Metal Militia Bench Modifications

How to increase your max bench 50 pounds
I dont like to admit it but Im a bench guy. If it were up to me I would be known for a
huge squat or deadlift but the bench has always been my best lift. In college I hit a 465 in
the 198s. That was back in the day of the blast shirt when nobody was hitting numbers
like that at the age of 20. Most recently my best bench was around 560 or so. In just a
few short months that number increased to over 600 pounds! Officially I hit 595 at the
IPF world championships in Austria. This was the gold medal bench for the 220 weight
class. This is quite an achievement when you consider Ive been lifting for almost 15
years and Im a lifetime drug free competitor. How did I do it? I started using the
principles laid out by Sebastian Burns and his Metal Militia.
Now Ive never met Sebastian or attended one of their seminars. Im not affiliated with
MM in any way. What I did was take their program and fit it into what I felt would work
for me. Now Im going to outline those modifications to you.
Im going to paste the metal militia program as it is written on their web site directly to
this page. Their way of doing the program will be underlined and I will explain my
modifications directly below it. Saturday is the heavy, top end day with shirt work
included. Tuesday is the low end day to strengthen the bench from the chest. My
recommendation would be to start with the Saturday workout and skip the Tuesday
workout for at least 3 weeks. The first time I did the top end day I was sore for about a
week very deep in my chest and triceps. After about 3 weeks, start adding the Tuesday
workout every other week. I have found that I can handle the work if I skip the Tuesday
workout every 3rd week. This gives my body a week to recover. Usually, I will keep the
weight on the Saturday workout moderate the week I skip the Tuesday workout. The
biggest thing is that you listen to your body. If you can only handle the Tuesday workout
every other week then that is what you should do. If you can handle more, go for it.
Also, you will see that MM pretty much goes for a new rep max every week on every
exercise. I start out with progressive sets up to a moderate to heavy top set on each
exercise. Each week I add weight to each set until eventually I do hit a rep max. The
following week I will drop the weight back down and start over again.
Saturday
Close Grip Bench: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)
This exercise is used as a warm up and we use the same progression as raw bench for the
sets except we don't go back down for a 5RM.
I also do the narrow grip bench with my pinky on the ring. I work up to a heavy set of 3
reps. MM goes up to a 3 RM but I keep it a moderate set and each week add 10 pounds
to each set. Eventually I will work up to what would be a 3RM. The following week I
back off to about 10 pounds heavier than my original week weight and build back up
again.
6,5,4, Boards: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)

We will usually try to max on all of these boards and sometimes work through the same
board twice if the groove does not feel right or we miss our goal weight on a certain
board. Again sets could be very high if things don't go right or if more work is needed in
a certain area. The 4 board is optional on this day depending if you did it on Tuesday or
not.
I use a 4 board only on this day and I work up to a moderate-heavy set of 3 reps. Each
week I add weight to my sets until I eventually achieve a 3RM. I then back off and climb
back up over the course of a few weeks. I also start at the weight that I finished up with
on the close grip benches. Its usually light but it gets me used to the new exercise and
adds a bit of volume to the program without going overboard. I never use 5 or 6 boards
because my arms are short. I would pick one board height and stick with it.
Shirt Bench: Grip (Index Finger On Ring)
Starting with 3 to 5 reps in the first few sets to get into a grove of the shirt. Then onto a
few doubles then some singles. If the singles don't go well or if there is problems
touching or with your groove then we will go right back to the beginning and work all the
way back up again trying harder to get everything right. Sets here could range from 5 to
10 to even 20 or more depending on how everything goes. If you don't get it right you
must work back through until you get it right.
I put my shirt on after the board work and if its early in the training cycle or offseason, I
hit triples. The weight is progressive to a moderate to heavy top set. The progression is
the same as the other exercisesI work up to a moderate set the first week and each
week I add 10 pounds to each work set until I eventually hit a 3 RM. The following week
I back off again and start over. Closer to the contest I will start to do singles with full
commands and the last 4-6 weeks out I move the shirt work to the second exercise of the
day and eventually the first. My progression before worlds for my shirt work was like
this
6 weeks out 575 for 5 singles
4 weeks out 595 for 4 singels
2 weeks out 615 for 2 singels
1 week out 585 for one single (opener)
All were done with full commands.
Rack Lockouts: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)

We work our way up to a 3RM using 3 reps for all sets. These are done at the end of the
workout when you are tired and want to go home but if you stay and do them you will
have great finishing power needed to lockout heavy weight. Total sets range from 6 to 10.
For the rack work I usually feel tired and ready to go lay on my living room floor. This is
where you really have to dig in. I only hit 3 sets of 3 reps working up in progressive sets.
Other exercises that can be done on this day:
Tricep Pushdowns: 3 Sets 10 Reps.
Rope Extensions: 2 Sets 20 to 40 reps.
Pulldowns: 4 Sets 10 Reps.
Shrugs: 4 Sets 10 Reps.
I dont do anything after the rack work. I may try to add one or two single joint
movements during my next contest cycle but for now I havent built up the work capacity
to handle anything more.
Tuesday
Raw bench: Grip (Index Finger On Ring)
We work our way up to a 3 Rep Max (3RM). If we get all 3 reps we will go up 10lbs and
try another 3 reps. If we don't get 3 we may stop there or go down for a 5 RM Next week
we will attempt the 3RM again and go up 10 lbs etc.Total sets = 5 to 8.
I keep this pretty much the same. I work up to a heavy triple, drop the weight, and then
work back up to a heavy set of 5. The biggest difference is that my sets are not rep
maxes. Its always the same; I keep it moderate to heavy and add weight each week until
I hit a rep max. From that point I drop the weight and start over again.
Decline: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)
For decline we work up to a 5RM with all sets done for 5 reps.Total sets = 5
The more you arch on the bench press the more valuable the decline will be.
I do not own a decline bench so I change the exercise. For nationals this year I pretended
I was Anthony Clark and substituted reverse grip benches. I worked up to a heavy set of
5 in progressive fashion. For worlds this year I used a mini band and used the normal
close grip also working up to a heavy set of 5.
4,3,2,1 Boards: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)
We usually work up to a 3RM on the 4 board then we may go for 1RM on the next boards
depending on energy levels and soreness from the previous workout.Total sets range from
8 to as many as 15.
Total sets on this day range from 15 to 30.
I only use a 2 board on this day and I work up to a heavy triple in progressive fashion. I
dont use any other board combination.
Other exercises that can be done on this day:

Incline: 4 Sets 5 to 1 Reps.
Rope Extensions: 2 Sets 20 to 40 Reps.
Pulldowns: 4 Sets 10 Reps.
Shrugs: 4 Sets 10 Reps.
I havent done extra work after the boards on this day. I may try to add some work
eventually but for now I call it a day after boards.
I hope this helps and I have explained it sufficiently. If you have any questions, please let
me know.
I would like to thank the Metal Militia for providing powerlifters everywhere with an
outstanding program. Also, Titan Support Systems for producing the Kitana Bench Shirt.
In my opinion its the best poly shirt on the planet.
Jason Beck

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What modifications did the author make to the Metal Militia program?

What is the author's progression for shirt work leading up to a competition?

How to increase your max bench 50 pounds

6,5,4, Boards: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)

Rack Lockouts: Grip (Pinky Finger On Ring)

Other exercises that can be done on this day:

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