John Phung

Bench Press 3RM, Increased Squat Volume, Supplements, Hugh Jackman, Legs and Lose 40 lb of Fat

January 27, 2013 — Leave a comment

Let's see how my training went this past week:

Squat

Decided to add a couple of sets of low bar squat to Monday's already high volume squat workout, and it was quite challenging. Maybe it's my lack of conditioning, but I had to lie down on a bench with my feet elevated during the later sets. I have never done this before.

I did 2 sets of 5 after 5x3 of low bar squats. My low back muscles felt extremely pumped after the sets of 5, and may have made the high bar squats more difficult than it should have been. I think I'll try adding the 2x5 low bar squats after 5x5 high bar squat to see how it feels.

Surprisingly, I did not experience much DOMS in my legs or lower back the next day, and I could walk up and down the stairs just fine.

Maybe, because my body proportion is similar to that of Wolverine, I have similar healing powers too! I definitely do not have the body hair though.

OHP

For overhead presses, I missed again (twice!) at 260 lb even though I didn't bench as much on Monday (3x5 instead of the usual 5x5), allowing my triceps to be "more fresh" on OHP day.

Maybe it has to do with my grip width, and how it affects my upper body position. I find that with a wider grip, I can stand more erect, but with a narrower grip, I need to lean back a little so that the bar is over the center of my body. I used a narrow grip, and I'm pretty sure I was standing more erect than leaning back, because the bar felt a little too forward as I tried to press the weight up.

Or maybe, I'm just not strong enough to OHP 260 lb. Yet.

I did get a body weight (200 lb) 7 rep max, and I'm hoping for 225 x 5 for the next session.

Bench Press

Out of all the lifts that I do with a barbell, I think I'm making the most progress with my bench press.

I hit a new 3RM at 330 lb. Previous my 3 rep personal best was 320 lb a little over a month ago. +10 lb increase is not too bad!

I think this weight would be a good opener for the bench press in a powerlifting competition.

Also, I think I finally (and accidentally) figured out how to utilize my lats to drive the bar up during the bench. I'll need to experiment more though.

Anyway, check out some of the articles I wrote this past week:

And take a look these:

Dude, So and So Got SO Fucking Jacked For That Movie: Hugh Jackman by Jamie Lewis
Maximal Leg Development by Mike Robertson
How to Lose 40 lb of Fat in 63 days by Marty Gallagher

In Weekly Review Bench Press, food, hugh jackman, jamie lewis, leg development, lose fat, low bar squat, Marty Gallagher, mike robertson, ohp, Squat, supplements, whey protein

Training Updates, My 1st Guest Post, 360 lb Bench Press, Pork Bulgogi Recipe, Slipping and OHP

January 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

Some training updates and notes from this past week, mainly for myself to clarify exactly what the hell I'm doing (or about to do), and for those who might be interested in my workouts.

Squat

For the squat, I'm increasing the volume on both volume day and intensity day.

For volume day, it will be:

Low bar squat: 5x3
High bar squat: 5x5

So that's 40 total squat reps (generally Texas Method is 25 total squat reps, and I've done 30 in the past). I'm playing with the idea of adding a couple of low bar squat back off sets of 2x5. Not sure yet.

And intensity day:

Low bar squat: 3x3
High bar squat: 2x5

Normally for intensity day for the Texas Method is 1x5.

We'll see how this works out.

I haven't squatted 500 lb or more in a long time. In fact, my squat has gotten weaker after making some changes to my programming. I have a feeling this increased volume, along with performing low bar and high bar squats in the same workout, will build a solid foundation and get me back on track.

My short term goal is to finally get a high bar squat of 500 lb or more (current max is 495 lb, missed on 500 lb a few times), and to break my overall squat (which is a low bar squat) PR of 510 lb.

Overhead Press

I missed a 260 lb overhead press on Wednesday, but did get some repetition PRs (225x4 and 200x6).

My triceps always feel a little fatigue and sore on Wednesday from Monday's bench workout. I suspect that if I decrease my bench press from 5x5 to 3x5 on Monday, I'll press 260 lb on Wednesday. We shall see.

Bench Press

My first bench press PR of the year! 360 lb with a reverse grip:

Everything felt smooth for the most part. I did feel the bar move forward towards my head by a fraction of a nanometer (normally on the descent, it goes down until the bar touches a point below my sternum), but I managed to control it and press it up.

I think I'll hit some repetition PR's before tackling a 1 rep max again.

Deadlift

I'll be trying out some added volume for deadlifts at 5x5. Basically, I'll work up to a heavy single (500 lb) with a hook grip to keep my pain tolerance high and to ensure I can deadlift 500 lb anytime, and then hit 5x5 for my work sets. I'm starting with 320 lb and will probably be adding 5 lb or so per week.

I was thinking of doing rack pulls again and gradually decrease the height of the bar over time, but changing the sabre style safeties in my power rack is a bit of a pain in the ass. Maybe I'll come back to this in the future.

L-Sit Chin Ups

Lastly, I also posted a video of me doing some L-sit chin ups, which I believe helps in the OHP (see my article below) and keeps me from looking like a Centaur.

Anyway, here are some blog posts I wrote this past week that you might have missed:

Pressure Cooker Pork Bulgogi Recipe - This is yummy.
How To Prevent Your Back From Slipping & Sliding During The Bench Press - This $1 item helped increase my bench press.

And check out these articles about the overhead press:

3 Ways To Increase Your Overhead Pressing Strength by John Phung (hey, that's me!)

I wrote a guest post for AllThingsGym.com at the request of the site owner. I write about some things that has helped me with my overhead press. I have a still have a few tricks up my sleeves, so maybe there will be a part II in the future 😉

Pimpin' Ain't Easy #4- Let's get Down to The Finish (NSFW) by Jamie Lewis

Another article about the overhead press, detailing different methods by guys like Tommy Kono and Bill March, who both had a similar body weight as me in the past, but pressed well over 300 lb over their heads.

In Weekly Review Bench Press, ChAoS and PAIN, deadlift, jamie lewis, john phung, l-sit chin ups, ohp, overhead press, Squat, Texas method, training updates

How To Prevent Your Back From Slipping & Sliding During The Bench Press

January 19, 2013 — 1 Comment

Recently I figured out how to utilize leg drive during the bench press. My bench press has gone up, but I’ve found myself pushing so hard with my legs that sometimes my back would slide on the bench.

Here’s an example of me slipping on the bench while attempting to bench press 350 lb:

As you can see at around the 0:47 mark, the position of my head and body suddenly jolts backwards as I started pushing harder with my legs on the ascent, causing me to miss the rep.

It sucks! I would have had that rep had it not been for the my back sliding on the bench.

The first thing I attempted to remedy this situation was chalk. I already have it in my home gym, so might as well use it. I’ve put chalk on my back and on the bench but had varying success. Sometimes it would work, but other times I would slip.

A user on Fitocracy directed me to a post on AllThingsGym.com which mentions the use of a rubber mesh used to line shelves, and nearly at the same time, Craig Hirota made a comment to use the same thing.

So I picked up a roll of this “Shelf & Drawer Liner” from the dollar store and put it to the test.

I choose black in color to match the Rogue bench. Plus, anything else wouldn’t look as manly.

The roll is 1’ x 5’, which fits my bench just fine. It’s a little long, but I let the excess part hang off the edge. I may cut it to size in the future.

So far, it works pretty good.

Earlier, I missed on a 360 lb bench press due to my back slipping once again. I did not have the rubber mesh liner at the time.

Now, 2 weeks after, here’s how it looks after placing the anti-slip rubber mesh shelf liner the bench:

No slipping! Not bad considering I hit a bench press PR using a $1 item Good investment if you ask me.

Another way to prevent sliding on the bench during bench press is to use bands. It’s also mentioned on ATG's post, but check out the video below by Greg Robins demonstrating how it’s done: