Reverse grip bench press

[FatButWeak]

Y'all:

Ive got a PL meet coming up at the end of March. I keep tweaking my right pec on bench. Multiple sets at about 300 lbs are whats doing it. I rehab it, work back up, and right at about 300 or so I, again, tweak my pec. Im thinking about switching to a reverse grip bench press to work around this. Any ideas on how to do this and not shit the bed at my meet?

Im 47 years old, about 275 lbs, doing 4 day Texas Method (monday is volume bench (i.e. 5x5) , Tuesday is volume squat (5x5), wed is off, Thurs is intensity bench (1 set of 5), Friday is intensity squat (1 set of 5) and intensity DL (1 set of 5). I estimate my 1 RM bench on a healthy pec is 335-350, since my last successful bench intensity day was 310 for one set of 5.

If I start doing an LP with reverse grip bench (3 sets of 5, MWF and add 10 pounds each workout -should I be able to build my reverse grip up to at least 300 by late MArch? To get a meet PR on bench I only need to hit 300 in competition, but really wanted to hit 350. Assuming I start with 135 The math works out okay, even with a few deloads.

Anyone have any experience doing this sort of thing? An analogous situation might be switching from conventional to sumo by dropping the weight and building back up.

Thanks

[FatButWeak]

Y'all:

Ive got a PL meet coming up at the end of March. I keep tweaking my right pec on bench. Multiple sets at about 300 lbs are whats doing it. I rehab it, work back up, and right at about 300 or so I, again, tweak my pec. Im thinking about switching to a reverse grip bench press to work around this. Any ideas on how to do this and not shit the bed at my meet?

Im 47 years old, about 275 lbs, doing 4 day Texas Method (monday is volume bench (i.e. 5x5) , Tuesday is volume squat (5x5), wed is off, Thurs is intensity bench (1 set of 5), Friday is intensity squat (1 set of 5) and intensity DL (1 set of 5). I estimate my 1 RM bench on a healthy pec is 335-350, since my last successful bench intensity day was 310 for one set of 5.

If I start doing an LP with reverse grip bench (3 sets of 5, MWF and add 10 pounds each workout -should I be able to build my reverse grip up to at least 300 by late MArch? To get a meet PR on bench I only need to hit 300 in competition, but really wanted to hit 350. Assuming I start with 135 The math works out okay, even with a few deloads.

Anyone have any experience doing this sort of thing? An analogous situation might be switching from conventional to sumo by dropping the weight and building back up.

Thanks

EDIT: I tried to contact John Phung, who used to post on these boards, but no luck reaching him. If you google reverse bench his name comes up and he has written on the subject pretty extensively, but no advices on how to transition from conventional to reverse.

[KangaJoo]

I'd also be interested in what other people have to say about this. I used to use reverse grip but I always treated it as an assistance exercise like incline bench. Not sure if you could work it up to a similar weight as your normal BP since, as far as I'm aware, person's reverse grip BP is usually significantly weaker than their normal BP.

[FatButWeak]

I'd also be interested in what other people have to say about this. I used to use reverse grip but I always treated it as an assistance exercise like incline bench. Not sure if you could work it up to a similar weight as your normal BP since, as far as I'm aware, person's reverse grip BP is usually significantly weaker than their normal BP.

It certainly feels much weaker. But Ive got the overall strength and muscle mass to work with, which is why Im wondering if I just LP'd it I might be able to get pretty close. Some world records have been set in the reverse grip, some some anthropometries must be good at it.

[Bliss]

Out of curiosity, what is responsible for a decreased strength in the reverse grip bench?

Ie, for most people, where has the muscle emphasis shifted to which are the weaker contributors?

[Meshuggah]

The Reverse Grip Bench shifts a great deal of the stress to the triceps. If you have never heard of Anthony Clark, look him up. Anthony set many records using that style.

[KangaJoo]

Out of curiosity, what is responsible for a decreased strength in the reverse grip bench?

Ie, for most people, where has the muscle emphasis shifted to which are the weaker contributors?

I believe that it's because it places more of the load on the clavicular head of the pecs relative to a flat bench press. Actually, the reason why I used to substitute reverse grip bp instead of incline bp is because the reverse grip bp has been shown to more effectively load the clavicular head, relative to the sternal head, than any other bp variation. In other words, the reverse grip bp is one of the best ways to lift more of the weight on the bar with the smaller part of your chest.

[Karl Schudt]

I would rather see your form and try to figure out why you are tweaking your pec.

[Ericreichelt81]

Reverse grip bench feels great, unracking the weight is the one thing that takes a bit of trial and error. Your grip will move out slightly by looks, but really it should remain pretty similar. If you do switch and things start moving well, you should make sure your meet allows it in case you switch entirely. I don't believe every federation allows it. And, of course as it was said, check out Anthony Clark.

[FatButWeak]

Tried it a bit this morning. Not bad. Worked up to 185 for a single. It feels a lot like doing dips, for some reason. Unracking was weird, though. Im going to Starr rehab my pec and try to soldier on. Shouldnt need more than one week to stay conventional. Maybe after the meet I will try reverse.