Beyond Science - Bench Press

ORIGINAL: grantoiz

IIB, what would your opinion on me starting a cycle of epistane instead of d-bol? worth it?

I think it would be worth it.. **** I used anadrol for 3 weeks and did not see the kinds of lean gains I am getting now or the insane strength increases.. watch me start repping 275 I swear I can do it now. Its only been a week since I could barely do it twice.



Seriously I think steroids are a waste of money.. thats just my personal opinion.. all the good **** that you could get was made in the US... Now thats pretty much gone out the window with all these big busts.. you used Thai pink dianabols.. I have used them too.. You might gain 8 - 10lbs off them and bloat alot.. the strength increases go away fast.. 40% of the gains you keep. With the PH's you keep 80% from what I am hearing.. But I don't know yet because I have not stopped.. I JUST FINISHED WEEK 2!!! its freaking insane man.. I am already bigger then i was when I was on an AAS cycle "although it was a cheap one" I am still lean too..


Honestly bro.. PH's in my opinion are far better then the anabolics out there... Most of the **** over seas is freaking cheap and if you want 20 - 30lbs in gains you have to get the expensive stuff could cost you 600 - 800$ is that worth it? I think taking a PH for only 4 weeks gaining 14lbs and only spending 75 - 80$ is worth it..


Thats just my opinion.

flat bench:
135 x 30 < -- forgot to add that. 225 x 5
275 x 4
225 x 7
225 x 5
 
I honestly knew I could do 275 x 4.. I think I can do even more now too.... It did not feel that heavy anymore...  when i was doing 225 is felt insane... on one set I did quick reps to my chest and then 3 quarters of the way up for 7 reps..  I could honestly probably hit 15  reps on 225 right now.. Maybe even more..
 
I honestly feel like superman right now..  On saturday I am shooting for 275 x 5... Once I rep 275 x 5 I will then shoot for 295 x 2..   I will work that into 295 x 5 and that may be as far as I make it on this epistane cycle..   Not sure what my max will be.. my guess is 325.. maybe 335.. Not to sure..

haha nice one you sound dead excited.. ive ordered my epistane, next day delivery.

 

deadlifts: 550 lbs
bench press:370 lbs
militery press : 265 lbs
squat : 425
bw: 209

bro I am hell of excited... I am finally just about to that level I wanted to be too.. I would love to rep 295 x 5... I mean **** thats only 5lbs from 300.. Got to work on my deadlifts again this weekend though.. My bench is surpassing everything except my triceps and bicep curls.. I curl 55lb dumbells and my skull crushers standing behind the neck is at 110 - 120lb ez bars. I can probably do more then that I will keep increasing my numbers.. Shoulder press is not to bad either.. my incline dumbells are 90's and my shoulder press is 70's - 75's.

Basically my upper body is taking off and my lower body although it is a good size now needs to be much stronger.. I still did not get my knees checked.. I have been getting ready for a wedding this weekend and I just have so much to do.. My legs feel much much better though.


Your going to love epistane.. I recommend it! TrenX is a really good stack with it if you can find TrenXtreme..

yeah no luck in finding tren extreme, ive found some trenadrol i persume this is the same stuff?

 

deadlifts: 550 lbs
bench press:370 lbs
militery press : 265 lbs
squat : 425
bw: 209

ORIGINAL: grantoiz

yeah no luck in finding tren extreme, ive found some trenadrol i persume this is the same stuff?

Its not dude don't take it. I got trenadrol just realized its methylated so I stacked 2 methylated compounds ontop of each other.. that explains the gyno. Anyways yeah don't do that just run the epistane and find some trenXtreme.

I actually messed up on this cycle.. so anyways ill be running 40mg per day for 2 more weeks then switching over to the trenadrol and running that for 1 week. That will be the end of my cycle.. so three weeks and I am done.

yh ive got the epitane on the way, but the people from royal mail on are bloody strike... i paid for next day delivery aswell so thats wank.
 
im not too bothered at the moment had quite a good week. felt strong,,,but also fat.

 

deadlifts: 550 lbs
bench press:370 lbs
militery press : 265 lbs
squat : 425
bw: 209

Flat Bench:
 
135 x 20
225 x 10
275 x 4
295 x 1
 
 
I think I could have done better today... I am not use to working out this early.. it was only 8:00 am when I went to the gym and I had 2 drinks last night pretty strong ones.. I know I am full of excuses this morning but seriously.. I can do more 225 barely feels like there is weight on the bar.

Yesterdays deadlifts were not too bad..
 
225 x 10
275 x 5
275 x 5
275 x 5
 
I will stay at 275 and then bump it up to 295 in a couple weeks.   Then Ill shoot for 315 after that and keep that as my normal rep range for a while.
 
 
okay so I still did not hit 275 x 5...  I think I am going to attempt it again on monday.    On my chest day I am curiouse to see how much I can do on dumbell press..  maybe 110lb dumbells now?  that would be a nice x5.. I may attempt 115 x 5  on my chest day...

as for my scale weight I checked it a couple days ago said I am 203lbs which is strange...   a few days ago I was 208 but I also was taking to many methyl chemicals and bloated / got gyno.   The Nolva really flushed me.. On the bright side I am stronger and my waist line is a little smaller 31 inches.  So not bad.. not bad at all..  If I gain another 4lbs ill be at 207lbs end of the epi cycle and still lean!  <-- thats the cool part.    At the end of the cycle ill get a tan and see how my definition looks.    I will maintain the weight for 2 months and then run another epistane cycle or a trenXtreme + mass tabs cycle.   Gain another 10lbs and that will put me around 215 - 217.    So start off the year of 2008 weighing in at close to 220lbs.    By the end of 2008 I would like to hit 230lbs maybe 228 or 225 clean bulked.   Then in 2009 mid year shoot for 235lbs putting me 5 lbs under goal weight..  Attempt to clean bulk it to 240lbs and by 2010 ill be sitting at goal weight.    So I am looking at another 3 years.. Giving me a total of 4 years of seriouse training. 

Flat Bench:
135 x 25
225 x 5
275 x 3
225 x 8
 
 
Got to lay off on the bench atleast until friday.  Can feel stress on my shoulders so I don't want to push it too hard.  If I am right I will fully recover from the last 2 bench days and at the end of the week my strength should rise.. I will change up the weight I am shooting for 255 x 5 then 265 x 5   Then ill try 275 x 5 another time when I have 265 x 5 down pretty well. 
 
135 x 20
205 x 10
255 x 5
265 x 5 
 
Thats what I will shoot for next work out.
 

finally  a chest day
 
 
Flat Bench:
 
135 x 20
205 x 10
255 x 6

damnit man...  I checked my weight I am 201lbs...  So I actually went down in weight but I am stronger and my chest deltoids and back are way larger..  My waist line is smaller 31inches.. But man...  It's wierd because people say I am bigger...    I guess the scale truly is nothing but a number.   I have been doing alot of cardio though..   If I could get my waist down to 29 inches and be around 220lbs I would be very very happy..  Thats a future goal that I want to accomplish fairly soon... 
 
I am going through a tad bit of a depression right now with a struggle to make some more doe.. also my company in going down I see more lay offs coming and I think ill be one to be let go.. I made alot of mistakes during the change over at work after lay offs...    It's a hard time in my life right now.. I sent out a resume to some jobs I qualify for to make 10k more per year.. that would be nice..   I have to cross my fingers and hope I get an interview..  I am very stressed at work now.  
 
Man... Stuck at 200lbs and struggling to hold my job..  Thank god I am still only 23 years old..   Sometimes I feel like I am never going to be good enough,  it's pretty much what keeps me going.   One thing I can say is I have totally changed from living in the ghetto doing drugs pulling guns on people and struggling to survive on my own <-- I almost forgot about all of this.. Sometimes it's easy to forget our past..   Pretty much everyone told me I would never amount to anything..  I really have to do more though. 
 
I would say the only thing I have to really worry about right now is not this job thing but if there is a god would he forgive me for all the bad things I have done when I was younger.   
 
 
 
 
Okay I am done rambling now,  Time to go to bed.

weight is just a number, youve been doing awesome...i dont know what else a 143 lber can tell you about weight haha, but itll come...im getting frustrated with my weight, since upping calories and carbs ive gained like a lb in a few weeks but like you said, look like im bigger than before, so weight is definitely odd.
 
the job thing is rough...but damn, youre right that youve come a long way with everything. it sounds like youve totally turned your life around, great job. as easy as it is to forget how far youve come, its equally as easy for me to take for granted that i didnt have to grow up in an environment where i had to do stuff like that to get by.
 
im only 20 and a sophomore in college, so im still foreign to the full time job for a living, but i know when i get out of college with a degree in psychology and philosophy that ill probably be in an equally as stressful situation, since what im majoring in isnt very applicablt without more schooling...maybe i am naive, but things seem to work out. i mean, maybe you wont get rich, but youll find a reliable job. if i was in ur situation i would be stressed like hell too, but life goes on. whatever youve done in the past is history, what u r doing in the present is what really matters, and youve changed everything for the better, youve been very helpful on here, good job again. stick with it and itll work out.

bulking/strength training

soon to begin bill starr's 5X5

current maxes: 
squats: 255
deadlifts: 300
bench: 185
oh press: 125
goals for jan 1:
squats: 300
deadlifts: 350
bench: 210
oh pressL 145 

ORIGINAL: IBendBarbells

damnit man...  I checked my weight I am 201lbs...  So I actually went down in weight but I am stronger and my chest deltoids and back are way larger..  My waist line is smaller 31inches.. But man...  It's wierd because people say I am bigger...    I guess the scale truly is nothing but a number.   I have been doing alot of cardio though..   If I could get my waist down to 29 inches and be around 220lbs I would be very very happy..  Thats a future goal that I want to accomplish fairly soon... 

I am going through a tad bit of a depression right now with a struggle to make some more doe.. also my company in going down I see more lay offs coming and I think ill be one to be let go.. I made alot of mistakes during the change over at work after lay offs...    It's a hard time in my life right now.. I sent out a resume to some jobs I qualify for to make 10k more per year.. that would be nice..   I have to cross my fingers and hope I get an interview..  I am very stressed at work now.  

Man... Stuck at 200lbs and struggling to hold my job..  Thank god I am still only 23 years old..   Sometimes I feel like I am never going to be good enough,  it's pretty much what keeps me going.   One thing I can say is I have totally changed from living in the ghetto doing drugs pulling guns on people and struggling to survive on my own <-- I almost forgot about all of this.. Sometimes it's easy to forget our past..   Pretty much everyone told me I would never amount to anything..  I really have to do more though. 

I would say the only thing I have to really worry about right now is not this job thing but if there is a god would he forgive me for all the bad things I have done when I was younger.   




Okay I am done rambling now,  Time to go to bed.

 
i wouldnt worry as long as your getting stronger.. just remember 9/10 people would kill to be in the shape your in now... compared to the average joes i no,,, your a ****in beast.. 29 inche waist that would be unreal.

 

deadlifts: 550 lbs
bench press:370 lbs
militery press : 265 lbs
squat : 425
bw: 209

aye thanks guys for the encouragement.    Pshh man I tell ya every sport is tough isn't it.    This truly is the only one I will never quite ever.  
 
 
Good Luck to you guys as well! 
 
 
 
 
 
So yesterday I tried decline for the hell of it.
 
225 x 10
275 x 6
 
 
Okay on that 6th rep My hand slipped a little and the weight started to roll out of my right hand.. I could feel that it was going to come down on my neck... It scared the hell out of me.. So no more messing with 275 I want to just stick to 255 because I have better control over it.. I need to wait and work up to 275 when I can rep it easly 6 - 8 times on the flat Ill mess with 275 again.   So I need to rep 255 x 10 now.

Flat Bench:
 
135 x 20
205 x 10
265 x 5
 
 
I think its safe to say that hitting the flat bench 2 - 3 times a week works for me.   BTW epistane cycle ended today.

damn... I was looking back at my first couple posts!! I could barely do 250 for 3 reps!! insane!! I have hit up to 275 for 4 when I was fresh.. but 275 x 3 on my last sets. 265 x 5 just yesterday... Damn!

So its been about 6 weeks and I have added 25lbs onto my bench.. Not bad at all... I can probably get 285 x 3 by next week.. I am going to give my self 8 weeks.. In 8 weeks my short term goal will have been 35lbs onto my bench. Pretty damn cool!! Science of overtraining has not room in my body building life style. Obviously I found something that works.


This actually worked better then the 15 rep thing I was doing.. I will try this with my squats and deadlifts as well.. So next compound lift will be deadlifts. Then possibly standing military press. I am going to increase them all.. I got to test this theory out with other lifts.




I was considering the fact that last anabolic cycle I was doing 245 x 7.. But 245 x 7 is a big difference from 265 x 5 especially because I was only doing 10 reps with 135 and then 5 reps with 225 before I did 245 x 7.. Now I am pulling off more reps and then in the end on my last set hitting 20lbs more with 2 less reps mainly due to being tired. I can rep 245 x 10 + Now easy.





Diet for today pretty much the same as everyday:

6. Raisin bran cereal + oatmeal + glass of milk

10. Turkey and salami sandwich on wheat bread + cheese stick + chips

12.45 Chicken + Rice + tomatoes

4:00 apple + peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread + bowl pasta

Coming up

5:45 pasta + cheese stick + bowl of fruit

7:30 Ribs + Rice + Broccoli

9:30 same as last meal



I ran out of cyto gainer so that sucks.. This is actually a tad bit more food then I am use to eating.. normally I eat 6 meals a day now there is 7 due to not having my shakes.. But when I get my shakes I will be adding one in the morning 1 in the evening + Muscle milk pudding snacks in with either my lunch or my snack after lunch.

Nice work. I'm gonna give this a try to see if I can bust this plateau on bench. I've kinda started doing it casually, throwing 3-4 sets of bench or incline bench on to the end of my Thursday workout in addition to my usual push day on Monday, and I seem to be having some small improvement in strength finally. But I might formalize it a bit and add an extra day that focuses on chest work so I hit it hard twice a week.

Heck, my entire upper body lags pretty bad except for my lats, so maybe I'll double up on all of it.

My Journal: Jheft's Heftorium

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain

ibb, how are you incorporating these bench sets into your routines, so are you doing bench presses with shoulders, legs, etc or are you just bench pressing?

 

deadlifts: 550 lbs
bench press:370 lbs
militery press : 265 lbs
squat : 425
bw: 209

Monday: Chest -- Flat bench incorp.
Tuesday: Back
Wednesday: legs
Thursday:shoulders - Flat Bench Incorp
Friday: Off
Saturday: Arms - Flat Bench Incorp

when I work my chest I am hitting incline flys dips etc... When I work my shoulders its flat bench dumbell shoulder press and the rest is all laterals. When I work my arms I only put my grip a little closer then normal do my flat bench and then get on with my curls skull crushers etc.


Anyways seems to work for me even though now my upper body is bigger and stronger then my lower.. Not a big deal though I will catch the lower body up I was just hardly working my legs due to injury. Soon I will do this strategy for squats.. 2 - 3 x a week

But I might formalize it a bit and add an extra day that focuses on chest work so I hit it hard twice a week.

 
 
Yeah this is what I do man.  So I totally agree with the idea.  You know this won't work for everyone I don't think...  Or maybe it will I guess some of you will have to be the judge.

Flat Bench:
135 x 15 or 20 can't remember
205 x 10
260 x 6
225 x 7
300 x 1
 
 
I would say that was not bad at all...  I am still getting stronger amazingly...  So anyways I will jump up to 270 and shoot for 5 reps..   Then hopefully to 275 and finally hit 5...  After that I may ease off to 2 x a week and get my squats going on.   I am going to do the same thing with squats.

I'm actually getting a little skeptical of the whole rule of thumb of one workout per muscle group per week. I've seen some research that suggests that more often may be optimal, and your results seem to back that up too. For me, I do feel like some areas just need "more."

My Journal: Jheft's Heftorium

"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so." -- Mark Twain

ORIGINAL: jheft

I'm actually getting a little skeptical of the whole rule of thumb of one workout per muscle group per week. I've seen some research that suggests that more often may be optimal, and your results seem to back that up too. For me, I do feel like some areas just need "more."

 
I was skeptical of this whole idea.. I thought the kid who uses it Toby Cook was full of **** to be honest.. I knew he was not faking 360+ lb bench  he actually hit that amount of weight... I asked him how he got that strong he said he just benched every other day or sometimes even everyday..   I finally decided to try it... It works.. he was right and everything I thought I knew about overtraining just seemed to go out the window.

well I was screwing around today I wanted to see if I could just pick up 185lbs on the barbell and push it above my head hold it up there ya know?   Just to see if I could do it..  well.... I did... it was not hard actually... It was more like a snatch though I jumped a tad got it half way and pushed it but It looked really smooth and I totally held it there and was like damn dude... I actually did this...  It was not hard... 
 
 
I think after I start repping more then 145lbs for standing military press I will attempt to push 205 over my head.   Eventually I want to be able to do 225 or 245.

ORIGINAL: IBendBarbells

well I was screwing around today I wanted to see if I could just pick up 185lbs on the barbell and push it above my head hold it up there ya know?   Just to see if I could do it..  well.... I did... it was not hard actually... It was more like a snatch though I jumped a tad got it half way and pushed it but It looked really smooth and I totally held it there and was like damn dude... I actually did this...  It was not hard... 


I think after I start repping more then 145lbs for standing military press I will attempt to push 205 over my head.   Eventually I want to be able to do 225 or 245.

 
cool. me and you are prity much exactly the same as far as shoulder strength goes. i  militery pressed 90 kg like on the first week of my d-bol cycle, but since then it hasent raised one tiny bit. i struggled to get 190 lbs last night...
 
started my epistane cycle 2 days ago, takin 60 mg per day? how much would you advise on taking? and at what intervals? ive just been takin them in the morning afternoon and evening.

 

deadlifts: 550 lbs
bench press:370 lbs
militery press : 265 lbs
squat : 425
bw: 209

ORIGINAL: grantoiz

ORIGINAL: IBendBarbells

well I was screwing around today I wanted to see if I could just pick up 185lbs on the barbell and push it above my head hold it up there ya know? Just to see if I could do it.. well.... I did... it was not hard actually... It was more like a snatch though I jumped a tad got it half way and pushed it but It looked really s

mooth and I totally held it there and was like damn dude... I actually did this... It was not hard...


I think after I start repping more then 145lbs for standing military press I will attempt to push 205 over my head. Eventually I want to be able to do 225 or 245.

cool. me and you are prity much exactly the same as far as shoulder strength goes. i militery pressed 90 kg like on the first week of my d-bol cycle, but since then it hasent raised one tiny bit. i struggled to get 190 lbs last night...

started my epistane cycle 2 days ago, takin 60 mg per day? how much would you advise on taking? and at what intervals? ive just been takin them in the morning afternoon and evening.

No more then 50mg per day.

You guys looking for an interesting, Kick Butt workout plan?  You can add as much weight to these exercises as you want.  After four-weeks on this, you will see a difference.  I guarantee it.  LOL
 
Old Navy's 8 x 8 Workout Plan
 
The purpose of this plan is to help maintain and add muscle and to increase definition and cuts.  This plan works best when used 4-6 weeks.
 
Weight training is four days a week and Cardio is five days a week.
 
Each set of exercises has a speed and endurance mode (8 x 8) and a power mode (3 x 5).  Each week, the modes are reversed.  Some exercises (as indicated) require fewer reps.
 
All reps are explosive – positive with a four-second count for the negative.
 
Day One - Upper Body
 
A-1      Lat pull down 3 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
A-2      Cable Row 8 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
B-1      Incline Press 3 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
B-2      Dumbbell Press 8 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
C-1      Lateral raise 2 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
C-2      Dumbbell Flys 4 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
D-1      Biceps Curls 2 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
D-2      Preacher Curls 4 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
E-1      Press down 2 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
E-2      Seated Extensions 4 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets 
 
Day Two – Legs and Calves
 
A-1      Squats 3 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
A-2      Leg Press 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
B-1      Leg Extensions 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
B-2      Leg Curls 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
C-1      Lunges 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
C-2      Calve Raises 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
Day Three - Upper Body
 
A-1      Lat pull down 8 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
A-2      Cable Row 3 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
 
 
B-1      Incline Press 8 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
B-2      Dumbbell Press 3 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
 
 
C-1      Lateral raise 4 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
C-2      Dumbbell Flys 2 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
 
 
D-1      Biceps Curls 4 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
D-2      Preacher Curls 2 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
 
 
E-1      Press down 4 x 8
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
E-2      Seated Extensions 2 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets 
 
Day Four – Legs and Calves
 
 
A-1      Squats 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
A-2      Leg Press 3 x 5
            Rest 60 seconds between sets
 
 
 
B-1      Leg Extensions 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
B-2      Leg Curls 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
C-1      Lunges 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
C-2      Calve Raises 8 x 12
            Rest 15 seconds between sets
 
 
 
 
Cardio Workout – Five Days Per Week
 
·        Begin each cardio session with a five minute warm-up
 
·        After the warm-up do the following:
 
·        20 seconds sprints, five to eight intervals
 
·        Rest 40 seconds between splits (off the machine)
 
·        Use 9 – 12% incline @ 9-12 mph
 
·        After the sprints, do 20-30 minutes on a different machine

Scott "Old Navy" Hults, NFPT-CPT; NGA-CPT FAME, NGA & IDFA Natural Master Pro Bodybuilder FAME, NGA & OCB Contest Judge [image]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6610/shlogo2hor8tk.jpg[/image]

oh man I tried something similar to that and if I start with back my chest suffers.. Like I lose strength in that area.. Working large muscle groups together does not seem to work for me..

I am going to incorp this 3 x 5 and the 8x8 into my routine though.

Adjusted my carb intake.. I was at barns and nobels reading books on dieting and training... I came to a conclusion that I am not even close to what I should be as far as carbs are concerned..  So anyways I fixed the diet add'd in grape juice raisins bananas apples peaches etc..  I have fruit with just about every meal.  I have my new supplements here and the muscle milk pudding is pretty good.   My weight seems to be going up again but I got to be careful it actually goes up pretty quick... if I gain 1lb a week thats okay with me  Next PH cycle I will run in 6 more weeks.. giving me a total of 7 weeks off.  Only next PH cycle I am going to increase my diet once again since my body will be able to use more of the nutrients I take in.   I see my self making is to 215 easy I just got to watch how fast I do it.