Weightlifting: 250 for 8 Bench Press; Yearly Recap

 

This used to be my six rep max about seven months ago.

I haven't had a training year like 2023 since I first started lifting weights a decade ago, and it's all down to my PR everyday strategy that I stole from John Phung and Redditor Your_Good_Buddy. Pick a couple variations of your main lifts. For me, that's the touch and go bench press, the paused bench press, the close-grip bench press, the beltless paused high bar squat, the beltless low bar squat, the belted low bar squat, the sumo deadlift, the conventional deadlift, and the barbell row. Try to hit a personal record one of those lifts every time you train. To do this, you have to keep track of your PRs from a 1 rep max to a 20 rep max. You can even add more variations if you like, but I like the simplicity of three per lift. Warm up, hit a PR, do a back-off set if you like, and then move on to bodybuilding movements in the 10 to 12 rep range. This is meaningful training, and the dopamine hit you get from continually progressing motivates you to train even harder. At thirty-eight years of age, I can't blitz through an hour-long workout anymore, so I usually training 5 to 6 times a week, albeit for about thirty minutes at the most. Even though I'm PRing, I'm not drained the rest of the day, because I didn't do five sets of eight squats at 75 percent of my one-rep max like so many programs will have you do. Most of these programs are written by genetic freaks for competitive athletes. You have to figure out what works best for you. I think after ten years of lifting weights, I finally know what I'm doing.

Another thing I have to mention is that I've cut way back on my alcohol consumption. The last couple of years, I've probably been drinking two to three beers a day. There are numerous studies that show how alcohol affects your testosterone levels. Since I've cut back to a couple beers a week, my lifts have increased, my weight has increased (from 197 to 202) while keeping the same body composition, and my libido has also been affected positively (hah). I love beer, but too often in our culture we rely on alcohol to reduce stress, while it likely has the opposite effect. Cut back, especially in your thirties.

My favorite PRs of the year: A 300 lbs paused bench press, a 405 for 9 conventional deadlift, a 315 lbs barbell row, and my 270 for 5 touch and go bench press.

Rather than count all the PRs I've accomplished this year, I'm posting my chart from June, followed by my current PR chart. Try this shit out! Click on the links in the first paragraph to find a more detailed explanation of the PR everyday method. It's not complicated!

PR sheet from June:

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM	12RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
Bench Press	315	280	275	265	260	250	245		240	225	225
Bench Press (Paused)	290	260
Deadlift	510	460	455	425	410	405	410	390	365	360
Deadlift (No Belt)	455								365	340
Sumo Deadlift		405	405		385
Close Grip	290	275	250		255	215	225	215		225

Current PR sheet below. It's bigger because I added the low-bar beltless squat, as well as the barbell row.

	1RM	2RM	3RM	4RM	5RM	6RM	7RM	8RM	9RM	10RM
Low Bar Squat	415	380	365	350	360		340	320		315
High Bar Squat	390	365	350	345	340		315	320		300
High Bar Squat (Paused)	365		315		275
High Bar Squat (No Belt)	365	335	325	325	330			285		250
LB SQ no belt	380	350	335	330	315	315	310	300	295	275
Bench Press	315	290	280	275	270	260	255	250	245	235
Bench Press (Paused)	300	280	265	255	250	240	245	230	230	225
BB Row	315	305			275
Deadlift	510	470	455	425	410	415	410	390	405	360
Deadlift (No Belt)	460		450			400	405		365	340
Sumo Deadlift	455	435	425	420	410					315
Close Grip	295	275	270	265	255	250	245	235	235	235