Bench and Nothing but the Bench

Formula for success, a straight line, a goal. —Fridriech Nietzsche Russians believe that if you wish to excel at a lift, you can’t beat frequent practice of this lift with a moderately heavy weight and never to failure. Vladimir Volkov, the European bench press champion and master’s world champion in the 220 lb weight class, has proved that point with a 639 lb bench in an IPF competition. Forty-six year old Vladimir trains three to five times a week, depending on how busy he is at work. The only exercise that he does is the bench. He doesn’t do any lat work, dumbbells, inclines, or close-grips. Just the powerlifting style bench. Here are ten weeks of Vladimir’s training. I’m listing kilograms rather than pounds because I’m too lazy to crunch the numbers, and I want to point out that the Russian simply jumps 10 kg per set to a round number. Poundages—308 X 3, 330 X 3, 352 X 3, 374 X 3—would have given you the idea that he uses some very sophisticated percentages, and he doesn’t. The percentages in brackets are the top weights for the day converted to %1RM. Again, they’re not listed to impress you with the magic properties of 67 or 78 percent but to show how moderate the poundages are. They are moderate relative to his max. Note that the athlete competes in a

bench shirt but trains without one. His first set is always 50 percent of his competition max. Table 1. Vladimir Volkov’s bench training, Kg

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3 190 X 3/5 (70%)	140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3 190 X 3 200 X 3 210 X 3 220 X 3 (81%)	140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2 200 X 2 210 X 2 (78%)		140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3/3 (63%)		140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 1 210 X 1 220 X 1 230 X 1 240 X 1 (88%)
2	140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2/2 (67%)		140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3 190 X 3 paused (70%)		140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2 200 X 2 210 X 2 220 X 2 paused (81%)	140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 1/3 paused (74%)
3	140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3/4 paused (63%)			140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2 200 X 2 paused (74%)		2005 IPF Master’s World Bench Press Championship 1st Place 267.5 kg (589 lbs.)
Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
4				140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3/3 (63%)	140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 3/3 (74%)	140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 1 210 X 1/3 paused (78%)
5	140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2 200 X 2/2 (74%)	140 X 4 150 X 4 160 X 4 170 X 4 180 X 4 190 X 4 200 X 4/4 paused (74%)		140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2/3 (67%)		140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 1 210 X 1 220 X 1 230 X 1 (85%)
6	140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3/5 (67%)		140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2/4 (63%)			2005 Moscow Bench Press Championship 1st Place 290kg (639lbs.) (The Moscow record exceeding the world record.)
Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
7	140 X 5 150 X 5 160 X 5 170 X 5 180 X 5 190 X 5 200 X 5 (69%)	140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2/3 (59%)	140 X 4 150 X 4 160 X 4 170 X 4 180 X 4 190 X 4 200 X 4 (69%)		140 X 5 150 X 5 160 X 5 170 X 5 180 X 5 190 X 5/4 (66%)
8	140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2 200 X 2 210 X 2 220 X 2 230 X 2 (79%)	140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3/3 (62%)			140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1/2 (62%)		140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3 190 X 3/3 200 X 1 (69%)
9		140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 1 210 X 1 220 X 1 230 X 1 240 X 1 250 X 1 (86%)		140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2/3 (66%)	140 X 3 150 X 3 160 X 3 170 X 3 180 X 3 190 X 3 200 X 3/2 (69%)		140 X 2 150 X 2 160 X 2 170 X 2 180 X 2 190 X 2 200 X 2 210 X 2 220 X 2 (76%)
10		140 X 1 150 X 1 160 X 1 170 X 1 180 X 1 190 X 1 200 X 1/2 (69%)				2005 Russian Bench Press Championship 1st Place 270 kg (595 lbs)

Boris Sheyko, the coach of the Russian national powerlifting team, has suggested a few small changes. He suggests reducing the number of meets that Vladimir competes in to give Vladimir a chance to build more of a base. He recommends that Vladimir train in a shirt with weights of 80 percent and higher since Vladimir’s federation, the IPF, allows a

bench shirt. Sheyko comments, “For an athlete in Vladimir’s weight class (100kg), 10 kg jumps between sets are too small. By the time he works up to his main training weight, say from 140–220 kg, he has done eight sets. It is too many. I would recommend a reduction in the number of warm-up sets. This will enable the lifter to add a set or two with ‘the working weight.’ And the training session will not be as long.” Sheyko also advises Vladimir to add some assistance work. He says, “Exercises to improve the flexibility and strength of the pectorals’ and arms’ ligaments are a must. The quicker the bench press goes up, the more attention must be paid to strengthening the ligaments. Not strengthening the ligaments may lead to an injury.” Sheyko’s criticisms notwithstanding, the top Russian coach concluded, “If this methodology has led to victories in European and world championships, there is no need to change anything or look for something new.” If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Heavy weights. Low reps. Saying no to muscle failure. Practicing a lot the lift that one wants to excel at and excluding all other exercises. Power to the people! To learn more about Russian training, subscribe to Pavel’s Power to the People Monthly on www.PowertothePeopleMonthly.com. Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.