Boost Your Bench and Upper Body Power

Warning:  This is going to offend some people!

I've been holding this post in for a long time but I really can't deal with the sad state of society today, especially as it pertains to personal fitness and taking pride in one's body.  Everyday I see and hear more and more examples of people making excuses and trying to find shortcuts around the truth.  That truth is that training your body and mind by working out is HARD WORK.  As a matter of fact, life is hard work.  There's a great line in the movie "Friday Night Lights:"  "The only curses are the ones that are self-imposed, we all dig our own holes."

If you don't like something in your life, then get off your ass and change it.  As an athlete my whole life I've had to hear bitching and moaning from players the entire time about how the coach doesn't like them, or they're better then everyone else on the team but they're not starting because the coach just really likes another player...Yeah, you know why he likes that other player?  Because that other player is talented, or that other player works hard, or that other player spends more time studying film and lifting weights then they do bitching and complaining.  Pointing fingers at everyone else and saying they're the reason that you haven't achieved your goals is the biggest cop out you can possibly make.  Simply put:  If you want something, then go get.  Let nothing stand in your way.  If it's a priority in your life, you'll make it happen.

Arnold ripping heavy T Bar Rows
during the golden era

Secondly, I came onto Facebook the other day and the very first thing that pops up on my news feed is a picture of about 30 different supplements stacked on top of each other.  Every possible name brand form of creatine, protein, BCAAs, pre-workouts, post-workouts, you name it, it was on there.  The caption that the kid put read "Yeah we go hard."  I almost fell off my chair laughing.  THE FACT THAT YOU TAKE MORE SUPPLEMENTS THAN ANY HUMAN BODY CAN HANDLE DOESN'T MAKE YOU BIG OR STRONG OR MEAN THAT YOU "GO HARD."  If anything, it means that you have just been lazy and stupid enough to believe that something that's mass manufactured by a company that, surprise surprise, is trying to make money, is the key to you getting big and strong.  No shock, the kid who posted it is about 160 pounds soaking wet and pretty much all fat.  The key to building strength, size and power is hard work, blood, sweat, and tears and heavy motherfuckin' weights!  It's time to man up, to stop looking for the easiest and simplest way out.  Make training, whatever kind it is you do, a priority in your life.  No excuses, no bullshit.  Put in the time and effort and you will see the kind of rewards you've always wanted.

Now that I got that out of my system, I can finally get to what I really like to talk about, which is getting stronger.  My man Jimmy Rizz is certainly not one of those people looking for a way out.  Since our football season ended he has been training like never before and working his ass off in the gym because he's got a goal and he's not going to let anything get in his way.  Today, we hit a crazy upper body workout designed to build power and strength in the entire upper body.

Diesel Crew Chaos Bench (KB is more ideal
because it's weight distribution makes it even more difficult
to stabilize)
www.dieselsc.com

The exercise of the day was definitely chaos bench press as an assistance lift.  After power work and heavy benching we took a 50 and 15 pound dumbbell on each side of the bar, attached them to the bar with a resistance band for each.  This allows the weight to swing freely during the movement, as opposed to a weight plate where the weight is evenly distributed and in direct contact with the bar.  The result, an unbelievable workout for every muscle in the upper body in an effort to stabilize the bar throughout the movement.  Working the often neglected stabilizer muscles up the upper back and shoulder girdle through chaos benching can boost your max effort presses like never before.  If you want to press like a beast, start incorporating chaos bench into your upper body training.  Below is the entire workout from today.


Warmup
Shoulder rehab/back activation
Banded Face Pulls--2x10
Banded Lat Pull Down--2x10
Shoulder Traction/Row--2x10

Rizz as a big ass banana 

Power
1) Kneeling Medicine Ball Chest Past--5x3

Strength
2) Bench Press--3x3 at 8 RPE (worked up to 300 lbs for 3x3)
(Work up to a weight that you would fail at 5 reps on, and do it for 3x3)
(RPE is on a scale of 10, 10 being the most difficult, 8/10=3/5)

Assistance
3) Chaos Bench--3x8-12
(50 and 15 lb dumbbells on each side attached by resistance bands)

4) T Bar Row Drop Sets--3x4 each weight (total of 12 reps per set)
--Started with 4 45 lb plates for 4, then 3 plates for 4, then 2 plates for 4

5a) Renegade Rows--3x10 each arm (20 lb dumbbells)
5b) Banded Face Pulls--3x12

Finisher--2 sets
6) Triceps Death--50% of 1RM (170 lbs)
--5 reps, 5 reps on 2 boards, 5 reps on 4 boards, 5 reps on 2 boards, 5 reps (25 total reps per set)


EMBRACE THE GRIND

skij333@comcast.net