I was a bit frustrated today. I was not able to make Lon Kilgore‘s intermediate strength standards this week. It shouldn’t be that surprising as I have not done bench press in over a year.
My weight was 80.4KG (178lbs) [theoretically I make the next weight class down standards but I tend to go over 181lbs on the weekends]
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So I was very close, but still no cigar for bench press. Using a little Ikea bench and a short bar without proper supports doesn’t really help either, but this is the limits of specificity. I do push ups. Sure push-ups with 20KG (44lbs) strapped to my back, but they are push-ups.
When I do bench I can barely activate my pecs, my pulse barely rises, my shoulders feel stiff and I don’t succeed. On the other hand I pretty much never train back squats (I do front squats) and the carryover is fantastic.
So I need to work a little bit more on my bench. This may be part of an excuse to buy more equipment. Though the other excuse is I have maxed by deadlift with my current weights. To get to 143KG (315lbs) I had to hang diving weights on my bar as I had no more room for plates. Now the question is can my deck take anymore? I ordered a rubber hex mat to see if that would help protect the deck and rubber plates.
157.5 KGs of rubber olympic weights + bar and a bench are a bit of investment. A McFit membership is cheaper but less convenient and less conductive to family life.
