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by hyperchase 3734 days ago
I got cocky as a novice, and fucked my back pretty bad and was out of comission for a 4 months or so. Got cocky chasing huge (for me, at the time) numbers and ended up losing way more progress than I gained. Minor things here and there in my shoulders and elbows, which I ended up fixing by tearing apart my own bench press form and being meticulous with ever part of the lift. Bench press is, in my opinion, the most technical lift of the big three.

Slow consistent progress wins out in the long run, I'm a huge fan of sub-maximal training and going for rep PRS and not maxing out often. I only compete at most twice per year, and don't bother going for max attempts when I'm not at a meet.

All of my training these days is based around the principles in Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 and I've slowly added my own tweaks and customizations over time to it and it hasn't let me down.

Don't neglect mobility work. It's boring, but it'll save you in the long run.
3 comments
rebootthesystem 3734 days ago
> Bench press is, in my opinion, the most technical lift of the big three.

Is there a book or online resource that could help one understand this and how to approach it correctly?

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hyperchase 3733 days ago
Starting Strength is a fanastic resource about learning about the lifts. Personally, I think Mark Rippetoe's training programs are pretty crap but the information about the technical aspects of the lifts in the book are great.

Alan Thrall also has some videos on Youtube on the bench press that are fantastic too.

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industriousthou 3734 days ago
>Don't neglect mobility work. It's boring, but it'll save you in the long run.

Dude, yeah. Been lifting on and off for about five years and made a little progress. Just started working with a trainer and realized that I've never done a proper dead lift because I lack flexibility in my hamstrings. I always kind of blew off mobility as not being related to strength. A real eye opener.

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rebootthesystem 3734 days ago
Thanks for the insight. I am going to back off on how aggressively I increase the load and go to work on flexibility and technique.
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