Starting 12 week strength. I have no interest in ever competing in a powerlifting meet. As such, I care little about my comp bench.
Can I replace the comp (1ct) bench with simple touch n go? Or is it imperative I do the 1ct bench?
I understand 2ct/3ct can’t be changed as those are for variable training stimulus. Just talking about comp bench vs TnG here.
Thanks
It’s not imperative to practice the 1ct pause. Why would you not want to though? As long as you are not using your chest for a trampoline, dont see any reason why you couldn’t just TnG.
I guess my response to your question would be to ask why I should? Does comp bench provide a better training stimulus than TnG? It was my understanding that intensity was more important to overall development than time under tension (which still had its place in programming). Presumably a 1ct bench increases TuT at the expense of intensity. If I don’t need that specific training for powerlifting comps, then wouldn’t I fundamentally be better off training with the higher intensity allowed by TnG?
Asking seriously, not arguing. If there is a reason comp bench is better for general training purposes rather than just being what the powerlifting feds require, I’d be interested in learning more.
Here’s Jordan’s thoughts on it. Reason for training Competition Bench - Training Q/A with Drs. Feigenbaum & Baraki - Barbell Medicine Forum
Awesome! Thank you for the link. In short he confirmed I could stick with TnG if I elect. However I did pause bench today for Week 1 Day 2 (being honest it wasnt always a full 1ct, but a controlled pause) and one thing I noticed is that although I lifted slightly less, I tended to maintain better form (I’m really bad about lifting my ass off the bench, pause helped that). So im considering sticking with the pause for that reason if nothing else.
I think it’s fine. Admittedly i only pause my singles and first back off set. It’s not the best training like yourself I don’t plan on competing anytime soon so for the time being I’d rather my TnG 1rm go up.