Deth

Fitness and everything else

Dumbbell Benching Fifties Again

Last year, late spring of last year, actually my sandbag’s inner filler back burst open. That happened when I was doing a WOD with ground to overhead in it. The sandbag got very uneven in weight, and at one point it flopped awkwardly. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I think that had pissed off my shoulder/ elbow or someplace in between. That side felt much weaker for a long time and would get a bit sore.

We were doing our bro sessions at the time and I noticed some of those lifts especially bench press with the dumbbells or bar for that matter would really anger it. I shortened my sets and didn’t push the weight at all. I did them light for the motion only. Eventually, life got in the way, and we stopped doing that for a while. This was just extra work for me, and always the lowest priority anyways.

When I switched to 5 / 3 / 1 I started doing this stuff again too since that program seems to be a bit easier on my body and time. I started off with fairly light weights, but have quickly moved up depending on what else I did that day.

The dumbbell bench press from the beginning for me has really felt surprisingly good. Right away, I noticed that I wasn’t having any feelings of discomfort or weakness when doing it. I started that off with the light thirty pound dumbbells, but quickly realized I can bump that weight. This past week I have been finally back to using the fifty pound dumbbells and have been feeling strong and good with that weight. I feel like it’s the first time in over a year that I have pressed that weight. I did not go back in my notes and check on the exact time, but it’s been a lone while.

After they felt as good as they did for me yesterday, I was thinking it’s time to bump the weight. Maybe next week if I am feeling good or soon after that I will consider using the fifty-five pounders for the bench press. Unless I have forgotten about a time I have never benched that weight, I know my bench is weak, and I am fine with that. If I had done it in the past, it was maybe a one-time thing. I know I didn’t do it for sets. We’ll see how things go, but I love this feeling of progression.

Music for today was Ringworm (thanks to the neighbor for introducing me to them).