Misleading ads

Good work explaining the “science” to them.

Was in the gym yesterday, watching this tall (6’6 or taller) lanky young fellow bench. Really long arms. He benched 315, 335 and a PR of 350 even. Failed at 365. Surprisingly much stronger than what he looked. I asked him how far he wanted to go. He said 405. Had him load 385 on the bench and unrack it.

“What????”

Unrack it. Lift that weigh off the rack and set it back down. (Had him do 4 reps)

“Wow! It feels as if I lifted it.

Good. Get your second wind, you’re going to do a negative rep. (You’re 30-40% stronger on your negative reps. On a bench press exercise, the negative rep is when you lower the bar to your chest. He may only single rep max at 350, but he should be able to do multiple negative reps with 385.)

“Man, that was incredible! I have to tell all my friends!”

Rest 4-5 days before you bench again. That way, you are fully recovered. Recovery (a return to readiness) happens during rest. You grow while you are asleep, not in the gym. After recovery, you should be as strong as you can possibly be. Do that 365 again.