Bench Press powerhouse........

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TweetMatt Lamarque benched 705 pounds on Saturday at the WABDL California State Bench Press and Deadlift Championships held in Chico, California. That puts Lamarque in a tie for third on the list of All-Time best benches in the 198 class. He also sits in the top four in the 220's and 242's.

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TweetMatt Lamarque Bench Routine



FIRST SESSION:

Bench Press: 5-6 singles with a training maximum for that day.

The max is not a true training maximum but a pre selected amount. The weight remains the same for all singles. I am training movement not muscles, and the goal is for the last single to be better than the first one. This is performed with a bench shirt. This is my "Sport Specific Training (SST)" and the goal of these singles is to improve my coordination with the "Sport Specific Movement (SSM)". When I am training the bench I never want to fail or not complete a rep. I believe in always completing full movements with the SSM and never breaking the coordination pattern by missing. In 2004, if I added up all the times I missed a rep in the bench press, training and competition, it would not add up to more than 12 times in the entire year. I feel too many lifters attempt their competitive maximums in the gym and constantly peak before the meet, or riddle their workouts with missed attempts. Remember, a competition maximum is exactly that, it shouldn't be possible to attain in the gym. A training maximum is for training, and a competition maximum is for a competition. The difference between the two is the emotional stress endured by the lifter. If you are hitting all you PR's in the gym, then you are either choking in the meets or you are peaked out.

When training the SSM, I believe that focus and concentration, not emotion and excitement, are what should be used to get better. The key word is "better". When doing the SSM, the focus of my singles is not necessarily to get stronger, but to get better with the movement. I use my assistance exercises to create stronger muscles, then my SST to coordinate these muscles to improve the movement.

1st Assistance Exercise (Pressing): 4-5 sets of 5-8 reps. Use any pressing movement you want and rotate it every three weeks. Keep track of records that you set with different exercises.

2nd assistance Exercise (Triceps): 5-7 sets of 8-20 reps.

3rd Assistance Exercise (Double Hammers- both arms simultaneously): 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps. this is the only bicep movement that I do.

I usually stop here because the workout is getting close to one and a half hours. If you have the time I suggest two workouts in one day. If not, complete the second workout the following day.

SECOND SESSION:

1st Assistance Exercise: (Back) : 5 sets of 8-20 reps. Some type of rowing movement. Switch the exercise every 3-4 weeks.

2nd assistance Exercise (Upper Back and Traps) : 4-5 sets of 15-20 reps. I typically do dumbbell trap flys or trap flys with a sled walking backwards.

3rd Assistance Exercise (Rear and Side Delts): 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps. Then Forearm Work.

Another way to split your workout up is to do you SSM *Singles* alone and then finish up the workout later that day or the following day. Singles accounts for the majority of the workout, due to the long rest periods which are 4-5 minutes. I always ice down after intense training to reduce joint inflammation and being the healing process. If your goal is to increase your competition bench, you must train sport specifically with a shirt. I never use my competition shirts in training. I have training shirts that I use for certain weight increments, and primarily use Karin Klein bench shirts. They have the best cut out of any denim out there. I wear a double ply closed neck in most meets, but train in split necks. I prefer the Titan Fury for single ply Federations.