I'd say the fact that he's natty is even more reason to trust him. Not trying to take lifting advice on progression from someone who sees it through the tren lens.
@@alphasaiyan5760 I hear this being said on TH-cam, but the last guy you seen putting up 3 plates (or 4 whatever ) how tall was he? I always see 6 footers putting up big numbers on the bench
It's crazy bro, I was criticized for years by people who were far weaker than me (and still are) for using these exact methods. Seen soooooo many trainers repeat the lie that "bands and chains don't work for raw lifters"
Partials, suspended plates, statics got me a 335 bench at a lifelong natty 67. At 65 I couldn't do 225. You got to max to max ! 340 by 68 ! I'm stronger now than I've ever been. I write down all my workouts and rarely miss a training day. I don't pause bench. I train alone !
@@AlexLeonidas Thanks. And Congrats to your success and lifts. Most can't even unrack 3 wheels let alone knock out reps and a 405 pr ! Stay safe and healthy. Believe me Time flys by !
With a 74" wingspan, my 'standard' width grip has always been a thumb length away from the edge of the knurling. Wider just never feels great on my shoulders.
One of the main reasons I'll be getting a Swiss bar. I have done floor pressing with my trap bar and it felt great with heavy weight or high-frequency.
My grip has come in over the years from index fingers on rings to pinkies on rings. Most all of the bigger benchers I know have had a similar change given time.
Just bought Naturally Enhanced! For the most part I initially wanted to support you since you've given me so much knowledge, but man, read it and now I'm damn excited! Time to get yoked for real
I have to admit that I when I first started watching you, I thought you were just another condescending "know it all," because at the age of 46 I started to take testosterone, and you appeared to be so vehemently against PED use, that I wasn't going to get anything other than the usual rhetoric that is online. I was wrong about you. I have been watching your videos, and you might just be the best channel out there for people interested in getting stronger the natural way. I really enjoy your content and you continue to impress me with your thoughtful and comprehensive presentations.
I for one wouldn't consider anyone over 40 taking TRT as someone taking PEDs. That's a little different from someone in their 20s getting on gear so they can cheat their way to winning a competition or something.
YOOOO ALEX i just hit my first 225 bench. Thank you so much for your phenomenal advice that has led me to get here, as well as your amazing preworkout motivation of your 405 bench 💯 Thank you again Alex, Much love!!
i have been considering going vegan most of the time after reading a ton about nutrition but have a problem with cooking and protein. i would be the first to buy it
I really like to dead bench with the Swiss bar, it sits very stably on the safeties. I put a towel on each rail to quiet it a little, protect the equipment's finish, and make it an easier slide to adjust the bar back into a well centered position when I land it off target by a little. Using two arms to place one DB is a good safety example for people who are starting to get heavy with their dumbells. When I lived in Korea 25 years ago I had a great locally made pair of very long loadable dumbell handles at home. When the load got above my bodyweight it became hazardous to place them both at once into dead bench starting position even though I could press them. Things were different then (no English language muscle mags in Incheon Seogu 25 years ago). You do a great job addressing the needs of both beginners and old timers, a challenging task well done. Great vid. Thanks for the variety suggestions!
What's interesting for me was the last myth, people overlook the importance of their back when it comes to the bench press. When you unrack the bar you are literally engaging your lats and upper back to stabilize you on the bench. Just because they are secondary muscles doesn't mean we should ignore them. Great video Alex 💪🏼
Bands and chains force power development at the bottom of the bench so that you can overcome the accommodating resistance at the top of the bench thereby having a direct caryover to the raw bench. In other words, your pecs are forced to provide more force production at the bottom to overcome the increased resistance at the top.
big true on the "wide grip is always better" myth, another great example is konstaninovs who benched with an insanely narrow grip for his size, from pictures ive seen he went even narrower than yours alex. i theorize that the reason behind this is because of very relatively long forearms compared to upper arms which konstantinovs definitely had. i think it puts a demand of rotation on the humerus when you grip wide with long forearms and short upper arms and it just kills all leverage you have in the bottom. im the same way and ive pause benched 300 with my grip on the inside edge of the knurl, but if i were to go pinkies on the ring i would probably top out at like 275-280
Alex, massively appreciate this video. One question regarding bands and chains - what should one do if they don't have access to them in commercial gyms?
Buy your own sets and bring them do the gym. That's what I did for years before getting my home setup. Or just rotate through different variations, it's not mandatory to use bands/chains.
Buy your own bands (even though they are bit pricy, but if you have money to spend...) and attach them to the bench or a weight plate. There‘s a video of matt wennings on how to set up bands (even if you have no band attachment.
Another one I've heard from minimalists is saying "you need to do high frequency benching to get a high bench press." Some of them advocate benching 4-6 times a week. Benching 3 times a week gave me pec strains. Also, funny thing is that a lot of these guys are injured and keep getting injured lol. But now I bench 2 times a week, one regular and closegrip, and that's been better for me. Obviously, I can't do conjugate because I don't have bands and chain, and speciality bars. I have limited equipment.
You can still so conjugate. All different grip widths, reverse grip, floor press, pin presses different heights. Buy some blocks, only cheap and can get very cheap bands too. The bands dont even need to be heavy
Just stop lifting, I went to a natural body building comp last week and they look like twigs Despite being covered in oil and fake tan and backstage pumps It’s a sad reality
Hey Alex, youve probably seen videos of people congratulating and commenting your new PR's such as Jason Blaha. And I just wanted to add on to specifically his request for you to document your whole Journey for squats and overall all workouts you do and to share them with us. I think it will help hundreds if not thousands of individuals as your videos already do so but I want to share how for me specifically they helped and will help. Seeing the variations of exercises, sets, reps etc. Really helped me out when you had a time frame with the pullups and. It strongly help me understand how concurrent periodization works and hiw to effectively plan my trainings to hit those mini PR's myself in all the variations and exercises. Im very excited that they will be coming back to your trainings and to eventually see you hit 4 plates on them. This is also true for the squats. Im very excited to see the whole process and to be in the journey woth you aswell as my lower body workouts were mostly just weighted pistol squats, w.lunges etc similar to yourself. But I thought to join a gym to have more equipment and recovery tools available for myself such as GPP, cardio machines, saunas, swimming, variations etc. You will extremely help me out with seeing your squat workouts and will boost my confidence as you did with the pullups to continuosly hit them PR's. Just rememver to take break of from the upload if they do harm your daily life or your mental health as I know that this can be sometimes overwhelming and disruptive. I hope you understand my thoughts behind this and as always thank you for the great informational videos that you provide for us.
If you take a break from lifting weights for a month or so, do you need to keep your protein high (like one gram per lb) everyday to maintain more muscle? Asking as a real natural
Doubt it. 0.8g is all you need, and some would make the argument that you need even less than that if you aren't training at all. I wouldn't stress about high protein intakes, training or not.
If you have cash to spare and enjoy supplements, there's data suggesting that β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate / HMB supplementation might present an interest for muscle retention. But really, it's definitely not needed, just something you might want to look into if you have the disposable income and you find a formulation out there that you enjoy drinking because some of them have interesting tastes lol. Also, don't forget that carbs are highly anti-catabolic, so as long as you keep having a minimal amount of protein, carbs, and are not into a strict deficit, you'll be fine. Most of the weak feeling you'll get when going back into lifting will be neuromuscular in origin, not related to loss of contractile tissue.
Hey Alex Congratulations for a 405 bench. Being a natural lifter it is a great accomplishment but not your greatest. Your greatest achievement I feel is the way you have been able to transform yourself as a whole. I found your channel about a year ago and recently I watched some of your older videos you were unrecognisable man. A guy with a very weird and cringy personality who is swearing getting irritated, so loud whom no one took seriously to the respectable man you are today who has been able to even win the respect of some of his earlier critics, your journey has been nothing short of amazing my brother. You have inspired a lot of us to transform not just our bodies but our whole personality. I request you to talk about your journey in an upcoming video. It would inspire us to further improve ourselves. Thank you man. Love and respect from India🇮🇳
I just be happy if ill be able to hit 225 lbs by February next year. Thats a month that i started to lift this year. Ups and downs, managing work, family, illnesses.
I hadn't gripped a hair away from the smooth for heavy bench in more than a year because I was trying to get better at wider grips but having tested it today I am still stronger in that position. I'll still bench wider because I can feel it working different muscles and doing so helped me raise my bench by over 45 pounds but it's nice to be able to lift more than I thought I could.
#5 really surprises me. I thought everyone knows how important being tight is Also a question about rows. Would you say one could get good upperback development from a v bar close grip only or also doing a somewhat wider grip is needed? Closer grips have always felt more comfortable for me. Thanks for the video!
You should get similar growth, grip width doesn't matter that much. A narrower grip will be a bit more lat and wider a bit more traps but minor differences
I am 73 powerlifter for years. One shoulder rotor cup tear 2004 . Having trouble moving my bench from 214 max up. I do hvy Tuesday 5x 3 190-205 then mark bell sling 4x3 215-220. Light day 5x5 at175-185. My benches are touch and go. Raw lifter been doing and competing sense age 35. But every week now seems my bench is struggling with weight i did last week.
I agree with your point about grip width. I’m 5’10” and I rarely touch the rings with my grip width because it puts too much strain on my shoulders. Using a grip that’s a thumb’s away from the smooth is most comfortable to me as well
Back when I was benching in a shirt we would rotate shirt work in with our raw max effort work. I honestly believe this helped take my raw bench to over 400lbs, not necessarily advocating shirt work for raw lifters because now you have the sling shot, titan ram etc. but I believe rotating a overload/lightening movement in your max effort rotation works.
Thanks for the vindication on grip width. Anything outside the first rings is hell on my shoulders. Pinkies just inside the rings is the sweet spot for me (6'3").
I'd go as far as saying dumbbell bench makes your bench journey harder. Annoying to set up, ROM is all over the place especially if you're training in various gyms over time with different dumbbells, and also super non specific and you have tons of other exercises to do as accessories.
I love when the 500lb deadlifters come comment on my 675 PR that I’m wasting time using bands 😂😂😂 one of the best things for strength is bands and chains
It's so rare to see a video with a dude bringing the bar down and NOT getting it off the chest, like think about when you saw that last time. Most people start the concentric and fail couple cms off the chest...
Great video! I always did tuch and go bench newer paused and today i did paused bench press and broke a PR (132.5kg) had no problems, i did that because in now 4 weeks out from my first cometition and just to get the feeling what is like to bench with commands
For every normal narrow/wide grip strong bench presser I can give an example of a super-wide(especially at lower weight categories) grip bench presser... If anything(contrary to your conclusion) the trend seems to be the lower you go into weight categories, the wider their grip is(Noriega, Owen, Atwood...)!!!!!!
The bench width resonated with me. I used to wide bench, and at 6'1 that was index finger on outer ring, my forearms were so far out I formed a 'W' when at the bottom of the press. I moved to pinkies on the inside of the 1st ring (2 rings on my bar an inch a part), and I bench so much easier. I definitely believed wider was better until I tried it narrower
I 100% agree with the upper back portion with the Bench Press. I went to max one day without realizing this and my entire upper back was effing sore for 4 days straight. I couldn't even get out of my bed the first day and a half. Stretching on the floor helped out a lot though. It's only because I maxed out which I never do but I had a friend spotting me at the time so we both maxed out.
Accommodating resistance probably helps narrower grip or people who have longer arms more. Powerlifting style bench is technique dependent, and powerlifting training is very fatiguing so bands and chains might not be the most bang for your buck. Also yes, you don't need to pause bench to get better at pause bench, but you will have more improvement in a meet situation if you are prepared to pause and know how to coordinate everything to produce as much force as once. Anticipating the command is not something you should ever rely on. Its not about making the movement harder its about specificity, the better you can coordinate leg drive with upper body and make it more efficient the less energy you waste on the platform. Also yes, Julius Maddox doesn't do a max grip, but its closer to max than you think, dont forget hes 6'3 with wide AF shoulders, so max grip or close to it looks a lot different on him than anyone else.
Great video lots of good stuff! But I still think wide grip benching is good, all 3 grips should be trained. Take a look at Mike Macdonald bench press. 522lbs at 181 body weight, 603lbs at 220lbs bodyweight 635lbs at 242 bodyweight he was a 3 times body weight bencher with a wide bench grip.
Alex, i would appreciate your views on one of a problem associated with benching. It is said that benching breaks the natural rhythm of upper arm and scapulae that are meant to move in sync. Benching requires the scapulae to remain retracted and pinched together throughout while arms move up and down under heavy loads. It disengages the involvement of scapulae and rotator cuff and puts lots of unnecessary stress on shoulders. Many (not all) top class benchers have history of injuries and surgeries due to this. How do you see this? Myth or not?
Yea in my teens I really did not do much for my upper back and I had poor form in my benching. This led to me having horrible posture and intense neck pain. It took months of physical therapy and back training to fix that as well as serious neck work. Ever since then I always try to work my back more than my chest (No I do not neglect my legs!). Ever since then, my back, neck and posture have never been better.
You should get a cambered bar. My gym got one about a month ago and it is so different from a regular barbell when you are bench pressing. The stretch at the bottom is crazy. Trying to get a 405lb incline so let’s see what the carryover is like.
Id say it also depends on your weaknesses.If triceps is your weakness you will see more benefit from chains.I personally have chest weakness and benefited more from pause work and dumbell work.Still use bands/chains for speed work but not for my main volume/rep work.
I hit 255 after not working out in 6 years (had my son) so I started working out in March and I'm proud how far I've gone I was able to do 225 so I've added 30 pounds in a short time I'm 163 pounds and 5'9 so not a very large person
Something similar happened to me, I had my kid and didn't work out for a year came back and was all the sudden able to hit 225lbs for reps and made a 40 pound jump to 265lbs getting sets of 5 all within 2 months
Stopped rowing for past 3 months and bench numbers have finally broke a plateau. Used to always row and pullup on bench days, but training partners have had an equal bench and way better deadlift and they never row. Rows seems to be a waste of time in my experience if you already DL.
Ngl I been benching with a wide grip for years and got up to 305 smooth as hell but now I'm changing to a narrower grip and I did 285lbs and it felt great. With practice I can feel 315 being no problem
Yeh maybe for roiders who have weak af tendons to muscle ratio so you’ll snap your chest up. Derek was saying bouncing it is bad, Alex doesn’t promote that. Derek doesn’t even have a chest anyway so take that for what you will. Plus Alex has made insane natty gains through years of different process etc Derek would of relied on gear and gotten away with more.
as guy that has his ring finger already on the rings and still a poverty bencher, I need as much bench tips as possible. No one says I have a bad chest, but mentally it's very annoying trying to push my worst lift harder and harder while my other lifts are flying with lower effort.
Hey Alex, love your content. quick question: do you have a personal opinion on ATG dips for better sholuder health? I've seen Kneesovertoesguy doing it and a lot of powerlifter started doing ATG dips as well as ATG split squat, Nordic curls for lower body longevity. very well argued video btw, keep it up!
I struggle with lockout myself aswell. I start off the chest and then hit a brick wall. I have long ape arms though. Working towards 140kg bench, did 130kg barely yesterday. I also fell into the "widest possible grip bro" thing, but it makes the joints out of stacked strong position and it feels awkward as shit, risky even. Maybe i dont have enough practice in that position but for me pinky on ring feels strongest
Hey Alex you mentioned Paul Carter. Outside of you he's one of my favorite strength gurus. Do you know him? It would be great to see you interview him or visa versa!
I disagree about the lack of carry over for dumbbell bench press. I'm an incline bencher, flat dumbbell bench for rep work gives me great carryover. I do 5×8-10, heavy enough for a challenge, light enough to work on my tightness/technique, this alongside chain and band work had led to an increase in my output. I don't think there are absolute rules here, whether exercises can be discounted or not depends upon individual needs and requirements.
Never said the carryover isn't great, in fact I'd be the first to use db pressing. Just saying the claimed benefits aren't really what they are, and that's fine. Definitely no absolute rules.
@@AlexLeonidas for me personally I'm more or an overhead presser. Implementation of flat dumbbell bench has enabled me to get in needed chest work which gives me that pop off the chest at the bottom of the lift I didn't have beforehand. I think perhaps it's just a general hypertrophic effect. I also find a correlation in my row work to my bench, for me a bigger row is a bigger bench, though certainly chains are key as they really train those stabilitory muscles (for me personally) that I wouldn't get from straight weight alone. I really like your input Alex, have been an avid watcher for last few years. Keep up the good work.
Question for you q&a. Hey Alex how effective using the same strategy you did 2x max out a week but for ohp? Feels like theres far less variations. Since with the bench theres board press,slingshot bench, floor press etc with the ohp all I can think of is all the bands/ chain variation and pin press. Do you have any recommendations and would you recommend this strategy. Would really appreciate it. Keep up the great work!
What do you Think of breaking up youre workouts. I am doing fullbody 3 times a week in the morning and sometimes I dont have time to do my isolation exercises at the gym. Would it be bad to do some curl, Tricep Extension and leteral raises in the aftnernoon when I get Home from School or are my muscles already “damaged” and in recovery?
Good question. I also would like to know his answer. Can I train on already damaged muscles if I avoid injury? Like a 12 or 24 hour “superset” is telling my muscles to grow even more when I finally do take a day off? Or would I be better off resting and letting recovery and growth happen? I think I rested too much in the last 10 years. Not from laziness but because I thought I needed it for muscle recovery.
You can do that just fine. You won't mess up your recovery, it might just take a little bit longer to recover. Curls, Tri ext. and Lateral raises are however relatively small muscles and don't require much recovery resources at all. Short answer: No it's not bad and you can do it if you want to.
Hey Alex, been a fan for ages. I've been on your novice program for 25 weeks now, and all of the sudden about 3-4 weeks ago I started to notice bad upper back soreness/pain when high bar box squatting due to the bar repeatedly resting on the outer edge of my scapula. I've resorted to using a bar cover, which certainly isn't ideal at all, and I was wondering if you had any advice? I already hit 315 3x5, in fact managed up to 330 3x5 so maybe it's time to swap programs? I'm at a 400 3x5 trap deadlift and 200 3x5 floor press, if that helps. Much love!
Disagree with the pause things. It goes from person to person, it definitely worked for me. At some point you have to change things up tho. Pausing more helped me go from about 250 to 315. Then I used deadbench and Spoto to go to 445
Alphadestiny video ideas Full day of eating React to some of youre old content. I Think that would be awesome Opinion on High frequency shoulder(mostly OHP and Face pulls 5 days a week) Transformation video Fitness Channel reviews Feel free to ADD to my list
So I understand the flat dumbbell press isn’t necessary for raising your flat barbell press but how good is the carry over if one was to primarily press dumbbells going from 65s for reps to 100s for reps?
I would recommend 20" wraps, 32" never helped me that much. I haven't had carpal tunnel, just talking about general stability. I'll say though only get them if you feel unstable or feel pain every time, not just because you're worried
Hi Alex I know this is unrelated to this video but I’m now able to do 25kg on neck curls for 15 strict reps all thanks to you, would never of thought about training neck if it wasn’t for your content, my neck was only 14.75 inches (measured twice to be sure) 2 months ago it’s now about 15.5 respectively, is this slow progression? How long until I reach 17 inches? Many thanks man keep up the good work
I have the NE book, and I'd like to ask if you still advocate intensity (no more than 10 reps)/volume (10+ reps) days; just noticed you've been using a lot of 10-rep sets in additional exercises.
Is the deadstop bench normally weaker than regular? i maxed out on 120kgs deadstop from the chest and wonder if this should mean i could bench it normally
Hey Alex. What is a good ratio between neck Curls and Extension. I can do 3x20 neck Curls with 10 kg and 3x35-40 neck Extension also with 10 kg. Also how neccesery are neck Extension. Btw is it true neck Curls helps with neck posture?
![[Re:all TREASURE] EP.6 in 방콕ㅣ🚩 쩡캠의 방콕 투어 빵 마이 와이 👍](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uyFw-nItA_s/mqdefault.jpg)
Alex is about to start pumping out bench content now that he just got the equivalent of a PhD credential in benching (405 bench)
Lol
So 3 plates would be a Masters in benching ?
My 225 baby bench is grade school
@@Zeroleon Consider yourself a high school graduate with those numbers.
@@CrowandRaven safe to say 275 must be a bachelors then
Alex is one of the few lifters i can trust on bench press since he can do 405
Crazy especially at his height gives me hope being a short guy myself 💪🏼 315 is good enough for me tho
It’s easier to lift heavier when your shorter. Less range of motion because limbs are shorter.
I'd say the fact that he's natty is even more reason to trust him. Not trying to take lifting advice on progression from someone who sees it through the tren lens.
@@a.julian3770 I agree. But I’m natty too. I’m twice his age and on trt. So I’m natural.
@@alphasaiyan5760 I hear this being said on TH-cam, but the last guy you seen putting up 3 plates (or 4 whatever ) how tall was he? I always see 6 footers putting up big numbers on the bench
I'm surprised people actually say bands and chains don't work for raw lifters
It's crazy bro, I was criticized for years by people who were far weaker than me (and still are) for using these exact methods. Seen soooooo many trainers repeat the lie that "bands and chains don't work for raw lifters"
good job for watching the first 30 seconds of the vid like always
Who actually says that?
@Big Smoke dead*
@@burritodog3634 😂😂😂
Partials, suspended plates, statics got me a 335 bench at a lifelong natty 67. At 65 I couldn't do 225. You got to max to max ! 340 by 68 ! I'm stronger now than I've ever been. I write down all my workouts and rarely miss a training day.
I don't pause bench. I train alone !
Insanely impressive!!
@@AlexLeonidas Thanks. And Congrats to your success and lifts. Most can't even unrack 3 wheels let alone knock out reps and a 405 pr !
Stay safe and healthy. Believe me Time flys by !
Chain work for the last 6 weeks has increased my straight weight bench by 10kgs
That's serious, bro!!
Dude i really need to get some chains
With a 74" wingspan, my 'standard' width grip has always been a thumb length away from the edge of the knurling. Wider just never feels great on my shoulders.
Exactly the same here lol
One of the main reasons I'll be getting a Swiss bar. I have done floor pressing with my trap bar and it felt great with heavy weight or high-frequency.
You're an encyclopedia on knowledge when it comes to strength training Alex. You have done your homework my friend. Great video.
I love you. Pretty much one of the only fitness you tubers I can 100 percent trust
I appreciate that Eli
Lmfao ❤️
My grip has come in over the years from index fingers on rings to pinkies on rings. Most all of the bigger benchers I know have had a similar change given time.
Very cool to hear your confirmation!
hands down the most informative videos, keep it up alex!
Kuehne
Just bought Naturally Enhanced! For the most part I initially wanted to support you since you've given me so much knowledge, but man, read it and now I'm damn excited! Time to get yoked for real
Much love Taurus, let's get these yoke gains!!
I have to admit that I when I first started watching you, I thought you were just another condescending "know it all," because at the age of 46 I started to take testosterone, and you appeared to be so vehemently against PED use, that I wasn't going to get anything other than the usual rhetoric that is online. I was wrong about you. I have been watching your videos, and you might just be the best channel out there for people interested in getting stronger the natural way. I really enjoy your content and you continue to impress me with your thoughtful and comprehensive presentations.
Thank you sir, I really appreciate that.
I for one wouldn't consider anyone over 40 taking TRT as someone taking PEDs. That's a little different from someone in their 20s getting on gear so they can cheat their way to winning a competition or something.
A video about Speed work would be very interesting.
YOOOO ALEX i just hit my first 225 bench. Thank you so much for your phenomenal advice that has led me to get here, as well as your amazing preworkout motivation of your 405 bench 💯
Thank you again Alex, Much love!!
When’s the alpha destiny cook book coming
i have been considering going vegan most of the time after reading a ton about nutrition but have a problem with cooking and protein. i would be the first to buy it
Who knows bro! Would definitely be game to make one, but first you guys are getting new training programs.
If he drops it I’m going vegan immediately.
Please man! Id love to go plant based for ethical reason, you'd help me make it come true
@@AlexLeonidas you should make a workout for people stuck at Planet Fitness
I really like to dead bench with the Swiss bar, it sits very stably on the safeties. I put a towel on each rail to quiet it a little, protect the equipment's finish, and make it an easier slide to adjust the bar back into a well centered position when I land it off target by a little.
Using two arms to place one DB is a good safety example for people who are starting to get heavy with their dumbells. When I lived in Korea 25 years ago I had a great locally made pair of very long loadable dumbell handles at home. When the load got above my bodyweight it became hazardous to place them both at once into dead bench starting position even though I could press them. Things were different then (no English language muscle mags in Incheon Seogu 25 years ago).
You do a great job addressing the needs of both beginners and old timers, a challenging task well done. Great vid. Thanks for the variety suggestions!
What's interesting for me was the last myth, people overlook the importance of their back when it comes to the bench press. When you unrack the bar you are literally engaging your lats and upper back to stabilize you on the bench. Just because they are secondary muscles doesn't mean we should ignore them. Great video Alex 💪🏼
why are you not over one million sub? ohh because you give proper info and no silly drama. Clean to the point info
Bands and chains force power development at the bottom of the bench so that you can overcome the accommodating resistance at the top of the bench thereby having a direct caryover to the raw bench. In other words, your pecs are forced to provide more force production at the bottom to overcome the increased resistance at the top.
big true on the "wide grip is always better" myth, another great example is konstaninovs who benched with an insanely narrow grip for his size, from pictures ive seen he went even narrower than yours alex. i theorize that the reason behind this is because of very relatively long forearms compared to upper arms which konstantinovs definitely had. i think it puts a demand of rotation on the humerus when you grip wide with long forearms and short upper arms and it just kills all leverage you have in the bottom. im the same way and ive pause benched 300 with my grip on the inside edge of the knurl, but if i were to go pinkies on the ring i would probably top out at like 275-280
Alex, massively appreciate this video. One question regarding bands and chains - what should one do if they don't have access to them in commercial gyms?
Buy your own sets and bring them do the gym. That's what I did for years before getting my home setup.
Or just rotate through different variations, it's not mandatory to use bands/chains.
Buy your own bands (even though they are bit pricy, but if you have money to spend...) and attach them to the bench or a weight plate. There‘s a video of matt wennings on how to set up bands (even if you have no band attachment.
@@AlexLeonidas @makaveli thanks both. You're amazing Alex, by the way. Been a fan for years.
Another one I've heard from minimalists is saying "you need to do high frequency benching to get a high bench press." Some of them advocate benching 4-6 times a week. Benching 3 times a week gave me pec strains. Also, funny thing is that a lot of these guys are injured and keep getting injured lol. But now I bench 2 times a week, one regular and closegrip, and that's been better for me. Obviously, I can't do conjugate because I don't have bands and chain, and speciality bars. I have limited equipment.
You can still so conjugate. All different grip widths, reverse grip, floor press, pin presses different heights. Buy some blocks, only cheap and can get very cheap bands too. The bands dont even need to be heavy
This is perfect man - I’ve just started benching properly again as I’m recovering from a shoulder impingement. Thanks Alex and have a great day!
Just stop lifting, I went to a natural body building comp last week and they look like twigs
Despite being covered in oil and fake tan and backstage pumps
It’s a sad reality
@@johnlaaapsm1647 someone’s projecting 😂😂
@@rockyx_x I’m 800lb pure muscle bud
Hey Alex, youve probably seen videos of people congratulating and commenting your new PR's such as Jason Blaha. And I just wanted to add on to specifically his request for you to document your whole Journey for squats and overall all workouts you do and to share them with us. I think it will help hundreds if not thousands of individuals as your videos already do so but I want to share how for me specifically they helped and will help. Seeing the variations of exercises, sets, reps etc. Really helped me out when you had a time frame with the pullups and. It strongly help me understand how concurrent periodization works and hiw to effectively plan my trainings to hit those mini PR's myself in all the variations and exercises. Im very excited that they will be coming back to your trainings and to eventually see you hit 4 plates on them. This is also true for the squats. Im very excited to see the whole process and to be in the journey woth you aswell as my lower body workouts were mostly just weighted pistol squats, w.lunges etc similar to yourself. But I thought to join a gym to have more equipment and recovery tools available for myself such as GPP, cardio machines, saunas, swimming, variations etc. You will extremely help me out with seeing your squat workouts and will boost my confidence as you did with the pullups to continuosly hit them PR's. Just rememver to take break of from the upload if they do harm your daily life or your mental health as I know that this can be sometimes overwhelming and disruptive. I hope you understand my thoughts behind this and as always thank you for the great informational videos that you provide for us.
Hey Alex, could you do this kind of video for squat and deadlift too please? Found this video really helpful.
If you take a break from lifting weights for a month or so, do you need to keep your protein high (like one gram per lb) everyday to maintain more muscle? Asking as a real natural
Doubt it. 0.8g is all you need, and some would make the argument that you need even less than that if you aren't training at all.
I wouldn't stress about high protein intakes, training or not.
If you have cash to spare and enjoy supplements, there's data suggesting that β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate / HMB supplementation might present an interest for muscle retention. But really, it's definitely not needed, just something you might want to look into if you have the disposable income and you find a formulation out there that you enjoy drinking because some of them have interesting tastes lol. Also, don't forget that carbs are highly anti-catabolic, so as long as you keep having a minimal amount of protein, carbs, and are not into a strict deficit, you'll be fine. Most of the weak feeling you'll get when going back into lifting will be neuromuscular in origin, not related to loss of contractile tissue.
Hey Alex Congratulations for a 405 bench. Being a natural lifter it is a great accomplishment but not your greatest.
Your greatest achievement I feel is the way you have been able to transform yourself as a whole.
I found your channel about a year ago and recently I watched some of your older videos you were unrecognisable man. A guy with a very weird and cringy personality who is swearing getting irritated, so loud whom no one took seriously to the respectable man you are today who has been able to even win the respect of some of his earlier critics, your journey has been nothing short of amazing my brother. You have inspired a lot of us to transform not just our bodies but our whole personality.
I request you to talk about your journey in an upcoming video. It would inspire us to further improve ourselves.
Thank you man. Love and respect from India🇮🇳
I just be happy if ill be able to hit 225 lbs by February next year. Thats a month that i started to lift this year. Ups and downs, managing work, family, illnesses.
If it wasn't for you I wouldn't still be in the gym. I'll always appreciate you bro.
I hadn't gripped a hair away from the smooth for heavy bench in more than a year because I was trying to get better at wider grips but having tested it today I am still stronger in that position.
I'll still bench wider because I can feel it working different muscles and doing so helped me raise my bench by over 45 pounds but it's nice to be able to lift more than I thought I could.
#5 really surprises me. I thought everyone knows how important being tight is
Also a question about rows. Would you say one could get good upperback development from a v bar close grip only or also doing a somewhat wider grip is needed? Closer grips have always felt more comfortable for me. Thanks for the video!
You should get similar growth, grip width doesn't matter that much. A narrower grip will be a bit more lat and wider a bit more traps but minor differences
Not to mention James Strickland for the bench grip topic, he’s benched nearly 700lbs and at least for a long time had a notoriously narrow grip!
I am 73 powerlifter for years. One shoulder rotor cup tear 2004 . Having trouble moving my bench from 214 max up. I do hvy Tuesday 5x 3 190-205 then mark bell sling 4x3 215-220. Light day 5x5 at175-185. My benches are touch and go. Raw lifter been doing and competing sense age 35. But every week now seems my bench is struggling with weight i did last week.
I agree with your point about grip width. I’m 5’10” and I rarely touch the rings with my grip width because it puts too much strain on my shoulders. Using a grip that’s a thumb’s away from the smooth is most comfortable to me as well
Your traps look good man
Alex pls do a pendlay row tutorial
I love this video, I've been having a sticking point at the lockout for a while, Imma smash band work and see
Back when I was benching in a shirt we would rotate shirt work in with our raw max effort work. I honestly believe this helped take my raw bench to over 400lbs, not necessarily advocating shirt work for raw lifters because now you have the sling shot, titan ram etc. but I believe rotating a overload/lightening movement in your max effort rotation works.
Thanks for the vindication on grip width. Anything outside the first rings is hell on my shoulders. Pinkies just inside the rings is the sweet spot for me (6'3").
I'd go as far as saying dumbbell bench makes your bench journey harder. Annoying to set up, ROM is all over the place especially if you're training in various gyms over time with different dumbbells, and also super non specific and you have tons of other exercises to do as accessories.
So grateful for your work man
I love when the 500lb deadlifters come comment on my 675 PR that I’m wasting time using bands 😂😂😂 one of the best things for strength is bands and chains
It's so rare to see a video with a dude bringing the bar down and NOT getting it off the chest, like think about when you saw that last time. Most people start the concentric and fail couple cms off the chest...
Great video, I hope there is a deadlift version coming out soon. Keep up the great work!
The pause part is interesting cause I’ve known people that neglected pauses in training and had trouble with long pauses on meet day.
15:12 I have a 6'7 wingspan and bench with pinky on the ring
Yo Alex, coud you do a video about setting up for a strong bench press (setup, arch, leg drive, etc.)?
Your advice is very valuable and informing great video Alex!
Great video!
I always did tuch and go bench newer paused and today i did paused bench press and broke a PR (132.5kg) had no problems, i did that because in now 4 weeks out from my first cometition and just to get the feeling what is like to bench with commands
Just started mixing calisthenics and weights and im specialising the bench press rn, this gonna come in handy
Are there any specific considerations when benching with disproportionately long arms ?
For every normal narrow/wide grip strong bench presser I can give an example of a super-wide(especially at lower weight categories) grip bench presser...
If anything(contrary to your conclusion) the trend seems to be the lower you go into weight categories, the wider their grip is(Noriega, Owen, Atwood...)!!!!!!
The bench width resonated with me. I used to wide bench, and at 6'1 that was index finger on outer ring, my forearms were so far out I formed a 'W' when at the bottom of the press. I moved to pinkies on the inside of the 1st ring (2 rings on my bar an inch a part), and I bench so much easier. I definitely believed wider was better until I tried it narrower
I 100% agree with the upper back portion with the Bench Press. I went to max one day without realizing this and my entire upper back was effing sore for 4 days straight. I couldn't even get out of my bed the first day and a half. Stretching on the floor helped out a lot though. It's only because I maxed out which I never do but I had a friend spotting me at the time so we both maxed out.
Accommodating resistance probably helps narrower grip or people who have longer arms more. Powerlifting style bench is technique dependent, and powerlifting training is very fatiguing so bands and chains might not be the most bang for your buck. Also yes, you don't need to pause bench to get better at pause bench, but you will have more improvement in a meet situation if you are prepared to pause and know how to coordinate everything to produce as much force as once. Anticipating the command is not something you should ever rely on. Its not about making the movement harder its about specificity, the better you can coordinate leg drive with upper body and make it more efficient the less energy you waste on the platform. Also yes, Julius Maddox doesn't do a max grip, but its closer to max than you think, dont forget hes 6'3 with wide AF shoulders, so max grip or close to it looks a lot different on him than anyone else.
Alex could you do a video on the Dynamic Effort Method??
Great video lots of good stuff! But I still think wide grip benching is good, all 3 grips should be trained. Take a look at Mike Macdonald bench press. 522lbs at 181 body weight, 603lbs at 220lbs bodyweight 635lbs at 242 bodyweight he was a 3 times body weight bencher with a wide bench grip.
Alex, i would appreciate your views on one of a problem associated with benching.
It is said that benching breaks the natural rhythm of upper arm and scapulae that are meant to move in sync.
Benching requires the scapulae to remain retracted and pinched together throughout while arms move up and down under heavy loads. It disengages the involvement of scapulae and rotator cuff and puts lots of unnecessary stress on shoulders. Many (not all) top class benchers have history of injuries and surgeries due to this.
How do you see this? Myth or not?
Yea in my teens I really did not do much for my upper back and I had poor form in my benching. This led to me having horrible posture and intense neck pain. It took months of physical therapy and back training to fix that as well as serious neck work.
Ever since then I always try to work my back more than my chest (No I do not neglect my legs!). Ever since then, my back, neck and posture have never been better.
You should get a cambered bar. My gym got one about a month ago and it is so different from a regular barbell when you are bench pressing. The stretch at the bottom is crazy. Trying to get a 405lb incline so let’s see what the carryover is like.
Id say it also depends on your weaknesses.If triceps is your weakness you will see more benefit from chains.I personally have chest weakness and benefited more from pause work and dumbell work.Still use bands/chains for speed work but not for my main volume/rep work.
I hit 255 after not working out in 6 years (had my son) so I started working out in March and I'm proud how far I've gone I was able to do 225 so I've added 30 pounds in a short time I'm 163 pounds and 5'9 so not a very large person
Something similar happened to me, I had my kid and didn't work out for a year came back and was all the sudden able to hit 225lbs for reps and made a 40 pound jump to 265lbs getting sets of 5 all within 2 months
Stopped rowing for past 3 months and bench numbers have finally broke a plateau. Used to always row and pullup on bench days, but training partners have had an equal bench and way better deadlift and they never row. Rows seems to be a waste of time in my experience if you already DL.
Ngl I been benching with a wide grip for years and got up to 305 smooth as hell but now I'm changing to a narrower grip and I did 285lbs and it felt great. With practice I can feel 315 being no problem
Time for the 405 squat video
MPMD says, the Barbell Bench is the worst exercise for building the chest🤷
I don't agree with that at all.
Yeh maybe for roiders who have weak af tendons to muscle ratio so you’ll snap your chest up. Derek was saying bouncing it is bad, Alex doesn’t promote that. Derek doesn’t even have a chest anyway so take that for what you will. Plus Alex has made insane natty gains through years of different process etc Derek would of relied on gear and gotten away with more.
@@psilocybinenthusiast3695 perfectly explained! Much appreciated 💪💪💪
Alex DESTROYS Anti-Westside NONSENSE with FACTS and LOGIC
They probably take a narrower grip so they don't rip their shoulders off and put undue stress on the rotator cuff. That is why I do it.
as guy that has his ring finger already on the rings and still a poverty bencher, I need as much bench tips as possible. No one says I have a bad chest, but mentally it's very annoying trying to push my worst lift harder and harder while my other lifts are flying with lower effort.
Imo strict ohp is the most brute force lift because very hard to do little techniques to get around it also a squat could be a brute force lift
Hey Alex, love your content. quick question: do you have a personal opinion on ATG dips for better sholuder health? I've seen Kneesovertoesguy doing it and a lot of powerlifter started doing ATG dips as well as ATG split squat, Nordic curls for lower body longevity. very well argued video btw, keep it up!
I struggle with lockout myself aswell. I start off the chest and then hit a brick wall. I have long ape arms though. Working towards 140kg bench, did 130kg barely yesterday. I also fell into the "widest possible grip bro" thing, but it makes the joints out of stacked strong position and it feels awkward as shit, risky even. Maybe i dont have enough practice in that position but for me pinky on ring feels strongest
the foam chest pad on bench bar is a good idea
Hey Alex you mentioned Paul Carter. Outside of you he's one of my favorite strength gurus. Do you know him? It would be great to see you interview him or visa versa!
Squatted with bands for the first time today for rep work... life changed
The average pause bench fan vs the bands and chains bench press enjoyer
I disagree about the lack of carry over for dumbbell bench press. I'm an incline bencher, flat dumbbell bench for rep work gives me great carryover. I do 5×8-10, heavy enough for a challenge, light enough to work on my tightness/technique, this alongside chain and band work had led to an increase in my output. I don't think there are absolute rules here, whether exercises can be discounted or not depends upon individual needs and requirements.
Never said the carryover isn't great, in fact I'd be the first to use db pressing. Just saying the claimed benefits aren't really what they are, and that's fine. Definitely no absolute rules.
@@AlexLeonidas for me personally I'm more or an overhead presser. Implementation of flat dumbbell bench has enabled me to get in needed chest work which gives me that pop off the chest at the bottom of the lift I didn't have beforehand. I think perhaps it's just a general hypertrophic effect. I also find a correlation in my row work to my bench, for me a bigger row is a bigger bench, though certainly chains are key as they really train those stabilitory muscles (for me personally) that I wouldn't get from straight weight alone.
I really like your input Alex, have been an avid watcher for last few years. Keep up the good work.
Brilliant content as usual.
Quick one, how much could u neutral Grip bench press with the dbells?
Question for you q&a.
Hey Alex how effective using the same strategy you did 2x max out a week but for ohp? Feels like theres far less variations. Since with the bench theres board press,slingshot bench, floor press etc with the ohp all I can think of is all the bands/ chain variation and pin press. Do you have any recommendations and would you recommend this strategy. Would really appreciate it. Keep up the great work!
What do you Think of breaking up youre workouts. I am doing fullbody 3 times a week in the morning and sometimes I dont have time to do my isolation exercises at the gym. Would it be bad to do some curl, Tricep Extension and leteral raises in the aftnernoon when I get Home from School or are my muscles already “damaged” and in recovery?
Good question. I also would like to know his answer.
Can I train on already damaged muscles if I avoid injury? Like a 12 or 24 hour “superset” is telling my muscles to grow even more when I finally do take a day off? Or would I be better off resting and letting recovery and growth happen? I think I rested too much in the last 10 years. Not from laziness but because I thought I needed it for muscle recovery.
mike israetel trains like this
You can do that just fine. You won't mess up your recovery, it might just take a little bit longer to recover. Curls, Tri ext. and Lateral raises are however relatively small muscles and don't require much recovery resources at all.
Short answer: No it's not bad and you can do it if you want to.
Hey Alex, been a fan for ages. I've been on your novice program for 25 weeks now, and all of the sudden about 3-4 weeks ago I started to notice bad upper back soreness/pain when high bar box squatting due to the bar repeatedly resting on the outer edge of my scapula. I've resorted to using a bar cover, which certainly isn't ideal at all, and I was wondering if you had any advice? I already hit 315 3x5, in fact managed up to 330 3x5 so maybe it's time to swap programs? I'm at a 400 3x5 trap deadlift and 200 3x5 floor press, if that helps. Much love!
Hey alex I was wondering what are your thoughts on 1.5 Reps on SLDL to emphasize the stretch keep up the helpful content!
Disagree with the pause things. It goes from person to person, it definitely worked for me. At some point you have to change things up tho. Pausing more helped me go from about 250 to 315. Then I used deadbench and Spoto to go to 445
Alphadestiny video ideas
Full day of eating
React to some of youre old content. I Think that would be awesome
Opinion on High frequency shoulder(mostly OHP and Face pulls 5 days a week)
Transformation video
Fitness Channel reviews
Feel free to ADD to my list
Tried going wider on benches this last week. Did not feel good for me.
I'm 100% pinky-on-ring masterrace.
Hey Alex! Been listening to you for years now! Just curious what books would you recommend for strength training?
So I understand the flat dumbbell press isn’t necessary for raising your flat barbell press but how good is the carry over if one was to primarily press dumbbells going from 65s for reps to 100s for reps?
Does neck Curls help with neck posture?
Most likely, especially if the rear-side is overdeveloped.
@@AlexLeonidas Thank you so much for taking the time to ansvar my questions
Yo Alex, would you recommend 20” or 32” wrist wraps for bench and ohp for someone with carpel tunnel syndrome ?
I would recommend 20" wraps, 32" never helped me that much. I haven't had carpal tunnel, just talking about general stability. I'll say though only get them if you feel unstable or feel pain every time, not just because you're worried
Hey Alex, does having a thin wrist and thin/short forearms be a disadvantage to the bench press or any pressing lift in general ?
Hi Alex I know this is unrelated to this video but I’m now able to do 25kg on neck curls for 15 strict reps all thanks to you, would never of thought about training neck if it wasn’t for your content, my neck was only 14.75 inches (measured twice to be sure) 2 months ago it’s now about 15.5 respectively, is this slow progression? How long until I reach 17 inches? Many thanks man keep up the good work
I get that bands work for raw benchers but what about bench speed work with bands?
I have the NE book, and I'd like to ask if you still advocate intensity (no more than 10 reps)/volume (10+ reps) days; just noticed you've been using a lot of 10-rep sets in additional exercises.
The elbows are not near the body but more outward, if you have elbows near the body bench is more difficult but use more chest muscle
And bar to belly to makes it harder
What resistance band should I start with? And how my less will I be able to bench with bands?
Dumbell myth was great, ive never liked pressing with dumbells, time to cut them out
Is the deadstop bench normally weaker than regular? i maxed out on 120kgs deadstop from the chest and wonder if this should mean i could bench it normally
Hey Alex. What is a good ratio between neck Curls and Extension. I can do 3x20 neck Curls with 10 kg and 3x35-40 neck Extension also with 10 kg. Also how neccesery are neck Extension. Btw is it true neck Curls helps with neck posture?
Make an OHP myths video!!
Hey Alex, I am almost at a 500 lb deadlift but my bench is only 200, I’ve been training for 8 months and weight 235 and I am 17 hrs old
Years*
Nice. Bench press takes time to develop.
Try micro loading the bench. Going up 2.5lbs per workout is a lot quicker than getting stuck at the same weight for weeks.