thinking about quitting bench pressing for good

In article <rJydnSGStpcOKeXYnZ2dnUVZ_riknZ2d DeleteThis @comcast.com>,
"ranieri" <not now> wrote:

> "Hobbes" <khobman800 DeleteThis @yahoo.com>
>
> > I do between 2 and 5 home weight workouts per week. Pull-ups, one armed
> > push press and pistols. I'm working towards one-armed pull-ups, so I
> > call this my uni-lateral training.
>
> With all due respect, Keith - you will never achieve a true one-armed
> pullup.
> Never, I say. Mark my words.

It's possible I won't. But still a worthy goal.

I could do three when I was 20, but I only weighed 165 lbs and the legs
and butt weren't built up squatting. So you could well be right. I'm not
even close right now.

--
Keith
 >> Stay informed about: thinking about quitting bench pressing for good 

> I've been bench pressing for about 3-4 years now. I'm thinking about
> quitting though.
>
>
> I'm curious about those of you who have benches for a few years and
> then quit. My chest has gotten a little bigger in this time frame and
> I don't want to form bitch tits or anything.
>
> Tell me how your body changed please. I still plan to do squats,
> deadlifts, and power cleans, but that's about it.


Many years ago, I was a heavy bench presser. At 5'4, I weighed around
150, and could press 245; not massive, by any means (someone else in
this thread mentioned 405 and made me feel ashamed of my puny 245), but
I was ripped and had a 48" chest so I was proud.

I quit cold turkey, but not on purpose. I severed my left hand, and
although it was reattached, my arm was strapped to my chest for 4
months and I went through hand therapy for another year. Afterward, I
simply couldn't put any weight on the wrist without fear of doing real
damage; I had a hard enough time squeezing a stress ball.

During that time, my muscles deflated pretty slowly. I did develop
tits, but I suspect that was more due to fat than to saggy skin (which
is what I was afraid of). At one point my weight had gone up to 205, if
that gives you any idea.

I recently started working out again (about 8 years after the
accident), but I still can't do heavy weights because of my hand. I'm
sticking with push-ups and other body-weight or low-weight exercises,
and in only a month I've gained a lot of my mass back. My chest is
currently at 46", and my tits are completely gone (although one is
still looking down). I seriously hadn't worked out at all in those 8
years, so I was surprised to see such a dramatic change in such a short
period of time.

I know that my story is considerably more drastic than yours, but the
point is that I don't think you'll develop tits unless you drop a lot
more than bench press. And, from my recent experience, push ups may be
a suitable alternative for bench press, without the risk of damage to
the rotator cuff.

- Jason
 >> Stay informed about: thinking about quitting bench pressing for good 

Hobbes wrote:
> In article <4tqqp4F1441rjU1.DeleteThis@mid.individual.net>,
> "Bully" <bully1.DeleteThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>
>> Hobbes wrote:
>>> In article <4tqmktF15gq1lU1.DeleteThis@mid.individual.net>,
>>> "Bully" <bully1.DeleteThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hobbes wrote:
>>>>> In article
>>>>> <1165465528.018669.247390.DeleteThis@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>,
>>>>> xyzer.DeleteThis@hotmail.com wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I've been bench pressing for about 3-4 years now. I'm thinking
>>>>>> about quitting though.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm curious about those of you who have benches for a few years
>>>>>> and then quit. My chest has gotten a little bigger in this time
>>>>>> frame and I don't want to form bitch tits or anything.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tell me how your body changed please. I still plan to do squats,
>>>>>> deadlifts, and power cleans, but that's about it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Bitch tits are breast tissue - bench presses form muscle.
>>>>>
>>>>> If you get fat you can get the infamous 'man-boobs', but that has
>>>>> nothing to do with the bench press. I haven't bench-pressed
>>>>> seriously for almost two years after being a competing
>>>>> powerlifter. I look much the same - just a little slimmer in the
>>>>> upper body.
>>>>
>>>> With what did you replace bench?
>>>
>>> Nothing really. Or everything.
>>
>> Yeah, I'd say it's everything !!!
>>
>>> I have a fairly extensive routine.
>>>
>>> Right now (and I try a lot of different things) I do three gym
>>> weight workouts per week. I spend about an hour and do jerks,
>>> snatches and cleans and minor variations of each. Prior to a gym
>>> workout I jog for about 10 minutes (to get to the gym) and then I
>>> do a dozen or so wind sprints after the workout.
>>>
>>> I do between 2 and 5 home weight workouts per week. Pull-ups, one
>>> armed push press and pistols. I'm working towards one-armed
>>> pull-ups, so I call this my uni-lateral training. This workout is
>>> short - 20-25 minutes.
>>>
>>> Most mornings I do my big 5 as a wake-up. Between 20 and 100 hindu
>>> squats, hindu push-ups, tables, leg raises and then I do neck
>>> bridges for time. I may do the first four as a tabata interval once
>>> and a while.
>>
>> Tables?
>>
>>>
>>> I also do some specific training for baseball in the winter. Swings
>>> and go throw. I do some dynamic stretches from my karate days most
>>> work days at noon.
>>>
>>> Doing all this stuff keeps the general fitness pretty high. I pissed
>>> off the local college kid who challenged me to a bench competition
>>> by doing a shaky 315 lbs for a single.
>>
>> Great work!!!
>
> My best when I was competing was 405, so it wasn't really all that
> great. OTOH - my bench was never up to my squat and deadlift.

My bench was always my weak "event" [*] but after working at it for the last
12 months it's respectable now. However, my squat and deadlift [particularly
the latter] now need work !!!

* no, I don't compete 'cept with my own PB's !

--
Bully
Protein bars: http://www.proteinbars.co.uk

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
 >> Stay informed about: thinking about quitting bench pressing for good 

Hobbes wrote:
> In article <4tqqp4F1441rjU1.RemoveThis@mid.individual.net>,
> "Bully" <bully1.RemoveThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>
>> Hobbes wrote:
>>> In article <4tqmktF15gq1lU1.RemoveThis@mid.individual.net>,
>>> "Bully" <bully1.RemoveThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hobbes wrote:
>>>>> In article
>>>>> <1165465528.018669.247390.RemoveThis@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>,
>>>>> xyzer.RemoveThis@hotmail.com wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I've been bench pressing for about 3-4 years now. I'm thinking
>>>>>> about quitting though.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm curious about those of you who have benches for a few years
>>>>>> and then quit. My chest has gotten a little bigger in this time
>>>>>> frame and I don't want to form bitch tits or anything.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Tell me how your body changed please. I still plan to do squats,
>>>>>> deadlifts, and power cleans, but that's about it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Bitch tits are breast tissue - bench presses form muscle.
>>>>>
>>>>> If you get fat you can get the infamous 'man-boobs', but that has
>>>>> nothing to do with the bench press. I haven't bench-pressed
>>>>> seriously for almost two years after being a competing
>>>>> powerlifter. I look much the same - just a little slimmer in the
>>>>> upper body.
>>>>
>>>> With what did you replace bench?
>>>
>>> Nothing really. Or everything.
>>
>> Yeah, I'd say it's everything !!!
>>
>>> I have a fairly extensive routine.
>>>
>>> Right now (and I try a lot of different things) I do three gym
>>> weight workouts per week. I spend about an hour and do jerks,
>>> snatches and cleans and minor variations of each. Prior to a gym
>>> workout I jog for about 10 minutes (to get to the gym) and then I
>>> do a dozen or so wind sprints after the workout.
>>>
>>> I do between 2 and 5 home weight workouts per week. Pull-ups, one
>>> armed push press and pistols. I'm working towards one-armed
>>> pull-ups, so I call this my uni-lateral training. This workout is
>>> short - 20-25 minutes.
>>>
>>> Most mornings I do my big 5 as a wake-up. Between 20 and 100 hindu
>>> squats, hindu push-ups, tables, leg raises and then I do neck
>>> bridges for time. I may do the first four as a tabata interval once
>>> and a while.
>>
>> Tables?
>
> http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm
>
> See Rite #4

Hmm, OK, I could struggle on that right now. How long did it take for you to
perfect it?

There's a lot to fit in isn't there. I'm currently doing a one-lift a day
program so I can add cardio each day. However, I want to add some unilateral
work. I also want to start running such that I can complete 3k in sub-12
mins by May of next year (so I can do our pre-season road runs). At the
moment I can row quicker over any distance than I can run! I need to add
much more flexibility work.

BTW: what are wind sprints?

--
Bully
Protein bars: http://www.proteinbars.co.uk

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
 >> Stay informed about: thinking about quitting bench pressing for good 

In article <4tsfabF14shqvU1.DeleteThis@mid.individual.net>,
"Bully" <bully1.DeleteThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:

> Hobbes wrote:
> > In article <4tqqp4F1441rjU1.DeleteThis@mid.individual.net>,
> > "Bully" <bully1.DeleteThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
> >
> >> Hobbes wrote:
> >>> In article <4tqmktF15gq1lU1.DeleteThis@mid.individual.net>,
> >>> "Bully" <bully1.DeleteThis@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Hobbes wrote:
> >>>>> In article
> >>>>> <1165465528.018669.247390.DeleteThis@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>,
> >>>>> xyzer.DeleteThis@hotmail.com wrote:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> I've been bench pressing for about 3-4 years now. I'm thinking
> >>>>>> about quitting though.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> I'm curious about those of you who have benches for a few years
> >>>>>> and then quit. My chest has gotten a little bigger in this time
> >>>>>> frame and I don't want to form bitch tits or anything.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> Tell me how your body changed please. I still plan to do squats,
> >>>>>> deadlifts, and power cleans, but that's about it.
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Bitch tits are breast tissue - bench presses form muscle.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If you get fat you can get the infamous 'man-boobs', but that has
> >>>>> nothing to do with the bench press. I haven't bench-pressed
> >>>>> seriously for almost two years after being a competing
> >>>>> powerlifter. I look much the same - just a little slimmer in the
> >>>>> upper body.
> >>>>
> >>>> With what did you replace bench?
> >>>
> >>> Nothing really. Or everything.
> >>
> >> Yeah, I'd say it's everything !!!
> >>
> >>> I have a fairly extensive routine.
> >>>
> >>> Right now (and I try a lot of different things) I do three gym
> >>> weight workouts per week. I spend about an hour and do jerks,
> >>> snatches and cleans and minor variations of each. Prior to a gym
> >>> workout I jog for about 10 minutes (to get to the gym) and then I
> >>> do a dozen or so wind sprints after the workout.
> >>>
> >>> I do between 2 and 5 home weight workouts per week. Pull-ups, one
> >>> armed push press and pistols. I'm working towards one-armed
> >>> pull-ups, so I call this my uni-lateral training. This workout is
> >>> short - 20-25 minutes.
> >>>
> >>> Most mornings I do my big 5 as a wake-up. Between 20 and 100 hindu
> >>> squats, hindu push-ups, tables, leg raises and then I do neck
> >>> bridges for time. I may do the first four as a tabata interval once
> >>> and a while.
> >>
> >> Tables?
> >
> > http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm
> >
> > See Rite #4
>
> Hmm, OK, I could struggle on that right now. How long did it take for you to
> perfect it?
>
> There's a lot to fit in isn't there. I'm currently doing a one-lift a day
> program so I can add cardio each day. However, I want to add some unilateral
> work. I also want to start running such that I can complete 3k in sub-12
> mins by May of next year (so I can do our pre-season road runs). At the
> moment I can row quicker over any distance than I can run! I need to add
> much more flexibility work.
>
> BTW: what are wind sprints?

Intervals of sprinting and walking, in my case. In the winter I simply
sprint where the sidewalks are clear enough I can get purchase...

:^)

--
Keith
 >> Stay informed about: thinking about quitting bench pressing for good 

Hobbes wrote:
> In article <4tsfabF14shqvU1.TakeThisOut@mid.individual.net>,
> "Bully" <bully1.TakeThisOut@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>
>> Hobbes wrote:
>>> In article <4tqqp4F1441rjU1.TakeThisOut@mid.individual.net>,
>>> "Bully" <bully1.TakeThisOut@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hobbes wrote:
>>>>> In article <4tqmktF15gq1lU1.TakeThisOut@mid.individual.net>,
>>>>> "Bully" <bully1.TakeThisOut@proteinbars.co.ok> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hobbes wrote:
>>>>>>> In article
>>>>>>> <1165465528.018669.247390.TakeThisOut@l12g2000cwl.googlegroups.com>,
>>>>>>> xyzer.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've been bench pressing for about 3-4 years now. I'm thinking
>>>>>>>> about quitting though.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I'm curious about those of you who have benches for a few years
>>>>>>>> and then quit. My chest has gotten a little bigger in this
>>>>>>>> time frame and I don't want to form bitch tits or anything.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Tell me how your body changed please. I still plan to do
>>>>>>>> squats, deadlifts, and power cleans, but that's about it.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Bitch tits are breast tissue - bench presses form muscle.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If you get fat you can get the infamous 'man-boobs', but that
>>>>>>> has nothing to do with the bench press. I haven't bench-pressed
>>>>>>> seriously for almost two years after being a competing
>>>>>>> powerlifter. I look much the same - just a little slimmer in the
>>>>>>> upper body.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> With what did you replace bench?
>>>>>
>>>>> Nothing really. Or everything.
>>>>
>>>> Yeah, I'd say it's everything !!!
>>>>
>>>>> I have a fairly extensive routine.
>>>>>
>>>>> Right now (and I try a lot of different things) I do three gym
>>>>> weight workouts per week. I spend about an hour and do jerks,
>>>>> snatches and cleans and minor variations of each. Prior to a gym
>>>>> workout I jog for about 10 minutes (to get to the gym) and then I
>>>>> do a dozen or so wind sprints after the workout.
>>>>>
>>>>> I do between 2 and 5 home weight workouts per week. Pull-ups, one
>>>>> armed push press and pistols. I'm working towards one-armed
>>>>> pull-ups, so I call this my uni-lateral training. This workout is
>>>>> short - 20-25 minutes.
>>>>>
>>>>> Most mornings I do my big 5 as a wake-up. Between 20 and 100 hindu
>>>>> squats, hindu push-ups, tables, leg raises and then I do neck
>>>>> bridges for time. I may do the first four as a tabata interval
>>>>> once and a while.
>>>>
>>>> Tables?
>>>
>>> http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm
>>>
>>> See Rite #4
>>
>> Hmm, OK, I could struggle on that right now. How long did it take
>> for you to perfect it?
>>
>> There's a lot to fit in isn't there. I'm currently doing a one-lift
>> a day program so I can add cardio each day. However, I want to add
>> some unilateral work. I also want to start running such that I can
>> complete 3k in sub-12 mins by May of next year (so I can do our
>> pre-season road runs). At the moment I can row quicker over any
>> distance than I can run! I need to add much more flexibility work.
>>
>> BTW: what are wind sprints?
>
> Intervals of sprinting and walking, in my case. In the winter I simply
> sprint where the sidewalks are clear enough I can get purchase...
>
> :^)

Oh, sprint intervals then !

--
Bully
Protein bars: http://www.proteinbars.co.uk

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't
matter, and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss
 >> Stay informed about: thinking about quitting bench pressing for good