A Top 40 Weightlifting Blog

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Bench Press

Another great day in the SANCTUM pressing my little heart out. I went a bit crazy again but the strength was there so I used it.

Warm Up
Stretching.
Bench Press - 2 sets/12 reps/135lbs, 225lbs/8 reps.

Power Phase
Bench Press - 4 sets/1 rep/295lbs, 2 sets/1 rep/325lbs.

Pump Phase
Bench Press - 4 sets/5 reps/235lbs, 2 sets/4 reps/235lbs.

Core Work
Sit Ups - 4 sets/15 reps.

I didn't use wrist wraps for any of the sets and I didn't have any problems. My strength is definately increasing. Thanks Doug Hepburn!!!

Snowdaddy

5 comments:

Colin Hayes said...

I've been reading your blog for awhile. Very interesting to follow your training. I'm just getting started in powerlifting. I recently downloaded the Doug Hepburn book. Seems like you're making good progress with his program. Would you recommend it to a beginner?
Good luck with your training!
Colin

Snowdaddy said...

No I wouldn't. If you are a true beginner focus on technique and not so much on strength. Hook up with someone who's been in the trenches and know who to squat, bench, and deadlift. Once you are confident in your lifts, ie you have the same set up and movement everytime, then this routine will work wonders for you. I guess than would make you a novice lifter.
Another factor to consider is how much you supplement and with what. I'm not here to judge but if you are using steroids this program won't move quick enough for your gains. If you are like me and train almost natural (vits and pro powder) then this program will be great Doug Hepburn really knew what he was doing.
Thanks for the comment and encouragement.
Rob

Colin Hayes said...

I'm completely natural (I use whey protein and creatine, and that's it). I've been lifting for awhile on and off, but never really worked on building strength. My current best lifts are: Bench 205lbs, Dead 313lbs, and Squat 205lbs (laughable, I know, but I spent many years as a distance runner). Still putting on some body weight, too, which should help. I think I'll continue working on my form, as you suggest, and stick with the basic lifts for the most part. I have a shoulder injury, so pressing moves are on hold for now. Should give me an opportunity to get my squat built up a bit. I can still pull, too, so squats and deads will be the meat of my program for now.
Enough rambling. Thanks for your reply! Looking forward to following your training.

Colin Hayes said...

I should add that I'm 44, so I'm getting a late start...but I think I still have some good strength-gaining years ahead of me!

Snowdaddy said...

44 in the powerlifting world ain't nothing. You still have several years to make excellent strength gains. Great to see you're training natural. Looking forward to corresponding with you in the future.

Rob