What is it about the not-so-humble bench press? It must be one of the most popular weight training exercises around. In my local gym, over a period of a year I must have seen only 3 individuals using the pull-up bar - but the bench press? That was almost always occupied.
Glamour Sport?
The sport of powerlifting comprises 3 lifts - the squat, deadlift, and bench press. However only one of these has it's own special competition. Yes... there are bench press champs (but no dedicated squat or deadlift champs).
Bench Press Goals
I always thought that being able to press your body weight was a great achievement. That is until I came across a CrossFit workout that left me staring like a goldfish. I'll call it Bench Press Extreme... you'll soon see why.
Bench Press Extreme
So you thought you were good at the bench press? Try this:
Scalability
I thought I was doing okay being able to get out one rep of body weight. Boy do I know nothing.
Of course, with all such workouts they need to be scaled right down to appropriate weights. Also, the reps must be done in whatever fashion possible. In the 21 rep round, for example, you might do 7-7-7 - but form should never be sacrificed.
As with many CrossFit workouts, the stopwatch is running - this provides a benchmark.
Reality Check
What did I do? I scaled the weight right down. All rounds were severely broken up. Pull-ups very quickly turned into jumping pull-ups. On round number 5 I hit utter failure, and needed a spotter to lift the weight off (okay you can stop laughing now!). After that I gave up. But next time... next time... I will complete the Bench Press Extreme!
Glamour Sport?
The sport of powerlifting comprises 3 lifts - the squat, deadlift, and bench press. However only one of these has it's own special competition. Yes... there are bench press champs (but no dedicated squat or deadlift champs).Bench Press Goals
I always thought that being able to press your body weight was a great achievement. That is until I came across a CrossFit workout that left me staring like a goldfish. I'll call it Bench Press Extreme... you'll soon see why.
Bench Press Extreme
So you thought you were good at the bench press? Try this:
- Seven rounds bench pressing your body weight:
- Number of reps each round: 21 - 18 - 15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3
- In between the bench press rounds, do the same amount of pull-ups.
Scalability
I thought I was doing okay being able to get out one rep of body weight. Boy do I know nothing.
Of course, with all such workouts they need to be scaled right down to appropriate weights. Also, the reps must be done in whatever fashion possible. In the 21 rep round, for example, you might do 7-7-7 - but form should never be sacrificed.
As with many CrossFit workouts, the stopwatch is running - this provides a benchmark.
Reality Check
What did I do? I scaled the weight right down. All rounds were severely broken up. Pull-ups very quickly turned into jumping pull-ups. On round number 5 I hit utter failure, and needed a spotter to lift the weight off (okay you can stop laughing now!). After that I gave up. But next time... next time... I will complete the Bench Press Extreme!
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1 Comments:
I just tried the Bench Press Extreme workout for the first time.
I am a bench press lover for eons and was able to do the bench press part without a hitch. However, the added pull-up part was too much. I was able to do 21-12-6-6-6-6-10, but would have to practice to complete the entire routine.
Another great test of pure strength is the combination of the number of times you can bench press your own body weight AND your max bench press. In my prime (at 148) I was able to do my own weight 52 times AND a max of 405 (which was considered a 40-400). I am still able to do well over 30 reps and 300 (which is considered a 30-300).
Is there anybody out there who can join the 30-300 club, or for that matter, the 40-400 club??? If so, send me an e-mail for membership... ; ) (DoctorLev@mac.com)
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Doctor Lev at 6:38 AM
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