First a little background. My chest has always been naturally strong, and my legs have historically been somewhat of a weak-point. This is why my training schedule is currently prioritized to have higher frequency for leg workouts than for chest workouts. Although my legs now visually well balanced to my upper-body, from a strength perspective, I still struggle to squat the same weight and reps as I can easily bench.
I am fairly open to trying different techniques in my training, and recently I decided to try some of the 30-rep squats that Rich regularly employs. My first attempt at a 30-rep squat was with only 135 lbs, and it was brutal and exhausting. The theory we had discussed is that I wouldn't be able to duplicate that effort with the bench press, due to the fact that there is really no relief in tension even at lockout.
Well today I blew that theory out of the water. My chest is just plain stronger. I cranked out an easy 135 x 37 reps on the bench. I found that because it is a far more isolated movement, it didn't tax my endurance much at all. There was no struggle to breathe, and at no point did I feel a need to pause. I probably could have gotten more, but it felt like a safe stopping point without a spotter.
My chest was pretty pumped after that, but not painful like with the high-rep squats. After that set, I still continued with 3 sets of 185 x 8 without issue. Less than I usually do, but still pretty heavy. I don't think I will incorporate reps that high in future chest workouts. It was more of a curiosity and a personal challenge just to mix things up.
