John Phung

No More Pain, OHP, 340×3 Bench Press, High(er) Bar Squats And Stuff You Should Read

March 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

A recap of this past week:

NO MORE PAIN

Pain from my injury sustained earlier this month is pretty much gone. I can low bar and high bar squat 440 lb without feeling any pain. I can now sneeze without feeling pain on my right side as well.

Time to ramp up my squats and deadlifts again!

225 lb Overhead Presses

I did 15 total reps with 225 lb this week, whereas last week I only managed 12. I did miss on the 5th set (the bar was pushed too forward in front of my body), but I managed to get the final 3 reps on the next set.

On Wednesday I'm going to try for 225 lb x 5, something that I've been chasing for a while.

And after that, I'm thinking hit a 3 rep max, then 2 rep max, then go for a 1 rep max of 260 lb.

All in good time.

Reverse Grip Bench Press

340 lb x 3, which is a 3 rep max. Previously I did 2 reps with this.

Next Friday, I'm going to try for a 2 rep max with 350 lb. To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if I can get 3 reps with 350 lb.

High(er) Bar Squat

Threw on a pair of Fat Gripz Extreme onto the center of the bar to experiement with on Saturday. Worked up to a single at 440 lb, and then did 410x3 for 2 sets.

It gets a little harder coming out from the bottom position. I'm thinking because the bar is placed higher on the back, the distance between the bar and the hip is higher compard to a high bar squat with a bare bar, so the torque is greater.

It's an interesting variation on the high bar squat that I might do every now and then. I do prefer the feel of a narrow steel Olympic bar digging into my traps than having the load distrubited over a greater surface area with the Fat Gripz.

Stuff You Should Read

Check these out!

Statement on the Passing of Joe Weider by Arnold Schwarzenegger
Is Powerlifting Undergoing a Resurrection? By Marty Gallagher

In Weekly Review 3RM, Bench Press, fat gripz, high bar squat, injury, no pain, ohp

Training Log: Friday March 22, 2013

March 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

It feels as though I never even had an injury. Until I did suitcase deadlifts, then I felt a little bit of something on the top set, holding the bar with my right hand.

Texas method intensity day.

Foam Rolling

10 minutes on the black Rumble Roller and lacrosse ball.

L-Sit Chin Ups

Body weight (~200 lb): 8

Low Bar Squat

45 lb: 20
140 lb: 10
230 lb: 5
320 lb: 3
370 lb: 2
410 lb: 1
440 lb: 1
400 lb: 3

High Bar Squat

400 lb: 3

Face Pulls

70lbs: 15

Reverse Grip Bench Press

45 lb: 10
140 lb: 5
230 lb: 3
290 lb: 1
340 lb: 3 *PR!
- 3RM
- 340 lb was a 2RM, done 1 month ago.
325 lb: 3,3
- +2.5 lb from a couple of weeks ago.
- Doing only 2 sets instead of 3 (normally do 3x3) simply because I did 3 reps with 340 lb.

One-Arm Suitcase Deadlift

Hook grip.

Right side first, then left side.

Bar set at about mid shin.

45 lb: 5
100 lb: 5
140 lb: 5

In Workout Log Bench Press, foam rolling, intensity day, One-Arm Suitcase Deadlift, reverse grip, Squat, Texas method

How I Use Leg Drive During The Bench Press

March 12, 2013 — 1 Comment

I figured out how to utilize this "leg drive" during bench press sometime during the past couple of months, and I'm sure it has contributed to my continued gains.

I discovered this by using my *imagination*:

Maybe this is totally wrong, but it seems to be working for me so far.

Here's what I do:

What I try to imagine is if there was a bathroom scale placed underneath my upper back, buttocks and one for each foot as I am lying down on the bench.

Imagine 4 of these: 1 underneath your upper back, 1 underneath your butt, and 1 for each foot.

I then push with both of my legs and raise my hips so that my butt is OFF the bench. Then I lower but buttocks gently so that they are barely touching the bench.

If I pretend to have an out of body experience and take a look at those imaginary bathroom scales while I'm pushing into the ground with my legs, I would see that most of the weight distributed on my feet and my upper back, with nearly 0 lb of pressure being placed by my buttocks.

It's almost as if I'm trying to lift my butt off the bench, but just not quite there yet.

In this position, my quadriceps, glutes and back will be contracting hard and my back is arched and my butt will be touching the bench ever so slightly.

Even before unracking the bar, my is body is tight and uncomfortable.

Combined with the rubber anti slip mat on the bench to prevent my body from sliding, imagining "bathroom scales" to harness the power of leg drive has helped improved my bench press.

Works for me, and it could work for you!

In Blog Bench Press, imagination, Leg Drive

Training Log: Friday March 8, 2013

March 8, 2013 — Leave a comment

Texas method intensity day.

Foam Rolling

10 minutes on the black Rumble Roller and lacrosse ball.

High Bar Squat

Right side feels better. Going to do 3 sets of 5 and keep on adding weight every workout.

45 lb: 20
100 lb: 10
140 lb: 10
190 lb: 5
230 lb: 5
255 lb: 5
280 lb: 5,5,5

Face Pulls

70lbs: 15

Reverse Grip Bench Press

45 lb: 10
140 lb: 5
230 lb: 3
280 lb: 1
330 lb: 1
375 lb: X
322.5 lb: 3,3,3
- Felt tough. Contemplating a "de-load".

In Workout Log Bench Press, foam rolling, intensity day, reverse grip, Squat, Texas method

Bench Press 315 x 4 (4RM), Tea + Whey Protein, Kirk Karwoski Interview and Deadlift Technique

February 3, 2013 — Leave a comment

Well, I only got a 4 rep max on the bench press this week while aiming for a 5RM:

Out of all the 4 major barbell lifts that I do, the bench press benefits most from a little bit of psyching up and aggression. At least for me. I'll inject more of this next week when I attempt 5 reps again.

Other than that, my lower back seems to be aching more than normal, so I might "de-load" this week. We'll see.

Anyway, try this out: