Nice.

So the past 3-4 months I really have been pushing myself and staying true to my schedule, I am pleased to report a loss of ~15 lbs and an undetermined but noticeable amount of body fat.

Just makes me wanna keep going

Good stuff. I finally got back to being serious about my diet. Down 8 pounds these last two weeks.

Good work fellas!

Some Big PR's for me this week. 540 x 2 squat and 540 x 2 DL. :) 6 more weeks until USPA Nationals in Vegas with SIRMikey. can't wait.

Good luck Spec.

That one of them fancy "ab rollers"?
I used to just use a dumbbell.

I have nice wood floors in my apartment and it is fun using the roller ($6.99) while watching TV lol:lama:

I don't have anyone to do pics yet, but there's noticeable difference, good progress sean


I am now able to do pullups with bodyweight now instead of just lat pulldowns too. Rejoice!

Definitely have made some solid progress. Keep it up.

Well guys I have went from 182lbs in March to 167lbs today.

Gonna keep this up and strengthen!

Good job Joe.

I've also upped my reps from 2sets + burnout set to 3 sets + burnout set

only been upping the dumbell weight a little every couple weeks, trying to stick to 10-15 reps per set

Hey, anyone reach a plateau and gotten over it? Currently been stuck at benching 225.

That doesn't really give us much to work with.

What have you tried already to increase your bench?

What sort of program are you running?

What sort of exercises are you doing for back/lats?

What accessory lifts are you using to build your bench?

How is your technique?

I could ask a million questions.

Yeah I've tried 235 and can only get like 5 6 reps at most.
Um not really on a program just lift weights with my brother
I do quite a few of different workouts for back.
No accessories
I think I have form. Never had pain besides just being sore

You just said you were stuck at 225 and now you're saying you can do 235 x 5 or 6 reps. Which is it?

I'd wager your form can use improvement. Most everyone's can. Most people don't realize how technical the bench press is.

My max isn't 225 that's just the amount of weight I bench. Just been stuck on that weight of benching. I like doing 10-12 reps then I would add more weight for then on.

is it true cutting down the carb intake will help me shave off those last few body fat percentage points? My caloric intake is low compared to what I burn, but I think maybe I need to eat less bread/rice?

If you stay in a deficit it doesn't really matter.

You make zero sense. You can either bench more than 225 or you can't. If you can bench 235 for 5-6 reps, then bench 235 for 5-6 reps per set. You don't HAVE to do sets of 10. Keep benching 235 until those 5-6 reps turn into 8-10.

Or increase it week by week all while doing proper accessory lifts used to build the bench. 205 x 5, 210 x 5, 215 x 5, 220 x 5, 225 x 5,etc. Probably do two sets as a main movement and then a secondary bench movement to work your weak area(pin presses, dead bench, etc. Depends where you are weak) followed by additional tricep and back work.

On a side note I just benched 402 in competition yesterday. Pretty damn happy with that. Been wanting that 400 bench for a while now.

One thing to understand about a competition bench is you don't just lay on the bench, unrack, drop the bar, press it and rack it.

You need to unrack it, hold it at the top and wait for the "start" command. You then need to pause the bar on your chest motionless and wait for the judge to give you the "press" command, then at the top you need to hold it and wait for a "rack" command. All while maintaining 2 points of contact with the bench ie your butt can't come up during the lift. You probably lose a good 20+ lb from a typical "touch and go" bench to a paused bench like that.

congrats on the 4hunnit!

Damn Spec...402 comp weight would prob equal out to more like 435-ish in the gym, no?
That's some beast weight.

A massive ass monster I lift with up here did a comp recently and took 1st in HW. Something like a 500 bench, and 650+ DL.

I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but the guy is a 6'3 285 pound monster.

And looking super trim Joe. Good stuff man.

thanks, the breakup diet has paid off lol

It's hard to say what it'd equal. I'm pretty good at paused presses. I missed 413 after my 402.

Heres 402

Fuck that looked brutal