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 General Information |
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Lineman Creed
" In order to get respect, I must first earn respect. I am willing to pay the price no matter what the cost to prepare my mind and my body to win. I will be relentless in my pursuit of excellence and use all my God given abilities to be the very best. I WILL NOT FAIL!"
(Rubin Carter)
FAQ's
1. When does the season actually start?
The Generals are members of the DFL, a spring football league, our season starts the end of February.
2. Is it Too Late to come out?
The latest we are allowed to except people is the 4th week of the season, sometime mid March.
3. What do I need to play?
You will need to supply, Your Helmet, Shoulder Pads, Lower Pads, Mouth Piece, chinstrap, practice uniform.
4. How much does it cost?
the cost to play for us is $200, which is 100% tax deductible, the Generals are a Non-Profit Organization, recognized by the IRS, so all your fees will come back to you.
5. Will playing for you hurt my eligibility for college ball?
No, we are not professional you will not receive a dime from us, so you are safe.
6. OK I want to play what is next?
You will need to contact the Generals front office at 856 881 6829, or just show up and mini camps.
7. How many players are you allowed to carry?
as of right now we are only allowed 35, BUT we are fighting for 40.
8. Will I get any exposure?
possibly, the league runs a Jamboree in Mid January where scouts are in attendance, and anything can happen.
9. Where are the teams that you play?
there are currently 3 other teams in the DFL's NJ division, with a forth or so applying, the ones that are currently involved are the Ocean County Pitbulls (www.eteamz.com/oceancountypitbulls ), the Vineland Mastadons, and the Cumberland County Flash( www.eteamz.com/cumberlandcountyflash)
10. Is there any cost to travel?
NO, the team will supply buses when needed.
Thoughts
* The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."....Vince Lombardi
* "Once you agree on a price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent's pressure, and temporary failures."...Vince Lombardi
* "Recipe for having friends: be one."....Elbert Hubbard
* "Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on earth!"...George W Crane
* "I always felt that in order for a team to win you have to make the weakest link strong." ....Oscar Robertson
* "Michael played hard, but all players play hard. The difference was he outcompeted people. That's a rare trait. You can't just play hard, you have to compete hard. There is a great difference."....Kelvin Sampson
* "One night, my son Alan, then eleven, was watching the Bulls play the Magic. He leaned over to my wife and said, 'Michael doesn't have any tattoos, does he? I like that."...written by Pat Williams in HOW TO BE LIKE MIKE.
* When there is a hill to climb, don't think that waiting will make it smaller."... unknown
* "To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is unacceptable."...author unknown
Well done is better than well said......Ben Franklin
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently"...Henry Ford
"The man who wins may have been counted out several times, but he didn't hear the referee"....H.E. Jansen
Everything comes to him who waits, if he WORKS while he waits.
When you're through improving, you're through.
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
You are not learning anything when you're talking, since you are merely repeating what you already know - you learn only by listening.
Your success can and will be just as tremendous as you THINK it can and should be.
"It's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up again"...Vince
Lombardi
"If you have tried to do something but couldn't, you are far better off than if you had tried to do nothing and succeeded"...John Ragland, Jr.
The race is not always won by the fastest runner but sometimes by those who just keep on running.
"You miss 100% of the shots you never take"...Wayne Gretzky
A second rate man can never make a first rate player.
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity"
......Elmer Letterman
"Accept the challenges, so that you may
feel the exhilaration of victory."
......General George Patton
"It is a funny thing about life;
if you refuse to accept anything but the best,
you very often get it."
......Somerset Maugham
ALL ATHLETES, YOUNG OR OLD, SHOULD REMEMBER
.
There are little eyes upon you
And theyre watching night and day
There are little ears that quickly
Take in every word you say;
There are little hands all eager
To do anything you do;
Theres a little boy whos dreaming
Of the day hell be like you.
Youre the little fellows idol;
Youre the wisest of the wise,
In his little mind about you,
No suspicions ever rise;
He believes in you devoutly,
Holds that all you say and do,
He will say and do, in your way
When hes a grown-up like you.
Theres a wide-eyed little fellow,
Who believes youre always right,
And his ears are always open,
As he watches day and night;
You are setting an example
Every day in all you do,
For the little boy whos waiting
To grow up to be like you.
....Anonymous
THE TEAM IS NEVER UP
"For all the fancy things you see on the shelves, fruity things and chocolate things and things shaped like stars and loops, the No. 1 cereal in America is still Cornflakes! (The message: Keep It Simple)" - George Allen
"You can't live soft and fight hard. You have to program yourself. It just doesn't happen; it ain't a switch you can turn on or off as you walk through the door of the complex. I mean, I live, read, eat, sleep, *** football. Thats me. That's what I do. And if you don't do that, then this game is going to eat you up and devour you." - Warren Sapp
" There's tremendous competitive balance. No matter where you were last year, you can win it this year. If you win it, you'll be on top of the world. Make sure you don't screw it up by something dumb off the field, or by letting down on the field." - NFL Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, addressing the St. Louis Rams in training camp prior to winning the Super Bowl in the 1999 football season.
"Football was my refuge, my social life, and for a long time my salvation. Part of the reason I excelled was that I was blessed with athletic ability, but the biggest secrets of my success were the obvious ones; I worked my butt off, and I cared more about being the best than anyone else I knew." - Two time NFL MVP, Kurt Warner
"Chose your friends wisely." - Ray Lewis
"The main thing, is the main thing." - Dick Vermeil
"We're not interested in players with problems. We want you to put every problem you have behind you. I don't need guys who have pregnant girlfriends that are calling them on the phone and all that ***. I am too old for it and I don't care about it. I want guys that can concentrate on being a football player." - Bill Parcels
"I reject the notion that football is warfare. Football is discipline. It's team love. It's reason plus passion.' Hall of Fame Defensive End, Bruce Smith
"I considered it an honor to play football. And I believe that when you go on that field, you have a responsibility, not only to yourself, but to your ball club, your family, and the fans. I believe that. You hear a lot of folks talk about coaches giving pregame talks, inspirational speeches, and all that bull*** in the dressing room prior to a game. My inspirational speech was when they played the National Anthem. That really got me fired up. It always fired me up and I wanted to go hit somebody. ***, when they sang, 'O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave,' I'm ready to go knock the hell out of somebody. And I feel that way today. I'll be watching a game, they play the National Anthem, goddammit, my blood starts boiling. I felt I owed a responsibility to myself, to my team, and to the fans that had plunked down their bucks to come see my play. Always felt that way." - one of the very first black NFL players, Paul "Tank" Younger
Its really embarrassing. IT really is. Its embarrassing. Cant hit the snap count. Cant line up on side. There are ***ing holding penalties in the defensive passing game every week for key conversions. There are holding penalties on offense, giving the ball away like we dont give a *** about it. Just turn it over to em. Leave the ball lying on the field there for five seconds while they come from 30 yards away to recover it. Its just dumb football, fellas.Ill tell you one other thing too, Ive read a couple of comments. Now, I dont spend a lot of time reading the paper. I really dont. but I do watch a little about what we say and what we think. Ive seen a couple comments here, some of the players talking about we need to get our swagger back. Our attitude back.....you know what? We didnt have a swagger last year. If you ***ing think about it, we didnt have a swagger. What we had was a sense of urgency, a sense of urgency about playing well, being smart, and capitalizing on every opportunity and situation that came our way
.it wasnt about a ***ing swagger. You can take that swagger and shove it up your ass, okay?! - Bill Belichick, addressing the team during the Patriots 2003 season.
You have the ability in 2005 to make this a special year or a very average year by the leadership you provide. Leadership for a football team began as soon as last season ended. In the weight room, on campus, and in everything we do, our seniors must show us the way. Ask yourself these questions; if not me, who? If not now, when? We will go as far as YOU want us to go, and we will be as successful as YOU want us to be, so let's pull together and make your senior year a season to remember" - excerpt from University of California 2002 Leadership Handbook (Jeff Tedford)
" I think of my whole life as a competition now. I don't want to back off feeling like I am too competitive, or think it is a bad thing. I think being competitive is a good thing, but don't stick it in somebody's face. 'To be competitive is to be motivated and to be driven'." - Pete Carroll, Two-time National Champion USC Head Coach
" In our first meeting, I walk up to the podium. The first thing I do is pull out a football and say, 'The philosophy of our program is all about the ball. All phases of our program, offense and defense.' It's about the ball. If we are on offense, it's about keeping it forever until you score. You don't give it back to them until you try to punt the ball down into the corner. You don't give it back unless you just scored and you are kicking it off to them. Everything that we do, every aspect of our program, every player on offense has a responsibility about the football because it could be the snapper. It could be the guard and pass protection. It could be the left tackle. It could be the fullback or tailback carrying the ball. Everybody has got an aspect that they are totally responsible for the football. On defense, we don't play defense to stop you or to go three and out. We play defense to get the football back. We are out there every snap to get the football. On special teams, every aspect of it. It is the biggest play in the game because so many yards are exchanged and the ball is up in the air for so long. There are so many opportunities for the ball to go right or wrong. We have a tremendous conscience about the football."- Pete Carroll
"If everything is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking" - General George S. Patton
"Dumb players do dumb things. Smart players very seldom do dumb things." - Bill Parcels
"Losers assemble in litte groups and *** about the coaches and the system and other players and other little groups. Winners assemble as a TEAM." - Bill Bellichick
Individuals play the game, but teams win championships.
"Coaching is an act of communication - of explaining what you want of people in a way that allows them to do it, assuming they have the ability." - Bill Parcells
The more you prepare beforehand, the more relaxed, creative, and effective you'll be when it counts.
Finding a way to win means avoiding ways to lose
Success is never final, but Failure can be.
Thanks to BHP Bears for this prayer:
Thank God for the opportunity to play the greatest sport ever played, and
Ask God for:
#1 Strength To conquer our greatest opponent (Ourselves).
To be all God created us to be.
#2 Courage To attack practice when fatigue sets in.
To not make excuses for failures.
To do every drill and play every play with all we have.
To pursue excellence in everything we do.
#3 Wisdom To know the importance of every person that is part of this team,
no matter what their role might be.
To play one play at a time.
#4 Selflessness To encourage a beaten teammate (even if he plays the same position) when we feel we can not take another step ourselves.
To always put Team Goals above our own personal ambitions.
#5 Toughness To play the game and practice the game the way it was designed.
To never do anything to hurt our football team.
#6 Faith In the coaches and each other.
#7 Dignity To know how to compete (win or lose).
#8 Blessings God's Blessing on your teammates.
Amen
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Athletes warned to watch water intake
Runners, hikers, bikers, even soldiers on long maneuvers should think twice before reaching for that water bottle: A study confirms that drinking too much can be dangerous, even deadly, for endurance athletes.
Researchers who studied 488 runners in the 2002 Boston Marathon found that 62, or more than one in eight, had a serious fluid and salt imbalance from drinking too much water or sports drinks. Three of them had extreme imbalances.
One 28-year-old woman died after the race from the condition, called hyponatremia, in which the excess water dilutes the salt level in the body too much.
"More is definitely not better when it comes to fluids, but it's a hard message to get across," said Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Endurance athletes have long been warned about getting dehydrated, and many tend to drink more on race day than they do during training.
The study was reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers, led by Dr. Christopher Almond, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston, tested Boston Marathon runners' blood after the race and collected information on their condition, race time and liquid intake.
They found hyponatremia was most serious in runners who gained substantial weight 4½ pounds to 11 pounds from drinking lots of water along the route. Extremely thin runners also were at high risk. Runners who drank sports drinks, which contain very little salt, were not less likely to develop hyponatremia.
Bonci and Almond said a good way to prevent problems is for athletes to weigh themselves before and after training sessions. If they gain significant weight, they should cut back on water intake until they find the right balance long before race day.
The goal is simply to replace water lost to sweating.
Hyponatremia can begin with confusion and lethargy and progress rapidly to twitching, seizures, stupor, coma and death.
Severe cases are believed to have become more common with the growing popularity of endurance sports. In recent years, hyponatremia has killed several amateur marathon runners, as well as competitors in the Marine Corps Marathon.
This year's Boston Marathon will be on Monday.
Sports Nutrition
Start to eat right gentlemen. We do not want to be 1 hit wonder.
Preparation Guide for the Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test
As you know, physical fitness is a trademark of Marines. The following programs are designed to help you improve your current level of physical fitness and improve your score on the Physical Fitness Test. (PFT). These programs are geared toward beginners, so you can tailor them to suit your current level of fitness. Always consult a physician before engaging in any rigorous physical activity.
THE ARMSTRONG PULLUP PROGRAM
Developed by Major Charles Lewis Armstrong, USMC, this program consists of two workouts per day, five days a week. Most people who stick with this program are able to do 20 pullups within 4 to 6 weeks.
Every morning, do three maximum effort sets of push-ups. Major Armstrong said that he would get out of bed and hit the floor to do his first max set. He would then go and shave, and return to do his next set. A few minutes later, he would do his third maximum effort set. The push up is one of the best exercises to develop arm strength for pull-ups. The rest of the routine goes like this:
Monday Do five max effort sets of pull-ups, resting one minute between each set
Tuesday Do a pyramid of repetitions, starting with one pull-up then 10 seconds of rest, 2 pull-ups and 20 seconds of rest, 3 pull-ups and 30 seconds of rest, and so on until you are unable to do more repetitions than your previous set.
Wednesday Do three training sets of overhand pull-ups three sets of underhand pull-ups, and three sets of overhand pull-ups where the back of your neck touches the bar. A training set is dictated by your current level of strength. If you are advanced, it might be 5 or 6. Rest one minute between sets. The goal of the workout is to do the same number of repetitions per set, so start off conservatively, if you can only do 1, use one.
Thursday Do training sets, resting one minute between each set, until you are unable to complete a set. Use the same number of repetitions that you used in your Wednesday sets. This will probably turn out to be your longest (and hardest) day.
Friday Repeat the day that you had the most trouble with during the week.
Take the weekends off. Your muscles will need this time to recover. Females can adapt the flexed arm hang to this program by simply replacing repetitions with hang times. The key to this program is regularity and COMMITMENT. If you follow the program consistently, you should see improvement within a few weeks.
CRUNCHES
To do a correct Marine Corps crunch, lay on your back with your feet flat on the deck, and your butt close to your heels. Your arms should be crossed on your chest or your stomach. They cannot come off of your chest/stomach during the PFT. To do a correct crunch, raise your upper body off of the deck until your forearms touch your thighs. Go back down until your shoulder blades touch the deck. That is one crunch. To max the crunches on the PFT, you must do 100 in 2 minutes. There are several different ways to train for the crunches.
Endurance Sets To be able to do 100 crunches in two minutes, you must first develop the endurance to do 100 crunches. Get into position, and do 100 crunches without keeping track of time. Focus on proper form. After you do 100, rest for a couple of minutes and repeat. You should do 2 more maximum effort sets, building up to 3 sets of 100 crunches.
Speed Sets Get into position, and do 30 crunches as fast as you can, while still maintaining proper form. Rest for 1 minute and repeat. You should do 5 or 6 sets in this manner.
Incline Sets If you have any access to an incline board, get into position on it and do as many crunches as you can, until you cannot physically complete a complete crunch. Rest 1 minute and repeat. Do 3 to 4 sets in this manner.
RUNNING
The only way to get faster is to run, run, run. However, heading out the door and trotting along a few times a week will not do much to lower your time!!! I hear Maam, I run three times a week and never get any faster Ask yourself are you running or are you jogging? A little discomfort is ok and if you only run within your comfort zone you are going to stay a turtle forever.
Here is a simple plan for beginners who want to build speed and endurance, and prepare for the PFT. Experienced runners can modify the mileage and speed in these workouts to suit their level of fitness and/or goals.
Every run should begin with a five minute warm-up jog, followed by five to ten minutes of stretching, hitting all the major muscle groups. Each run should end the same way, with a cool down jog and stretching. Having good flexibility will go a long way to reduce the chance of injury and improve your times.
Sunday Long run. This is your endurance building day. Run 4-6 miles at a slow, comfortable pace (probably 1-2 minutes per mile slower than your current 3 mile PFT pace).
Monday Off
Tuesday Speed Day. Find a track, or an area where you can measure out 200, 400, and 800 meters. After warming up, run 800 meters at a pace faster than your current PFT pace. It should not be an all out sprint, but should still leave you winded. Cool down with a one lap (or two minute) jog, and repeat. In your first few weeks, do two 800s, two 400s, and two 200s. As your fitness increases, you can adjust the intensity of your speed work out.
Wednesday Off
Thursday Tempo Run. Run 3 miles at a pace slightly slower (maybe 20 seconds per mile) than your current PFT pace.
Friday Off
Saturday Hills. Find a hill about 200-400 meters long that is fairly steep, but not so steep that your heels cannot hit the ground when you run. Sprint to the top, and walk or jog back down to recover. Repeat 4-6 times.
INJURY PREVENTION
You will feel initial soreness when you begin a physical training program. If you feel that you are injured, stop immediately and seek medical attention before continuing. These are very basic programs, designed to allow you to adjust them according to your current level of fitness. Good Luck, and have fun with it!!!
7 BIG muscle myth's
The guy lifting beside you looks like he should write the book on muscle. Talks like it, too. He's worked out since the seventh grade, he played D-1 football, and he's big. But that doesn't mean he knows what he's talking about. Starting now, ignore him.
The gym is infested with bad information. Lies that start with well-intentioned gym teachers trickle down to students who become coaches, trainers, or know-it-all gym-rat preachers. Lies morph into myths that endure because we don't ask questions, for fear of looking stupid.
Scientists, on the other hand, gladly look stupidthat's why they're so darn smart. Plus, they have cool human-performance laboratories where they can prove or disprove theories and myths. Here's what top exercise scientists and expert trainers have to say about the crap that's passed around in gyms. Listen up and learn. Then go ahead, question it.
MYTH #1
Lifting incredibly slowly builds incredibly big muscles. Lifting super slowly produces superlong workoutsand that's it. University of Alabama researchers recently studied two groups of lifters doing a 29-minute workout. One group performed exercises using a 5-second up phase and a 10-second down phase, the other a more traditional approach of 1 second up and 1 second down. The faster group burned 71 percent more calories and lifted 250 percent more weight than the superslow lifters.
The real expert says: "The best increases in strength are achieved by doing the up phase as rapidly as possible," says Gary Hunter, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the lead study author. "Lower the weight more slowly and under control." There's greater potential for growth during the lowering phase, and when you lower with control, there's less chance of injury.
MYTH #2
If you eat more protein, you'll build more muscle. To a point, sure. But put down the shake for a sec. Protein promotes the muscle-building process, called protein synthesis, "but you don't need exorbitant amounts to do this," says John Ivy, Ph.D., coauthor of Nutrient Timing. If you're working out hard, consuming more than 0.9 to 1.25 grams of protein per pound of body weight is a waste. Excess protein breaks down into amino acids and nitrogen, which are either excreted or converted into carbohydrates and stored.
The real expert says: More important is when you consume protein, and that you have the right balance of carbohydrates with it. Have a postworkout shake of three parts carbohydrates and one part protein. Eat a meal several hours later, and then reverse that ratio in your snack after another few hours, says Ivy. "This will keep protein synthesis going by maintaining high amino acid concentrations in the blood."
MYTH #3
Leg extensions are safer for your knees than squats. And cotton swabs are dangerous when you push them too far into your ears. It's a matter of knowing what you're doing. A recent study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that "open-chain" exercisesthose in which a single joint is activated, such as the leg extensionare potentially more dangerous than closed-chain movesthose that engage multiple joints, such as the squat and the leg press. The study found that leg extensions activate your quadriceps muscles slightly independently of each other, and just a 5-millisecond difference in activation causes uneven compression between the patella (kneecap) and thighbone, says Anki Stensdotter, the lead study author.
The real expert says: "The knee joint is controlled by the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Balanced muscle activity keeps the patella in place and appears to be more easily attained in closed-chain exercises," says Stensdotter. To squat safely, hold your back as upright as possible and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or at least as far as you can go without discomfort in your knees). Try front squats if you find yourself leaning forward. Although it's a more advanced move, the weight rests on the fronts of your shoulders, helping to keep your back upright, Stensdotter says.
MYTH #4
Never exercise a sore muscle. Before you skip that workout, determine how sore you really are. "If your muscle is sore to the touch or the soreness limits your range of motion, it's best that you give the muscle at least another day of rest," says Alan Mikesky, Ph.D., director of the human performance and biomechanics laboratory at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. In less severe instances, an "active rest" involving light aerobic activity and stretching, and even light lifting, can help alleviate some of the soreness. "Light activity stimulates bloodflow through the muscles, which removes waste products to help in the repair process," says David Docherty, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at the University of Victoria in Canada.
The real expert says: If you're not sore to the touch and you have your full range of motion, go to the gym. Start with 10 minutes of cycling, then exercise the achy muscle by performing no more than three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions using a weight that's no heavier than 30 percent of your one-rep maximum, says Docherty.
MYTH #5
Stretching prevents injuries. Maybe if you're a figure skater. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed more than 350 studies and articles examining the relationship between stretching and injuries and concluded that stretching during a warmup has little effect on injury prevention. "Stretching increases flexibility, but most injuries occur within the normal range of motion," says Julie Gilchrist, M.D., one of the study's researchers. "Stretching and warming up have just gone together for decades. It's simply what's done, and it hasn't been approached through rigorous science."
The real expert says: Warming up is what prevents injury, by slowly increasing your bloodflow and giving your muscles a chance to prepare for the upcoming activity. To this end, Dr. Gilchrist suggests a thorough warmup, as well as conditioning for your particular sport. Of course, flexibility is a good thing. If you need to increase yours so it's in the normal range (touching your toes without bending your knees, for instance), do your stretching when your muscles are already warm.
MYTH #6
You need a Swiss ball to build a stronger chest and shoulders. Don't abandon your trusty bench for exercises like the chest press and shoulder press if your goal is strength and size. "The reason people are using the ball and getting gains is because they're weak as kittens to begin with," says Craig Ballantyne, C.S.C.S. You have to reduce the weight in order to press on a Swiss ball, and this means you get less out of the exercise, he says.
The real expert says: A Swiss ball is great for variety, but center your chest and shoulder routines on exercises that are performed on a stable surface, Ballantyne says. Then use the ball to work your abs.
MYTH #7
Always work out with free weights. Sometimes machines can build muscle betterfor instance, when you need to isolate specific muscles after an injury, or when you're too inexperienced to perform a free-weight exercise. If you can't complete a pullup, you won't build your back muscles. So do lat pulldowns to develop strength in this range of motion, says Greg Haff, Ph.D., director of the strength research laboratory at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The real expert says: "Initially, novice athletes will see benefits with either machines or free weights, but as you become more trained, free weights should make up the major portion of your training program," says Haff. Free-weight exercises mimic athletic moves and generally activate more muscle mass. If you're a seasoned lifter, free weights are your best tools to build strength or burn fat.
Building a Monster Bench
By Ben Tatar
www.criticalbench.com
1. TIME-
Time is very important when it comes to getting stronger. Every year when people work hard at benching, they will see big increases in the weights they move yearly, monthly, and even weekly. If many of you look back at how strong you were 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 2 years ago, last year or even 2 months ago, you will see big changes in the weights you are benching. Some maxes go up faster than others, but all of them go up in time with hard work. These gains will also keep going up in the future. Lots of little gains equal huge #s over time. You can really become extremely strong over time.
2. SACRIFICE-
If you want an amazing bench, you won't be able to stay out late and have fun every night because getting enough sleep is very important. You will need to eat large portions of healthy foods frequently and take supps by the clock, which takes lots of work and becomes expensive. You will have to fight through pain in the gym to keep going to the next level and live in some kind of pain from the wear and tear on the body from very heavy workouts. Most importantly, you will have to be in the gym working hard when you wish you could be out doing other things. To be truly great at anything you need to make it a lifestyle.
3. SHIRTS-
Lets face the facts, if you want to go as far as you can go in the bench press and bench the biggest weights possible, you will have to start learning how to use bench press shirts. The biggest weights ever benched were benched with the shirts. The strongest man at around 230 can bench more with a shirt than the strongest man over 300 can RAW. The biggest raw benches today are a little over 700, and the biggest shirt benches are around 800. Lots of benchers' maxes go up tremendously over 150 and 200lbs when they use shirts. Lots of them think using the shirts makes benching more hardcore because you can hit scarier weights. Other people don't like bench press shirts because it isn't the same as benching RAW. Besides, RAW benching is the way people around the world bench. There are all different kinds of shirts and some people get more out of them than others and different shirts work differently for different people.
4.GAINING WEIGHT-
When getting stronger, gaining weight is very important. You will see that when you get heavier you will be able to lift more. However, some lifters don't want to look fat. If that is the case, eat lots of healthy foods while avoiding excessive fats, sugars, and simple carbs. If you don't care about aesthetics, and just want to get heavier to lift more, eat everything you want while getting enough protein.
5. STERIODS-
Steroids and drugs will help you lift bigger weights, however they can have terrible effects on your mood and on your health.
6. GUTS-
Having guts is very important in bench pressing and in life. If you don't have guts you are gonna miss out on many great moments in life. You won't be strong. You will only be an admirer-wannabe who lives life in a comfort zone. It takes guts to work your weak link. For example, if you have a strong flat bench and a weak incline bench, you will need to train heavy reps under 5 on the incline. Even though it will hurt your ego, you will be stronger both mentally and physically. Anything in life that is worth something takes resistance. You need guts to fight it. It takes guts to work as hard as you can. THE BOTTOM LINE IS... You need guts to fail. When you work hard, you will sometimes fail. Youn need to experience failure to get stronger.
7. GENETICS-
Well we know that people were born in different shapes and sizes and have different metabolisms. These are the facts; people who have shorter arms with a bigger chest and bigger bones will always have an advantage over someone with longer limbs and a smaller bone structure. An Endo will usually have an advantage over an Ecto, if the Endo decides to be a big powerlifter and not just some guy trying to lose pounds and look more like an ecto. Don't let genetics be your excuse. Anyone can be strong and make progress. You need to keep confusing your genetics and forcing your genetics to keep adding weights to the bar.
8. FORM-
Lots of lifters have increased their benching tremendouslyo ver night from changing bodybuilding form to using leg drive, widening their grip, and changing the groove of the lift with form. By just changing your form, you can see fast gains in a day!
9. REST-
Rest is important in big lifting and to prevent over training. Don't super set your heavy workouts. Try to rest 5 minutes between sets. Make every set great quality instead of doing lots of sets and going through the motions. Every set should have some meaning and purpose, or it is worthless. The bottom line is, you need to do every set well.
10. MAKE WHAT'S WEAK STRONG-
This might hurt your ego, but you will need to hurt it to get stronger. If you only do what you're good at, you are likely to plateau because your weak points will prevent you from moving onto the next level.
11. MUSCLE CONFUSION-
You need to keep changing your routine to keep confusing your muscles. This will cause them to get stronger instead of adapting to a routine, which will cause a plateau.
12. BACK WORK- Having a strong back is very important in benching heavy weights, and very important in life itself. Make sure you work your back.
13. EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT-
We are all much the same because we are all humans, but we all have our own experiences, our own perceptions and our own bodies that adapt differently to different training styles. So use exercises, supplements and routines accordingly to what works best for you. You can find this out from trial and error. What works for 4 months though, won't work forever, so you have to keep overloading your muscles, strengthening your tendons and working on your weak points. If you take two of the strongest men who ever lived, they didn't get there by doing the same exact routine. If your weak point is the lower half of the bench, start doing more serious back work and full range work, if it is strictly the top, get your triceps stronger and lockout stronger. Just know your body because you can only have your own, and you can't be anyone else.
14. WORKOUT PARTNERS-
If you want a really big bench, try to surround yourself with people who have gotten one themselves. There is nothing quite like one-on-one attention. If you're surrounded with people who motivate you to get better, then you will want to work harder and get better. This will make your strength journey a more enjoyable one. You will be pushed to working levels you never experienced before.
15. TRAIN SMART- Training smart will make you last. It is important to work hard but if you're over training, then you won't make gains and you will just burn out. Remember, don't bench anymore than two days a week. Also, use good form to prevent injury and when injured rest. If you don't, you are just going to make things worse. Fighting through an injury isn't going to help you.
16. SQUATS-
Dont neglect squats and only bench. Squatting heavy will help increase your bench by releasing more growth hormone.
17. ATTITUDE-
When you enter the gym, make sure you have attitude. Get motivated to attack huge weights. When you have attitude, you will be much more energized and gom uch farther than someone who just lifts for the sake of lifting.
18. TRAIN WITH HEAVY WEIGHTS AND LOW REPS-
You will never meet a huge weight if all you do is bench 135 or 225 for sets of 10 and never challenge yourself with bigger weights and lower reps. If you want your bench max to increase train with lower reps and bigger weights and as you keep getting your tendons stronger and adding power to your body you will keep meeting bigger and bigger weights all the time.
19. SPECIAL EXERCISES FOR A BIGGER BENCH-
These are some lifts you can do if you get sick of the basic bodybuilding workouts. They will help you increase your bench, but choose these exercises based on your weak links. You should do something different every workout to keep zapping, shocking and overloading your muscles, forcing them to get stronger. When using exercise selection, choose the ones you need most. For example, if your weak from the start do more incline benches, heavy dumbbells, 3-second pause benches, close grip and more full range of motionand back work. If your weak at top, work on lockouts. If it is your delts, work delts. Just work what needs needs work to keep increasing your max... Remember intensity and quality matters most........ Here are some exercises that some people aren't aware of:
Board benching: Pick a board. They come in different sizes. To get the most out of this exercise, dig the weight into the board, and then press it back up. Go for 3 rep maxes, doubles and singles. Low reps are the way to go if you want maximum strength and aren ot training for an endurance contest.
Triceps: For any kind of tricep extension try 2 sets of 20-40 reps and just torture them into getting stronger. This is an exercise where you can work with high reps. Focus on quality for these. You can do your heavy skulls, but this is something different which will really help your benching.
Close grip bench board benches: Same as close grip but use a board. Great exercise.
Power rack lockouts: This is where you lay under a power rack (the one you squat and shrug inside.) Set the pin to the 8 holes. Or the lockout pin that your rack has. When you do Rack Lockouts, you will be able to use a lot of real scary weight, possibly 250lbs over your raw bench. Some people can lockout insane weights but can't benchanything and vice versa.This gives you confidence to handle big weights and strengthens your tendons and lockout. Other options: you can set the rack from the 7 pins or 6 pin or 5 and strengthen your tendons and weak links from lower pins.
Floor presses: Lay on the floor and arch your lower back while keeping your butt on the floor and bring the weight down until your elbows hit the floor and then drive it back up.
Chains: When you use chains, let's say with 225 lbs. You bring the weight down and press it up. You're benching 225 lbs from the first half of the lift but the chains weigh 45lbs each (90 lbs total) so your locking out 315 at the top. (Also depends on the chains you are using) Chains are very popular to use with strength coaches and athletes on all different kinds of lifts.
Speed Benching: Moving a light weight fast. Popular to do for speed strength on days you're not lifting heavy. This has done wonders for some people but what does wonders for some does nothing for others.
Negative/Forced Reps: This is a way of overloading the muscles where you take a weight over your max and you bring it down slowly! So youre basically trying to prevent the weight from crushing you. Then you will have spotters force the weight up.
Assisted Reps: These can help make you work harder if used properly. When you do these your workout then has a lot to do with your spotter and whether he is helping you or your ego...Beware if they are misused, you won't get stronger because you aren't controlling the weight and you will have a false sense of your strength.
Bands: Bands add resistance to the weight you are using similar to chains. They help you train your lockouts and explosiveness. Try bands for a completely different bench press experience.
20. TRAINING TO GET PRETTY WON'T MAKE YOU THE KING OF THE BENCH PRESS-
If you take two guys with similar genetics... First we have guy A- This guy keeps his diet totally clean, does lots of cardio, and trains hard with reps. Then there is guy B- This guy doesn't do cardio, and he eats everything! When he trains he is always doing the basics not lots of bodybuilder lifts and training with low reps always pushing himself to the limits. I will tell you right now that guy B is gonna be much stronger than guy A even if he doesn't flex as well and look as pretty. Training to get stronger vs training to get prettier is a completely different game. You will need to become a beast and have the attitude of a beast, rather than that of a pretty boy.
21. MIND- This is the biggest factor of them all. This is where the WANT, The intensity, the routine, the attitude, the sacrifice, the eating, your choices, how far you go and your whole life starts. Just remember, it is your mindset thatd etermines who you are and what you will become.
22. BEING THE STRONGEST-
So this is what it takes to get a bigger bench press.... TIME, CONSISTENCY, SACRIFICE, LOTS OF GOOD FOOD,GUTS, GOOD FORM, PLENTY OF REST, MAKING WHATS WEAK STRONG, MUSCLE CONFUSION, FINDING WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, BACK WORK, HEAVY SQUATS, MUSCLE OVERLOAD, GOOD PARTNERS and TRAINERS, ATTITUDE,HARD WORK,LOW REPS AND HUGE WEIGHTS, INTENSITY, and a MIND OF NO LIMITS. ---These rules will apply to both drug and non drug users, gear users and non, and everyone because to be the next big thing and to be the best you can be, you are going to need these attitudes to get a bigger bench press no matter who you are. Just remember how far you go is in your hands!
Train Hard,
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