Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 24 (And PRs)

10 September 2011

Bench press:

Warmup - triples and doubles to 225 lbs. x 3, then singles:

265 lbs. x 1
295 lbs. x 1
315 lbs. x 1
335 lbs. x 1
355 lbs. x 1 (all-time PR, plus PR at this bodyweight)
360 lbs. x 1 (another all-time and bodyweight PR)

Close-grip BP 275 lbs. x 1, 295 lbs. x 1 (barely - not a lot of strength left in the arms)

Incline BP 185 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 1, 225 lbs. x 1

Pullups 5x5 (2 sets on rings, which I find easier on the forearms)

Bent-over rows 135x10, 185x5, 205x5, 235x5

Two-DB bicep curls 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns, light 3 sets

Bodyweight this morning 197.6 lbs.

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 23

5 September 2011

Bench press warmup - several sets of fives and triples, 295 lbs. x 1, 320 lbs. x 1

Regular bench press 345 lbs. x 2 sets x 1 (supposed to do 2x2, but barely made it through the singles)

Close-grip bench press 300 lbs. x 1, 280 lbs. x 2

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2, 245 lbs. x 1

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Bent-over rows 135x8, 185x6, 205x5, 225x5x2 sets

EZ bar bicep curl 4 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Incline ab board situps 2x12, Hanging leg raises 1x10

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 22

26 August 2011

Bench press:

Warmup doubles and singles up to 285 lbs. x 1, 315 lbs. x 1

Regular grip BP 335 lbs. x 2, x 1

Close-grip BP 290 lbs. x 2, x 1

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2, 235 lbs. x 1

Pullups 5x5

Bent-over rows 185x5, 235 lbs. x 5, 255 lbs. x 2 sets x 4

Incline bench DB curl 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Reverse curl 2 sets

Incline ab board situps 1 x 12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 20

13 August 2011

Regular bench press 310 lbs. x 3, x 2 (tough, missed one rep in the second set)

Close-grip bench press 270 lbs. x 2 sets x 3 reps (this felt pretty solid)

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2 x 2 sets

Bent-over rows 135x8, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5

Pullups 5x5

Skullcrushers, Olympic bar 4 sets

Bicep curls 1 set EZ bar, 2 sets Olympic bar

Incline ab board situps 3 x12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine, Week 19

6 August 2011

Had a pretty good workout today.

Regular bench press 300 lbs. x 5, x 4 (great)

Close-grip bench press 260 lbs. x sets 2 x 5 reps (tough, but doable)

Incline bench press 195 lbs. x 5, 205 lbs. x 5

Pullups 5x5

Bent-over rows 135 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 5, 205 lbs. x 5, 225 lbs. x 5

Thick-bar curls (a new and terrific exercise for me):

Bar x 8 (this alone is challenging)
Bar + 10 lbs. x 5 (10 lbs. total, not per side!)
Bar + 20 lbs. x 5
Bar + 25 lbs. x 5

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets x 10

Concentration curls 2 sets x 10, light

Incline ab board situps 3 sets x 12

Bodyweight as of today - 194.8 lbs. Got to do something to stop losing weight, I'm aiming for 205-210 but I just keep going down.

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 17

23 July 2011

Regular bench press 275 lbs. x 2 sets x 5

Close-grip bench press 240lbs. x 2 sets x 5

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 5, 195 lbs. 5

Bent-over row 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 235x5, 255x3

Pec fly machine 1 set x 10

EZ bar preacher curl 3 sets

Skullcrushers 3 sets

Incline ab board situps 3 sets x 12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 16

16 July 2011

Regular bench press 260 lbs. x 1 set x 8, 1 set x 7

Close-grip bench press 230 lbs. 2 setss x 8

Incline bench 185 lbs. x 2 sets x 5, 200 lbs. x 1 set x 3, 1 set x 2

Pullups 5x5

Cable low row 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

EZ bar preacher curls 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 15

9 July 2011

Regular bench press 250 lbs. x 2 sets x 8

Close-grip bench press 220 lbs. x 2 sets x 8 (rest-paused second set)

Incline bench 175 lbs. x 8, 185 lbs. x 7, 205 lbs. x 1

Some incline bench DB curls - 2 sets x 8

Overhead Press Training + Squats

7 July 2011

Overhead press from rack 95x3, 115x2, 155x5, 175x5, 205x5

Full squat bar x 2 x 5, 95x5, 115x5, 155x5, 175x5, 205x3, 235x1, 245x1, 255x1

Seated behind-the-neck military press 115x2, 135x2, 155x2, 165x2

Light bench press (regular grip) 205 x 2 sets x 10

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets x 10

Light abdominal work 3 sets

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 14

4 July 2011

Regular bench press 235 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Close-grip bench press 210 lbs. x 2 sets x 10 (had to rest-pause the second set)

Incline bench press 155 lbs. x 10, 165 lbs. x 8

Bottoms-up incline press in power rack - worked up to 205 lbs. x 1

Full squats bar x 2 sets x 5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 195x3, 215x3, 240x2

Back is noticeably less painful, but still nowhere near 100%.

Overhead Press Training + Squats

30 June 2011

Continued with the squat saga in addition to the scheduled overhead press workout. Back is feeling better.

Full squats barx5, 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 165x5, 175x5

Overhead press 175 lbs. x 5, 200 lbs. x 3, 220 lbs. x 2 (so now my press is higher than my squat)

High box squats 220x5, 265x5, 285x5, 295x5, 300x5

Seated good mornings 45x5, 65x2x5

Light bench press 200 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Seated behind-the-neck press 115x2, 135x2, 145x2, 155x2, 165x2

Close-grip bench lockouts in power rack - a few sets

Light abdominal work 2 sets

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine, Week 13 (New Cycle)

27 June 2011

Tried some light squats today but lower back is still in pain. My hips are also feeling weird and it took me five or six sets to break parallel - I would descend to about an inch above parallel and just stop there, unable to go lower. When I finally managed to squat below parallel I think I topped out at something like 155 lbs. for 3 reps and it was painful, so I just gave up.

Tried leg presses - another no-go.

So I decided to start my new Ed Coan bench routine a day earlier than planned:

Regular bench press 235 lbs. x 2 sets x 10 (last set was tough)

Close-grip bench press 210 lbs. x 2 sets x 10 (could not complete second set, had to rest-pause the reps)

Incline bench press 155 lbs. x 2 sets x 8 reps, 135 lbs. x 1 set x 6 reps

Incline bench is still lagging behind the program, but I'm not too worried.

Then I did some bottoms-up incline presses in the power rack - worked up to 185 lbs. x 3.

Finished with some ab work - incline ab board 1 set, standing band crunches x 3 sets

For lower back rehab, did seated good mornings - 2 sets x 10 with just the bar, stretches and foam rolling.

Overhead Press Training - Week 2, Cycle 8

24 June 2011

Overhead press from rack:

Warmup 2 sets
165 lbs. x 3
185 lbs. x 3
210 lbs. x 5

Lower back held out remarkably well and is starting to feel better. It will be a while until I squat or deadlift heavy again. Started the session with 2 sets x 10 of the seated good morning with just the bar for a nice spinal erector stretch.

Seated behind-the-neck press - worked up to 165 lbs. x 1. Still weak as a kitten here, but I will get better.

Light bench press 2 sets x 10 with 205 lbs. Used a wider grip on this one.

Close-grip bench press - worked up to 275 lbs. x 2

Finished the triceps with 3 sets of tricep pushdowns.

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 12

21 June 2011

The routine called for some maxing out, so that's what I did. The goal was 345 lbs. for a single. I warmed up to 275 lbs. x 1, then went:

300 lbs. x 1 (easy)
315 lbs. x 1 (still fairly easy)
335 lbs. x 1 (not too tough)
345 lbs. x 1 (good rep)

I should have tried 355x1, which would have been a PR by 2 lbs., but I'd taken too many attempts and was pretty tired at this point.

The rest of the routine did not go too well, I was too beat up by now to max out on close grip and incline bench:

Close grip went up to 275 lbs. x 1, 295 lbs. x fail

Incline bench press 225 lbs. x 1

Bottom-up bench press worked up to 295 lbs. x 1

Close-grip partial bench press 225 lbs. x 5

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Dips BW x 2 sets x 10

EZ bar preacher curl 5 sets

Machine tricep dips 4 sets x 10

Lower back still hurts like hell.

Overhead Press Training - Week 1, Cycle 8

17 June 2011

Lower back hurt like hell today and last night was a long night. Still had an okay workout.

OH Press from rack:

Warmup 2 sets
150 lbs. x 5
170 lbs. x 5
200 lbs. x 6

Back-off set 150 lbs. x 5

Behind-the-neck press light x 5 reps

Pullups 2 sets x 5

Light bench press 200 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Incline bench DB curls 4 sets

Tricep pushdowns 4 sets

Forearm curls 3 sets x 10

Wrist curls 3 sets upper, 3 sets lower

Bodyweight as of this morning 199.0 lbs.

If my lower back feels better by Monday I will try to hit some conservative PRs on the squat and BP, possibly OHP.

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine, Week 11

14 June 2011

Note - I strained something in my left quad yesterday doing that stupid leg extension machine. There is a sharp pain just above my outer knee (in the quad, not the knee). Hips and hamstrings are brutally sore from squatting and leg pressing - I wasn't even using that much weight. Oh well. Hope the pain goes away before deadlift day.

Regular bench press 320 lbs. x 2 sets x 1

Stalled on the program here; was supposed to hit 2x2 with this weight, but it was just too heavy.

Close-grip bench press 285 lbs. x 2, x 1 (almost hit 2x2)

Incline bench press 225 lbs. x 2, 235 lbs. x 1, x 2

I'll still try for maxes on all three movements next Tuesday, see how that goes, then cycle to lighter weight + more reps.

Pullups 5x5

Low pulley rows 3 sets x 8

Bottoms-up bench worked up to 275 lbs. x 1, 320 lbs. x fail

EZ bar preacher curls 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Overhead Press Training - Week 3, Cycle 7

10 June 2011

Overhead press:

Warmup 2 sets
170 lbs. x 5
195 lbs. x 3
215 lbs. x 3

After this I tried to push-press the weight a couple of times, but failed.

Back-off set 165 lbs. x 3

Behind-the-neck press 135 lbs. x 5

Pullups 5x5

Bench press 200 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Arm superset 1 - Incline bench DB curls + Tricep pushdowns x 3 sets

Arm superset 2 - EZ bar curls + Bench dips x 3 sets

That was it for today.

Bodyweight this morning - 198.4 lbs.

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine, Week 10

6 June 2011

Regular bench press 310 lbs. x 2 sets x 2

Not bad, this was the max I used to calculate the routine in the beginning. Warmed up over 3-4 low-rep sets, then nailed the 2x2.

Close-grip bench press 275 lbs. x 2 sets x 2 (tough, but doable)

Incline bench press 235 lbs. x 2 sets x 2

Pullups 5x5

T-bar rows 2 sets x 10

Bent-over rows 135 lbs. x 5, 185 x 5, 235 x 5, 255 x 5

Bottom-up bench presses - worked up to 295 lbs. x 1, failed 315 lbs. Really tired from the previous pressing.

Machine preacher curls 4 sets

Pushdowns 4 sets

Standing rubber band crunches 3 sets

Overhead Press Training - Week 2, Cycle 7

3 June 2011

Overhead press from rack:

Warmup 2 sets
160 lbs. x 3
180 lbs. x 3
205 lbs. x 5

Back-off set 160 lbs. x 5

Behind-the-neck press x 5 w. light weight

Pullups (no chinups) 5x5

Light bench press 195 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Incline bench DB curls 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Standing rubber band crunches several sets

Finished off with some light KB work:

One-arm KB snatch 4 sets x 10 per arm

One-arm KB swing 6 sets x 10 per arm

Bodyweight this morning - 199.4 lbs.

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 9

31 May 2011

Regular bench press 300 lbs. x 2 sets x 3

Close-grip bench press 265 lbs. x 2 sets x 3

Incline press 225 lbs. x 3 sets x 2

Pullups/chinups 5x5

T-Bar rows 3 sets x 10

Bottoms-up bench press hit 300 lbs. x 1, failed 325 lbs.

Olympic bar skullcrushers 4 sets

Preacher DB curls 3 sets