12 Apr Paul Oneid – Week 5 Bench Troubles

My first trip to the Arnold as a pro was less than stellar. I am learning that in order to win, there are a lot of intangible qualities that you don’t learn unless you compete on the big stage. Sometimes you just need to step out of the backyard. For now, I am heading into a long off-season and will continue to work with Byrd and Tucker. I am the biggest and strongest I have ever been and I am looking forward to building on that over the next few months.

[wa-wps]

Top set from today. 2×3 RPE "I'm weak", 3×5 RPE "garbage", 4×2 2 board at RPE "eff this". Very off day, but there is a silver lining to every shit coloured storm cloud. #bench #benchpress #povertybench #powerlifter #powerlifting #rawpowerlifting #poundsareforpeasants #offseason #rebuilding #dynamobarbell #crossfitotown #inzer #IAD #inzer #1020L #1020Life #tentwentylife #PRS #TeamPRS #PowerRackStrength #1020thick #teamtucker #captainjacked #noskinnychampions #theyhateuscausetheyanus #hotpam #ottawa @onlythestrong275 @briancarroll81 @tuckerloken @powerrackstrength

A post shared by Paul Oneid (@pauloneid) on Apr 11, 2017 at 7:19pm PDT

So, as per the usual, my bench is feeling less than stellar.  It seems to be getting affected the most by the pre-exhaust.  Everything, regardless of bar weight, feels like a ton of bricks.  On the squat and deadlift, the pre-exhaust help me focus on my position and engaging everything, while on the bench press it isn’t allowing me to do anything properly.  It was a really fun experiment, and it ABSOLUTELY helped me get my fitness back up, but we are going to swap the bodybuilding work to the back end of the workout.  It will be similar to the PowerBuilding template, but with more variability to the main lift.  I am loving the training split we are using right now, and Byrd and I are going to be doing some really cool stuff, so stay tuned.

Bench

1. Flies – 3×20
2. DB Press – 3×15
3. Bench – 2×3 RPE way too high, 3×5 RPE 7
4. 2 Board – 4×2 RPE 7
5. DB Incline – 3×10
6. Pressdowns – 100reps

The same warm-up was performed everyday:

• Hip circle – 200 steps
• Supine alternating hip hikes – x30
• Side lying clams – x20ea
• Lateral leg raise – x20ea
• Single leg glute bridge – x10ea
• Glute bridge iso hold – x:30s
• Big 2 (bird dog/ mcgill situps)
• TKE Iso-hold – 10x5s
• On upper days
  • Band dislocations – 2×20
  • Band Pull aparts – 2×20
  • Mace Swings – lots
  • Pushups with scap protraction – 2×15
  • T-Spine mobilization – 2×5 holds
• On Lower Days
  • Single leg RDL – 2x15ea
  • Hip Airplanes – 2x15ea
  • Bulgarian Split Squat – 2x15ea
  • Goblet Squat – 2×15