USAWA

Guys, to be honest, this post went out for purely emotional reasons. I was so cranked after finding this new approach to work so well with my piece-of-shit bench press, I just started typing without much thought. It’s just so friggin’ awesome to me to see how time and time again applying new research just keeps my training top notch. I just get really pumped some times.

Only now that Mike and others want to know more, did I start thinking about this post. Al is correct…of course this study will be reviewed in JOPP. So look forward to the January issue for the details. But I can still share some details, with an important caveat.

First, you don’t rest between sets, you rest between pre-determined rep-counts within a set. This was investigated as part of an overall science-based muscle-growth oriented training program. This approach also entails incorporating specific durations of rest and attention to the composition of training intensity (load) and volume (sets, reps).

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…”That’s complicated shit.” You would be correct because the human body is a complicated machine and we know a whole heck a lot more now than we did, heck, even just a year ago. So unless you think that Dr. George Barker Windship’s hip lift advice from the 1860’s is still relevant today, and you would therefore also rely on his medical advice for an illness you’re experiencing, I’d recommend you change your thinking about how to approach your training.

And that brings me to the caveat. You see, research is very, very specific. So unless you incorporate the training study’s exact approach, you cannot expect to make the same sort of improvements. Of course I wasn’t able to do that as I had to incorporate adjustments based on many different and specific training considerations…such as the point in time in my current program that I’m starting this, what my current volume and intensity is, my training frequency, density, rest periods, exercise composition, how I need to change the rest of my training approach (not just benching), etc. To be honest, it would amount to malpractice if I were to tell you precisely what I’ve been doing because there is no way it would work equally well for you unless the above considerations would be addressed.

At any rate, there are a few more details on what I’ve done so far that I can share. I started this 2 Fridays ago. Then I benched again last Monday, last Thursday, and last Friday. Then I benched this Monday and will do it two more times this wk. At that point I will have overreached, will unload for a wk, and that should optimize my supercompensation. We’ll see…I’ll let you know…

– d

[b]Quote from 61pwcc on November 27, 2013, 18:24[/b]
Sounds like 1970’s Rest-Pause training and Jeff Magruder’s over reaching followed by rebounding Bench routine he used in the 1980’s.

Naaa, Jim, it’s nothing like that old and outdated approach. Rest-Pause is a recipe for disaster via overtraining and increased injury risk and holds no scientific support whatsoever…at least not the way it used to and still is applied by some lifters today. Besides, in the overtraining continuum, it’s important to distinguish between functional overreaching and non-functional overreaching, something we knew nothing about in the ’80’s.

By the way, Jeff and I competed in the first APF World Bench Press Championships together, a by-invitation-only competition. Super nice guy. He held promise, but his injuries knocked him out of the game. Of course I don’t know to what extent he incorporated Rest-Pause, but it could be an explanation for all the injuries he’s had.

So I benched again on Wed. and it seems that now it really kicked in. For the rep-volume I selected with the chosen training load, it took me 6 sets to complete all of my reps thus far, with the exception of Monday where it took me 5 sets. However, on Wed. I was able to complete that rep-count with the same load in just 3 sets. WOW!

Benching again today (Fri.)…can’t wait!

-d

YEAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!

Man, the insanity in my Dungeon was—IN-F$#*^%G-SANE today. After I got done with my benching and concluded this new training approach, I was sooooooo CRAAAAAANKED! my training partner Gram (not pronounced like the unit of weight and meaning wrath in medieval German), my barbaric Bavarian Shepard, picked up on my energy and started running circles around my Rover (I train in my garage) and chasing his tail. (Hey Pringle, doesn’t that sound like you when we let it RIP in Lawrence?! YEAH!).

Well, I put on another unbelievable 30 pounds in my bench press on top of what I had already gained. So that’s a total of 55 pounds in 3 wks. Not only that, but I did that AFTER completing my feet in the air benches. And as if that isn’t enough, I could’ve actually done a double with that weight. But I was so fired up, I just threw the bar back in the rack after my attempt.

This is so friggin’ AWESOME! I’m pumped beyond belief. At some level I feel as though I earned myself a beer. Then again, since that would increase my testosterone levels after training, and that would not be a good thing, I better not. (Yup, I know that’s completely contrary to what people think they know about alcohol and testosterone, but they got around to researching this in athletes and a different picture emerged. And yes, Al, this is another shameless “infomercial” for our January issue.) So I guess I better just stick to fat, protein, and carbs.

-d