Almost overnight, the name of Doug Hepburn sprang to world fame through his pressing feats. But even more amazing are his bench presses which have risen to the amazing poundage of 460. He hopes to make 550 eventually.
Sensational Marvin Eder closely approached giant Doug Hepburn. Using a wide grip, Marvin is only 30 pounds behind the record of the Canadian and British Empire champion. Eder is confident he will make 500 in the not to distant future.
Now that the favorite arm and shoulder exercise of the body building world has at last received official recognition, we can expect performances in the bench press to rapidly improve.
It is but three years since a 325-pound press on bench was reckoned as an extremely good lift, and in those days, to forecast that in three years, someone would be making 460, would have been as much cause for ridicule as a like prophesy of a one hand snatch with a similar poundage.
Since 1948, records on the lift have soared higher and higher in America, but British performances have been somewhat kept under a cloud. Reg Park, we know, came to the USA and saw how popular the lift was there, and altho he had used it before, returned to England and trained even harder on the bench press, it forming one of the basic movements in his exercise programs.
In the next two to three years, I fully expect British weight trainers to advance rapidly and even surpass their American cousins. In the same period, I also fully anticipate a FIVE HUNDRED POUND bench press will be recorded, and the man most likely to set that mark is the British Empire's own candidate for world heavyweight lifting honors, Doug Hepburn.
It is fantastic poundage, granted. Remember once how heavy and far from you a four hundred pound squat sounded, yet these days no one thinks anything of it. And when you consider how fast men have increased their performances in "prone pressing," as bench pressing is popularly and mistakenly called, then you will not be so timid in agreeing, when I say that not only will the exercise thrust forward to hitherto undreamt of "poundage boundaries," but a 400-lb. bench press will one day be regarded as a good lift . . . nothing to brag about, but a darn good lift and marking the performer as well above average in power.
For some time now, men have been regularly hitting around, and well above that elusive 400 mark. Bob McCune, for instance, can bench press 395-400 any time he's in the mood. John McWilliams made an amazing 412 as far back as 1949, while Cal Palmerton, George Eiferman, Art Walge have been making a 400-pound bench press right along. Clarence Ross regularly used 365 pounds for a number of sets and reps and witnessed Doug Hepburn make 430 with ease in Vancouver.
When Doug came out to the "Coast" for the Senior National championships, he made 440 on Muscle Beach, and recently among other amazing performances, he got a 460-pound bench press. He can make 450 any time he takes a workout . . . only fifty pounds to go, fellows!
Young Marvin Eder has some incredible performances to his credit. At a bodyweight that never exceeded 198 at his heaviest, Marvin has made 420, then 425 and just recently, 430. He got 450 pounds overhead but couldn't lock out his arms to complete the lift.
Reg Park gets 415 pounds in most of his training sessions and Johnny McWilliams has improved to a 420-430. Steve Gob, a lifter active around New York several years ago, and a fabulous light-heavy presser, made 385 pounds a few years back and of course Johnny Davis can get 400 off the chest with little or no trouble.
The bench press now enjoys tremendous popularity and builds equally tremendous physiques and power. Never before has such an exercise appeared that produced such results, such strength and thickness combined with muscular shape and definition of deltoids and triceps and pectorals.
Just imagine what is going to happen to bench press performances once the "back room" boys of weight training give the movement their undivided attention and come up with new training ideas and techniques.
Certain so-called "authorities" have told us that bench pressers have a "bad influence" on the two hand Olympic press, that it gives the lifter an adverse "tie in" of pectorals and deltoids. Funny how the bench press has never affected the standing presses of men like Marvin Eder . . . he makes a two hands clean & press of 310 at a bodyweight of 195 . . . or Davis and Hepburn, both of whom have held world's records.
How to train for that 500-pound bench press? Easy enough, you'll say after you've read from here on.
Just as a chain is a strong as its weakest link, so the limit poundage of any press is dependent on the strength of each individual muscle that takes it away from the chest or shoulders.
So all you have to do, apart from any actual pressing technique, is to strengthen the deltoids, the triceps and the pectorals. You must also accustom yourself to the handling of "heavy" poundages over and above your limit, in one of the many "power movements."
So . . . here we go for a 500-pound bench press schedule.
Exercise 1: Parallel Bar Dips
These strengthen the triceps muscles and the pectorals where they run into the anterior deltoids. Use your own bodyweight until you get used to the movement and then attach a barbell plate round your waist and leave it hanging at your back. Keep the body UPRIGHT so that all the resistance is on the triceps. Use 3 sets of 7 reps, working up to 3 sets of 15 reps. Then add weight and build up again from 3 x 7.
Exercise 2: Box Lockouts
Here is one of the "power" exercises popularized by the author. Place a barbell on two strong boxes so that you have only an inch or two to press it to an arm lockout. Use your regular grip and start off with a weight equal to your limit bench press. Lie under the bar and simply press it out to arms' length. Start off with 4 sets of 5 reps until you are used to the exercise and then step up the weight by 20 pounds. Work up from 4 x 5 reps to 4 x 10. Add weight, start back at 4 x 5.
Exercise 3: Dumbbell Bench Press
Equal power in each arm is essential. You mustn't have one arm lagging behind the other, for when heavy poundages are used such a situation cause you to lose control of the bar with dire results. Bench presses with dumbbells are excellent for building up equal arm power. Press the dumbbells off the chest together and don't pause between repetitions. Start off with 4 x 5 and work up to 4 x 10 reps. Add weight, start back at 4 x 5.
Exercise 4: Floor Dips
Power in the anterior deltoids is another must for good bench presses. Floor dips are excellent for this purpose. Here is a tough version. Place your feet on a box and your hands on the floor. The body should slope DOWN to the arms. Place a barbell plate on the back and do angled pushups. Commence with 3 x 6 and work up to 3 x 15. Add weight, start back at 3 x 6.
Exercise 5: Wide Grip Neck Press
Good "deltoid thrust" is developed by pressing a weight with as wide a grip as possible from as low a position as possible. Grip the bar way out to the collars, hold it over your chest as you lie on the bench. Lower the bar down to the chin or throat. Press it overhead again and repeat. Be careful and add weight slowly. Use a weight you can handle for 4 x 8 reps and work up to 4 x 15 before increasing the training poundage. Here is an exercise that will give you plenty of drive and help you get through the area of the "sticking point."
Don't forget to keep the movements in this schedule as strict as possible. You know the rules for the lift, so get working and seek that heavy bench press poundage.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
Great article! I've often wondered when reading old articles such as this one what Charles Smith would think of lifters doing 500 for a military press? Doug in fact came quite close doing 450 strict off a rack and push pressing 500. I'm sure if he kept at it he would've done it because a 50 lb. increase is quite easily manageable at that level.
ReplyDeletePaul Anderson, Ken Patera, Vasily Alekseyev, Serge Reding, Anthony Ditillo, Kaz and last but not least Bob Simpson all are in the 500 lb. military press club. I'm sure that if Jim Williams put a little time into it he could've done 500 as well. John Kuc mentioned that after a bench workout Jim casually loaded 370 and pressed it for a double off the rack. Then Jim took it to 420 and pressed it twice like an afterthought. This mind you done after a grueling bench session!
That's another one I'd like to know Charlie's thoughts on, Big Jim's 700 lb. bench! Me personally, I prefer military pressing over benching but I've found that once I got my press up to 200 on a consistent basis that after a few months of training the bench I can get 300. I think Bob could've been the first to press 1,000 lbs. overhead if he kept at it because he said he got 690 to arms length but couldn't lockout the weight. Insane pressing power!
Hell yeah dude. Bench.
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