What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
By Dr. Thomas O’Connor MD 2/6/17
This is not going to be a “how to” cook book on bench pressing 500 lbs. Indeed, it takes great genes, insane training, extreme desire and yes, anabolic steroids. Now, I’m not saying that every guy who benches 500 lbs. raw is on the sauce, but the truth is that most, by far are. I have been caring for men, as a physician, who use or who have used anabolic steroids since 2003 and I have known at least 10 men who have benched 500 lbs or more raw.
I am humble to have had access to these men as they have trusted me with their health- hearing firsthand what it takes to move such enormous weight off their chest! Why? How? And with all the health and personal consequences suffered-
Now, I will share this power with you.
In this article, I will interview a man who has benched over 500 lbs raw in Power Lifting meets. We will keep his identity anonymous for obvious reasons. Let’s call him John Doe, JD:
Anabolic Doc, AD: Hey JD, thank you for allowing me to do this very important interview on “what it takes to bench 500 lbs RAW”. Millions of men around the world love to lift weights and NO ONE can argue that the Bench Press represents the epitome of human strength! What guy doesn’t want to bench as much as he can? The mile stones of breaking the 200 lb, 300 lb mark are life changing events in self-improvement and motivation for mortal men! Even benching 400 lbs raw has been achieved by many talented lifters, but there are only a few amazing men who have truly lifted 500 lbs raw on the bench and you have done this and more many times! My first question is why?
John Doe, JD: Thank you Doc for taking me “under your wing” like you say. Lifting weights is a crazy thing and it’s time to share what is really going on. Why do I lift? Hmmm? I don’t know, it is something I’ve always done. I guess, I found it was the best thing I could do. I was pretty good as a kid in baseball and football, but the other kids were much better than me and I always felt inferior. I tried like hell to get better- I practiced after school, went to camps, ran the miles, trained late into the night and never felt that I was getting any better. Actually, I was getting more and more injuries and burning out. I quit sports at 15 and gave up on all athletic activities- sucks to admit, but It’s part of my history. A buddy of mine invited me to lift in his basement gym when I was 17 and I’ll never forget those first pumps! I called it “Peaceful Pumps”. My parents were going through a nasty divorce and I was really unhappy and probably depressed. Training was my sanctuary and I loved it !! I grew like crazy! I went from 155 lbs to over 200 lbs over one summer. All on hot dogs, cheese burgers, tons of protein powders and creatine. That’s where it all started for me Doc- training for therapy!!
AD: That is awesome JD! So you lifted to get away from your personal pain and suffering? I hear this from so many men who turn out to be great lifters! Seems like the pain associated with lifting heavy weights and the physical/emotional rewards are the perfect anecdote for such personal distress. How old are you and how big are you?
JD: Yeah, transferring the pain of life through the bar is what turns me on. When you have a bad day- just go get a new PR and it’s all good man! I’m in my mid-30s, 5’8” tall and weigh in the mid-240s. I go over 250 lbs when I’m benching the big numbers- know what I mean Doc ?
AD: Wow! OK, I get it. Tell us how you first benched 500 lbs- How the hell did you first do it?
JD: Well, you know Doc, first you hit the 3 plates and then 365, then 405 was a bear! It took me 3 years to bench 405 and I had to gain at least 20 lbs to do it. My shoulders and elbows took time to get used to the weights too. It’s crazy, I remember that my forearms hurt like crazy- like a knife was stabbing and tearing them apart every time I trained. That has all gone away! Growing pains, I guess? I moved pretty fast through the mid-upper 400s and I found that I had to space out my other lifts to recover to bench. I found that squatting and deadlifting had to be timed just right, to allow for the big benching days.
Don’t get me wrong- any big bencher will admit that training the big 3 are mandatory. Finding the optimal recovery time is the secret and definitely separates the intermediate lifters from the pros. Training bench every 7 days alternating with 10 days with heavy shoulder and triceps work is how I first hit 500 lbs on the bench. This is something that I had a hard time with, but paid off huge! I would bench up to a max single only after weeks of triples- then back down to doubles or take a de-load period of 2 to 3 weeks. I love the old school 3 sets of 3 reps with every week adding at least 10 lbs for a PR. I always do a down set of 405 for reps, 315 for reps and finish with reps with 225. 
I usually only do 1 or 2 assistance working sets like incline bench, D-Bells up to 150s and I work in close-grip bench, but not all the time as my elbows are sensitive. My light days are instinctive and I never bench, but do my usual assistance exercises at 60 to 85 % with varying speed depending on where I am in my training. One thing that I learned from the Great Ted Arcidi was to add a lot of super heavy face-breakers and lat pulls! When I’m at my best, it’s because I have worked in all of these things like a perfect sounding orchestra. “Over training” is easy to do for most of us and learning to stay away and limit gym time is another big secret. I remember, I was able to bench 475 x 3 good reps and failed with 500 for 1- over and over. Then I used boards – 2 and 1 boards and reverse bands to train with max effort days. I took of 8 days of rest, eat a shit ton of food and finally hit my first 505 on the bench raw.
AD: That is some insane training and I know it doesn’t come easy. Can you please tell us about your steroid use?
JD: Ok Doc. You know I’m not a bull shit guy and I don’t mind telling you about the gear. I know that no one knows who I am, so here we go. First of all, you can take as much gear as you like, no one is going to be a great lifter on gear alone. I know you know this Doc and the steroid world is full of lies and exaggerations. You are a blessing Doc for what you have provide men like me. I have made the decision to use anabolic steroids at my own free will and I am accountable for the known risks to my health. You have provided me with a safe haven to come and see how my body is doing while on steroids and now you have weaned me off all anabolic steroids. For this, I as well as my family are forever thankful to you. I hope other men who are using gear have the opportunity to read this and get in to see a doctor like you who treats men with dignity. We have a lot of healing up to do Doc!
As for my steroid use- I first used Pro-Hormones- PHs like Superdrol. I got this first from Gaspari around 2005 and then on the Black Market off the net and buddies in the gym. I was able to add at least 50 lbs to my bench and I benched over 400 lbs on this and other PHs back in the day. I would go on 12 week cycles and come off and in the beginning, I felt ok, then over time I felt like crap. I guess I had very low testosterone levels at that time, but I never went to a Doc and had my levels checked. Then I started with testosterone and I blew up! I started with Testosterone Cypionate 400 to 600 mg a week and added Anavar, up to 80 mg a day. This combo took my bench up to 475 lbs and my bodyweight to 240 to 250 lbs.
I’ll be honest Doc, as you know, after starting Test, I’ve never come off- it was over 6 years on straight till I found you. I always wanted to do PCT and or just come off cold turkey, but could not go more than 2 weeks without crashing and feeling like complete dog shit. The worst part was that I was fully impotent after a month off. I’ll never forget the first and last time I’ll do that. I was like, “damn, I guess I’m on this shit for life”. I was ok with this, hell, I felt fine. Actually, while on gear, I felt great! Feeling like superman and having sex 5 times a day isn’t so bad Doc.
As far as benching 500 lbs, I knew I had to up the doses or try some other gear. After trying to add decca and EQ, I felt terrible and actually lost strength. Of course, I had my days on what I thought was Tren and whew! Forget the massive night sweats and that death cough. I did probably 4 injections of 300 mg a week and almost had a nervous breakdown. I can’t believe guys can tolerate big doses of Tren? Crazy! I found that many of the big Power Lifters keep steroid use simple. With this said, I increased Test to 1,200 mg a week and added D- Bol and Anadrol-50. I found that I was at my best with Anadrol, 150 mg a day for 4 to 6 weeks. This is when I finally benched 500 + lbs easy. Since that time, I would keep Test anywhere from 400 to 1, 500 mg a week and when I wanted to go for a PR, I would add the A Bombs and eat more! My best bench in the gym at nearly 260 was 535 lbs and I have done 515 once at a meet.
AD: Tell us about the side effects.
JD: I get super bloated and dizzy after about 2 weeks on a big cycle. Acne on my back got bad after about 1 month on the big orals with all the Test. I really don’t get any other side effects. I guess this was a good and bad thing. Steroids are something that I actually enjoy. The only reason why I came to you was that I know that I’m playing with fire and I wanted to get checked out.
AD: That about sums it up- It’s amazing that modern day Power Lifter’s are still using the same drugs as back in the 80s, only the doses have gotten greater and it seems that no one ever comes off anymore. Any words of wisdom for us?
JD: Thanks again Doc for doing what you do and thank God you are teaching the world all about this crazy under-ground Bro-Science crap. The truth is that even the most bad ass guys are scared and want help with their steroid use. I hope this interview helps guys who are looking for help. I can tell you that I feel great again living on a much lower dose of physiologic testosterone and knowing that I can live this way and be healthy means the world to me, man.
THIS ARTICLE IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY AND NOT A BLESSING ON ANABOLIC STEROID USE. ANABOLIC STEROIDS CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS TO ONES HEALTH AND ANYONE WHO IS USING ANABOLIC STEROIDS NEEDS TO SEE AN EXPERT HEALTH CARE PROVIDER AND GET CHECKED OUT!
Stay Strong and Healthy,
Dr. O
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What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
What it Takes to Bench 500 lbs. RAW
