{"id":1141472,"date":"2022-03-28T18:59:17","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T18:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/?p=1141472"},"modified":"2022-03-28T23:56:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-28T23:56:16","slug":"bill-gillespie-blue-print-for-breaking-the-bench-press-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.muscleandfitness.com\/athletes-celebrities\/pro-tips\/bill-gillespie-blue-print-for-breaking-the-bench-press-record\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Dos’ and ‘Don\u2019ts’ of Bill Gillespie\u2019s Record-Breaking Bench Press"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are seeking advice on how to increase your bench press max, you\u2019ve probably discovered that there\u2019s no shortage of experts and theories for you to sink your teeth into, but when it comes to learning from the best, you can\u2019t do much better than the teachings of a world record breaker<\/a>. Bill Gillespie shocked the world in January when, at age 62, he lifted 1,129.9 pounds and became the champion of the equipped bench press before triumphantly retiring from active competition, thus completing a 50-year journey of trial and error that serves as a great blue print for lifters of all abilities.<\/p>\n

M&F<\/em> sat down with the man mountain from Virginia, to discover the \u201cdos\u201d and \u201cdon\u2019ts\u201d for besting the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cBig Bill\u201d was given his first weight set at 14, fueling a passion for powerlifting that he later passed on to his son, and fellow lifter, Cameron Gillespie. \u201cI did pushups, situps, whatever I could do to get strong,\u201d says the record-breaker. \u201cAs soon as I was old enough to know that there was such a thing as muscles, and being strong, I wanted to be strong.\u201d It was a desire that his mom used to great advantage, having him do yard work and various household chores to keep those muscles working<\/a>. That early hardcore training mentality served him well because not only did Gillespie make a career from strength, including a coaching role with the Seattle Seahawks, but he also now gets to share his knowledge with all types of athletes as a strength coach for Sorinex<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t:<\/strong> Train to your maximum lift during each session<\/h3>\n

\u201cSpeed training and strength training go hand-in-hand<\/a>,\u201d says Gillespie. \u201cWhen we come into the weight room, we get this bodybuilding confusion of what we do and we want to go and push the limits of the repetitions. So, when moving the weight, instead of doing it 6 times, we\u2019ll go and do it 10 or 12 times. Yes, we can do it, and yes we might be capable, but the problem is that the last few reps are so slow that you are over straining, you are frying the nervous system and you are not training for speed and explosion. The secret to putting up big weights is to be able to exhibit your strength in a shorter period of time. The heavier the weight gets, the shorter amount of time you have to exhibit your strength\u201d<\/p>\n

Gillespie says that the sweet spot for making bench press gains is to practice three times per week. \u201cHere\u2019s the biggest mistake people make,\u201d shares Gillespie. \u201cIf my training max is 400 pounds, and then all of a sudden, I hit 450 for my max, everybody goes to 450 for their new training max. It\u2019s the worst mistake you can make. I would go to 402.5-Pounds. Because if<\/p>\n

I\u2019m making great gains at 400 pounds, I\u2019m going to continue to make great gains<\/a> as my body adapts to the work capacity. What people are doing is putting the cart before the horse. You want to focus on developing your work capacity by slowly progressing and making the body change and then the big numbers will come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do:<\/strong> Develop your upper back<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n
\n
View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p><\/a>\n

A post shared by Bill Gillespie (@master_strength_)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n