Had a meet this weekend.

[benchmonster]

Hey fellas,

I know a few of you guys, and thought someone might be interested in seeing a pic from the meet.

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum...hreadid=173917

I missed the bench in the pic, but got very close as is evident in the pic. I did manage to get 500 for the first time in a meet. So even with the miss it was a good day.

B.

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

Dude!

Well frickin' done!

So, you missed the 500 first time but nailed it the second, or are you attempting a heavier weight in that pic? (I'm terrible at working out weights from looking at plates on photos, sorry).

Was it just a bench comp, yeah? Or do you compete in dead and squat too?

Btw, i never realised you were Hannibal from Elite.

[body]

well done

[Saturday Fever]

Good work, bench. That's a great place to get stuck with 525, only an inch or so from lockout. Next time it's yours!

[NateDogg]

Originally posted by The_Chicken_Daddy
Btw, i never realised you were Hannibal from Elite.

I don't think he's Hannibal, scroll down in that thread. I think he's benchmonster over there as well.

BTW, nice friggin' lift!

[Adam]

Great lifting B! that 525 will definatly go next time around!

CD hannibal just posted the pic, Bench is benchmonster over there too
PS Hannibal hit a 425 at that meet too and it was his first meet!

[chris mason]

Good job dude!

[benchmonster]

thanks to all. I am benchmonster over there too. I just sent the pic home with Hannibal cause he has a scanner, and the ability to post pics and I don't.

B.

[benchmonster]

And also, I did not miss the 500 and come back and get it. I opened at 500, nailed it, then tried the 525 which is in the pic. I missed it, but was as close as you can get, then tried it again and missed badly on the third attempt.

With the equipment I use and the level of lifting I am at, the margin for error is almost nonexistent. I either smoke it, or miss it, not much in between.

I am not a brutally strong person who can just perform an ugly lift and still get it. I only weigh between 220 and 230 most of the time, and have been powerlifting for only 14 months. I, as can be seen in the pic, am not some huge monster, and have to rely on perfect technique and exceptional bar speed to lift any kind of weights. When any one of these things is lacking, then I miss.

I had a bad day, but still got a big milestone. I will take a 20 lb PR every meet from here on out and be happy as a clam, tho for this one, I am still quite dissapointed I missed that 525 which was so very very close.

Oh well, 10 weeks till the next meet, and I am opening with 525 at that one if training goes well. Wish me luck.

B.

[MonStar]

Powerlifting for 14 months benching 500? Thats a little hard to believe BM. What kind of program have you been training with?

[Saturday Fever]

Westside!

If I recall, he uses the full arsenal, too. Chains, bands, shirts, etc.

[someoneunlikeyo]

hey benchmonster,

i'd be happy as sh*t to bench half that, awesoome job

you didnt have a bench shirt on did you? what do you think of shirts in competition? do you think shirts help to much with the lift? or are shirts essential like padding in football, as they prevent injury.

once again, your lookin pretty freakin strong

[The_Chicken_Daddy]

Originally posted by benchmonster
And also, I did not miss the 500 and come back and get it. I opened at 500, nailed it, then tried the 525 which is in the pic. I missed it, but was as close as you can get, then tried it again and missed badly on the third attempt.

Ok, i see now. Well done.

And good luck with your next meet.

[Stray]

Congrats bro...I'm jealous!

[benchmonster]

I train westside all the way. Chains, bands, sled dragging, all of it.

I have been powerlifting for 14 months. I entered my first meet weighing 215 lbs in July of 2001 and benched 355 with no powerlifting training at all. 14 months later I benched 500 with the very close miss as seen in the photo of 525.

Someon. . . I am wearing a double layer denim bench shirt in that photo. I never ever go heavy without wearing a shirt. It is just as important as wearing shoulder pads to play football, or wearing spikes while running track.

I do it both to protect my joints and because the rules allow it, wearing the shirt allows me to bench much more than I can without one. I don't know exactly how much more, because my shoulder's are all chewed up from fighting full contact karate when I was younger, and I don't max out raw because I don't particularly like being injured.

Shirts are here to stay in the sport of powerlifting. If you don't like them, you are rapidly being left behind. Much more fun to go in and put 5 plates plus per side, and lift it or at least attempt it without getting hurt than it is to try 400 or 450 raw and rip off a pec or tear the **** out of a shoulder. I think a shirt can be very beneficial even for a non powerlifter, personally. The increased loads possible while wearing a shirt will make you a stronger raw lifter too.

I can easily bench more raw now, without even warming up, than I could 14 months ago with a shirt. And I never ever work specifically for upping my raw bench. Too risky, and who cares anyway? Only thing that matters is what you do on meet day.

And once again, thanks to all for the congrats.

B.

[ccwgriff]

excellent progress

[body]

bench - whats your squats and deads like out of curosity? or any other lifts you max in?

[benchmonster]

I have not yet done a full meet, so the numbers I can give are only gym lifts, or estimates, neither one of which count.

Deadlift is right at 450, which is pathetic. I have a terrible build for deadlifting, and I do not have the best lower back in the world. I just built a reverse hyper machine tho, so I expect the low back strength to come up pretty quickly.

Squat is a pretty good lift for me. Like I said I have not done a full meet yet, but feel pretty confident in going over 600 in the squat. I have done 500 off a below parallel box, 625 off a high box with just bar weight, and a 700+ with bar and bands off a high box.

Until it gets done in a meet, it is just a guess tho. I will be travelling to Canada for my first full meet in the spring. I hope to go 650-700 on squat, 550 or so on bench and 500 -550 on deadlift in either the 220 class or 242 class. If training continues to go well, and I get all those lifts in, that would be very close to totalling Elite, which is done by a very few lifters per class each year.

If I had a decent deadlift (600+) I could be going over Elite for sure. It is a weak link and one I am working very hard to bring up. As my deadlift goes up, so should the squat, as well. My posterior chain is not nearly where it needs to be.

B.

[body]

for me. relative my bench is my weak link with deads being my strongest.

[someoneunlikeyo]

i totally agree benchmonster, its much better to load a bunch more weight on and do it with a shirt, i didnt want to make it sounde like your cheating or anything. also i just wanted to hear your thoughts on it, i understand now.

[Chris Rodgers]

I said it there as well, good work!

LMAO@Monstar.