LinuxJon tries to bench 3 plates

[LinuxJon]

Hey everyone. Muzzlrpress suggested I start keeping one of these, so I'm going to do my best to keep up with it.

I've been lifting since late December. My goal is to get up to a 315 bench by the end of this year, then possibly cut a bit and see where I'm at from there.

I intend to eventually compete in PL competitions in both deadlift and bench, but right now a thumb/wrist injury is preventing me from working much on any pull exercises.

From December to May/June, I was on a bad bro split. Since then, been doing a push/pull routine. Heavy, high volume work seems to work best for me.

I am halfway through Smolov Jr. on bench for the first time.

Hit 260 bench for the first time less than two weeks ago. Hit 270 four days ago.

Wish me luck guys!

[LinuxJon]

Tonight's workout:

Bench 8x4 @215

Was easier than I was expecting. Didn't really have any trouble with any of the sets. Gave myself a little more time between sets than I normally would (2:30 instead of 1:30-2:00)

Cable curls sets at 25, 20, 15, 10 reps.

Decided to call it a night there, since in about 16 hours I'm back for a full push day, including the 10x3 @225 set for the Smolov program.

[Muzzlrpress]

Good chit bro

[JohanXDash]

[LinuxJon]

Thanks brahs. Glad someone will be reading this!

[Reach4More]

Good luck on your hulk goals brah. Will be following along!

[Tomohawk92]

if strength is ur goal check this out

http://suppversity.blogspot.de/2014/...eriodized.html

[LinuxJon]

Had a really good workout today. First time I've been able to do a full chest session without every dropping below 2 plates for any of the working sets. Feels good mane.

Bench Press:

225 x 3 (9 sets)
225 x 5
235 x 2
245 x 1

Decline Bench:

225 x 5
235 x 3
245 x 2

Seated OHP (strict):

115 x 10
135 x 6
145 x 4
155 x 3

Front Raises:

25 x 12 (per side)
25 x 16 (per side)
25 x 20 (per side)
40 x 5 (per side)

Side Raises:

15 x 16 (2 sets)

Cable Pulldown:

50 x 25
65 x 20
80 x 16
95 x 12

Videos from today:

Flat bench 225 x 3



Decline bench 235 x 3

[Muzzlrpress]

Looking at all those sets makes me not miss smolov. Strong session man.

[LinuxJon]

if strength is ur goal check this out

http://suppversity.blogspot.de/2014/...eriodized.html

Thanks man. It looks interesting. I'm going to have to spend some time figuring out what that all means though.

Looking at all those sets makes me not miss smolov. Strong session man.

Thanks man. I actually love the grind of a ton of sets. At least on bench. If this were deads, I wouldn't be too happy.

275+ tomorrow!

[LinuxJon]

Well, I've been telling everyone since last week that I was going for 275 tonight and that I was going to nail it, so I pretty much had no choice tonight. Trouble is, when I finally got an open bench and started warming up, I could tell that I definitely was not at 100% or even close to it. I think I've underestimated how much two weeks of Smolov has worn on me, because both my delts and tri's were still obviously not recovered from Saturday's session. Regardless, I pressed on.

Bench:

225 x 1 = felt pretty okay
245 x 1 = heavier than I hoped it would feel, but okay
265 x 1 = oh crap, this is heavy

Regrouped and decided I had no choice, I was going to either put up 275 or get stuck under the bar like a man.

275 x 1 = down to the chest and up by the skin of my teeth!

VERY happy to have got this up, and shocked I had the nerve to do it without a spotter. Think the motivation came from the guys working out next to me. One of them was spotting me when I got stuck under 245 going for it the first time.

From there, did my normal Smolov schedule:

195 x 6 (6 sets)

Moved on to standing strict OHP:

95 x 14
115 x 8
135 x 4

Then cable curls to close it out:

35.0 x 25
42.5 x 20
50.0 x 15
57.5 x10
65.0 x 8
72.5 x 6
80.0 x 4
35.0 x 35

Am DEFINITELY going to take it easy on anything involving tri's or delts this week besides the Smolov bench sets, because I can tell that it's compounding and that I'm going to have a struggle getting the last three sessions up without any missed sets.

Time to rest and reload

[LinuxJon]

Another day, another session of Smolov for bench. The difference tonight was my new pre-workout showing up. Ordered Hybrid PreAmp with Amp Citrate as the main stim instead of caffeine (although it also has 200mg of that per scoop as well). I took 2 scoops before the workout, and that was definitely more than enough. It blew 2 scoops of Mr. Hyde out of the water. Had a hard time sitting still between sets.

Bench press:

205 x 5 (7 sets)
155 x 10 (paused)
185 x 5 (paused)
205 x 3 (paused)

OHP (seated):

135 x 6
145 x 4
155 x 3

Decline Bench:

225 x 5
225 x 6
235 x 4

Pullups

10 reps
10 reps
8 reps

Cable Curl

50 x 16
50 x 16
65 x 12

Good workout. Making some fish for dinner right now. Have no idea if I'm sleeping tonight. One scoop of this PWO next time for sure.

[Muzzlrpress]

Kickass session man! Looks like you're loving the program. The weight continues to feel heavy, but now you're able to move it at will.

[cirion0000]

daheckkk so much benching... I would die

good stuff!

[cirion0000]

It blew 2 scoops of Mr. Hyde out of the water. Had a hard time sitting still between sets.

wtf 2 scoops of Mr. Hyde. I am not surprised you can't sit still with any stim of that level... lol

[LinuxJon]

wtf 2 scoops of Mr. Hyde. I am not surprised you can't sit still with any stim of that level... lol

Haha... well, I was starting to feel nothing from 2 scoops of Hyde. So the fact this did anything at all was impressive.

daheckkk so much benching... I would die

good stuff!

Thanks man. It's a lot of benching, but that's by far my favorite exercise, so I'm totally ok with that.

Kickass session man! Looks like you're loving the program. The weight continues to feel heavy, but now you're able to move it at will.

Thanks man! Loving the program for sure. I'm shocked that I'm able to get up stuff like 225 x 5 on flat and 225 x 6 decline now, without even being on full rest. I was only doing 2 reps at that weight when I started a couple weeks ago.

[LinuxJon]

Was supposed to be an off night, but decided to go down to the gym and see what I wasn't too sore to do, that wouldn't interfere with tomorrow's workout. This is pretty much what I came up with.

Cable row:

100 x 20
120 x 16
140 x 12
150 x 8

Lat Pulldown:

120 x 12
120 x 12
120 x 12

Side Lat Raise:

15 x 16
15 x 16
15 x 16

Shrugs - Smith Machine:

90 x 20
180 x 12
180 x 12
230 x 8

Cable Curl:

30 x 40
50 x 16
35 x 25

So.... pretty much didn't accomplish anything that session, except for being able to feel like I went to the gym. Tomorrow should be more productive- more bench!

[LinuxJon]

Friday night Smolov session. Was a short one, but it's all about setting up for tomorrow morning's.

Bench:

215 x 4 (7 sets)
215 x 7

Weighted Crunches:

80 x 16 (5 sets)

Ab Coaster:

50 reps
25 reps
25 reps

That's it. Tomorrow's session is going to be insane. Last day of Smolov. Intend to not be able to move my arms before I leave the gym. Want to be absolutely burned out before I go into recovery mode for my max attempt Wednesday.

[LinuxJon]

Today was the last day of Smolov Jr for bench. Really wanted to push myself and get the most I could from my chest, delts and tri's today. The plan is to rest until Tue/Wed and then go for a max attempt. Not sure what my plan is for a bench program from here forward, but I've got a few days to figure it out.

Really happy with how things went today. Here was my session:

Bench:
230lbs x 3 (9 sets)
230lbs x 5
245lbs x 2
255lbs x 1

Incline Bench:
155lbs x 10
165lbs x 7
175lbs x 5
185lbs x 3
205lbs x 1
215lbs x 1

OHP- Seated:
135lbs x 6
135lbs x 6
155lbs x 2
95lbs x 14

Decline Bench:
225lbs x 3 (felt a little shoulder tightness, decided to cut decline today)

Cable Pushdown:
80lbs x 16
80lbs x 16
80lbs x 16
95lbs x 12

Found an old picture today from shortly before I started lifting in December. Thought I'd post it to show just how little muscle I had when I started this all:



About eight months of hard work has got me from there to here:

[LinuxJon]

Really could feel yesterdays workout in my arms/chest today, which makes me happy. Decided to go down tonight for some work on back and bi's.

Assisted Pullups:
-100lbs x 10
-100lbs x 10
-100lbs x 12
-85lbs x 7
-70lbs x 5
-60lbs x 4
-45lbs x 3

T-Bar Row:
45lbs x 16
70lbs x 12
90lbs x 10
100lbs x 6

Dumbbell Row:
45lbs x 16
50lbs x 12
60lbs x 10
75lbs x 6

Barbell Curls:
60lbs x 20
60lbs x 20

Cable Curls:
50lbs x 20
65lbs x 12
80lbs x 7

My thumb/wrist is finally starting to feel good enough again that I got in some free weight curls- I'd been stuck doing cable work for a couple of weeks.

Plan on focusing a lot more on back for a while. I'd somewhat neglected it in favour of bench work, and I'd like to get to the point where I'm doing unassisted pullup work.

[Muzzlrpress]

The moment of truth is almost here! You peppered?

[LinuxJon]

The moment of truth is almost here! You peppered?

I dunno brah, I'm scurred. Afraid hitting 275 the other day was a fluke.

There is a pretty chill kid I met down at the gym tonight who wants to hit chest together tues/wed though, so at least I should have a spot.

[Muzzlrpress]

I dunno brah, I'm scurred. Afraid hitting 275 the other day was a fluke.

There is a pretty chill kid I met down at the gym tonight who wants to hit chest together tues/wed though, so at least I should have a spot.

If all else fails, the roll of shame works.

[LinuxJon]

If all else fails, the roll of shame works.

I bench without collars, so I can always do the "shed the weight" move and get everyone looking at the crashing noise.

Seriously though, I'm feeling pretty good. Eyes set on 285. That's what my scrawny co-worker has always claimed he benched "back in high school" once, so at least getting there will feel good.

[Muzzlrpress]

I bench without collars, so I can always do the "shed the weight" move and get everyone looking at the crashing noise.

Seriously though, I'm feeling pretty good. Eyes set on 285. That's what my scrawny co-worker has always claimed he benched "back in high school" once, so at least getting there will feel good.

That's modest. I always get the "benched 315" in high school.

[LinuxJon]

That's modest. I always get the "benched 315" in high school.

Nah, this kid was a used car salesman (literally)- he knows how to fib. Whenever he is bs'ing, he does a good job of picking something random and semi-believable. Doesn't matter if we're talking to clients, talking about weightlifting, about how fast his car is, ect.

Don't really buy he ever hit 2 plates, but it's still an ego thing, just on the 1% chance he's not lying.

[Muzzlrpress]

On a side note, you are gaining strength way too fast. I gotta step my game up.

[LinuxJon]

On a side note, you are gaining strength way too fast. I gotta step my game up.

Thanks man- that's good to hear. It sort of feels like a snails pace on this end of it.

How long does it normally take someone to get to 275 or 315?

Also, I'm open to suggestions for my bench program moving forward, cause I've got no clue.

[Muzzlrpress]

Thanks man- that's good to hear. It sort of feels like a snails pace on this end of it.

How long does it normally take someone to get to 275 or 315?

Also, I'm open to suggestions for my bench program moving forward, cause I've got no clue.

I'm loving 5/3/1 for bench. Sheiko also worked for me.

5x5 esque routines always worked better for my lower body than upper.

[LinuxJon]

I'm loving 5/3/1 for bench. Sheiko also worked for me.

5x5 esque routines always worked better for my lower body than upper.

I'm not familiar with either. Guess it's time to spend a while on Google looking into them.

5x5 definitely feels like too low of volume for bench, to me.