Asia Pacific Classic Bench Press Championships

I have accepted my nomination to compete in the Asia Pacific Classic Bench Press Championships – Open 93kgs division. Previously, I was a junior competitor but now that I am 24, I have to move up to the Open division.

For those of you who aren’t followers of Powerlifting in Australia, this does not make me the best bench presser for my weight in the country as there has been an ugly split in the powerlifting community.

There are now two Australian Powerlifting federations in here. I represent the Australian Powerlifting Union (APU), which is the Australian body recognised by the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF). The reason I chose this federation is because I wanted to compete in the IPF World Bench Press Championships and the APU was the only federation that could send athletes to this competition.

After competing for APU in a couple of competitions now, I feel I have made the right choice as I have been more than happy with my treatment and the competitions.

There is understandably a bit of mud being thrown between the two federations so take any reports with a grain of salt. I have been banned from the other federation, Powerlifting Australia, for competing in the World Bench Press Championships.

It was my last year and last chance to compete in a World Championships as a junior. The Open divisions these days are extremely tough to qualify, therefore, it might have been my last chance ever to compete on the world stage. Most people in my shoes would have made the same decision. I thought Powerlifting Australia would have taken this into consideration.

As a person who loves to compete in Powerlifting, it would be great if I could compete in any event, regardless of the federation. I believe that bodybuilding in Australia has the same political issues. Australia is such a small country and strength sports are a niche. To make the most of the available talent, we all need to get along to offer the best competitive environments in order to forge the strongest athletes.

Following my last article, both my existence and my credentials to offer advice were questioned. You can verify both by referring to the Australian Powerlifting Union’s team for the upcoming Asian Pacific Classic Bench Press Championships on the Gold Coast.

Given the scrutiny over my credentials, I just thought I would carefully explain this political situation. I am just the representative for APU – not Australia. I have finished 5th in the World in 93kgs Juniors. Although I am far from an expert, I have trained under many when I lived in Lithuania. I have so much to learn about training, and in these articles, I will share with you the lessons I am learning from training and competing.

Compact Comp Prep

It was a late decision to commit to the Asia Pacific Bench Press Championships. The lead up to the festive season is not the ideal time to commit to a rigorous training regime – so I did what I do best and procrastinated!

This would also be the main difference between general strength training and competition training – limited time frame. You do not have the luxury to lift when you feel you are ready. You need to devise a plan which will take you to the weight you need to be competitive.

This will require certain lifts to be made on specific days. If you fail these lead up lifts, you won’t reach your required goals.

Overtraining is Real

Looking back at 2018, I was a bit too eager to compete. Knowing that it was my last year as a junior, I wanted to take it all before I must compete in the Open Class.

Preparing for three competitions back to back wasn’t the brightest idea. Even though I did improve significantly, I have severely overestimated my recovery time, which has left me with quite a few issues I had to fix.

If you are the type of person who stops training and goes AWOL for months, then taking an extended break is not for you. Maybe have a week or two off and return to training. Not your normal training, but something completely different and something that you like.

Do some shorter workouts. They might just be light weight and high reps, just chasing a bit of a pump. Or it might be cardio or conditioning work like kettlebell training. Once you feel refreshed, then hit the heavy weights again.

Road Map to Success – Hopefully!

At the moment I do not have a coach. When it comes to training plans, I devise them myself based on the advice I have received in the past and from my training experience.

What has worked for me may not work for you, so it is very important to analyse what works whenever you are training according to a plan.

My formulation of a training plan is not rocket science. I just come up with some basic goals and make a structure that works towards these benchmarks.

This also allows me to practise the lift with perfect form. Developing a good habit takes time, so to think that I can do that in 3-4 weeks before the competition is a bit too arrogant, especially with a heavyweight.

In around 4 weeks’ time I will start lifting heavier weights and decrease the number of reps I am going to perform. From day one of training, I am going to emphasise a pause when benching. This makes the weight a lot heavier but will give some additional explosive power at the bottom of the movement.

Building Balance

I am also addressing the muscle imbalances, which I have developed from my bench-focused training. The boys give me a lot of flack about this. In the past, leg day might have involved some hardcore smith machine squats with 70kgs! So, who could blame them?

Bench Press, Bench Press and More Bench Press!

My training will still involve bench pressing three times a week. You are probably scratching your head at how I can bench press so often without wearing out my joints. Firstly, some bench-only trainers hit bench five or six days per week. My previous program involved four days per week.

Secondly, what benefit is gained from just bench pressing so many times?

The reason why I bench so much is to strengthen and condition my body to extreme pressing. You must build your tendons, muscles and joints to handle such weight.

Also, you don’t just do plain vanilla bench press. It is broken up into flat bench, board press, close and medium grip bench. Plus, I will also vary the intensity of some of these exercises – some workouts will be lighter and just focusing on firing the target muscle.

Running Out of Time

My competition is in approximately 9 weeks (I still don’t know the exact date of when I am going to step on the platform, as the final nominations haven’t been released).

To compact the training program, I’ve given myself minimal rest during this training cycle. I will only have one de-load week throughout the whole training period. I will also work with the heaviest weights in the training cycle one week before the competition. Normally, I would aim to have up to two weeks of de-load/resting period.

My theory here is that since it is a shorter training cycle, I will not accumulate as many aches and pains. Therefore, I will not need as long to freshen up prior to the competition.

This is the part of the training that interests me greatly and I hope you learn from this process, too. Right now, on paper, this sounds like the perfect training plan, but I will not know for sure up until the competition day.

You never know, a shorter training program with a shorter rest prior to the competition might be the secret sauce I have overlooked over the years.

Diet – Time to Get Clean

I’ve made some modifications to my diet as well. In the past, I did some things I am not proud of. Looking back, some of those things were stupid!

One of my dirty confessions is that I dabbled in some bulking up with pizza, burgers and cheesecake a couple of weeks before the competition just so I could fill in the weight class and utilize every single gram of my bodyweight to my advantage.

Plus, make sure you are following Sam’s Fitness Instagram and/or Facebook pages as I will post videos of different parts of my training. If you have never competed before, maybe you might decide to give it a try. Alternatively, if you have been in a rut, why don’t you make 2019 a year to hit the weights again. Not for competition, just for the love of the iron and steel.

I would love to hear about what you are planning for 2019, too.