bench somewhere in the 500's. There has been a lot of experimentation with speed benches recently. Bob Youngs formerly of Westside said that he is experimenting using a 1-board for speed benches. That way, it will take out the bottom portion of the lift (like catching the bar does), but without the ill effects of catching the bar. Other lifters have even gone to pausing speed benches. They will still do 3 reps, but more of a quick touch and go exploding the weight back up. Basically, you just have to experiment and see what fits you best.

If you haven't did the reverse/catching the bar about 2" off the chest and exploding up...I would advise you use some caution when trying it for the first time. I separated a shoulder doing it (I had AC joint problems prior though). Good luck.

Chad T.
www.CarolinaPower.net

Thanks guys ,

Irish i will check out the journal. I been lookin a videos on your site lately. I can get half to work and the others dont.

Deadlift Freak thanks bro! I turned my focus outside of my compt shirt benching and having a big raw bench to wanting to be etremelly fast!

Okie ya i used greens i had some at the bottom. Not that much though. When my bands are tied (jimmie invented it) down they (the knot) is actually 3 inches below the surface the bench is on. So its good and tight. Better then a dumbell on the floor. By at least 4 to 5 inches lower then that. I do need some mini's , but whats the difference in doubled minis or one green per side? I am no expert on this so that why i ask.

Musc2002 my contest best is 600lbs bench @235lbs. I have done well over that but have shirt problems in meets I have locked 635 in a meet. BUt i am gonna be fair on my self and not asume and use the 600lbs i got. But i saw that Bob youngs said they use the 1 board and that is a great idea. I may have to give that a try. In fact i will. Thanks for the heads up.

normally i wouldnt have gone up as heavy as i did but i wanted to see when and where my speed dropped off at. And i never went below 2.5 seconds. Grimmer and Jimmie never went over 3. So the speed was fast.

I have a confession!! Dont be mad guys. But i didnt do reps, i just wanted to see if the pec was ok and every week i have been goin up a little. I did a 450 raw single. I knwo , i know its not neccesary to do this,and i am not going to anymore. But i wanted to see how fast it was. Guess what?? It was fast!! I could tell though that i woul dnot hav egot it for my old 6 to 8 reps my endurance is down a bit, i would have been lucky to get 4 or 5 reps. But i didnt try!! But after i did my speed work i did a 315 single, 365, 405, 455. Then for the hell of it (cause i seen Ryan Kennelly does pec work) i did 315 for 16 reps. I used to do it for 20 reps on my last set of my old bench routine. So endurance is down, but thats not our focus rightnow. Anyway thanks for the tips guys. I am gonna get this speed shit down. You knwo weights, bands , percentages.

I use one mini doubled when i speed bench on my own and what Jay had set up was not far off from that both at the bottom a nd the top. I do feel however , that the minis are a better constant than the bgger bands as they set up the exact same way every time and the other way there could be some varience. Anway i thought it worked great.

Jay, I'm not sure how much resistance the greens provide on the bench, its been about 3 years since I used them for that. I use the 1 set of mini's doubled around 1 dumbbell and get 40# tension at the chest, and 75# at lockout. Some people will loop them under 2 dumbbells and get around 110# at lockout and 60# or so at the chest. I think the advantage of the mini's is that they give you the tension on the chest (something that is possible, but a little more difficult to do with the greens).

By the way, thats a hell of a bench press you have. Have you considered competing in the WPO? Scott Taylor and the APA is looking to have a lot more meets with cash prizes. Its a nice thing to have a monetary award for all the hard work that goes into training.

Chad T.
www.CarolinaPower.net

Jay, not quite sure on the tension of the greens. I'd say at lockout it was around 120ish. Don't know on the chest though.

Using Halbert's formula you should be using 144 lbs of tension. Now Halbert uses a doubled purple that adds 125lbs of tension. That might be an idea if you have a set of purple bands. If not just work with a choked down band like you are until you get some minis.

The singles afterward are a good idea. They say to stay about 70% of max. I've been working up to 75 lately, just to check speed. It's faster than a normal bench, for sure. It almost seems like the bar floats after going from chains to raw weight. It's weird.

Hope this helps somewhat. Later

All i got is green and blues. I need more. But i am gonna figur this out. As long as Grimmer comes to train we can play with different bands. If he comes Mon i will try his mini's. I would like 144 at the top!!

musc2002pa hey bro we'll play a game! I finished 4th in the last WPO bench bash for cash in the middles. And i am also qualified for this years also in New orleans. Andi am doign Scott Taylors money meet in Sept in Orlando. I love Scott Taylors meets. He is a freind of mine. I am also ranked number 1 by the APA in the 242's and hold the Fl state record in the APA, and APF at 242. Now that iam done braggin you can figure out who i am!! A little Game!! LOL. BUt thanks for the compliment. In todays bench presses mine isnt shit. And i am working on improving so i feel good about it. I used to think i was on a role but man the numbers going up these days are just unbeleivable. Ryan kennelly and George Halbert are my hero's!! Been awile since i had one of those!!

Speed is king! I am really looking forward to speed next week. Thanks for the tips. You guys are very knowledgable. But i talked with Jimmie and Grimmer and we decided to use the one board for speed. That just solves two problems we were having.

I got a 'keene' idea of who you are. Thats a pretty awesome accomplishment to compete in the WPO, that competing with the best of the best. I have pulled for Kennelly for awhile too. I can remember when he was benchin low to mid 600s, he's certainly come along way. And i definitely pull for all the guys at Westside. I went to a seminar at WSB in ohio a few years ago. Now that was a fucking experience. I got to do my speed bench workout there. I remember Chuck Vogepohl was on the bench beside ours, thats an intense lifter. No surprise that he reached the level he has. Hopefully adding the speed benches into routine will take you to the next level. Mid 600s certainly arent that far away. Keep up the good work.

Chad T.
www.CarolinaPower.net

that sounds much better PLJAY!!! I did about the same tonight..185 w/green bands...what i do is, 3 sets close, 3 medium, 2 competition grip...after that i do stability ball presses, and some cable cross overs for a pump, then some shoulder work..usually dumbell presses, laterals, and face pulls...that pretty much finishes me off! I dont go heavy on the shoulders, just 10-12 reps, and rest about 45 seconds between sets.....ohhh..i also include some seated dumbell cleans..youll love the WS stuff bro..give it a chance!!

Man i swear i did everything you just said. Speed, dumbell presses, and face pulls. I freakin love face pulls. Hey musclehed did you see my time on those? See how i did them and try it. Makes you work even faster!

Very good chad!! You win the game. Yes i agree with you i warmed up back stage with Kenny P and George and they are intense. And i will tell you what there size is deceptive. There all pretty big. Even the light ones. Thats hard training. You can give everyone the same routne , equipment, drugs , and the one withth emost intensity will make out the best.