My back is never going to forgive me. Three days, almost in a row of pull-ups? My goodness.

Oh well, gotta do what I gotta do.

if you don't have access to a bench can you sub w/ push ups or would you recommend something different?

Thanks

i think pushups would be a sound subtitute. some have also done dips, and if youre good, you could even do HSPU.

Kris,

Could not agree with you more. I had trouble just trying to keep up with todays workout due to Thursday brutality. Can't wait to do the bench...it's been awhile!

Andy,

In regards to what to do if no bench is available. The only problem with pushups as a substitute would be weight. If you want to sub pushups for bench press I would suggest elevated pushups. I would elevate your legs to at least a MINIMUM of 45 degrees. Good Luck!!

A little update from Le Tour, courtesy of the excellent coverage at Competitor Magazine:

"At this stage in the Tour, it’s traditionally Lance Armstrong’s habit to avoid crowds and press. But at this morning’s start in Pforzheim he emerged from the bus and immediately conducted interviews. He wore a “Navy SEAL Team Ten” hat, out of respect for two SEAL commandos he met in his hotel lobby last night, who were about to ship out to Afghanistan.

A young military physician named Steven Brady was supposed to be with those two SEALS when they ventured into Armstrong’s hotel. However, he was called into surgery to fix the eyes of a soldier wounded in Iraq. It seems that thirty percent of all injuries there are to the head and neck. Brady, however, was invited to the Discovery Team bus this morning so Lance could say hello."

Does cf differentiate between chin-ups and pull-ups? I have been doing the overhand (palms away from face) for the pull-ups. I think if I do the palms in method, I might actually be able to crank out a few of these.

either grip is fine. each has its advantages and disadvantages. also, some go alternating grip (as in the common grip for DLing).

question:

i can do handstand pushups (without use of a wall or fence), i can do almost 40 pull ups, I can do dips, etc. but i can not bench press my body weight. why?

im really starting to question if crossfit is good for me... but ill make a post about all of this as soon as someone OKs my forum account...

tomorrow ill post my reps and adjusted weight.

I have access to a bench press at the gym, but have no spotter as I work out alone. Clearly, it's dangerous to be pushing so much weight on your own, what's the best alternative: the bench press machine?

Is it ok to do towel chins for pull ups? I really want to work my grip.

Woohoo! I've now been doing Crossfit for a month. From looking at the comments when we last did this exercise, I see that I've lost 6kgs! And I was worried that doing Crossfit would be no good for weight loss because of a (perceived) lack of emphasis on aerobic exercise. I'm now 37, I haven't been this fit since I was 17.

i guess im the answer-guy...

Cliff V or John V,
notice the arm position in the three movements you mentioned. HSPU: vertical pressing up (relative to body), dips: vertical pressing down, bench press: horizontal pressing away from your body. although each involve tricep extension similarly, they use other muscles in almost completely different ways. my guess is that your chest is the limiting factor here. if i were you, id lower the weight to something i could manage for maybe 5 reps and go with that. also, ive found that working the planche progression on paralettes translates into good benching even for a pure CrossFitter who doesnt see benching too often (see this article: http://www.dragondoor.com/cgi-bin/articles.pl?rm=mode3&articleid=229). w/ planches youre literally holding up your BWT...not just the iron version of it.

Matthew,
i would just ask someone working out when you are to spot you. i normally workout alone so if im feeling at all unsafe with the amount of weight im working with, ill just ask someone to spot me who looks like he or she would be able to help me if i needed it. ive never had a negative response. also, w/ elite fitness, its probably your best bet to stay away from machines.

Ryan,
definitely. as w/ most things in life, its up to you. just make sure next time we see 'Lynne', you take that into account when youre comparing performances.

This workout is awsome

Just let me check, we aren't doing squats/leg work of any kind today!?!?! :)

Im going to give helen a go today, unable to do yesterday.

"Lynne"
Bw=70kg
1. 70kg x2 / 15 ring pull up's
2.60kg x6 /12pu
3.60kg x5 /10pu
4.60kg x5/11pu
5.60x 5/15pu

loved this one

BW - 85kg

Bench Press - 6 reps

then switched to press ups because of my crappy shoulder

press ups - 33,16,14,13
pull ups - 30, 14,12,11,10

Personal best pull ups today, beat my last best by 1 rep...only 20 to go for eugenes challenge!!!

Matthew T.,

Stay away from machines, they are an incredibly poor substitute. Personally, I don't view doing BP with just bodyweight as all that dangerous...it's just bodyweight. Some tips:
1. Know your limits. If you don't have a spotter and you're wondering about your next rep...rack it. The moment you've lost confidence you should play it safe.
2. DO NOT "clip" the bar when doing BP. IMO, you should never be so unstable with your bench that you're worried about dumping the weight unintentionally. BUT...if you crash and the bar is on your chest, if you haven't clipped it you can dump the plates and get out (yes, this has saved me before).
3. DBs are a GREAT alternative. Generally speaking you can get a bigger ROM and you don't have to worry about having them end up on your chest, if you need to you can just drop 'em to the side. For a target weight (per DB), divide your body weight by 2 and knock off maybe 5-10% additional for the instabilily of DBs. That should get you in the ballpark.

Have a good one.

Away from home For a few weeks. Using my pda right now and I wont have steady access to a gym. Being detailed to NTC is going to show me how creative I can be with my workouts. Did JT again last night with slight mod, did close hand pushups For dips. 21:34

Also ordered rings which I won't see until 1 Aug, but I am looking forward to using them. Have a great day.

RLTW '

how much rest time do we take between sets? Is this for time as well?

warmup: 2000m row (7:39.8min)

1)BP 7 x 100kg || PU 7 (-15kg grav)
2)BP 6 x 100kg || PU 7 (-15kg grav)
3)BP 5 x 100kg || PU 7 (-15kg grav)
4)BP 5 x 100kg || PU 7 (-15kg grav)
5)BP 5 x 100kg || PU 4 (-10kg grav)

Kinda bummed on the bench press. Back during previous weightlifting regimens, 100kg would be a start weight (after warmup). So, crossfit has spread the workload around the body and i guess i shouldnt be surprised that raw power in the chest has diminished.

incline push ups - 28, 19, 12, 12, 10
pull ups - 7, 5, 5, 4, 3

Bdoy weigh 70 Kg

Set BP PU
1 7 12
2 6 9
3 5 7
4 4 7
5 4 7

2 minutes rest between initial sets 3 minutes between last 2. Followed by 2x20 situps, some rotator cuff work and 15 minutes of fencing footwork and 30 minutes stretching.

oh man, I am so glad were not doing anything with legs today, my legs are hurting from muay thai sparring and I have a lump on my shin.

120# bench - pullups:

14-40
11-23
11-23
11-23
10-24

57-133 totals with 2 minute rest between each couplet. Bodyweight 120#. I am eager to try my pullup max when I'm feeling fresh - I believe I would have had a solid 45-47 kipping reps if I weren't feeling so beat up. My grip and shoulders were too fatigued this morning to hang on any longer - I fell off the bar on the 41st rep.

If muscle soreness is any indicator of how hard I worked at Cotter's workshop yesterday, then I was working darn hard....hams, glutes, lats, shoulders, traps, triceps and forearms are incredibly stiff and sore this morning.

pull ups 12,8,6,4,5

thick bar flat bench 220 lbs (weight is 215)
7,5,4,3,3

optimally weighing 200 lbs would be best for me - after 205 my pull ups suffer! I'll be getting down there soon enough :)

this work out was fun as all heck!

BW 200 pds

18/12
14/12
11/12
9/8
10/8

Still in my first week of Crossfit. Thanks ediddy for the response about the towel chins.
I am still so sore from all the pullups in the past week, and J.T. gassed my triceps and chest.
My presses were all with 50# dumb bells, and my chins were towel chins.

Bodyweight 170
50#x6
7 chins
50#x7
6 chins
50#x6
5 chins
50#x5
4 chins
50#x5
5 chins

BW 155

14/27
8/14
6/12
6/12
6/12

5 less BP than last time, but 16 more pullups
Rested 2min between sets last time, 1.5 min this time.

BP/PU

8/10
8/8
6/8
6/7
3/6

In regards to the chin ups(palms toward body) versus pull-ups (palms away from body)....DO PULL-UPS!!!!!

rnd BP PU
1 13 24!
2 10 18
3 9 17
4 9 15
5 7 16

total 48 90 138

9 rep improvement from last Lynne.

Matt G. & Matt T.,

I think dumbells make more than a 5-10% difference due to instability. For me it would be more like 30%... but then Matt seems to be quite good and unstable and other gymnastic sort of exercises... so for him they're probably easier.

I would just test the weight to get something where you can do appoximately the same number of reps that you would with a BW bench on the bar.

BW 225#
BP/PU
11/12
7/8
7/8
5/8
5/8

My back is smoked from all the pull-ups lately!

BW=108#
55#-4, 4-PU's
60#-4 (PR), 4-PU's
60#-2 (failed on 3rd attempt), 4PU's
55#-5, 2-PU's
55#-4, 2-PU's

Arms and lats are toasted from yesterday's wod.

BW 160#
BP/PU
9/8
10/11
7/5
7/6
5/7

bw is 145# bench max is 265, should i use more weight cause i can bench my bw 30 times for each round.

Dave,
i would say no...just dominate your BWT for 5 rounds of max reps. youll see some people putting up some big numbers on this one, and thats exactly what youre going for here.

BW 225 (too high, but at least convenient for loading the bar)

BP PU
12 12
9 10
8 10
7 8
7 9

Possibly skewed by yesterdays workout, done outside, nothing to pull up on. Did lots of KB jerks,overhead carries, tosses, pushups etc. Delt way more sore than back. Mixed those in w/ 200m sprints and 400m shuttles. My Hamstrings were Killing for the 300 bw squats.

10/18
8/16
8/15
7/13
6/13

Hi all,
Workout as follows
Lisa Bdw. 59.6 kilos bench (60 kilos) 4,4,3,3,3. pull-up 9,7,6,6,6.
Jon bdw. 82 kilos bench (82.5 kilos) 8,7,6,6,6. pull-up (weighted and negative due to a tender elbow tendon; 90#"s) 8,6,6,6,6. Romanian deadlift 130 kilosx5,5,5,5,5.
Until tomorrow...

Bench Press (170lb.) - 20/18/15/15/14
Pullups (no kip) - 26/23/20/20/20
BW - 167lb.

Improvement of +3 on pullup total, but I'm -2 on the bench press. Given my extra-WOD activities over the last couple of days (including a repeat of Helen w/20lb. vest this morning) and a change in my backend lift program, this is OK. "Lynne" was #3 on the day.

bench 200lbs, 12/8/6/4/3
pull ups 12/8/5/3/3

PS- no rest between BP and PUs, 1min. between rounds.

bp-170 bwt-171
15/10/7/5----last set w/75# db's for 5
pull-ups
23(pr)/15/12/10/9

-18 rep total improvement on pull-ups
-virtually identical on the bench press
-approx 31:30 total time

Kelly, you are a great role model, I hope someday I can boast such strength !

BW 225#

BP / Pullups
6 / 12
6 / 10
5 / 9
6 (205#)/8
6 (185#)/8

Although way behind the crowd on this WOD, body weight bench presses for reps have eluded me until today. I'm very pleased with this effort and glad to find improvement wherever I can !

Decided to sub pushups for bench as they are difficult for me and I am really trying to increase my abilities in that area. Big improvement in my pullup numbers vs last time!

Pushups:14-12-12-10-9
Pullups: 10-8-7-6-6

I was running short on time today so I started with 2 mi jog to the gym and some dips.

Okay first WOD

Bodyweight: 145

I can only bench 135..safely anyway.

BP/PU
-----
8/20
8/10
7/13
7/15
7/15
-----

Good stuff, haven't benched in awhile. I'll be soar tommorow.

bw=165

used 125 for bench

15/15
12/12
7/10
8/10
6/8

strict 1 minute rest between rounds

155 bench
6/10!
4/7
4/7
4/6
4/6

Pullup PR for me! Yahoo!!!

Rope time,
I just reaized that the last time I did jumps for time, the duration was 4:00 instead of 5:00 for 600 jumps (no misses). This workout of 1200 jumps lasted 8:17 (w/ four misses). HR at completion was ~145.

cfwu x3 w/ reduced pullups and dips

WOD:
BP(200#): 10/8/7/6/6
pullups(no kip): 21/16/15/14/14

BP down 3 reps from last time probably due to neglecting my paralettes and rings since last 'Lynne' (oh yeah, and last time i benched was my last 'Lynne'). pullups were no kip this time (not exactly 'strict', though), so its difficult to compare to last time's kipping pullups. overall, im satisfied.

run later.

thanks for the info ediddy.

bw = 182
bp/pu's
4/19
4/17
3/12
2/10
1/8

I'm sadden to say that I'm not able to do todays or yesterdays WOD due to Dennis blowing in. I did spend all day yesterday boarding houses in PC... Not quite as good a workout, but worked up a good sweat. Every body here in the Gulf Coast be safe and I look fwd getting in on the soonest possible WOD.

bw 212#

bp 12,10,7,6,6
pu 20,17,15,12,12

tay
bw 195#

bp 10,8,6,6,6
pu 17,15,14,13,11

Modified to accomodate shoulder:

-20 Reps (115lbs) on BP/13 PU (New PR . . . got the kip on a bar that accomodates my height baby!)

-16 Reps (135 lbs) on BP/ 11 PU

-11 Reps (145 lbs) on BP/ 7 PU (shoulder twinge)

-stopped after 3 since I didn't want to push the shoulder any more today.

bw 190, bp 195
16/24
12/17
8/14
7/13
7/12

@ 1 minute rest betweeen rounds.

I was really shocked with that first round of pullups.

I started out the morning by doing Saturday's Helen (took Saturday off because I worked out pretty hard on Friday...needed the rest!).

Helen with a 45# plate sub for the kettlebell: 13:02
and I felt great afterwards...tired as heck, but great.

2 hours later (ate breakfast in between) I did today's WOD...still working up weight in the bench press though.

1. 135# x 5 / 20 pull ups
2. 135# x 6 / 15 pull ups
3. 135# x 4 / 12 pull ups
4. 135# x 4 / 10 pull ups
5. 135# x 4 / 8 pull ups

I know I could have pushed out more reps for the bench, but chose to be conservative, given that I didn't have a spotter.

Next up is a nice hike this afternoon.

push ups: 60, 21, 20, 20, 22
pull ups: 17, 9, 10, 11, 11

Does "max reps" mean training to failure, or until the last solid rep without trying to gut out a failing rep (assuming one has a good spotter)?

Also, is it true or untrue that CrossFit advocates going to failure on an exercise occasionally? Not just full-body failure (give me some burpees and that happens quick), but just failure on something like pushups or a bench press.

Thanks.

Bodyweight 80kg. Body fat 14.9%.
Free weight bench press 70kg/pull-ups
6/20 (PR)
4/13
[Class of Body Attack]
6/14
2/6
fail/7
Stick with 70kgs again next time. Def. use a spotter.

BW-185

BP/PU
20/18
12/10
10/10
8/8
8/8

no rest between bench press and pull-ups, 1 min rest between rounds.

Just starting the switch from a commercial gym to my basement. Low ceilings, small doorways - no access for pull-ups yet. So I subbed dumbbell rows.

205 bench, 60 lbs rows
9/10, 8/10, 6/9, 5/9
stopped at 4 rounds

Any alternatives for pull-ups without a rope, ring or pull-up bar?

Jimmy

bw 215 reps: 6,6,6,4,4 and pullups...3, 4,4,3,3 very depressing :( total of 26 bench reps & 17 pullups

Cf warm up - PU's

BW = 210

5/6
5/6
4/6
4/5
3/5

Slow & pause on the Bp no bounce
later sets on th PU had some kipping

BW 185
155 x 8, 7, 5, 5 (95 incline x 10 after bench jacked)
PU 7, 6, 5, 5, 4

BWt: 190

wt/reps/pull
2x80#db/12/30
2x90#db/8/25
2x90#db/7/25
2x90#db/7/22
2x90#db/7/22

Wife:

2x40#db/10/7
2x40#db/10/7
2x40#db/10/7
2x40#db/10/6
push-up/15/7 (finally started to kip a little)
WOD also included 2x90# deadlifts per round to get the weights to Eric!

BW - 250
BP,PU
250x1,4
225x3,3
205x3,6 (Changed grip palms facing each other)
205x2,4
205x4,4

I've never been able to do more than 1 pull up my entire life and before I started this workout.

My bodyweight is rougly 189-193, depending upon what I ate the day before, etc.

So, I did 195# BP.

Round 1
10BP
4PU

Round 2
8BP
2PU

Round 3
6BP
4PU

Round 4
7BP
4PU

Round 5
6BP
4PU

bwt 111; bench 115
Bench/Pullups
17/25
13/22
12/20
11/21
12/22
-----
65/110
A few reps better than last time.

35# clubbell: 1 hand swings: 8/8x2
15# clubbells: 30 swipes in 1:53

BP(bw=160#): 10,7,7,7,7. Total 38 vs 36 on 6/8/05.

PU: 20, 15, 15, 14, 13. Total 77 vs 51 on 6/8/05.

Grand total 115 vs. 87 on 6/8/05 - a 28 rep improvement.

For the second day in a row, a big-time 'thank you Crossfit!' Pullups are a huge improvement over last time. Bench was only a little better, probably due to the lack of a spotter. Very, very sore from Helen yesterday.

20 Pull-ups? That is awesome.

How long can I expect it to take me to get to that level when my best right now is about 8?

I did yesterday's just before to-days

135# (I can't press 217 yet)
13 press 5 PU's
12--- 4
13 5
12 2
7 5

Live Strong

It depends on many factors Kris:
1. Are you losing weight, gaining or staying the same? There's definitely a power-to-weight thing happening with pullups.
2. Do you kip? Folks with a good kip are (it seems to me) able to increase their pullups a little faster than those of us who are kip-challenged.
3. Do you practice pullups often?
4. Are you ready to push yourself, or do you just kind of take gains as they come?
How quickly you make gains is largely a function of how you approach working on what you're trying to improve.

BWT 215

BP(no spot)/PU(no kip)
1: 15/31
2: 12/26
3: 11/22
4: 10/18
5: 9/15
1min rest btwn exercises, 2min btwn rds
last 2 rds of pulls felt like I had body armor on
"I'm smoked"

BW - 165

BP 165 / ring pullups
8/31
7/21
7/20
8/20
8/20

Bench about the same, pullups up a few.

Did a set of 17 HSPU to warm up, BP seems much harder. I need to work in more planche pushups.

Man i really had an off day
BW- 145#
Bench- 20,14,14,10,7

Pull-Ups- 20,20,20,10,10

I cant feel my arms. Little disappointed, I know i can do much more but i guess i was just dead today.

benching 111 and doing dead hang pull ups (slow down burst up) weight 165.

7/15
7/9
11/9
8/ 7
9/7 + a bunch of alternate grip pull ups, pull downs, etc. etc. basically worked til failur

then i worked on planches and the front lever then went out for a row (untimed/measured)

"It depends on many factors Kris:
1. Are you losing weight, gaining or staying the same? There's definitely a power-to-weight thing happening with pullups.
2. Do you kip? Folks with a good kip are (it seems to me) able to increase their pullups a little faster than those of us who are kip-challenged.
3. Do you practice pullups often?
4. Are you ready to push yourself, or do you just kind of take gains as they come?
How quickly you make gains is largely a function of how you approach working on what you're trying to improve."

1. I'm losing a little bit of weight. I was down to 178 for an amateur fight I did on April 15th, but I gained A LOT of it back when I went to Chicago. It's something about that pizza and old style beer that gets me.

2. I couldn't kip well in the Marine Corps, nor can I do so now. Isn't kipping somewhat like cheating, though? I mean, you're not doing near as much in the way of exercising your muscles if you kip.

3. No. I guess I ought to do that "Grease-the-groove" thing mentioned in Pavel Tsatsouline's book titled, "The Naked Warrior."

4. The reason why I'm here is because I want to push myself. I'm in Law Enforcement. I'm 30, so I'm still very young. I also practice kajukenbo.

I used to be a fat slob before I decided I was going to try and fight an amateur boxing match for the Arizona Police and Fire Games. I was 230 in November '04. My father has had TWO strokes because he's a fat slob and eats like crap.

I figure, "the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." I will not be 53 and looking like I'm ready for the trash heap.

The way I look at it is this: God is gracious enough to give me an able body. If I don't show my appreciation for that, it's kind of like telling God that I don't appreciate the gifs He has given me.

I also have just this one life to live before I am (hopefully) called home. Therefore, I just want to be here for as long as I can. Although it is the Lord's decision when I am called to go to His Kingdom, it is still my responsibility to do whatever maintenance I can to make my life here as long as possible.

BW= 150,
sub 1 arm pull-up with 80lb weight assist for regular pull-up

20/ 4L, 4R
13/ 4L, 4R
10/ 3L, 3R
9/ 3L, 3R
6/ 3L, 3R

BW = 140lbs
Bench / Pulls (deadhang)
10 / 17 (PR!)
7 / 12
5 / 11
6 / 10
5 / 9

Improved my pull-ups immensely from last time. Bench press is about the same, maybe better by a rep or two someplace. No spotter this time, so I was a little conservative on the bench, but doubt I could have gotten any more reps. Did this in a fasted state, having eaten nothing for 15 hours.

Kris:

1. As you drop some weight it's likely that your PUs will get a bit easier...so you should see some gains out of that.
2. Kipping DEFINITELY isn't cheating. They may not be permitted in the military, but that's more of a judgement call on their part than anything else. If you sit down and do the math (literally, the math) you'll find that the same amount of work is being done in both the kip/non-kip pullup. Look at it this way...if you were in the field and had to get over an obstacle, would anyone care if you kipped?
3. Yes, if you have a specific area that you'd like to improve, practicing outside the WOD is a good idea. GTG is good, and if you look around the message board you'll find lots of pullup-related resources/links.
4. If you're pushing yourself, you should see good results. Don't find yourself just going through the motions...attack the WODs hard and you'll make serious progress.

Good luck, enjoy the pain.

Missed yesterday's WOD but ran a local 5 mile race @ 40:56. A bit slower than I had hoped but it was very warm by the 8:30 start.

Today:
"Lynne" Abridged Version:
Bench 180lbs x 5x5
Pull Ups x 5x5

Hanging Abs x 2x10

Back a bit sore from all the pulling earlier in the week.

BW 165
BP 155
BP/PU
3/21
3/14
2/14
2/14
2/10

having missed yesterday...i did: (bw = #167)

7 rounds, 12 reps each round

pullups
#135 bench, in a cage on a ball
#55 dumbell swings

finsished off with 30 minutes on the bike and then 12/12/12 knees to elbows

Body Weight 190 lbs

BP/PU
5/6
4/5
4/5
4/5
4/4

Not a great showing, plenty of room for improvement.

Been a while since my last post. Haven't given up on CF, just busy moving to Boston. Anyone know of CF friendly gyms there?

BW=140

BP/assisted PU(40#)
11(65#)/10
6(70#)/7
5/5
6/7
8/6

First BP sets with half my BW!

BW=185

BP/PU
10/12
8/10
7/9
8/10
9/10

220#; Pullups from dead hang.

BP/PU

6/7
7/6
6/6
7/6
8/6

135# bp/pullups
6/34 (pr)
5/19
3/21
3/17
2/12
I did L-sits after on parallettes. 27 seconds is my best effort today.

Warm-up consisted of:
30 psuedo wall-balls (5 lb ball - 3 sets of ten)
10 Burpees with two 5 lb. bells
Rowed 5 minutes (1123 meters)

WOD:

Did 5 reps of 65 and then 95 lbs. for Bench Press warm-up.

Body weight = 180

First time to bench bodyweight (actually tried 185 lbs). First attempt, I went too deep and got caught in the dead zone. The bar went to my chest and I had to get assistance to get it up. So I shortened my range.

Bench press (185 lbs.)/Pull-up(no kipping this time)

1. 185 - 3 reps (w/ spot)/5 Pull-ups
2. 185 - 3 shallow range (no spot)/4 Pull-ups
3. 185 - 3 shallow range/3 Pull-ups
4. 155 - 5 full range/2 Pull-ups - 1 failed PU
5. 175 - 4 full ragne/1 Pull-up - 2 failed PUs

Just for fun after the WOD:

Did 3 partial BPs at 180 lbs and easily knocked out 10 kipping PUs. Kipping rules!

Finished with:
10 Pilate Ball push-ups
10 PBall bell press 70 lbs (35lb each hand)
10 PBall push-ups (one leg raised)
10 PBall bell press 60 lbs (30 lb each hand)
10 PBall push-ups (other leg raised)
10 PBall bell press 60 lbs (30 lb each hand)

Ran 800 meters

Used 50lb dumbells for bp
8/7
7/5
7/6
4/5
4/3

Finished with 21x3 wall balls.

Severe weakness on bench press. Any advice on exercises to supplement WOD that would help the bp muscles?

Since no rest period was indicated I pushed straight through which led to a rapid decrease in reps. BW 200lbs, so I benched 205lbs

1. Bench 18reps/Pull ups 20
2. Bench 10reps/Pull ups 12
3. Bench 5reps/Pull ups 9
4. Bench 4 reps/Pull ups 7
5. Bench a whimpy 3 reps/ Pull ups 6

Total Time: 5:21
Total Bench Reps 40 Total Pull Ups 54

Finished with abs and stationary bike, definitely a smoker.

"Lynne" - dips subbed for bench

BTW - 160
Burgener Warmup
Jump Rope

Dips: 21(PR)/13/14/10/15
Pullups: 12(PR)/7/6/5/7

Compare to:

6-08-05
Dips: 20/14/13/11/11
Pulls: 9/7/5/5/5

15lbs. Dumbell C & J's

Jeff K,

If you feel weak in the bench try doing the Crossfit Warmup before every workout. The dips and samson stretch should hit the "bp muscles" for ya.

First I was just wondering what kind of results should you see by only doing the WOD and nothing else on that day??????

BW 154

21/18
11/10
9/10
6/7
7/6

Second I was wondering why the drastic drop from round 1 to round 2 of the BP part??

Third why the increase from round 4 to round 5 in the BP part as I see im not the only one with this increase???

bw=204
bp=205

bp/pu
20/20
7/12
6/10
6/8
5/9

bw=149
bp=205

bp/pu
19/30
10/18
7/14
5/13
6/14

Did not make it to the gym today.

I tried garage floor bench press but couldn't get my body weight up in that position, so I did ring dips instead.

Kind of an off day for me.

15/20
22/13
21/10
10/7
10/7

CF Warmup X 3 without pullups .
BW: 150

BP : I like to use the bar in a power rack ( with a bench) for a spot, and that was taken . So I thought i'd use Matt G's advice on using Db's as an alternative . He wrote : For a target weight (per DB), divide your body weight by 2 and knock off maybe 5-10% additional for the instabilily of DBs . So I figured that at my BW of 150 that left me with two 70 # Db's .

First set with the 70 # Db's I only got ten reps, 3 less then my first set with body weight on the bar ( on my previous Lynne ) . I decided I'd go back to the bar , as I didn't want to be doing less reps then last Lynne. Maybe I should have used 65#'s . Any advice ? Using the 70# DB's seemd to hurt my performance on the remainding sets. Less reps on all sets then last Lynne.

BP : For remainding sets : 10,9,7,6
PU: 12,8,8,7,6 ( Improved on Pullups)

This one keeps improving... a statement of my fairly good strength but poor muscular endurance coming in to CrossFit.used (incline bench)
Pu/I-Press
16-17
15-15
14-15
14-14
12-13
used a full-recovery rest period between subsets

bwt: 185, BP: 185

BP/PU

13/14
11/12
9/12
7/10
5/12

+3 on BP and +8 on pullups! over last time.

bwt:175

BP/PU
10/7
10/7
10/7
7/7
5/5

Hey Kyle
BWT=195
BP/PU
15/15
10/14
9/10
7/10
7/10
6/6

body weight 170#'s
bp/pu
16/17
13/15
12/15
9 /13
8 /10
_____
58/70

lynne=

bp- 165# 7-5-5-4-4
pu's bar 16-12-12-10-8

BTW=150. Decided to 'gain' 25lbs for this WOD: So BP=175 and pullups were done dead-hang with a 25lb plate hanging from the waist belt. That, effectively, killed my kip. The numbers suffered compared to the last time I 'fattened' this one up because of that.

BP/PU
9-9
6-6
5-6
4-5
4-6

-D.

Day behind.
Weight 168 x3, 158 x2
PUs 8, 8, 8,7, 6

Wing chun training tonight.

bodyweight-195
BenchPress 195 Pull ups
26 20
18 15
15 15
14 14
12 10

Jeff

Still looking after shoulder but gave Helen ago today. Had to workout while working,did crossfit warm up, sub'd bench dips and box jumps for dips and pull ups, tried and got out 2 pulls but didn't want to push my luck.
Sub'd Wide grip lat Pulls at body weight +10kg and used 12.5kg dumbbell.
Anyway started had to use treadmill, unable to leave Gym got through first round 3:55, the phone guy came in had to stop. 35 min later i got to try again
R1 3:47
R2 8:03
R3 12:54 lost about 45sec because i had to answer work phone.
Was aiming for under 15min so i am happy. Don't have anything to compare to
One of the members at gym suggested i have a T-shirt made up saying "do not disturb" to ware during timed workouts.

Joseph_B...my 5-10% figure is just what works for me. I use DBs a lot outside of WODs, so I'm used to the instability of them and my "stabilizer" muscles are fairly well developed.

In the end I'd suggest that you use a DB you're comfortable with. But seeing your reps drop off a bit when using a heavy DB isn't unusual and I wouldn't worry too much about it.

BP / PU
30/28
30/26
28/24
22/22
20/20
BP 190 (went heavy last time decided to do BW this time)
"managed" about 1min btwn rounds and 30 sec btwn BP to PU switch

BW=170lb

1. 3 bench press / 9 pull-up
2. 3 / 8
3. 2 / 7
4. 3 / 7
5. 3 / 5

Taking it very easy today (there's a reason why CrossFit is supposed to be 3-on, 1-off).

BW 155 lbs
bench: 8 - 10 each round
Pull-up: similar: low of 6, high of 12.

Lots of L-sit practice . . . in 3-second increments.

Still can't bench my BW (188 currently)

Dropped the weight to 165. Pull ups were done on rings, and I didn't have enough room so I did all "L" pull ups.

BP / L-Pu
5 / 13
4 / 12
3 / 11
4 / 11
3 / 9

I need to work on my bp more. I am tired of not having a body weight bench.

I did handstand push-ups instead of bench press today.

HSPU/PU
3/20
3/16
6/14
3/14
2/14

Gotta love LynnE after a weekend of rest.

"Managed" about 30 seconds between bench and PU and about 1+ min between rounds.

Bwt ~ 180

Bench = 185

B - PU (min kip)

27 - 26
17 - 17
12 - 13
11 - 12
11 - 11

78 - 79
(Increased on every round over last time...afraid to try this one again without rest).

BWT - 190
Subbed 2 X 60lb DBs for BP
Pull-ups with kip and alternating grip between sets

BP/PU
20/22 (PR!)
13/16
12/13
10/10
9/10

BW=84kg; 35kg BP; 84kg-35kg supported PU
(yeah make fun of me - just starting and happy;-) )
set|BP|PU
1 |22|21
2 |17|15
3 |10| 8
4 | 7| 6
5 | 4| 4

BW 185
BP - 12/8/6/6/5
PU - 11/7/8/7/5

BP overall went 1 down, but I snuck in a BP day on the last rest day. The first set is the most reps I've ever done with BW.

Pull-ups are up 4 from last time, though I can't imagine anybody crossfitting and not seeing pull-ups improve!

BW 145

BP - 5/3/3/3/2

PU - 11/7/6/6/5

Warm up - 1.5 mile run (trying to condition the ankle).

Lynn: 225 BP / Pull-ups
13 / 17 (Tie PR)
10 / 12
8 / 11
7 / 10
6 / 11

Last time I hit 17 pull ups, I was 19 and weighed 150 lbs. Now I'm 225 and 36 years old... I love Crossfit!!

-Philip

Bodyweight 170, BP 175
2 min rest between couplets/
17/22
5/12
6/10
4/10
6/12

17/22 is up from 15/17 last time.
Feeling that peculiar "post-Lynne, everything above my nipples is toast, everything below feels fine" sort of feeling.
SLDL's to cool down afterwards.
JK

Bodyweight 184, BP 185
Used Smith Machine bc no spotter.

2/7
2/7
2/7

Set/Dips|PU
1 /20/35
2 /20/20
3 /20/20
4 /20/20
5 /20/17

Averaged 1'-1'15'rest between sets...........always fun

Did this workout Monday morning and then monday's in the pm.

BW= 170

11/16; 11/11; 8/10/9/11; 7/11 in 22:30

Spent the rest of the day at the range sweating in the humidity/heat of Houston.

Slowpoke

BW ~ 215

Warmup*3- 1 min jumprope, 5-65 lb snatches, 10-incline situps, 10-back ext.

BP - 215/Pullups from deadhang (no kip)
rd1 - 6/8
rd2 - 5/8
rd3 - 4/7
rd4 - 3/5
rd5 - 3/5

BW = 185 lbs.

BP/PU

3/13
3/11
3/9
2/8
2/6

Just picked up a bench and pullup\dip\leg lift station, so this was the first time I was able to do the bench workouts in months. Stoked! Looking forward to some gains.

S-
200 lbs
Bench/P-ups
1) 12/20
2) 11/20
3) 10/17
4) 9/15
5) 8/13

Lifting is very mental and this shows

BW - 185

BP/PU
3 / 12
3 / 11
3 / 9
3 / 7
5 / 6

Since I don't workout Sat or Sun, I decided to do Sunday's workout today.
Bench 160x11/chinsx10
Bench 160x7/pullupsx7
Bench 160x7/parallel grip pullupx6
Bench 160x6/closegrip pullupx7
Bench 160x5/chinsx6
Between bench and pullups there was about a 15-30 second rest and between pullups and the next set of bench was about a 2-3min rest.

I see alot of you have impressive pullup numbers.

First WOD. Did Diane on Friday after feeling particularly chipper. Subbed pushpress for HSPU, pulled #225.
23 minutes:
1. 21 unbroken, PP 135 x8, 95 x 13.
2. 12,3. PP 95 x 15
3. 9 unbroken. PP 95 x9
will go up on weight on PP next time and work on the HSPU.

Andy
Todays WOD, BW 240, BP 240.
10 minute bike.
CF WU(minus dips and pull-ups)
Bench/PU
14/ 4 and three jumping
10/ 4, 3
8 / 2, 3
7 / 2, 3
6 / Lat pulls 210lbs x 8.

My pullups really need work.
Then, OHS practice, 4 sets of 10 with a 45# bar.
500m row(1:45)
20 minute biking cooldown.

BW:195

200lb bp X 16 ~ 15 ~ 12 ~ 11 ~ 11

pu X 11 ~ 8 ~ 7 ~ 7 ~ 5

BW - 195#
Tried 195# and did one rep. Move weight to 155#
BP wieght 155#
1. 7x BP / 7 PU
2. 7x BP / 6 PU
3. 7x BP / 5 (1/2) PU
4. 7x BP / 3 PU
5. 5x BP / 3 PU

Over and Out

i was pressed for time today, so i subbed 5 rounds of consecutive (unbroken) muscle-ups :

6 MU (rings slipped on tree branch - i felt like 8+ was possible)
7 MU
6 MU
5 MU
4 MU

one minute between rounds. took ~10 min total.

Still having trouble with my left shoulder so I didn't push the bench press. Otherwise pretty good day.
8/36
8/28
8/18
8/22
8/20

BW=230
Used=165
10/5
9/5
7/4
7/4
7/4

Will increase weight next time

BW=175

weight=135
6/7
5/6
5/7
weight=155
3/6
1/6

No access to bench. Used two 53lb kettlebells and the floor press instead.

Floor Press: 7, 11, 12, 8, 8
Jog/Run/Sprint ~300 meters between the FP and PU stations outside
Pullups: 6, 5, 4, 4, 3

Wow... I'm weak.

Total time: ~40 minutes

Used DB's at around 90% of bdywt

70 lb DB bn = 12, 9, 6, 6, 6 = 39
Chins - 30, 20, 20, 15, 15 = 100

70kg bench press
bodyweight pull ups

round 1: 12/12
round 2: 12/12
round 3: 8/8
round 4: 9/9
round 5: 9/10

pullups sucked today....

ran 5k straight after.

BW = 180

BP - 9,6,6,5,4
PU-12,12,11,9,8

PUs strict, no kipping.

BW: 184
BP: 185

BP/PU
12/10 (PR)
11/9
9/8
8/8
8/7

48/42

Last Lynne is April was 40/29

Tim

Waffle - Body weight: 165
Bench press: 4(165#)-4(165#)-2(165)-2(160)-4(155)
[1 month ago: 13(135#)-5(160)-3(160)-3(160)-2(160)]
Pullups: 20-22-20-30-27 (Total: 119)
[*month: 15-21-19-14-15 (Total: 84)]

Brian - Body weight: 165
Bench press: 10(115#)-8(125)-5(135)-4(140)-4(140)
Pullups: 20-20-21-18-21 Total: 100
[(Last month: 20-17-15-15-12)Total: 79]

BP / PU
1. 65 x 4 / 8 asst x 8
2. 60 x 8 / 8 asst x 10
3. 60 x 7 / 8 asst x 6
4. 60 x 5 / 8 asst x 4
5. 55 x 8 / 8 asst x 8

Lynne"
Five rounds for max reps of:
Body weight bench press (190# bench, bwt=186#)
Pull-ups
[<10sec b/w bench and pull-ups; 1-1:30 b/w rds]
3/18
3/13
3/11
3/11
3/11
TOTALS=15/64 (previous was 16/70 on 6/8/05)

Bench 135 lb: 5,5,4,3,3
Kipped pull-ups: 25(PR),20,20,14,16
Bodyweight 158 lb. Lots of rest between sets.

155# bp/pullups

18/21, 11/14, 7/10, 7/8, 7/9

Body Weight=about 150lbs. Used 155lbs for bench.

15/30
12/25
11/20
10/20
10/19

Bench is still my weakest lift...actually dropped a few reps from last Lynne, although the pullups went way up.

BWT 175 used 185 no spotter so I didn't really get every rep I could have.
Rnd BP PU
1 6 25
2 4 17
3 4 15
4 2 12
5 2 11
-------------
18 80
Jeremy

BWT 215
BP/Pullup
15/13
6/6
6/6
5/5
5/4

bw 175

bp pu vs 6/8 vs 5/28 vs 4/8
7 14 26/48 28/45 27/40
6 10
5 8
4+ 9
3 9
25 50

did a mini-"lynne" (3 rounds) this afternoon as part of my workout. BW = 167#

Bench 185# ......9, 10, 8
Pullups (kip) ... 36, 27, 26

A few days behind because of Hurricane Dennis evacuation...did this WOD on 7/12/05 AM

BWt=240#
Sub'd Push ups w/ elevated feet for BP…20-12-13-10-5 = 60 reps (5 better than last time)
PU: 9-8-7-4-5 = 33 reps (22 better than last time!!!)

Bodyweight 275. I'm not up to even one rep with that much weight, so I estimated a weight that would give me ~5 reps: 170#

Pullups were at an effective weight of 200# after the assist.

BP/PU
5/10
6/9
5/9
5/9
4/9

Abraham Lincoln Crossfit

Tom (bw 195)
9/6
7/5
6/5
7/5
7/5

Joe (bw 175)
5/9
4/8
4/7
3/6
3/6

BW: 190

BP/PU
7/10
5/7
4/6
3/5
3/5

Total
22/33

Minimal rest between rounds.

I did this on, uhm, 12 July as part of a double - my "warmup" was a 5k run (20:07 on the treadmill). Rested a few minutes, and then did what I could for Lynne.
BW 175, bench presses were reduced, all pullups dead-hang and full stop between reps:
Bench/pullup
160x4/8
160x5/10
165x4/10
170x4/8
175x4/8

I need to work on my benchpress.

Andy M

BP 3/4/3/3/3
PU 18/11/9/9/12

BP was just plain weak, quite a long way down from previous efforts. Kinda expected it though, not feeling strong.

PU were no-kip, controlled reps, way better than I've ever done with dead-hang, no-kippers. Again, expected this as I've lost weight recently.

BW = 85kg
85kg BP/ PU

15/ 10
10/ 9
9/ 7
7/ 7
6/ 7

Totals
47/ 40

Same BP, increased PU by 1.

cheers, kempie

as Rxd with 185# BP BWT = 214
6/14
7/13
8/12
7/9
6/6

BW: 172
BP@175

BP/PU
6/7
6/5
5/6
5/4
6/5

Mike (dad): Bench 225*18, 15, 10, 12, 8
Pullups 12/10/8/8/8

Vincent (son): Bench 215*12, 10, 8, 7, 6
Pullups 10/9/8/6/4

V went first, rested while spotting me, we did pullups simultaneously, I rested while spotting him.