160kg - Still a step too far... but not for long

Roughly 3 weeks ago, I tested my strength on bench and I did really well. I did 155kg for a hard single and then tried 160kg, a brave attempt, but to be honest an absolute blowout. The bar touched the chest and then stayed there. 

Since then I've done a couple of technical and specialised workouts, focused on building up my strength, especially at the mid point of the press, my weakspot. This part of the lift is where the front delts help the bar transition into the final lockout with the triceps. This hasn't always been a weak spot for me, and the reason it exists is because my cage is too narrow for me to place my hands as wide as I would like. As such, the shoulders are not able to distribute the weight as evenly as they would otherwise be able to, increasing the pressure they have to handle. It also increases the workload of the triceps. 

So even though I have very strong front delts, being able to overhead seated press 145kg 320lb, I struggle more than I should. But a good craftsman never blames his tools. To compensate I will simply have to build my front delts up to monster levels. A challenge I'll happily take.

So I've been focusing on training these areas with, as mentioned above, specialised movements. Technical lifts such as cambered bar, close grip bench, weighted dips etc. And I'm happy with my work and progress in these areas, enough so to once again try the 160kg flat bench.

This workout focuses on going up to the target weight as effectively and efficiently as possible. Preserving energy for the big ask. This time I did once again fail the lift, but I managed to get the lift 80% of the way up, struggling to get the triceps to take over from the powerful press off the chest and the transitional element of the delts. 

However although a fail, it felt like a success with the lift, being oh so near. So I continued the workout with a mix of overloaded negatives on 170kg, and pin/dead press on 140kg. Causing the areas that let me down, to reach complete exhaustion. Finished with some tricep push Downs to be extra sadistic.

Overall I know what I've been doing has been working, so it's simply more of the same stuff for the next weeks to come, when hopefully I will attempt 160kg again, this time with success.

Thanks for reading my workout journal. "Back to Bodybuilding" 

BIG AL