Bench Extravaganza

Today a buddy of mine joined me for some bench press training. Vinnie is a big bencher. He has managed a 355lbs raw bench at 198lbs. Today I borrowed a bench shirt from another friend and Vinnie was eager to take some big iron for a ride. Here's Vinnie's numbers

Raw Bench - 135lbs/12 reps, 225lbs/12 reps, 275lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/3 reps.
Shirt Bench - 315lbs/didn't touch easy press, 365lbs/didn't touch easy press, 405lbs/1 inch to touch easy press, 405lbs/1 inch to touch easy press.
Close Grip Bench - 225lbs/3 sets/8 reps.

Vinnie's shirt didn't fit very well. He has large arms and a smaller chest so I couldn't pull the arms up all the way and the body of the shirt was quite loose. I can imagine that if Vinnie was benching in a custom shirt that fit properly he would easily press up 200kg (440lbs). Very awesome for a guy who weighs under 200lbs.

Here's my bench work out today. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

Raw Bench - 6 sets/5 reps/225lbs.
Dips - 6, 6, 4+2 reps.
Close Grip Bench Press - 135lbs/12 reps, 185lbs/10 reps.

I also did some high rep sets.

Raw Bench - 225lbs/14 reps, 275lbs/5, 3, 1 reps.

The 225lbs for 14 reps is a new max for me. I think my previous PB was 11 or 12 reps.

Today there were a lot of serious lifters in the gym. I've thought about hosting a bench night once a month and after sharing my idea with a few of the patrons I now realize how popular an idea it is. Most of the lifters at the gym are solo lifters and would like the opportunity to work out with a training partner. I'll enjoy working on this project and make it happen soon.

Snowdaddy