In depth Hoornstra interview

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TweetThe Man Who Would Be King
Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 09:37 AM
Posted by House of Pain


Jeremy Hoornstra

All Time Biggest Bencher Under 242 Pounds and Mwt. King of the Bench

Interviewed by Sean Zilla Katterle, Photography by Leon Josaitis and Josh Winsor

(This interview took place just before The Olympia Expo 2007. A portion of this article
was published in BodyTalk Magazine but then BodyTalk was purchased as part of a merger
and the new controlling share holders elected to shut the magazine down. This is the
first time this interview's been published in its entirety so House of Pain blog readers
are getting to read it first!)



“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” - Muhammad Ali





Sean Katterle - You're fast becoming famous in the gym world for being one of the sport's all time greatest benchers. But you've also competed in bodybuilding, right? What's your contest history in both sports? Did you get started in bodybuilding first or were you a power bencher who decided to diet down and pose on stage later?

Jeremy Hoornstra – I actually started lifting in middle school but I didn’t get serious with it until high school. I played lots of sports but I liked the weight lifting team the best, probably because I had a decent bench. After high school, I got into bodybuilding with my roommate, Brad Dunn, who is actually a pro strongman now, but it was easier to diet down and lift twice a day with someone else who had the same goals, schedule, and diet. I did a few bodybuilding shows like the Southern States and Southeastern USA for a few years but I managed to stay pretty strong throughout the whole dieting process. Everyone told me I should give up bodybuilding and do powerlifting but I didn’t want to look like a typical strongman or powerlifter. When I moved to Tallahassee to go to FSU, I was benching at my gym and a guy came up to me and said he used to compete in powerlifting, specifically the USPF and that I would probably win and might end up with a world record in my first meet. So, we did that competition and then it seems like everything fell into place. I did the USPF Adel Cup in Adel, Georgia twice
and then was asked to do the NERB (New England Records Breakers) in Massachusetts where I broke the 242 lb. record. (Reporter's Note: Hoornstra benchpressed 605 pounds at 242 pounds and without a bench shirt!) After that was the Olympia - Kings of the Bench Competition in Las Vegas. Right now I'm about two and a half months out from defending my Olympia benchpress title so, hopefully everyone turns out to watch Kings of the Bench II !


Sean- It takes a lot of rest and recovery to build the kind of explosiveness you've developed. Who's currently sponsoring you with supplements? What products (brands and types) are you currently using and what does your supplement program look like from day to day?

Jeremy – After winning the Kings of the Bench last year, BOSS (www.bossonline.net) signed me on as their second sponsored pro bencher (Reporters Note: BOSS also sponsors 3x Arnold Classic Bench Champion, Ryan Kennelly.) BOSS supplies me with the products that I prefer to use and so, with their assistance, I’m currently using VPX’s Redline RTDs before working out, MHP's TRAC Extreme NO for my creatine and NO loading and I use MHP's SARM-X and T Bomb II so my hormones are optimal. And, since I can come in up to 275 pounds body weight for this year's show (the middleweight division has jumped from 250 & Under to 275 & Under) I'm drinking MHP's Up Your Mass shakes a few times a day so I maintain a positive nitrogen balance and, consequently, avoid catabolism. And, finally, I'm a huge ran of RTD's (which is why I use Redline pre-workout) and so I drink as many Muscle Milk
RTDs as I can get and for general health maintenance I use MHP's Activite multi-vitamin, their Releve joint support and for overall body well being and for increasing my ability to recover even further from workouts I've started using MHP's Cyclin GF and Glutamine SR. I also eat on average seven times a day so the bulk of my nutrition comes from food sources and the supplements are that and that alone, a supplement to food, not a replacement of food. So, understanding the importance of also having a solid muscle building diet, let’s start with drink, it’s easiest. I drink a ton of fat free milk and water everyday; almost a gallon of each. I know there’s sugar and stuff in milk still but there’s also almost ten grams of protein in each cup. Other than that, I drink Crystal-Lite and Gatorade throughout the day and after a workout, usually a juice like apple juice or something with sugar to go with the creatine. My food intake is a little more complicated. First off, I love meat, so any dead animal you have sounds good to me. I eat a ton of steak, ground beef and ribs throughout the week. With every meal, I make
sure there’s a ton of animal source protein as well as carbs in it. Like I said, I eat about seven times a day, not including supplements, to make sure that I don’t actually lose any weight through the workouts and cardio. Normal meals before a workout are a box of macaroni and cheese mixed in with two grilled chicken breasts which is almost a hundred grams of protein and carbs all at once, perfect for a pre-workout meal. I don’t really like greasy food so I don’t eat pizza, fast food or really anything that's unhealthy. If I cook it myself, I know exactly how much protein and everything is in it and it’s usually more cost effective to cook my meals at home anyways. If I’m in a situation where I have to choose between fast food or nothing at all, I usually hit up a Subway across the street from where I work because a sub beats greasy food any day. Also, I get off work usually around 3:30 a.m. and nothing is open so the 24 hour McDonald’s loses a few chicken sandwiches to me. I just make sure that I up the cardio the next few days to get rid of it all. If it comes down to losing weight by not eating and maintaining muscle by eating crap, you better believe I’ll down a triple cheeseburger and do it with a smile on my face. One thing that I absolutely despise though is vegetables, so I don’t eat them, plain and simple. If someone cooks them for me, I’ll eat them out of politeness, but I better like the person a whole lot. I get most of the
nutrients I need from the food I do eat, fruits, meats, pastas, and from all the supplements I listed off.

Sean - I'm sure that just about everybody who benches, me included, wants to know as much detailed information as possible about your week to week training routine. Please outline a training cycle on the bench for Jeremy Hoornstra. Feel free to give away as many training secrets as you want to.

Hoornstra - My workout is a very intense part of the day. I leave nothing in the gym. I make sure that I go in there to do what I intended to do. This does come with consequences such as my free time getting consumed by my training, dizziness or vomiting from over exertion, etc. but to me, the benefits outweigh the consequences hands down. It's a part of my life, a part of who I am, and I love it. My workout is divided into body parts and resembles a bodybuilder's workout because that is where I started and it's worked for me so far. Also, it keeps me balanced and proportionate so that I don't get
injuries due to imbalances in my muscle groups. The key to preventing injuries in my opinion is push what you pull, with every group being trained. I start my week of training like most people do, with chest. I do this because that is my favorite thing to do and no matter how tired I am or how much I'm needing a pot of coffee in me, I'm at least looking forward to working bench and bench assistance. I usually warm up with 225 for a set of 10 fast reps, warming up mainly my elbows and shoulders, noting anything that feels out of the ordinary. My next set is with 315 and with that weight I can tell if there's anything wrong that will affect my workout and I decide then if I'm going
heavy or not. 315 is usually for a fast 10 reps, just as 405 is after that.Once I start to feel good and warm, I get a hand off and do 495 for usually a fast 5 reps, trying to stay tight through each rep. I rest for a few minutes and just right to 585 for another fast 5 reps. Now the workout starts to get serious (Reporter’s Note: Yeah, benching five reps with over double body weight isn’t serious by itself!) and this is where I stop talking so much, stop walking around checking out what other people are up to, etc. My next set is usually 635 for, depending on how I feel that day, between 1 and 3 reps. If that feels heavy and I stop at one, I usually do a few sets of 3-5 after that, one to two of them being forced reps and drop down for a drop set with 495. If it feels good and I'm feeling strong, I go to 675 for usually a single rep (Note: This whole workout is performed without a bench shirt.) The rest is played my ear. If I'm still feeling good after that and usually a crowd entices me to go heavier, I'll throw on either a ten and a five on each side or just two tens, putting that to 715 even. I've only gotten this weight once and it was not paused, but not bounced either. Form to me is really important and in my opinion, having 715 lbs bounce off of my sternum is not a fun thing to have happen.After my last heavy set, I drop down to either 495 for 10-15, depending on what I have left and how much time I sat there, leaning on the fan, trying to catch my breath, or 405 for anywhere between 18-25 reps. Incline usually follows flat bench and I pyramid up the same way, starting at 315 for five reps, 405 for 5 reps, 495 for 5 reps, and then I either go 545 or 585 depending on how much gas I have left in the tank. Once I get done with my heavy set here, I'm through with incline and most of my power
movements for the day. The rest of the workout changes week to week. I try to do at least two more exercises, one dumbbell and then either a cable or hammer strength exercise. Incline flies are one of my favorites and I try to go up to 150's for a controlled 6 reps followed with a few fast reps of regular incline presses. Cable flies are killer and I do not do them every week. I lay the flat bench in the middle of the double cable machine and touch the handles over my head. Hammer strength is good but not really all that heavy so I end up doing six plates on each side (with someone holding them so they don't fall off) and hanging 1 or 2 on each of the handles. Be careful where
you do this because the plates will tear the grip a little bit and most gyms don't really appreciate that too much. This is how the majority of my chest workouts go. They will vary every few weeks if I'm not feeling it or I'm a little hurt in which case I use the opportunity to do a rep day, doing 3 sets of reps with 495 and 3 sets of reps with 405. The week after a rep week, I try to do sets of at least 4-5 reps and then once again, the following week is a heavy one. I'm really big on forced reps and drops sets. Also, from the numbers I've used, you can see I use the 45's and the 25's, that's it. That just either gives me the opportunity for a few extra reps, or a few forced reps. I will say
that you must have a training partner that you can trust in so many ways for this. Don't do this routine with your girlfriend....unless she's swole.
The next day of the week is back day. I am by no means a deadlifter but I'm trying. I take a long time warming up for deadlifts and pyramid up the same way as I do on flat bench. 225 for 5 reps, 315 for 5 reps, 405 for 5 reps, then I bust out the chalk and belt. 495 is my tell tale weight in which I decide if I'm going heavy. If it's easy, I go 585 but usually for 1, then 635 for again 1. I've only gotten 675 once so most of the time, I either stop there and do a drop set or try to hit up 655 which I can usually do on a decent day. I will probably never be known for my amazing deadlift strength, but
I'm still going to hit it as hard as I can, to try to catch my bench...? After this, I love the rest of the workout. Bent over rows to me are great. I start at 315 for 5, 405 for 5, 495 for 5, and then usually go 545 for 3 and depending on how that feels, do another set with that or go up to 585 for a few reps. I used to go down about 75 degrees or so but recently worked on my form and either go down 75 degrees (working the upper lats) or 90 degrees, touching the rack or floor, wherever I am doing them. Strong lats
are important to building a big bench.This is the part of the workout, once again, that changes from week to week. I vary this part between cable rows, single-arm cable rows, pull-downs, close grip pull-downs, pull-ups, weighted pull-ups. The exercise I choose is usually decided the second before
I do it and based on who is using what and if I feel like loading any more weights at this point...usually an hour and an half into the workout by now. Wednesday, shoulder day. I think that military press is one of the best things to develop your shoulders. Strong shoulders are important to building a big bench. I go heavy on this most of the time. I do them behind the neck to utilize the full contraction of the deltoids but make sure not to go past 90 degrees in my elbow or to make sure with heavy weight, hit the middle of the back of my head. This will mess your shoulders up if done wrong or if the
range of motion is too great. Once again, I pyramid from 135 to 405 and that's decision time. I either do 455 for a few sets of 5 or if I'm feeling good and no injuries in elbows, shoulders, nowhere, I'll do 495 for a set of 5, usually one ends up being a forced rep here. Once again, trust your spotter. A bad spotter equals a blown rotator cuff. From here, I usually go to heavy lateral raises but usually only do 2-3 sets starting around the 90's and going up to around the 115's or so. Seated front raises follow with very little rest to make sure I'm tearing the delts up. I usually start around 85's and go up to 100's or so. After this, traps. I will usually pick two things for traps. One is usually heavy barbell shrugs, the others will either be hang cleans, single arm smith machine shrugs, dumbbell shrugs, or upright rows. Barbell shrugs I
usually start at 585 to get the blood flowin...then comes 765 for usually 5 reps. After that is 855 for 5 reps as well. I try to always do at least 5 reps because traps are strong and a max on shrugs to me seems pointless. Hang cleans I start at 225 and usually go up to 365 for 5 reps, occasionally going up to 405 for 1 or 2 reps, depending on the amount of caffeine I've had that day. Upright rows I usually do if I'm getting tired and try to go up to at least 315 for 4-5 reps but that usually kills me that I usually end up going home after those. I do throw in rotator cuff exercises after shoulder day just to
make sure I don't get hurt, more preventative than anything. I usually do them leaning on the incline, holding a 60 lb dumbbell with my armpit to elbow on the bar, rotating the dumbbell to the bottom and back up to the top again. After this, I usually need a puke bucket and some glucose. Halfway through the week comes arms. I start on triceps because I want them fresh when I work them out. Close grip is always first because that warms me
up more than anything else. The weight I go up to depends on the weight I've already lifted that week on chest as well as what I'm going to be lifting the next week. But a "for example", I'll put the weight that I used this week. Once again, pyramid up, 225, 315, 405, 495 for 5. This is the point where I think about it, but remember, I'm strong on triceps so this point might come soon for others than it does for me. 585 for 2, sometimes 3, then 635 for a double. This pumped me up so I did it again and only got one so I did a forced rep. Then I drop down like on chest to 495 and shoot for 10 but
usually only get around 7 or 8. Strong triceps are important to building a big bench. After this is up in the air but lately has been nosebreakers with the bench press bar. I just flip around on the bench and have someone lift off to me. I usually start with 225 for two to three sets because this is harder on the elbows and it takes me a little while to warm them up. This week I was feeling good so I went straight to 315 for 6 easy reps and then did 365 for another 5 reps. I was pumped but getting tired so next time I'm going to hit up the 405 and see if I can pound out a few. After this is strictly complimentary work to finish the pump so it's either dumbbell nosebreakers, cable pressdowns, or kickbacks, usually sets of 8-10. Now, after all that, biceps. My arms are pretty warm already so the warmup is not near as long. I usually do a set or two of standing alternating dumbbell curls with the 60's, then the 100's for a pump. My favorite thing to do for biceps is seated dumbbell curls. I usually do 80's for 6 reps, all 6 on the right, then all 6 on the left. After that I do a set with the 100's for usually five reps and then if I'm feeling strong still, again, dependant on caffeine, ephedrine, etc, 115's for 3-5 each arm. After this, I usually go to preacher curls and I do this for form. I either use the dumbbells supersetting with the 80 for 4, 70 for 6, and 65 for 8 and then back up, each arm. If I use the cambered bar, I usually just do
two 45's on each side for three strict sets of 8. By now, I'm tired but usually do a set of either concentration curls or cable curls for a little extra pump, lay down for a half hour, then drag myself up to go home and eat. Finally leg day. I try to do nothing before leg day because it kills me. Leg day always starts with squats. Again, pyramid up, 135, 225, 315, 405, 495. This is the weight I start wrapping up my knees. 585 for an easy 5, 675 is usually for 3. 725 is usually for 2, and then if I'm feeling good, I do a single with 765. Next is either hack squats or front squats. Hacks I go up to 8 plates on each side for a set of 3 or so, fronts I usually go up to 455 for 3-5, haven't been eager enough to try 5 plates yet. Leg press is a joke but if we do it, load all 16
plates on each side which sucks, then have either one big guy or two little guys sit on it. I try to avoid this "ego machine" for so many reason, 20 minutes loading, sitting on it, not really feeling tired after doing it, etc. The rest of the workout is heavy leg extensions, usually one leg at a time with the stack, and calves. I do calves on a flight of stairs, one raise on the first step, two on the second,. three on the third, etc. up to sixteen and try to do this at least twice along with seated calve raises. Lately I've thrown in strongman exercises as well including the yoke walk, farmer's walk,
viking press, log lift, and truck push. I've been pushing my Yukon for a while now uphill for distance and on flat ground for speed, but we've started pushing heavier trucks and that makes all the difference. This is my average week of working out performed by each muscle group. Every now and then I'll change it up or get motivated to do extra things like forearms, extra calves, etc. However, the power movements are a big part of the workout. They've been around the longest, they are the basics in which everything we use today are based on. It's worked for me so far so we'll see if it continues to work in the future. Good luck to everyone in your training. My “secret” if
you want to call it that, is to go all out and leave nothing in the gym. When I’m driving home, I’m dizzy, shaking, about to throw-up, which I guess isn’t all that good while I’m driving but you get the point. If I’m not feeling like I’m all there, I’ll use that as an excuse to go light and maybe just end up doing 3 sets of 5 with 585 or something like that, not any heavier. I’ll usually still do a drop set but maybe do 495 for reps, depends on how I feel. You have to listen to your body. If my shoulder starts to ache, I stop. I don’t want to be one of those guys in twenty years who says, “I used to bench that much but I blew out my shoulder.” If it hurts, stop. It won’t get better magically by putting a ton of stress on it but people usually try to psych themselves up
or let their ego hurt them in the long run. However, if I feel good, I love forced reps and drop sets and usually do them every week. If there’s something I can get 3 reps with, I’ll go 5. If there’s something I can get once, I’ll go 3. Leave nothing in the gym, make it worth your time.

Seanzilla - You obviously spend a good deal of time training your back and legs too. What are your favorite leg, back and biceps exercises and how often do you train those muscle groups? And are there any lifts, outside of your bench days, that are must do's in your opinion, for people who want to bench big?



Jeremy – I have a very “bodybuilding workout” because that’s where I started and it’s worked so far so if it’s not broken, I don’t fix it. For legs, I hit heavy squats, wrapping my knees after about 600 or so and usually going up to around mid to high 7’s. Then I do heavy leg press and heavy hack squats. I always do my calves because I hate them and wish they’d at least triple in size, dang it. Back, I usually do heavy deads, heavy that is for me which just happens to be a few pounds less than my bench. Don’t ask me how that worked, just happened. I usually pyramid those as well going up to around
660 or so and then dropping for a drop set of 8-10. I love doing bent over rows though and I make sure that I hit them every back day. After that, it’s random and usually ends up being either weighted pull-ups, close-grip pull-downs, cable rows or something along those lines. Biceps, I think my favorite thing is single arm, seated dumbbell curls not alternated. I do around 5-8 reps on the right and then on the left, usually with about the 115’s or so. Other than that, preacher curls and cable curls plus a few other things
depending on how I feel that day. I train chest on monday, back on tuesday, shoulders on wednesday, triceps on thursday, biceps on friday and legs on saturday. Sometimes we combine bi’s and tri’s just so we’ll have the whole weekend off but more often than not, we feel beat up after tri’s and call it quits. Things that I do that I think have helped my bench are for shoulders, definitely military presses and hang-cleans with a press. I started doing military’s behind the neck in high school and got up to around 495 for
three reps. I stopped doing them when I got tendonitis in my shoulder and my bench instantly dropped 30 lbs or so in a month so now I do them every week. Other than that, exercises I think improve your bench are close-grip bench for your tri’s, bent-over rows for your lats, and heavy front raises for your delts. I don’t have perfect form on the bench but using your shoulders, lats, chest, and tri’s all together, you can’t help but increase your weight. I also do rotator cuff exercises just to make sure I don’t get injured as I’m going heavy most of the time.





Seanzilla - OK, now for one of my favorite interview wrap up questions. If you could be anyone in the history of powerlifting or bodybuilding, who's life who you live or have lived? If you could live two other lives (besides your own) outside the world of competitive bodybuilding and powerlifting who in history would you be/have been and why?

Jeremy – Wow, for bodybuilding and powerlifting I’d say Arnold Schwarzenegger and Eddie Coan. Schwarzenegger is probably responsible for not only getting bodybuilding where it is today, but powerlifting and strongman as well. He put bodybuilding on the map and in my opinion is the champion we should thank for making it the sport that it is today. Eddie Coan has more records than anyone, ever. He is the most powerful guy you will ever meet. For someone to pull and squat nearly 1000 lbs. each as a 242’er, is insane. On top of that, he’s one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and in my opinion, deserves even more respect as a person than he does a powerlifter.Outside of the powerlifting/bodybuilding world, I’d say Benjamin Franklin because he was brilliant and invented things hundreds of years ago that are essential to our everyday lives today and King David from the bible because, despite the whole adultery thing, he defeated Goliath, united the tribes and was a great leader.

Seanzilla - Thanks for your time Jeremy and I look forward to seeing you lift at the Animal Cage this spring, at The Super Show Expo in Dallas this August and on stage at the Olympia this fall

Jeremy - No problem, I look forward to seeing you at the Arnold as well. Also, that’ll be the last part of my DVD that is coming out about a month after the Arnold. It’ll have a full chest workout of mine including a 675 and 700 raw touch and go bench and 625 on incline. Also there will be complimentary lifts for each body part I do that I think increases your benchpress, an extreme cardio section, and a backstage/on stage view at competitions I’ve done including the NERB, Olympia and the Arnold Ironcage so it should be pretty cool once it’s through. You will be able to order the DVD from a few different websites.

Sean - At the Olympia Expo you punched up 315lbs. for 27 reps
and you exhibited a full range of motion on every rep (touching the chest and the elbows snapping quickly in and out of lockout.) On some of your insane power reps sets in the gym (going as high as 20 some reps with 405 pounds!) you don't seem as focused on completing the lockout portion of the lift. Is this because you're focused more on building endurance strength off the chest and less on building lockout power, because you were just going with the flow of the motion and not worrying about locking out or ?

Jeremy - Well, my strongest point in the bench press is the lockout. I have always had strong triceps and go heavy on close grip bench so that's not really what I was focusing on for that part. I was mainly getting my endurance up and working on the lower to middle part of the rep. However, if I do a heavier weight, I try to make sure I lock it out all the way, especially if it is a paused rep.

Sean - You worked power cleans (barbell from waist height to clean and back) before you trained shrugs. What are you focused on building when you're doing power cleans? Is it your 2nd traps exercise or is there another point to adding that lift into the mix (I don't often see power benchers
power clean, hence my asking.)

Jeremy - I have always done hang cleans, I love them. Nothing better for the traps and neck than shrugging the weight up to your chest. I do them along with heavy shrugs to work the traps and parts of the delts because utilizing
all the muscle groups possible that can be used in the bench press will only help you. Strong lats, traps, and delt are only going to help your chest and tri's power up the heavy weight. Also, it is important to me to create a "balance" in my body not only for the symmetrical look, (again back to bodybuilding), but a balance in power is important for preventing injuries that happen from over training one body part in relation to another. I try to push what I pull, or at least stay close.

Sean - One of the training lifts that freaked me out the most was your dumbbell raises. You worked seated alternate front raises and standing arms bent side raises with 100+ pounds for reps! Even though the combined dumbbell weight was getting close to your body weight I observed that you
really kept your body swing to a minimum. How much do you think a person should sacrifice form for weight when working db raises? We've all seen the guy with weak looking shoulders full body swinging up way more weight than he can actually lift with his shoulders/traps and we've also seen the other end of the spectrum which is the fitness guru standing at attention slow motioning with a 10 pound dumbbell and getting no results in the way of muscle mass building. Where do you put the best mix? How much "cheating" is too much and should someone start out strict and get crazier as their strength progresses?

Jeremy - Well, just as with everything else in life, there are extremes to
doing every lift, especially when it comes to strictness of form. I try to keep pretty good form because swinging a dumbbell up when it's too heavy for you isn't working the intended muscle groups you're trying to hit and you're not impressing anyone worth impressing. However, laying against a wall doing a 10 second rep and slow negatives won't develop the fast twitch that you're looking for either. It's all relative but I try to keep the swing, or the "cheat" down as much as possible and focus on the muscle group I'm working. In this case, I think of the delts and focus on them, making sure that I fill them up as soon as I can. A rule of thumb for me is a good 1/2 second to 1 second rep with a good squeeze at the top and controlled negative, again keeping the swing to as low a level as possible.

Sean - When you trained biceps you were standing dumbbell curling with 100+ pound dumbbells for reps! I noticed that sometimes your hand position is closer to a hammer curl than a standard dumbbell curl (palms up) and sometimes you were doing Arnold presses where your hands were rotating from hammer to palms up and sometimes each hand was in a different position than the other. The reason for this? How do you rotate these?

Jeremy - Well actually, I broke my left arm a while
ago and I can't turn it over so I'm forced to do a hammer curl with that arm, thanks for rubbing it in...haha. However, I do turn it over as far as possible and do it right with my right arm. The effect of this hasn't seemed to affect my bench and worst case scenario, I get bigger forearms...

Sean - Like Ronnie Coleman your video will solidify your position as one of the strongest men ever in your chosen strength sport. But, also like Ronnie Coleman I saw that you choose to use lifting straps in a lot of your training
movements. Are you doing this to allow you to focus more on building a specific muscle (that isn't your grip)? Do you do any grip specific work? How about forearm specific training?

Jeremy - That is the sole reason I use straps, to focus on the muscle group I'm working out. I don't care what anyone says, at least with me, my back is way stronger than my forearms so to limit myself to what my forearms can do will only hold back the growth of bigger, powerful muscle groups. I don't, however, use straps on deadlifts...ever. I use straps on bent over rows, cable rows, shrugs, and if my arm or shoulder workout falls on the day after a hard arm workout, I use them for heavy curls and delt work if my forearms are just shot. Gives me a little extra room for growth that I otherwise wouldn't have had.

Sean - Your upper body is massive (a lean 242 pounds at
five foot eight!) and your legs are solid looking, but not as built up as your upper half. I know that the focus of this DVD was your benching (as assistance work for benching) but you do grind up a couple singles in the deadlift with mid-600 pounds on the bar (which is no ez feat.) What do you do for leg training? After you've reached a certain point in your power benching career (I'm assuming moving the all time world record farther out of reach in a weight class or two) are you thinking about working squats and deadlifts more and entering some powerlifting meets?

Jeremy - Well, like I said earlier, I do a very bodybuilding type workout to stay balanced so I hit chest one day, then follow with back, shoulders, arms, and legs. I squat fairly heavy however I use knee wraps when I get heavy so this technically being a geared lift, I opted to leave it out of the dvd due to the whole raw thing. However, I do go up to high 700's or so when I'm primed in my squats.

Sean - The Kings of the Bench has moved your weight division from 250 and Under to 275lbs. and Under. Will you be bulking up and going for
the 275lb. class all time record this September? The current all time 275lb. class bench record is Ted Arcidi's 650 pounds which he did at an unsanctioned contest in Maryland back in 1983. Below him is Jari Sjoman who benched 628 in the WPC in Finland in 1997. Or are you gonna come in at 242 (we're doing same day weigh ins this time around instead of 24 hour so that's tougher too) and try and push your 615 @ 242 even higher?

Jeremy - Well, as of now, I'll probably diet down and hit the 242 class to try to bump the record up a little higher. I'm holding steady in the mid 250's now and in a few weeks will drop a few lbs. to get close to 242 so I don't have to really crash diet and chance losing strength. The 275 record will come soon enough but I don't think I'll be happy with a 242 record under 675 or so.

Sean - Analyzing your bench technique; your back is barely
arched (on purpose or just lack of flexibility or never worked on arching much?), your feet are flat on the ground, knees bent at roughly a 90 degree angle and your feet spread just wider than shoulder width (like a medium squat stance.) Your head comes up off the bench sometimes an inch or two and sometimes you curl it up so your chin gets close to your chest/collar bone as the weight comes down and your grip is really narrow (reminiscent of Bill Kazmaier's bench grip) your hands are 1-3 fingers inside the guide
rings on a power bar. I recall Tom Manno saying in a Powerlifter Video interview that the best bar grip is so, when someone is looking at you benching from the foot of the bench, your arms are 90 degrees from the floor (not angling out away from the head and not bending in towards the head.) Your grip is almost narrower than 90 degrees from the floor so your bench is as much a triceps n front delt bench as it is a lats and pecs bench. What made you work with this style? I know that shirt benchers can afford to grip wider because the shirt's doing the stabilizing for them but even most power benchers grip with pinky or ring finger on the guide rings don't they? Or am I wrong and have I been gripping too wide (I actually moved my grip in since watching you bench so now I'm 1 finger inside the rings and I recently PRd so thanks!) Where should a person's hands be on the bar (say if they're 6 feet tall, under 6 feet tall, really tall, ect.)

Jeremy - Well, just as in everything else, some things work better for some people than others. If you're lagging on tricep power but your chest is really strong, you'd be better off benching wider. However, I think the most important thing is finding the spot that utilizes each muscle group to it's fullest capacity. I tend to go closer because I have stronger triceps but I don't go too close to make sure that my lats and chest are having a significant role in the movement as well. For me, I chose to go a stretched thumb length from the smooth part of the bar which usually puts me a finger or two inside the ring. This allows me to be approximately 90 degrees on the bottom of the rep, not putting too much strain on my shoulders and thus preventing future injuries that seem to happen to everyone who goes heavy. Also, I have shorter arms so when I move them in a little bit, I'm not really hindering the strength of the movement due to the closeness of
the grip. My recommendation for someone trying to find a decent hand position is have someone help you and tell you when you're about 90 degrees. This should be at the bottom of the rep. However, if this is too uncomfortable or you feel strength is lost in this, move it around and find what feels right to you.

Sean - On 242 Raw you were working nose breakers with 315 pounds and bringing the bar all the way down. Do you always go to the nose or do you ever mix it up; skull crushers, on the floor bringing the bar down to the
mat above your head, ect.?

Jeremy - I mix it up every now and then, sometimes I touch my forehead, sometimes my nose. However, when I go heavy, I try to do the movement as close to the actual exercise I'm complimenting, which in this case brings the weight to my nose.

Sean - In the Arnold Classic Animal Cage you were rubbing some kind of roll on balm on your elbows? What pre-training products do you use? Have you ever tried neoprene elbow sleeves, rubberized Kono Bands sleeves? The Kono Bands are my favorite and I use their elbow sleeves, knee sleeves and even their waist wrap which is a real back saver when I'm working squats and deadlifts on the same day!

Jeremy - At the Arnold, I had tendonitis really bad and that's why I went especially close grip-wise. The stuff I was rubbing on was biofreeze which is basically icy-hot and also a glucosamine/chondriton mixture just to get it warmed up. I've never really used any gear other than the obvious wrist wraps, straps, and belt though, but maybe next time I get tendonitis which I'm sure will happen, I'll give it a try. (Editor’s Note: The benchpress numbers discussed in this interview were performed without the use of a benchpress shirt.)

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