SFG benchmarking 100913 -- front squat, bench

We eased into Monday with our new coach Mike Winchester.

Warm up.

Benchmark:

• max front squat
• max bench press

Results:

• Front squat: 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 225 x 2, 255 x 1, 275 x 1, 295 x 1
• Bench press: 135 x 10, 185 x 2, 225 x 1, 255 x 1, 275 x 1

I have mixed feelings about this workout.

On the one hand, I was happy with my numbers. I hit both with normal effort and probably could have added 10-20 lbs to each. My front squat is healthy and my bench was nice considering we do not do this movement.

On the other hand, my front squat was only about 10% less than my back squat. This tells me that I am not engaging my posterior chain during back squats. This also tells me my back squat should jump another 50-60 lbs once I engage my posterior chain.

As for the bench, 275 is decent. Its funny to think back to the good old days where a good bench meant a good workout even if I mailed it in everywhere else. But I do hope we incorporate the bench back into our programming because it builds tremendous strength.