Question

2.74K viewsSeptember 11, 2017

Eric Bowman (anonymous) September 6, 2017 0 Comments

Hello PRS friends

I’m transitioning from powerbuilding to a bench only in December. After this week I have 11 weeks (assuming I take meet week off) to peak. I’m at a conundrum of whether to

Do a mix of offseason & a shorter meet prep OR
Do regular pre-contest cycle with an extra week thrown in there

At the request of Brian I’m adding in some more specifics
– Lifting video: Unfortunately I don’t have anything too recent as my phone cam is dead. The video I’ve attached was from an unofficial push/pull/225 bench for reps with Stan Efferding where I missed 1/3-1/2way up if that helps. Yes in that competition we didn’t have to take a long pause.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1p6RdafCtblY0RlaTZKcDJPQTQ/view

– As far as goals for the meet: to qualify for CPU/IPF regionals in bench only for next year. Based on how my strength has increased since the above video in May I know I’ll be close.

– As far as injuries: I had a history of LBP a while back before I met Stu in 2010 but now I’m good.

I did have some longstanding patellofemoral pain which is now good from a pain perspective. Since the injury and getting sick afterwards my squat gone up 130 lbs in the 2+ years of 10/20/Life – but I feel like my strength levels haven’t been as stable as my BP/DL. If I got sick the BP/DL would stay relatively stable but the squat would take a nosedive. Towards that end with my squat training I’m am slowly, methodically building up my squat training volume ala Gabbett style to make for better work capacity and a better squat base. That (and being busy with work/personal stuff right now) is why I’m doing a bench only not a full meet in December.

So my plan is to train the bench press as per the 10/20/Life 2nd edition precontest template and to train the squat/deadlift offseason combo style. The only tweak I’ll be making is the week before meet week I’ll just work up to a conservative last warmup on the squat/deadlift instead of testing.

Anyways I know this is a long ass post but I didn’t want to leave out any details. As always I appreciate your thoughts and advice.

Sincerely

Eric Bowman

1 Answer

Answer 1 · 2017-09-11T11:43:54+00:00

I am in favour of the combo style squat and deadlift. It will allow you to recover more effectively between sessions and put more of your mental energy into the bench press, since that is your focus. Personally, if I was going to do a bench only, I would do it as per the book, but I would drop the volume of the squat/ deadlift accessories and err on the conservative side of the RPE’s. Think “maintain” instead of “build” the SQ/DL, especially in the last 6 weeks of the prep. Personally, my bench takes a hit whenever my SQ numbers go up past a certain point. You can also think about using some speciality bars to take the stress off the shoulders and elbows. Implement a box to try and open up the hips a bit more to help your bench set-up. It really all depends how “fancy” you want to get with the plan. In any case, the power building should transition well into the meet prep with the new muscle and work capacity that you have built.

1 Answer

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