5 Great Competition Bench Press Tips!

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

Here are five great competition bp tips I have learned from the NASA President & other top bp competitors.

1. Your last heavy bench press workout should be 7-10 days before your next bp competition.

2. Use no more than 80% max because if you do a Max Single within a week to 10 days of the Meet, you can automatically take 5% to 7% off that amount for your max on meet day.

3. 1-3 weeks before a bench press meet you can't get that much stronger, but you sure can get a lot weaker.

4. Ice your elbows 2-3 times before your bench press competition.

5. Your bp will suffer the most when you loose wt. You can plan on losing about 3 lbs from your bp per lb. of bwt lost AFTER the first 3 lbs of lost bwt. The lighter you are the more dramatic the effects.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN

[iron619]

Here are five great competition bp tips I have learned from the NASA President & other top bp competitors.

1. Your last heavy bench press workout should be 7-10 days before your next bp competition.

2. Use no more than 80% max because if you do a Max Single within a week to 10 days of the Meet, you can automatically take 5% to 7% off that amount for your max on meet day.

3. 1-3 weeks before a bench press meet you can't get that much stronger, but you sure can get a lot weaker.

4. Ice your elbows 2-3 times before your bench press competition.

5. Your bp will suffer the most when you loose wt. You can plan on losing about 3 lbs from your bp per lb. of bwt lost AFTER the first 3 lbs of lost bwt. The lighter you are the more dramatic the effects.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN

Good tips dude.

In reference to Tip #5, this is the biggest obvious thing for me--I just never really did the math to find the correlation between the difference in loss from bodyweight to raw bench press. (eg. Best Raw: 410x1 @ 222 lbs; 365 @ 194 lbs...)

[Mike Zero]

Good tips and all, but you blatantly just plucked all of those stats/numbers out of thin air.

[Drew23]

For icing the elbows, 2-3 times when? That day, for a few days/weeks before? And what does this do for you exactly?

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

For icing the elbows, 2-3 times when? That day, for a few days/weeks before? And what does this do for you exactly?

Lets say your contest is on Saturday. Ice each elbow on Monday & Wednesday for 10-20 minutes.

Your elbow/tricep area has probably taken a beating for a 8-16 training cycle. So, there probably might be some inflammation or DOMS. Ice helps to reduce inflammation and increase recuperation.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN

[t-butyl]

i would do nothing about a week out
always tried to maintain bodyweight
reload with creatine. This stuff used to work with me
old eca stack before lifts
never had problems with elbows from to much lockout work

[PotKettleBlack]

I'm amused that you had to revert to using abbreviations for ''bodyweight'' and ''bench press'', and yet still had time to type out your signature at the end of the post...

[thebeast1]

Apparently I'm doing pretty good for bench press then lol. I lost about 25 pounds on it but I lost like 23 pounds of bodyweight.

It still fcking sucks though

[hrn2dani]

I'm training for a few meets this summer. The first one is in one month. Last week I hit a pretty easy 490 X 2 using a 3 board. Today I did an easy 505x1 4 board then did an easy 425 2 board. I have not attempted to touch. This is in a 54 Katana that is getting really loose. I just bought a 52 Katana and I have yet to wash either of them although I just received the Power Wash to wash them in.
Questions for all of you :
1. Based on the above info.,what progression of boards and weight would you suggest for the next 3 weeks? And for the week prior?
2. Should I power wash the 54 and use it for the meet or look at using the 52? I think I would like to stay with the 54 for the first meet or so if I can and get the groove down before I go tighter.
3. How do you determine what to open with?
4.Do you ever use a looser shirt for the opener and a tighter for the next 2 attempts?
5. On meet day, what advice for warm up weights, board use do you have.

I would really appreciate some advice as I train alone and do not know any powerlifters in my area. I'm an old fat guy now(47)but was a decent lifter from the early to mid 80's era (675/375/625 @ 198-220 circa 1984-85) and now competing for the first time in 22 years so geared benching is a new experience for me although it was a trial of my buddy's brand new Inzer Blast shirt back in '85 that pretty much ended my powerlifting career due to a subsequent bad shoulder injury.

Just as it sucked to bomb out in 1984 it would suck to bomb out in 2008 so any other tidbits of wisdom would be appreciated.

[Reality_Check]

Here are five great competition bp tips I have learned from the NASA President & other top bp competitors.

Your last heavy bench press workout should be 7-10 days before your next bp competition.

Use no more than 80% max because if you do a Max Single within a week to 10 days of the Meet, you can automatically take 5% to 7% off that amount for your max on meet day.

You can plan on losing about 3 lbs from your bp per lb. of bwt lost AFTER the first 3 lbs of lost bwt. The lighter you are the more dramatic the effects.

I read these exact same tips on a powerlifting site somewhere. (I was looking for it again too to give advice to somone who was about to compete but couldn't find it). So glad to see it posted.

[truth4free]

Good post but not to sure about losing 3lbs/lb. Unless of course you are talking about shirted benching. If losing the weight makes the shirt too loose then oviously it will not perform ideally. I think we all have an anabolic BF range that is optimum and I am pretty sure it has been proven. I think it has been stated to be in that 10-15% zone. So if you are losing fat your lifts should not be affected all that much. For example I am 234 and probably an honest 16-18% BF. I say honest b/c everyone underestimates there BF. With my water loading, ginger root bath, and proper diet will drop to 220 easy for my 29 June meet. I will probably weigh about 226 come meet time. That 8lb weight loss will in no way drop my bench 24lbs. As a matter of fact it might increase b/c of the other 4 tips you gave. My rational is my 226 @14% BF will mean I will have around 32 lbs of fat and 194lbs of that good stuff. At 234 @17% I have 40lbs of the yellow crap and ....194lbs of that good stuff. I think I have been pretty clear here. I am not talking about drastic cutting were you become depleted and emaciated. If that is what you are thinking about doing then you need to read more or consider bodybuilding. I think most use the excuse of weight loss as a reason for not performing as well as we would have liked. I know I have, I use to bench 648lbs when I weighed 247....

[45BIG]

I think we all have an anabolic BF range that is optimum and I am pretty sure it has been proven. I think it has been stated to be in that 10-15% zone. So if you are losing fat your lifts should not be affected all that much.

Agree I believe losing muscle will cause a more dramatic effect in ones bench than losing straight up fat. That's not to say you won't lose bench press weight from dropping weight but the type of weight you lose matters.

[swolegantor]

Good tips and all, but you blatantly just plucked all of those stats/numbers out of thin air.

maybe those numbers are just from his experiance, Im sure after being around as long as he has you started getting a more concise understanding.

[Haplochrom]

Here are five great competition bp tips I have learned from the NASA President & other top bp competitors.

1. Your last heavy bench press workout should be 7-10 days before your next bp competition.

2. Use no more than 80% max because if you do a Max Single within a week to 10 days of the Meet, you can automatically take 5% to 7% off that amount for your max on meet day.

3. 1-3 weeks before a bench press meet you can't get that much stronger, but you sure can get a lot weaker.

4. Ice your elbows 2-3 times before your bench press competition.

5. Your bp will suffer the most when you loose wt. You can plan on losing about 3 lbs from your bp per lb. of bwt lost AFTER the first 3 lbs of lost bwt. The lighter you are the more dramatic the effects.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN

In my gym, we have 5 guys over 500. 1 more over 600. 2 more over 700. 1 more over 900.

We follow 0/5 of those rules.

but hey, im not sponsored. what would i know?

Here's what we use with ZERO injuries from training.

max every week on every lift, accessory or main lift.

Use your gear as long as it takes until plateau. Find that number. Some guys stay in gear year round.

Bench the last week out from competition so the meet rolls around on the same day you bench keeping yourself in the same rhythm. If you train for PR's all the time, meets hold no fear, or nervousness. You should know exactly what you are hitting, how to tweak, and what it takes to get up for many lifts in a day. Then a meet is just another training day.

Have a **** you attitude that goes so far that it doesnt matter who is benching around you. Where you open up against competition, or who in your weight class lifts what. Its you against them.

[swolegantor]

In my gym, we have 5 guys over 500. 1 more over 600. 2 more over 700. 1 more over 900.

We follow 0/5 of those rules.

but hey, im not sponsored. what would i know?

Here's what we use with ZERO injuries from training.

max every week on every lift, accessory or main lift.

Use your gear as long as it takes until plateau. Find that number. Some guys stay in gear year round.

Bench the last week out from competition so the meet rolls around on the same day you bench keeping yourself in the same rhythm. If you train for PR's all the time, meets hold no fear, or nervousness. You should know exactly what you are hitting, how to tweak, and what it takes to get up for many lifts in a day. Then a meet is just another training day.

Have a **** you attitude that goes so far that it doesnt matter who is benching around you. Where you open up against competition, or who in your weight class lifts what. Its you against them.

grrr were guards yeah were guards grrrrrrr

[Haplochrom]

Here are five great competition bp tips I have learned from the NASA President & other top bp competitors.

3. 1-3 weeks before a bench press meet you can't get that much stronger, but you sure can get a lot weaker.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN

This is the dumbest thing i have ever heard.

Then how could you make progress weeks 1-3, or weeks 6-8. EVERY training day gets you stronger.

Every day with the bar on your back or in your hands makes you better, stronger, and more experienced.

If you take this attitude, you are wasting WEEKS of training, who would want to do that?

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

Good tips dude.

In reference to Tip #5, this is the biggest obvious thing for me--I just never really did the math to find the correlation between the difference in loss from bodyweight to raw bench press. (eg. Best Raw: 410x1 @ 222 lbs; 365 @ 194 lbs...)

Hopefully, the tips will help you a lot on the day of the meet and increase your longevity in this great sport.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.myspace.com/bigwillie12345

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

I'm training for a few meets this summer. The first one is in one month. Last week I hit a pretty easy 490 X 2 using a 3 board. Today I did an easy 505x1 4 board then did an easy 425 2 board. I have not attempted to touch. This is in a 54 Katana that is getting really loose. I just bought a 52 Katana and I have yet to wash either of them although I just received the Power Wash to wash them in.
Questions for all of you :
1. Based on the above info.,what progression of boards and weight would you suggest for the next 3 weeks? And for the week prior?
2. Should I power wash the 54 and use it for the meet or look at using the 52? I think I would like to stay with the 54 for the first meet or so if I can and get the groove down before I go tighter.
3. How do you determine what to open with?
4.Do you ever use a looser shirt for the opener and a tighter for the next 2 attempts?
5. On meet day, what advice for warm up weights, board use do you have.

I would really appreciate some advice as I train alone and do not know any powerlifters in my area. I'm an old fat guy now(47)but was a decent lifter from the early to mid 80's era (675/375/625 @ 198-220 circa 1984-85) and now competing for the first time in 22 years so geared benching is a new experience for me although it was a trial of my buddy's brand new Inzer Blast shirt back in '85 that pretty much ended my powerlifting career due to a subsequent bad shoulder injury.

Just as it sucked to bomb out in 1984 it would suck to bomb out in 2008 so any other tidbits of wisdom would be appreciated.

Drop me a pm and I'll point you in the right direction.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.myspace.com/bigwillie12345

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

In my gym, we have 5 guys over 500. 1 more over 600. 2 more over 700. 1 more over 900.

We follow 0/5 of those rules.

but hey, im not sponsored. what would i know?

Here's what we use with ZERO injuries from training.

max every week on every lift, accessory or main lift.

Use your gear as long as it takes until plateau. Find that number. Some guys stay in gear year round.

Bench the last week out from competition so the meet rolls around on the same day you bench keeping yourself in the same rhythm. If you train for PR's all the time, meets hold no fear, or nervousness. You should know exactly what you are hitting, how to tweak, and what it takes to get up for many lifts in a day. Then a meet is just another training day.

Have a **** you attitude that goes so far that it doesnt matter who is benching around you. Where you open up against competition, or who in your weight class lifts what. Its you against them.

Actually, I got the icing of the elbows from Tiny Meeker and my sports doctor. I guess you don't know who Tiny Meeker is? Right!

Instead of being negative, offer something positive!

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.myspace.com/bigwillie12345

[Haplochrom]

Actually, I got the icing of the elbows from Tiny Meeker and my sports doctor. I guess you don't know who Tiny Meeker is? Right!

Instead of being negative, offer something positive!

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.myspace.com/bigwillie12345

I did offer something positive...

I gave them advice that wasnt Ctrl+C Ctrl+V from another site.

This is advice from one of the most decorated powerlifting gyms ever.

But i guess its not positive in your eyes.

[truth4free]

In my gym, we have 5 guys over 500. 1 more over 600. 2 more over 700. 1 more over 900.

We follow 0/5 of those rules.

but hey, im not sponsored. what would i know?

Here's what we use with ZERO injuries from training.

max every week on every lift, accessory or main lift.

Use your gear as long as it takes until plateau. Find that number. Some guys stay in gear year round.

Bench the last week out from competition so the meet rolls around on the same day you bench keeping yourself in the same rhythm. If you train for PR's all the time, meets hold no fear, or nervousness. You should know exactly what you are hitting, how to tweak, and what it takes to get up for many lifts in a day. Then a meet is just another training day.

Have a **** you attitude that goes so far that it doesnt matter who is benching around you. Where you open up against competition, or who in your weight class lifts what. Its you against them.

Wow, I was begining to think I was the only one who approached it this way. I was satrting to wonder about my training. I am going to max this weekend, the week before my meet so I know EXACTLY were I am. Great comment, "... meet is just another training day."

[MISSINGLINK]

Good tips and all, but you blatantly just plucked all of those stats/numbers out of thin air.

How do you know this? Why all the hating?

[ArCaNe66]

what would you recommend for a pec that starts cramping and or getting lactic acid buildup during a chest workout, and making that pec basically impossible to press off of.. yeah..had it for a while, and took 10 months off of lifting and just did some oly stuff to no avail haha..and the injury is still with me, it gets bad when the bar is closer to my chest because my chest is stretched out and it just feels like a knot and it feels like it moves, no discoloration when i got the injury back last August.

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

what would you recommend for a pec that starts cramping and or getting lactic acid buildup during a chest workout, and making that pec basically impossible to press off of.. yeah..had it for a while, and took 10 months off of lifting and just did some oly stuff to no avail haha..and the injury is still with me, it gets bad when the bar is closer to my chest because my chest is stretched out and it just feels like a knot and it feels like it moves, no discoloration when i got the injury back last August.

Drop me a pm and I can help.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.criticalbench.com/JT-Hall-Big-Willie.htm

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

I did offer something positive...

I gave them advice that wasnt Ctrl+C Ctrl+V from another site.

This is advice from one of the most decorated powerlifting gyms ever.

But i guess its not positive in your eyes.

You'll right, its not positive in my eyes! At least I'm helping or trying to make a difference. What have you done for the Powerlifting Community?

You would have more credibility if you used your real name instead of acting like an internet keyboard warrior.

Also, why bring up the word "sponsor"? Don't hate because I have great sponsors! I can show you how to get some sponsors if you need some help.

I read your profile & recent threads(wow) and my bench press is higher than yours, but you out weigh me more than 100 pds! I compete in NASA & USAPL primarily. Where do you compete at?

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.criticalbench.com/JT-Hall-Big-Willie.htm

[PotKettleBlack]

^^ Oh look, another thread where JT is spouting off about his own greatness...

Snore.

[Perceptionist]

everyone is different...they are not universal tips...

[NASAKYCHAIRMAN]

everyone is different...they are not universal tips...

Great point!

What might work for one person, might not work for another person.

TRAIN HARD

"BIG WILLIE" J.T. HALL
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAKYCHAIRMAN

[gettnthere]

I did offer something positive...

I gave them advice that wasnt Ctrl+C Ctrl+V from another site.

This is advice from one of the most decorated powerlifting gyms ever.

But i guess its not positive in your eyes.

im feelin ur advice man..when i was maxin every week when i first started my cns stayed up to par and it didnt feel ackward with max squat weight on my back when i maxed like it does after a few weeks of not going real heavy

[bodybuilda]

Agree I believe losing muscle will cause a more dramatic effect in ones bench than losing straight up fat. That's not to say you won't lose bench press weight from dropping weight but the type of weight you lose matters.

This is true but remember when losing weight it is impossible to lose only fat and no muscle whatsoever but of course with the right diet and training you can lose more fat than muscle, point being some muscle will be lost even if its just a tad bit of it.