This is from training Derek did February 20th, 2009. Derek suffered a fractal pec tear about a year ago benching 500 lbs so this has been a huge mental block.
Poundstone is even higher in my books with this vid now. Unlike alot of the other heavy benchers hes doing it right, flat on the bench, lowers slowly, no chest bounce and goes to lock out. All of that with 500lbs amazing
Derek can handle the weight, all the "old guy" has to is take 50 pounds at the very most of pressure from the lift in order to allow derek to return the bar to its resting postion if he was to struggle. Spotters dont need to be the incredible hulk in order to spot someone that is doing a heavy weight. As long as the lifter is comfortable at the weight then its fine.
Thank god there are internet experts like you around to tell people what they're doing wrong! I mean, it's not like a top international competitor and winner of the title "America's Strongest Man" could possibly have a clue what he's doing, right?
I respect this clip , very well done . He actually showed how heavy each plate is not like the other clips that they say 500lb bench press 10 reps and they're using fake plates that just look like 45lbs.
Some of you people are really dumb. Derek Poundstone is not a powerlifter, he is a pro strongman. So the fact that he benched 500 for a few reps (while not training for the bench press specifically) with MUCH better form than most powerlifters, to me is awesome.
@AznKapri Rest assured...that when some states they have 500 Lb's ...and it seems as if it's 495, they have 2.5 pound plates as well. Just for future reference.
You have to remember, that most of the pressing that are done in strongman, are done overhead, so they only use the bench as a supplementary exercise..
Ok, my friend is Joe Luther and he is a good lifter. I wasn't trying to diss Derek, I think he is incredible. But I do think he is putting to much stress on one part of his pec and front delts. If he can do it that way, more power to him.
@stryker4750 You have to recall that strongmen often suck at the bench relative to their other lifts. This is because the bench is not a directly tested lift in strongman - hasn't been for a long time. They are, however, the world's premier overhead pressers along with O-lifters. For powerlifter/strongman cross-competitors, it can be a different story of course. Brian Siders, for example, is the IPF's record holder in the bench There's also the volume vs intensity tradeoff in the diff sports
5 plate on each side w/ the bar is 495, look close and you will see the 2 1/2's, Dont say anything if you cant do it.(and those presses are done strict)
@shredhead667 My God, what the hell are you talking about? Poundstone is a world-class strongman competitor not a bodybuilder. The types of events in Strength Athletics require a mixture of tremendous strength, explosive power, AND a respectable level of agility and athleticism. He's explosive as hell and stronger overall than almost everyone in the world. Sure, he's nowhere as quick or 'wiry strong' as an MMA fighter, but by NO MEANS is he 'not an athlete.' And he doesn't lift to pose on stage!
@lucasesquina Reps are anything that is not a 1 rep max. Derek did 2 almost 3 reps with 500lbs. That means his 1 rep max is insane. Just to be in the 500 club at all is a great accomplishment. Just remember "Rep" = 1 and "Reps" = More than 1.
@101BananaSplit i tried doing narrower gripped incline presses, that built up strength in my upper pecs and shoulders and got me past my upper limits, just food for thought
If your 14 thats pretty good my man keep working at it the weights pay off. At 14 a 5.4 forty is fairly slow but other than that for a 14 year old sounds like a future beast.
that's pretty good for a guy that usually never does bench if you ever watch strongman comp the lower body is almost the only thing used. and shoulders and biceps theres no laying on the ground while someone drops 500lbs on you in the form of a bench press.
agreed, the owner of my gym has maxed out on 6 plates aside, and repped 5 plates aside for 6 reps, i think 5 plates is around 485lb, but he could have done 500 for more than 2 and a half reps, and hes not a pro lifter or powerlifter, check his vids out search for xlgarry.
I thought he would get more reps than this, I know though that strongmen dont train like powerlifters exactly so I know he has the potential to do even more if he focused on it. UFC fighter Tank Abbot is shown on here on youtube doing a 600lbs bench press!
also i think alot of people are missing something what derek is doing here are real clean reps as in all the way down then all the way up until ur elbows lock out look at pretty much anyone that benches alot and they always have these reps where the bar does not even touch there chest and they use other muscles to jerk it back up and many times to even lock out there elbows
If you pause it at 0:16 it looks like there might be a 2.5lb plate on the end there. It's small and flat so it's hard to tell. If not then then the big plate is funny shaped!
@stryker4750 Sorry, not to harp on this but I just check Ronnie's video and most of those were partial reps, I'd say. Not a knock on him, of course, as that is perfectly valid BB training and still beastly work, but comparing 8 partials to 2.5 regular while coming back from an injury starts to get hazy.
@GrandMasterBison As draining as the dieting process can be, I'd hesitate to claim it cut his reps to a third. It might have been possible for him to eke out a third rep on that day - I couldn't tell if it was planned as a double or if he maxed out at 2. I put my initial estimate at 4, and perhaps 5 reps as you say, but more than that seems to be a rather large jump. I'm no expert on strength loss during dieting - but tripling the observed reps is a ton. I'd be open to evidence of that, though
Nice to see a big dude benching a lot of weight and not bouncing it off his sternum. Sure a lot of hard work preceeded this feat. Great display of strength.
My posts are deleted I think. It is funny because I think the lift was totally legit and Derek is my favorite strongman who still competes. Derek's wife said he had a pec injury, and that is the only reason I commented. I couldn't do bench for 2 years after getting to 385 lbs (pathetic I know) because of injuries. Since I changed my technique, I haven't had any issues. People need to chill.
I didn't say anything about flaring elbows... I only mentioned the thumb & suicide grip. I don't even use the suicide grip. I just know a fair amount of people that like it. I don't think thumb placement is really going to affect how flexible your arms are and where you can place them. & going back to your elbow point; what? Personally my body likes a wide grip on the bar because of my chest to triceps strength (I'm trying to work on my triceps to fix that, but it takes time). Best of luck.
Keep in mind this is 100lbs less than abbot if abbot was using 500 he could complete 10 reps clean with no bounce, 600lbs is alot more than 500. I am a featherweight powerlifter I max benched 250lbs naturally with no musclebuilding supplements and I know how much difference 100lbs feels like.
@DKDIESEL93 i agree, dont get me wrong i think jay cutler has a great physique but derek looks powerful as hell and can still move pretty fast when he has to, whereas someone with cutlers physique will have trouble wiping there ass because alot of it isnt functional muscle
@johnyongck benching isnt important in strongman. deadlift and squat are more important, but there is so much versatility required in strongman that you cannot name just those.
the weights were real in both vids, and even if abbot bounced the bar it would not be enough help to move such an enourmous weight. The bounce would only ad 10 lbs of power tops which is not alot of help to raise 600lbs. You would have to be able to rep 500 lbs about 12times to raise 600lbs once, thats alot!
@fakeandgay69 disappointing? Why? First, coming back from a pec injury, 500 for a double or triple is awesome, and second, he's a strongman. A big bench has almost no carryover to the events in strength athletics (incline press does, but flat bench, not really). He probably does very little bench-specific training anyway, so 500 is monstrous under these circumstances.
@stryker4750 I got that, or at least you weren't implying bodybuilders are generally as strong or stronger than straight-up strength athletes, but I felt that it might be good to offer some possible reasons for it, or at least contributing factors.
Well compared to Jeremy hoornstra, James henderson or Scot mendelson his bench is meh... But in his own right he is a beast because he isn't a powerlifter, and he has overall brute strength unlike the former three I mentioned.
No, it wouldn't be reps, it would be 1 rep if you did 1 and a half because you only did one full rep. Doing X amount of weight "for reps" implies at least 2 full reps. Now if you did one and a half the proper thing to say would be 1 rep and a partial. Hope that helps! The exception to this would be if the set was just to do partials, then you could count the partials as reps, well, sort of.
@stryker4750 Just to highlight the difference, compare Ronnie's famous deadlifting video to Poundstone's 800 for 9, of which only the last one was hitched. Even with the "drained for Olympia" difference accounted for, I doubt Coleman could have hit more than half the clean reps Poundstone got.
I don't know if you meant to reply this to me or not but it should have been replied to shutte165 and nigelthor. He said there were no 2.5s on the bar so it was really 495. Then I said if you pause it it kind of looks like you can see 2.5s.
wasn't a hole lot of reps like I though it would be like it said in the title, but still kick ass, thats more then double of mine. I just got to 195 N good from, and when I started, I couldn't Cheat 135, in any way.
putting your thumb over the bar can be really hard on your wrists when you start going into the heavy weights. This way helps keep your arm straight & feels like you get more power. But yah... you're right. It is like 100x more dangerous with the "suicide grip." Hehe... it has that name for a reason.
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Poundstone is even higher in my books with this vid now. Unlike alot of the other heavy benchers hes doing it right, flat on the bench, lowers slowly, no chest bounce and goes to lock out. All of that with 500lbs amazing
That grip scares me! I dont think the spotter would be able to lift 500lbs off him if it slipped off.
Nice technique! Great to see full reps lol Becoming rarer these days with online videos
Very impressive. Getting over that mental block, especially after the tear, is truly something to feel good about.
He' a beast of a beast
Derek can handle the weight, all the "old guy" has to is take 50 pounds at the very most of pressure from the lift in order to allow derek to return the bar to its resting postion if he was to struggle. Spotters dont need to be the incredible hulk in order to spot someone that is doing a heavy weight. As long as the lifter is comfortable at the weight then its fine.
500lbs after a pec tear is an awesome accomplishment. I tore mine 2 years ago and am hovering aroiund the 350 mark. well done man!
Perfect Form and Control.
He was just on the worlds strongest man competetion
@92tillinfinity He did 1500 then if your counting like that, 3x500 :)
suicide grip... awesome. it "isolated the pecs" is what i hear from youtube experts
Great power bro...500 lbs is a huge accomplishment. 5 stars.
excellent lift, couldnt have been better bro, hoping to be there in a month or so
great LIFT! strong. KEEP ON PUSHING THAT WEIGHT BRO!
Thank god there are internet experts like you around to tell people what they're doing wrong!
I mean, it's not like a top international competitor and winner of the title "America's Strongest Man" could possibly have a clue what he's doing, right?
I respect this clip , very well done . He actually showed how heavy each plate is not like the other clips that they say 500lb bench press 10 reps and they're using fake plates that just look like 45lbs.
Go Derek, We believe in you!
Some of you people are really dumb. Derek Poundstone is not a powerlifter, he is a pro strongman. So the fact that he benched 500 for a few reps (while not training for the bench press specifically) with MUCH better form than most powerlifters, to me is awesome.
He had that won, dominator is an animal but Derek has that won,
@AznKapri Rest assured...that when some states they have 500 Lb's ...and it seems as if it's 495, they have 2.5 pound plates as well. Just for future reference.
You have to remember, that most of the pressing that are done in strongman, are done overhead, so they only use the bench as a supplementary exercise..
2009 WSM winner right there.
perfect bench! impressive
Ok, my friend is Joe Luther and he is a good lifter. I wasn't trying to diss Derek, I think he is incredible. But I do think he is putting to much stress on one part of his pec and front delts. If he can do it that way, more power to him.
...ronnie.. is a... bodybuilder..
this man is .. a strongman..
and powerlifters are their own story aswell
i hate when people mix em up
@stryker4750
You have to recall that strongmen often suck at the bench relative to their other lifts. This is because the bench is not a directly tested lift in strongman - hasn't been for a long time. They are, however, the world's premier overhead pressers along with O-lifters.
For powerlifter/strongman cross-competitors, it can be a different story of course. Brian Siders, for example, is the IPF's record holder in the bench
There's also the volume vs intensity tradeoff in the diff sports
@TAKEMARU666 prime for weightlifting is somewhere around age 40 maybe 45. You need 20 years to rech the peek.
5 plate on each side w/ the bar is 495, look close and you will see the 2 1/2's, Dont say anything if you cant do it.(and those presses are done strict)
@shredhead667 My God, what the hell are you talking about? Poundstone is a world-class strongman competitor not a bodybuilder. The types of events in Strength Athletics require a mixture of tremendous strength, explosive power, AND a respectable level of agility and athleticism. He's explosive as hell and stronger overall than almost everyone in the world. Sure, he's nowhere as quick or 'wiry strong' as an MMA fighter, but by NO MEANS is he 'not an athlete.' And he doesn't lift to pose on stage!
@ScotteDio Read the video description...he suffered fractal pec tear a year ago...
@lucasesquina Reps are anything that is not a 1 rep max. Derek did 2 almost 3 reps with 500lbs. That means his 1 rep max is insane. Just to be in the 500 club at all is a great accomplishment. Just remember "Rep" = 1 and "Reps" = More than 1.
@101BananaSplit
i tried doing narrower gripped incline presses, that built up strength in my upper pecs and shoulders and got me past my upper limits, just food for thought
@sisqo1dru 45 lb bar. 5 45 lb plates on each side. that is 495 lbs. plus at 14 seconds you can see that he has a 2.5 lb plate on each side.
If your 14 thats pretty good my man keep working at it the weights pay off. At 14 a 5.4 forty is fairly slow but other than that for a 14 year old sounds like a future beast.
I remember at Iron Island Gym, Alameda, CA, seeing Lee Moran bench 5 wheels for an easy set of 10, no shirt, Lee hated shirts.
that's pretty good for a guy that usually never does bench if you ever watch strongman comp the lower body is almost the only thing used. and shoulders and biceps theres no laying on the ground while someone drops 500lbs on you in the form of a bench press.
agreed, the owner of my gym has maxed out on 6 plates aside, and repped 5 plates aside for 6 reps, i think 5 plates is around 485lb, but he could have done 500 for more than 2 and a half reps, and hes not a pro lifter or powerlifter, check his vids out search for xlgarry.
Sign on the door: "Gym's closed. Poundstone is here... he needs all the weight."
Def. the truth man, No excuses
I thought he would get more reps than this, I know though that strongmen dont train like powerlifters exactly so I know he has the potential to do even more if he focused on it. UFC fighter Tank Abbot is shown on here on youtube doing a 600lbs bench press!
also i think alot of people are missing something what derek is doing here are real clean reps as in all the way down then all the way up until ur elbows lock out look at pretty much anyone that benches alot and they always have these reps where the bar does not even touch there chest and they use other muscles to jerk it back up and many times to even lock out there elbows
If you pause it at 0:16 it looks like there might be a 2.5lb plate on the end there. It's small and flat so it's hard to tell. If not then then the big plate is funny shaped!
@stryker4750
Sorry, not to harp on this but I just check Ronnie's video and most of those were partial reps, I'd say. Not a knock on him, of course, as that is perfectly valid BB training and still beastly work, but comparing 8 partials to 2.5 regular while coming back from an injury starts to get hazy.
I can't even deadlift this ;_;
@GrandMasterBison
As draining as the dieting process can be, I'd hesitate to claim it cut his reps to a third. It might have been possible for him to eke out a third rep on that day - I couldn't tell if it was planned as a double or if he maxed out at 2. I put my initial estimate at 4, and perhaps 5 reps as you say, but more than that seems to be a rather large jump. I'm no expert on strength loss during dieting - but tripling the observed reps is a ton. I'd be open to evidence of that, though
@needabloodyname Hey, Thanks for the support man.
Nice to see a big dude benching a lot of weight and not bouncing it off his sternum. Sure a lot of hard work preceeded this feat. Great display of strength.
@aikenforjeff your comment made my fucking day!
Awesome Work Period! Great job DP!
good clean reps
where are all these massive guys I see all over youtube, the most ive seen anyone bench at any gym is 405.
You guys aren't reading that he had a pec tear and this is the first time doing 500lbs again.
From the look on derek's face at the end it looked like he was planning on more reps or maybe hoping to get the triple. Nice lift!
My posts are deleted I think. It is funny because I think the lift was totally legit and Derek is my favorite strongman who still competes. Derek's wife said he had a pec injury, and that is the only reason I commented. I couldn't do bench for 2 years after getting to 385 lbs (pathetic I know) because of injuries. Since I changed my technique, I haven't had any issues. People need to chill.
I didn't say anything about flaring elbows... I only mentioned the thumb & suicide grip. I don't even use the suicide grip. I just know a fair amount of people that like it. I don't think thumb placement is really going to affect how flexible your arms are and where you can place them.
& going back to your elbow point; what? Personally my body likes a wide grip on the bar because of my chest to triceps strength (I'm trying to work on my triceps to fix that, but it takes time). Best of luck.
@RockinDjembe I think it's probably a wee bit more then just that.
@ChrisYSoccerFS
lol no its was actually kilos at the gym i thought it was 40 pounds,
i put two 20s on there, i done like 4 but i coudnt do anymore
im glad he got that third rep.. cause that spotter sure as hell couldnt get it
Keep in mind this is 100lbs less than abbot if abbot was using 500 he could complete 10 reps clean with no bounce, 600lbs is alot more than 500. I am a featherweight powerlifter I max benched 250lbs naturally with no musclebuilding supplements and I know how much difference 100lbs feels like.
thats a strong man
really really good reps
Wow, he can bench more than me, I can only do 475.
@DKDIESEL93 i agree, dont get me wrong i think jay cutler has a great physique but derek looks powerful as hell and can still move pretty fast when he has to, whereas someone with cutlers physique will have trouble wiping there ass because alot of it isnt functional muscle
pretty darn good to bench 500lbs after a pectoral tear.
funny to see him working out at retro fitness. i cant imagine the old ladies walking in there and seeing this monster working out.
@gghak Didn't you see the small 2.5lbs...500lbs!!!!
Great benching.
This guy is fucking awesome
Good form.
@MrDeppness
Its actually 500 look there are 2.5s on each side but yes it is FANTASTIC!
@johnyongck
benching isnt important in strongman.
deadlift and squat are more important, but there is so much versatility required in strongman that you cannot name just those.
10, 45 lbs plates equals 495lbs, so to get 500lbs you must add 2, 2.5lbs plates
good raw bench,control.not bumping,good luck for wsm.
the weights were real in both vids, and even if abbot bounced the bar it would not be enough help to move such an enourmous weight. The bounce would only ad 10 lbs of power tops which is not alot of help to raise 600lbs. You would have to be able to rep 500 lbs about 12times to raise 600lbs once, thats alot!
AWESOME!!! tell Derek I SAID CONGRATS!!! mental tests of strength are much harder than physical ones! lol
@fakeandgay69 disappointing? Why? First, coming back from a pec injury, 500 for a double or triple is awesome, and second, he's a strongman. A big bench has almost no carryover to the events in strength athletics (incline press does, but flat bench, not really). He probably does very little bench-specific training anyway, so 500 is monstrous under these circumstances.
Wow 5/5 great work!
Wow! I can bench over half that!! :D
Mind you.. he'd stuff me by way more at just about everything else in the gym! Awesome power!
@stryker4750
I got that, or at least you weren't implying bodybuilders are generally as strong or stronger than straight-up strength athletes, but I felt that it might be good to offer some possible reasons for it, or at least contributing factors.
@chuckcanavi andy hamman struggled flipping a 600 pound tire once....
fucking jacked:) not gonna lie the false grip scared me i thought i accidentally clicked a accident vid
no smile after :)
Ooh shit I didn't know that. pec tears take forever to recover from, I'm suprised he threw that amount of weight up under those circumstances.
Well compared to Jeremy hoornstra, James henderson or Scot mendelson his bench is meh... But in his own right he is a beast because he isn't a powerlifter, and he has overall brute strength unlike the former three I mentioned.
And here I am trying to break 300! WOW!
I would love to take a look inside his pantry (or medicine cabinet) just to see what he takes to get that big.
what a monster, his name is Poundstone for god's sake!
impressive
@Dungarth Hell yea hes a beast.... 215lbs. get me man!
227.27 kilos
BTW, 1 kg = 2.2 lbs
No, it wouldn't be reps, it would be 1 rep if you did 1 and a half because you only did one full rep. Doing X amount of weight "for reps" implies at least 2 full reps. Now if you did one and a half the proper thing to say would be 1 rep and a partial. Hope that helps! The exception to this would be if the set was just to do partials, then you could count the partials as reps, well, sort of.
@stryker4750
Just to highlight the difference, compare Ronnie's famous deadlifting video to Poundstone's 800 for 9, of which only the last one was hitched. Even with the "drained for Olympia" difference accounted for, I doubt Coleman could have hit more than half the clean reps Poundstone got.
ok thanks! this helps a lot
I don't know if you meant to reply this to me or not but it should have been replied to shutte165 and nigelthor. He said there were no 2.5s on the bar so it was really 495. Then I said if you pause it it kind of looks like you can see 2.5s.
@footballwr82 work out your triceps alot, close grip bench press, kickbacks, tricep extentions, ext..
alright man one word ... Beast!
wasn't a hole lot of reps like I though it would be like it said in the title, but still kick ass, thats more then double of mine. I just got to 195 N good from, and when I started, I couldn't Cheat 135, in any way.
putting your thumb over the bar can be really hard on your wrists when you start going into the heavy weights. This way helps keep your arm straight & feels like you get more power. But yah... you're right. It is like 100x more dangerous with the "suicide grip." Hehe... it has that name for a reason.
ok ill give that a try, thanks
wat DA EF, freaking strict ass form. that's amazing with 500 lbs