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Because I said I would. 406.5lb bench press.


Tommy J.

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6 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

I’m not sure what to recommend rehab wise other than getting decent blood flow in the area until it stops hurting eventually.

when mine acted up I literally quit lifting for a long time and just did arm circles and whatnot. A PT could definitely recommend some excellent rehab and mobility exercises for it.

but baby it is my main recommendation. The shoulder is the most complex/mobile joint in the body with a lot of stuff that can go wrong. But it is also one of the most resilient joints in the body in that it can adapt to some pretty insane workload at multiple different angles.

True …thank you!

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7 hours ago, JasonD said:

Congratulations! Way to stick with it and achieve your goal!💪💪💯👊🙌

Thanks homie!

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I’ll say it again. Strong! Way to stick to your guns and get this done. 
 

 

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7 hours ago, king crusher said:

I’ll say it again. Strong! Way to stick to your guns and get this done. 
 

 

Thanks homie!

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Very strong

 

 

Great lift 

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Congrats Tommy!  I really like that you even scaled all the iron for proof! :)

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Hell yeah you must be jacked, what a great feeling to cross over the 400 pound mark.

Fantastic nice lift.

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17 hours ago, Wannagrip said:

Congrats Tommy!  I really like that you even scaled all the iron for proof! :)

Thank you, Bill!

I love using that scale. It’s crazy accurate. If you look close you can see the numbers change on the display when I lay each collar down. That’s a damn good scale when it reads something that light when over 400lbs is already sitting on it.

and the best part was it was only like $58 on eBay!

that said, I nerd out and use it every chance I get. Lol

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11 hours ago, John Knowlton said:

Hell yeah you must be jacked, what a great feeling to cross over the 400 pound mark.

Fantastic nice lift.

Thanks homie!

yeah it feels pretty good. Lol not gonna lie. Mainly because it took sooo long to make happen.

I’ll get a cleaner rep up in due time for you guys so I can move on to the next chapter of bench shenanigans. I can’t close my bench thread out in the training section until I get a clean raw T&G. When I do I’ll make another bench thread aiming at another number.

and I think thats the trick, btw.. like, yeah I started wanting 400. Then when I hit 385 I started thinking way past 400. Etc. gotta keep looking up if you want to go up.

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Yep. right on keep moving forward 

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Hey is that the bench you made 

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On 6/19/2022 at 6:38 AM, Tommy J. said:

Thanks dude!

 

so I’ll give a little back story to address my salty post.

about 3-1/2 years ago I said on this board that I aimed to bench 400lbs. At the time, I was barely benching 300 for a decent T&G single. Was that (taking aim at 400) a hefty goal? Of course it was. I wasn’t interested in aiming at a 5 or 10lb PR that might only keep me in pursuit for a few months. I aimed big. And I was met with heavy pessimism. from a handful of guys that believed only “super humans“ possess the ability or genetics, etc. to bench 400+. As was evident in their tone. Lol. Basically, most of them were guys well past their prime years that had never got anywhere close to a 400+ press. So in their eyes, I couldn’t because they couldn’t. No need for any names. But I remembered them. I thought about them every time I attempted 4 plates. Which was a dozen or so times before today. And their words did not persuade me to change my mind. No matter how many times over these last 3-1/2 years I got sick, or tweaked something, had a bad workout, or just flat out couldn’t squeeze in time to lift, I kept at it.

400 was a lifetime goal for me since I was a teenager. I just never said it out loud until 3-1/2 years or so ago.

Spite wasn’t the reason I kept at it tho. Although some degree of spite is present now, principal is what kept me going. I said I was gonna do it. So I had to do it. It’s just that simple. Most mf’ers don’t operate that way. But I do.

 

also, while I’ve always believed a 400lb bench isn’t some incredible bench press, it does still mark my biggest strength achievement to date. Even over all the grip stuff and bending I did. The amount of time and effort it took to accomplish this bench press is my gauge for determining that. It took me less than a year to lift the inch. Less than a year to cert the #3. Less than a year of consistent bending before I took down my best bends.….this bench took about 3-1/2 years of focus, and dedication. Which makes it my proudest and most fought for strength achievement to date.

obviously I’m not done. I did say I was gonna do it raw. And the above press is not 100% raw due to the elbow sleeves. ….but only a fool would think that after adding over 100lbs on my press that I will all of a sudden just quit and not do it 100% raw also. So it (doing in raw) is coming.

 

without rambling much more, I will drop some names of some people that are members here that were super motivating and encouraging throughout my pursuit. Obviously there are also a few non members that were encouraging as well. But I’ll just mention names of folks that are members here.

special thanks to all these guys. Every single one of them pushed me at least a handful of times in the direction I needed to be.

Eric Milfeld, Adam Glass, Tanner Merkle, Jedd Johnson, Stephen Anderson, Isaac Newton, Mike Rinderle, David Wigren, Chris Rice, Jason Steeves, and 2-3 others that I can’t remember their names right now.

 

saltiness aside, that was one sloppy press. between my butt trying to come off the bench and the weight falling off the hook. But I’m proud, none the less!

You killed it bro! Look forward to seeing that raw press soon. 

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On 6/24/2022 at 11:56 PM, John Knowlton said:

Hey is that the bench you made 

Yessir. I did end up modifying the feet side and removing some steel so I could put my feet in a more ideal position for a press. But yes, exact same one.

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On 6/27/2022 at 11:29 PM, Stephen Anderson said:

You killed it bro! Look forward to seeing that raw press soon. 

Thanks big dawg. Currently training pauses. Based off my last workout, (315x8 paused raw) projected raw 1rm is somewhere between 385-395.

gonna still keep a nice easy pace and not rush it, though.

i wouldn’t say my slow pace has been ideal.. but… slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

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18 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

Thanks big dawg. Currently training pauses. Based off my last workout, (315x8 paused raw) projected raw 1rm is somewhere between 385-395.

gonna still keep a nice easy pace and not rush it, though.

i wouldn’t say my slow pace has been ideal.. but… slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

i honestly think slower is better in some ways.  Your joints, tendons and ligaments, are probably more healthy because of it.  

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Congrats man! Haha I enjoyed the madness right after.. 

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  • 2 months later...
On 6/19/2022 at 3:21 AM, Tommy J. said:

I’d love to sit here and take a big steamy pile of s%*+ all over a couple members here and rub this lift in their face. But I’m trying to turn a new leaf.

 

just like I promised I would, here is the 400lb+ bench I said I would do. Complete with uncut and unedited footage of the lift and weight measurement on a legit postal scale.
 

 

Only took me about 3-1/2 years from the time I first said I wanted to bench 400 outloud. But I put my money where my mouth is. Didn’t I?

I remember seeing that a while back! Congratulations Man! I respect your dedication. It will be fun to see where you end up with this feat 🤯

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On 9/18/2022 at 6:49 PM, wulfgeat said:

I remember seeing that a while back! Congratulations Man! I respect your dedication. It will be fun to see where you end up with this feat 🤯

Thnx homie. I did keep benching for about a month or so after this. But admittedly, have been on a hiatus from lifting all together for a while now. No injuries or anything ominous like that. Just been chasing women and a good time non stop for a while instead….and my dedication to that pursuit has been just as adamant as any other focused pursuit in my life. 

may keep going with it too. Till I get a woman for every pound on my best bench. 🤣….then I’ll change my screen name here to “Mr. 406”

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7 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

Thnx homie. I did keep benching for about a month or so after this. But admittedly, have been on a hiatus from lifting all together for a while now. No injuries or anything ominous like that. Just been chasing women and a good time non stop for a while instead….and my dedication to that pursuit has been just as adamant as any other focused pursuit in my life. 

may keep going with it too. Till I get a woman for every pound on my best bench. 🤣….then I’ll change my screen name here to “Mr. 406”

🤣  Chasing women is becoming too much work and besides that I last a lot longer in the gym!

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/22/2022 at 4:26 AM, Blacksmith513 said:

🤣  Chasing women is becoming too much work and besides that I last a lot longer in the gym!

It is as rewarding as it is exhausting. Albeit a bit expensive at times.. seems like if I’m in a bar or club for even 1 hour I spend $100+. Let alone how much I spend if I stay and shut the joint down. And I mean… I like to do what I do 4-5 nights a week. So, it adds up!

But just like with anything physical, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

problem is, the better you get at it, the clingier they get. 😆

since I’ve last posted, I’ve been slapped numerous times by heart broken women, had a gun pulled on me (again), and my motorcycle knocked over in a bar parking lot. All by angry women that believed they were the special one that could domesticate me.

And no. I didn’t press any charges on a single one of them.

lol… I guess you could say all that drama is comparable to small injuries on a lifting journey? 🤣 so just like one of those small injuries, no one is to blame but me when it happens.

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13 hours ago, Tommy J. said:

It is as rewarding as it is exhausting. Albeit a bit expensive at times.. seems like if I’m in a bar or club for even 1 hour I spend $100+. Let alone how much I spend if I stay and shut the joint down. And I mean… I like to do what I do 4-5 nights a week. So, it adds up!

But just like with anything physical, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

problem is, the better you get at it, the clingier they get. 😆

since I’ve last posted, I’ve been slapped numerous times by heart broken women, had a gun pulled on me (again), and my motorcycle knocked over in a bar parking lot. All by angry women that believed they were the special one that could domesticate me.

And no. I didn’t press any charges on a single one of them.

lol… I guess you could say all that drama is comparable to small injuries on a lifting journey? 🤣 so just like one of those small injuries, no one is to blame but me when it happens.

You are right about that...Lots of highs and lows! I've made it a point to stay away from bars and clubs for that reason, I'd end up in trouble, broke, and in jail sharing a cot with some guy instead of a girl!

I'm taking a girl out tomorrow, shes actually pretty cool and competes in the Highland Games, so I don't want to get on her bad side..

But if this one doesn't work out i'm taking my brother in-laws advice and buying one of those things that  are  discrete and look like a flashlight🔦 🤣 .

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/29/2022 at 4:25 AM, Tommy J. said:

It is as rewarding as it is exhausting. Albeit a bit expensive at times.. seems like if I’m in a bar or club for even 1 hour I spend $100+. Let alone how much I spend if I stay and shut the joint down. And I mean… I like to do what I do 4-5 nights a week. So, it adds up!
 

But just like with anything physical, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

problem is, the better you get at it, the clingier they get. 😆

since I’ve last posted, I’ve been slapped numerous times by heart broken women, had a gun pulled on me (again), and my motorcycle knocked over in a bar parking lot. All by angry women that believed they were the special one that could domesticate me.

And no. I didn’t press any charges on a single one of them.

lol… I guess you could say all that drama is comparable to small injuries on a lifting journey? 🤣 so just like one of those small injuries, no one is to blame but me when it happens.
since I’ve last posted, I’ve been slapped numerous times by heart broken women, had a .45 acp gun pulled on me (again), and my motorcycle knocked over in a bar parking lot. All by angry women that believed they were the special one that could domesticate me.

What a rollercoaster though, I got slapped so many times, but getting gun pulled? Now that is some fresh experience probably :D

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