Friday, December 23, 2011

11-12-23: Max Bench

Elm City CrossFit WoD for Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Mark Rippetoe coaches Eva T. on proper bench press form. Nothing but awesome here. (crossfit.com)
Halp!!

For Jesus Newton: Max Bench

Bench press. Fairly simple, though I'm sure there are "classic" CrossFitters who have no idea what the hell it is or how to do it correctly. I would refer them to the Iron Samurai, Mark Rippetoe's crucial "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training" for all the necessary information. As luck would have it, I had a bench and rack to myself, which was great, since I was moving weights far lighter than the two super strong guys, but a bit higher than the two smaller guys (but not nearly 'higher' enough given the size difference... either they're super strong, or I have a LOT of work to do!)

After warming up under the empty bar, then 95# and 135#, I started backing off on the reps. My goal was to hit 205# for a 1RM, which would be the first time I actually hit a weight that heavy. Having just done a quick search of the last time I did bench presses, I aimed a bit south of my calculated 1RM (I did 4 reps at 185#, which is 87% of @212#), but the 185# marked the biggest weights I had moved at all, so 205# was still an impressive benchmark for me.

The only real notes from this workout were the final two lifts. At 195#, the bar shimmied a LOT from left to right on its way up, which made me a bit worried for the next lift, but I knew I wanted it. At 205#, the bar totally stalled about a 1/3rd of the way up, but I managed to get it going and completed the lift. I definitely thought there was a possibility of failing at that instant. Coach Vin asked if I was going to shoot for the next weight, but I had hit my goal, with difficulty, and decided to stop while I was ahead of the game. Knowing (now) that my calculated 1RM would really have been 7-10# higher, I kind of wish I had kept going, but I'm ok with that for now. Next time, I'll destrominate that weight.


1RM = 205# PR

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