Howdy folks, it’s been quite some time since I’ve made a blog post so I figured I’d share a little of what I’ve been up to. If you’ve read my previous blog post, “From fat to fit”, you know about the fitness journey I started in 2017. I am still on that journey, and I plan to be on it for the rest of my life. I really enjoy weightlifting more than I ever suspected I would before I began it. There’s something raw and primal about having to push my limits and watch them expand. It’s very motivating seeing improvements physically and seeing the amount I can lift go up in various exercises such as the squat, deadlift and bench press.
I remember back in high school when I dabbled a little bit in weight lifting with the football team and I finally hit a 250 pound bench press. Man that was a big deal back then, and my coach gave me a “250 CLUB” shirt that I was damn proud of. Very few of us had them back in the day. Fast forward to the end of my 1 year mark of my new lift of fitness back in January of 2018, and to my surprise I benched 405 pounds. I never imagined I’d be able to do that. As I’ve continued to work out… surprise surprise… I’ve continued to get stronger. Over this last year I watched all my lifts go up, and my bench hit 425, then, 435, then 455. I got to thinking… damn… how high can I go? Never would I have thought that a bench number like 500 pounds would be within my reach. So I decided to go for it. I’ve been specifically working towards that goal this year. I’ve trained damn hard, hitting the gym religiously 4 to 5 times a week, every week.
For a couple months now I changed my workout to a specific program designed to increase one’s bench press. I still work every body part weekly and get some cardio in after most workouts, but this program has been intensely targeting things that will increase my bench. It’s designed by the strongest powerlifter in the world, Blaine Sumner.
The week before last I hit a 475 pound bench. I’m at the point now that, barring injury, I’m sure I’ll hit the 500 pound mark soon. Do I want to increase my bench after that? Honestly; not really. My main hobby and passion has always been martial arts training. I believe that beyond a certain point more and more raw strength isn’t worth what you have to sacrifice for it… namely cardio and flexibility. I’d rather be strong enough to do a few dozen pullups and fight hard for a couple hours straight than to be able to pick up the engine block of a car but be worn out after a little cardio. So 500 is the goal, and then I’ll end the “bulking” phase I’m in and concentrate on overall fitness, low body fat, cardio and flexibility. I’ll keep ya updated, thanks for reading and I wish you the best on whatever journey you’re on!
– Vince
PS: Just to have some video to check out, here’s one from a few weeks back of me benching 455. I don’t have a lot of vids of me benching, but I’ll be sure and have any 500lb attempt recorded.