445 lbs x 2 Solo Bench - Smith Machine

[mghecea]

but mario, you of course squat right? I mean for the muscle confusion, of course.

I apologize for the confusion...I do not do squats or anything that compromises my joints or my back! Although I am a big fan of Mark Bell and his deadlifts and squats, I do not do any of those myself...Saddly, I compressed my lower-back long time ago in Technical Diving carrying double tanks and sometimes quad steel tanks through the jungles and centotes of the Yucattan Peninsula and Central America and those years of fun cave diving have taken a toll on my lower back! But that motivates me more and I do some basic cardio when I can (like long walks or treadmills) just to save what is left of abuse on my knees from the early days of professional marathon running... But that does not mean that the others on here cannot do what they love! I'm 42 and have lived a happy life full of adventure and still love to ride sportbikes...My Hayabusa for thrills and chills... Cheers, Mario

[mghecea]

Would you be so kind as to share some of your techniques for ramping up weight faster? Sure there are some people here where the information would be in the "wrong hands" like you said, but so many more people that it would benefit.

Absolutely! Glad you asked...I have posted a reply to a prior comment and posted quite a good series of tidbits for ramping up fast for bench-pressing the weight of your dreams! Just remember yourself and your nutrition as well as your workout regimen are the limiting factors and they are an important relationship that should be considered as part of achieving the goal algorithm...Read that prior post a few times and I'm working quickly on a blog to show how I train and I will be dropping vids here and there as I find time to help as much as I can...Feel free to hit me up privately if you have any specific questions or just post here on the forum so that others can learn as well...Mario

[mghecea]

You don't know what you're talking about - the smith machine is pure muscle work and free weights you can cheat and do a big arch and leg drive. The smith machine is much more representative of pure raw upper body power. It's actually a lot harder. I have done 225 bench with free weights before but I realized I was cheating myself and tried some smith machine benching this morning after seeing someone strong like Mario doing it and man was I in for a rude awakening. I could only get 3 reps with one plate per side.

I'm definitely going to be doing what panzer is, a whole cycle of just smith machine benches.

Agreed! Smith Machine is tough...It takes a certain bold mindset to use it...Especially with that much weight! The Naysayers poopoo it because they cannot do it, so automatically they knock it down! Folks, if you cannot do something, leave it up to those who can to reveal a new method! Don't knock it down...Basking in ignorance is not going to save the world or yourself for that matter! Only the pure POWER of Free Knowledge and Trial and Error will...Just sayin'...Bench On! And share the goodness of what you learn and most of all support each-other! Peace, Mario

[Jason2459]

You don't happen to know a Matt Sohmer, Jason Genova, or a Mr. Tantamount?

[mghecea]

You don't happen to know a Matt Sohmer, Jason Genova, or a Mr. Tantamount?

I am sorry...I do not! I'm a nobody in this sport...((( Sadly fame is not important to me...I believe we are all like shooting stars in this world...None of the heavyweights or champions impress me unless they have something to teach and have a great personality like Mark Bell for example...I know there are people in the sport that can lift something heavy once...That is not my philosophy or my goal...My goal is to go beyond that and make it so familiar that I can do it eight to ten times in a row...It has to challenge me within and on a spiritual level otherwise I would not be doing it...Why do something in life that you are tortured by it...I'd rather enjoy the process and make it look easy! However, I would love to meet anybody that is humble and hard-working from the sport. Not for the purpose of celebrity status worship, but from the simple standpoint of appreciation and admiration for their hard work and ethic! m

[kmc06005]

Mario,

Which lifters do you look up to or admire? I'd be interested in following them as well.

[JohnnyRingo350]

Mario,

Which lifters do you look up to or admire? I'd be interested in following them as well.

Hey there KMC,
I know you didn't ask me, but Paul Carter has really helped me. His knowledge and experience is unrivaled in my opinion. Check him out!

[mghecea]

Mario,

Which lifters do you look up to or admire? I'd be interested in following them as well.

Unfortunately...I am not the best to answer this question! To be honest everything for me stems from myself...I do not copy or imitate other lifters! This is why my method and philosophy is unique! I would be lying if i would not give credit to Arnold and his Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding...I think I drooled over each page as has anyone else...But to be honest, I have more respect for the good ol' Russian lifters and those people that benched weights made out of 1 ton logs somewhere in Siberia than the modern fluffed up world of competition...I don't want to bad mouth anyone, but if it is about fame, that is where I draw the line...To be honest I am very fond of Mark Bell and anyone that is not in some Steroids circle...I like natural lifters those that are strong from the core! I am not impressed by bulky muscles and look how much bulk I have built. I do like Kai Greene...I do eat his protein line Carnivor Mass! I absolutely believe it is the most delicious beef protein out there and part of my daily stack! I am actually enjoying a full glass right now! I love the strength and dedication of the likes of Ronnie Coleman...LIGHT WEIGHT BABY...YAAA BUDDAAYY! He is awesome...Modern day lifters I absolutely have to stand by Mark Bell...He does know what he talks about...Shows you how to do it! Has an immense following and is humble pie! He is also insanely funny! I subscribed to his FB page and he dressed up as the ultimate warrior and runs around slamming carbs all day long and calls it the war on carbs! LOL He is super funny! A day ago he showed 3 eggs with coconut oil on them and said something...Like restarting my war on carbs! And some doctor guy said...Are you watching your cholesterol? Later he was shown swallowing a batch of cookies with a big grin on his mug! Mark Bell is priceless and he is quickly moving to the top of my list as an all time great lifter and awesome commentator! Plus he invented our great belt that keeps our elbows and joints happy! The SLINGSHOT...I would love to meet this guy some day and give him a strong handshake and a pat on the back! Just a model human being...Cheers, m

[mghecea]

Interesting training methods, Mario. What is the Mental Gears philosophy on training the other two powerlifts and what fed do you typically compete in? Speaking of which, what are your best competition lifts big man? I wish you luck on your journey to smith bench 900lbs, that's got to be a record in the SMBPF!

Hi Musclekid92, My philosophy is talk to your inner self and ask the right questions...Your body always has ways to answer from its deep set of experiences...If you know something does not work for you, don't do it...What works for Mario does not work for Musclekid and vice-versa...So giving a simple guideline of how I train might help you or it might wrong you! I always recommend to listen to no one and ask your body first what it can do for you...Alter slightly with caution and always work on the side of caution. If something like a supplement makes you ill but it makes others feel good, that is not important for you any longer! The dumb things that I have done myself throughout life and have watched countless others do and still do today, makes me smile and nod my head. It feels good to absorb knowledge through experience and that makes you proud of whom you are. You have to learn to look up and respect yourself and model yourself as a better version of yourself...Tips I can give you all day long...I just wrote a big pile all over this forum! But to be the master of yourself, first you have to ask yourself, how do I change thee in the most painless way I know how? When should I be gentle on my body...When should I rest? When should I pamper myself or should I even care? When should I beat myself up with a serious dose of kick-ass lifting and never take enough is enough for an answer... Those are things that are paramount in my philosophy of becoming a personal great (if there is such a thing as the war of acceptance of oneself goes on) And most of all, like my dad used to say - "People may say that you are a great man...But don't you dare ever believe it! " It doesn't get more profound than that...The rest is icing on the cake! Cheers, Mario

[mghecea]

Hey there KMC,
I know you didn't ask me, but Paul Carter has really helped me. His knowledge and experience is unrivaled in my opinion. Check him out!

I just watched the Paul Carter vid on him benching 418 lbs once and with great effort...I have to say I am a bit unimpressed...Seems every single lift he does he makes it look like it is the first time he is doing it...I can also see he is very light weight! In other words, he has no mass to offset the mass he displaces...I hate to say this, but you might want to pick a better role model...But I leave that decision up to you! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if he models your body type better, than who am I to judge! But from my personal taste and he may probably be reading this forum at some point, I just cannot respect people that are good at 4 things and not excellent at least at one thing! There are much stronger lifters up there! But to each his own...

[AttyGuy]

The rest is icing on the cake! Cheers, Mario

Only on cheat days. Otherwise,

I do like Kai Greene...I do eat his protein line Carnivor Mass!

Protein alone won't do it. Vegetables and fruit are important too, but if you follow Kai, you know that.


Cheers.

[mghecea]

Ever try Power Sugar?

No I have not...No idea what it is...Perhaps you'd care to explain what it is and how it works...Cheers, Mario

[mghecea]

Protein alone won't do it. Vegetables and fruit are important too, but if you follow Kai, you know that.


Ha...ha...I do understand how Kai thinks! He is a great and I'm definitely a big fan! I eat about 4-5 grass-fed organic beef steaks a day (on heavy training days), go about medium on the carbs + greens like string beans...Lots of eggs for breakfast ( I know darn cholesterol) and enormous fillets of Wild Caught Atlantic Salmon! Cheers, Mario

[AttyGuy]

And fruit, especially grapefruit, Mario.

[mghecea]

And fruit, especially grapefruit, Mario.

Exactly! I love grapefruits and plain black ice tea (unflavored/unsweetened). For my juices, I prefer the pomegranate anti-oxidants (POM can be expensive) or anything berry and I keep my fridge stocked with fresh medium size organic bananas and strawberries + raspberries for juicing but I dilute any juices down with water to reduce the sugar content...I also eat a whole big tray of watermelon every night! That damn watermelon...Always on my mind m

P.S. Sorry I said juicing, but I actually meant protein shakes which I flavor with either apple juice, pomegranate or any type of berry juice which I dilute with water to un-sweeten it a bit...Oh and did I mention I only drink deep well water??? Yeah, we can get quite spoiled out here in Washington! I should shoot a vid of my well water gathering adventures sometimes...The waiting line for well water can get quite long even at late hours of the night!

[mghecea]

I'm running to the gym...My goal this week is to work up to my 500 lbs adventure! Phew...So remember what I said before I'd have to ramp up above that! Easier said than done since the max limit of a chest press, I have already maxed out! However, there are other clever methods that I will incorporate, one being running to my Smith machine or power rack and doing 8-10 reps with 450 lbs to work up to my 500 lbs...In this case I will be doing 500 lbs chest presses, which hurt my arms and joints like no other! However, I am looking forward tonight to try the Mark Bell SLINGSHOT on those too...This way I will be saving my elbows for the lifts themselves...Happy Lifting! Until next time...And I will be working on some blogs and tons of pictures and maybe a surprise video of 500 lbs chest presses...Maybe a 450-460 lbs SMITH bench! m

I have a BODY-BLOG posted for last night's push! I cannot post links yet...Go figure! (((

[SPFjudge]

I gotta see a spoon pic to believe this chit any further.....

Mario, take a picture holding a spoon and post it and you'll reach legend status on here.

[AttyGuy]

I gotta see a spoon pic to believe this chit any further.....

Mario, take a picture holding a spoon and post it and you'll reach legend status on here.

With a grapefruit. . . .

[TrettinR]

Mario, do you compete? If so have you done any competitions recently or have any planned in the near future?

[martin_mathers]

No smith machine in the jungle, no slingsot in the warzone

[kmc06005]

I gotta see a spoon pic to believe this chit any further.....

Mario, take a picture holding a spoon and post it and you'll reach legend status on here.

This. Silence the haters once and for all.

[grandmoloch]

Protein alone won't do it. Vegetables and fruit are important too, but if you follow Kai, you know that.


Ha...ha...I do understand how Kai thinks! He is a great and I'm definitely a big fan! I eat about 4-5 grass-fed organic beef steaks a day (on heavy training days), go about medium on the carbs + greens like string beans...Lots of eggs for breakfast ( I know darn cholesterol) and enormous fillets of Wild Caught Atlantic Salmon! Cheers, Mario

That sounds delicious. That's awesome you have a job that can support that level of intake. By the way what sort of devices do you do firmware for?

[Doollas]

Mario I see you're just over the mountains in Everett. I go there for thanksgiving to see my in-laws and would love to get a session with you. Where do you train and what time of day?

Cheers.

[mghecea]

I gotta see a spoon pic to believe this chit any further.....

Mario, take a picture holding a spoon and post it and you'll reach legend status on here.

Ha...Ha...I can't even post a spoon picture on this forum...They will not let me, because I do not have a total of 50 posts yet!

[mghecea]

Mario I see you're just over the mountains in Everett. I go there for thanksgiving to see my in-laws and would love to get a session with you. Where do you train and what time of day?

Cheers.

I train late at night, so that the machines are wide open! By all means, when you are in Everett area, swing by Silverlake 24-Hours Supersport...I'm there 3-4 days a week...Just let me know in advance and we can meet up...Mario

[mghecea]

No smith machine in the jungle, no slingsot in the warzone

Huh? Is that what the voices tell you???

[mghecea]

Mario, do you compete? If so have you done any competitions recently or have any planned in the near future?

Good point! I'm absolutely planning on going to compete! I have not had a real competition yet...I'm a huge chicken! I do not like compeating against real people, since I only go up against myself, but I am joining USAPL around pay-day and hopefully planning on going to go take down some of these hot shots lightweights at those meets in WA area! (joke) That's my plan! I'm not doing that though until I can bench my way through 500 lbs...Saddly, I'm a huge procrastinator! m

[mghecea]

This. Silence the haters once and for all.

Let them hate...I see most of them weigh in just around 120 - 175 lbs and their mommies are their CARDIO heroes and biggest inspiration! I've cleaned floors before with 400 lbs heavyset guys...Been there done that too...To their defense I used to be a super skinny runner in my youth! Barely 125 lbs...But it would never cross my mind to bad-mouth a guy that benches 400 lbs on a SMITH! Heck, I would not dare bad mouth a guy these days that benches 300 lbs on a SMITH! Hiding behind the keyboard is one thing, but when you are in my corner at the gym, I guarantee you will either run out of my way or watch from afar...I see this every-night...The biggest and baddest leaving in frustration, throwing their weights down on the gym floor! Respect it is not just learned...It is earned! I've learned a thing or two... I have slept on the floor every night for the last 20 years and I'm quite solid and tough as nails...Life trials humbles a man...It is not because I have to...It is because I want to! And I have respect for everyone...Even for Haters! They fuel my FIRE! ))))

[anonymous]

In late on this but it has to be a troll, right?

Glad to see you beat that 'super skinny' thing OP.

[mghecea]

That sounds delicious. That's awesome you have a job that can support that level of intake. By the way what sort of devices do you do firmware for?

I write firmware mostly for FPGA soft-cores and ARM processors of every family...I work in the Green Tech/Sine-Wave inverters sector for a small division of Sensata engineering...