Bench Pressing for Dummies

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TweetBench Pressing for Dummies
(A Response to Jim Wendler)
By Mike Johnston
For www.EliteFTS.com

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Disclaimer: If you’re a good bench presser, DO NOT read this article. If you’re a cult member of any particular training methodology, DO NOT read this article.

I’ve spent most of my powerlifting career training with two elite powerlifters who both happen to be top level bench pressers. Don Thompson is a mountain of a man who hefts up 800 plus like it’s a feather. Marc “Spud” Bartley is built like a fireplug and benches 700 plus with the shortest, fastest stroke I’ve ever seen. However, I’m not built like either of these gentlemen. I’m built like a Strongman and in the past could barely bench press my way out of a wet paper bag.



It’s not for lack of strength—I’ve benched five plates raw. It’s not for lack of coaching. I’ve seen both Donnie and Spud coach new guys who have added 50 to 100 lbs to the bench. We tried everything, and I did all of the workouts (i.e. bands, chains, weight releasers, PVC under my back to create an arch, lockouts, JMs, board pressing, various rep schemes, circuits, fat bars, etc.). I just didn’t get it. But after losing the 2005 WPC World’s by a lousy seven pounds (i.e. 545 lb bench and missed 589 lbs twice), I was determined to figure the bench press out.

So I rolled into 2006 ready to go. My first workout was on January 2, and two sets into floor press … WHAM …, my right shoulder popped. I had torn the labrum. I laid off for a couple of weeks, did some rehab, and had one successful light workout. On my next workout, I went a little heavy and … BAM! More pain. Now I had a decision to make. Should I try to rehabilitate my shoulder and press on with Strongman or should I see a surgeon? I did both.

My surgeon was honest. He said he could repair it, but that a torn labrum is basically static. If I could live with it, then I should do that. Since overhead pressing didn’t hurt, I figured I would stop benching and focus on overhead. It was actually a positive thing because I knew that my overhead needed some work for Strongman. I trained overhead hard. I perfected my clean after training with light weight professional Strongman Kirk Nowack. I sought council on overheads from the likes of professional Strongmen Willie Wessels, Van Hatfield, and Jon Andersen. I put together a blistering shoulder regimen and dragged my training partners through it with me. Bench pressing was a thing of the past.

My log and axle went up steadily. I hit major PRs and my shoulders felt great. In fact, in early September, Jim Wendler asked me if all the overhead pressing I was doing had any carryover to the bench press. I told him that I honestly didn’t know because I didn’t bench much. (Up until that point, I had benched a total of four times in 2006.) Around that time (maybe November), I decided that all the Strongmen should train hard in the off-season to get stronger, and it seemed natural that we should do a powerlifting meet. However, that meant some bench press training—NOT!

I did some shirt work and got the gear dialed in, but I continued to do the overhead press as a staple and even warmed up for the big shirt days with overhead pressing. I focused on the squat, as I was determined to hit the “G.” I trained my ass off for the squat, but on meet day, I barely missed 1003 lbs and bombed. I continued on in the push-pull portion of the meet even though I had only benched a total of 12 times since January 2, 2006. Twelve times period.

I opened with 551 lbs, which was five pounds under my max, and took a second attempt at 650 lbs. I didn’t arch or use my legs, but I hammered it anyway—a 94 lb increase in my bench press. I hadn’t used bands or chains. I hadn’t done any speed work. I had never gone raw. I had never done a floor press or a lockout lying down, and I hadn’t used fat bars or weight releasers. Everything was done overhead.



So the answer to Jim’s question is yes. There is tremendous carryover from overhead pressing to bench pressing. Also, there’s much less stress on the shoulders and elbows. Speed work and max effort work become one and the same because when pressing overhead one must be explosive. There’s no need for a separate day to add bands and chains and grind up your elbows. Work the shirt when you bench and press overhead otherwise (and not from a seated position either).

Again, the disclaimer. This is just what happened. It wasn’t planned. This is what worked for me. I will continue this method. I will not bench raw. I will not use bands or chains. I will not press out of the rack, from the lockout, or from the floor. I will use the shirt if I lie on a bench. (I may try to get a little more arch and a little leg drive but only through flexibility work and shirt training.)

Sure, it’s an ongoing experiment, but then again, isn’t everything?

Mike Johnston is currently the director of an outpatient orthopedic/sports medicine/strength and conditioning facility. He has served as a strength coach and rehabilitated thousands of professional, collegiate, high school, and recreational athletes. In 2004, he won the NAS Light Weight Strongman Amateur National Championship and is a current American Strongman Corporation (ASC) 105Kg Pro Strongman. Mike is also an elite level powerlifter with best lifts of a 970 lb squat, a 556 lb bench, and a 722 lb deadlift. His best total is 2238 lbs. Mike is the president of South Carolina Strength Promotions, Inc

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