Back on the higher road with bench press.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 18, week 3

• Work Set – Bench Press (working max: 235#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x95
  • 1x5x120
  • 1x3x145
  • 1x5x180 (work)
  • 1x3x200
  • 1x4x225 (rep-PR)
• Assistance – Bench Press
  • 5 x 10/10/10/10/6 x 140
• Assistance – Pendlay Rows
  • 5 x 10 x 120

Strictly speaking, it’s only a rep PR because I’ve done 225 before, but it’s still a “true” PR because I’ve never done this much weight for this many reps period — it’s my new max/ceiling “most I’ve ever done before in my life period”. 🙂

So cool on that. Back to 2 wheels!

I had to drop back my weight because I changed my form — arms tucked more, so less chest, more triceps. It’s been a slow climb back up, but you just keep moving forward and eventually you get there. And with happier shoulders!

I am a little upset I didn’t get at least 5 reps, but I’m not surprised. It finally dawned on me with my feet: I’m pressing through with my toes, not my heels. It’s either because my feet are curled in, so I press down on my toes, or because they’re out in front and so the angle of attack is different… and either way, I’m not pushing through with my heels! It seems so obvious now, but it obviously wasn’t until now. 🙂 So of course, instead of saying “set it aside, deal with it next week”, I started to dink with it. I also had settled before this session that my cue was “tight”. And well… things were all over the place:

– Fiddling with my feet
– Trying to be “tight” but not, or at least not overall tight
– For whatever reason when I press I “suck in” instead of pressing my gut out into the belt — old habits die VERY hard?

And so with these and other little things, my brain was thinking about too many things.

The thing was, that first rep with 225? Felt soooo easy! I felt I could have done 10 reps. But my brain started to overload with cues and feedback, I thought about too many things, my bar path lost the groove, strong but “wiggly/wobbly”.. .and that’s not going to get me far. So after 4 reps I just racked it and that was that.

Anyways, it felt good to be back here and able to just fully progress forward now, instead of trying to regain ground.