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Dave Tate's Table Talk

#401 The Most Overlooked Part of the 800lb Bench | Nick Benerakis

Dave Tate's Table Talk

Dave Tate

Fitness, Health & Fitness

4.9 • 586 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 102 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, we sit down with Nick Benerakis, the mastermind behind Big Benchas, to deconstruct the technical precision required for elite strength training and world-class athletic performance. With 13 years of experience in the trenches of powerlifting, Nick shares the secrets of the equipped bench press and how he navigated the journey to a massive 820 lb multi-ply lift. We explore the nuances of meet-day execution and the high-level coaching strategies that turn standard lifting into a pursuit of performance longevity and record-breaking strength.

Meet the Guest

Nick Benerakis (Founder, Big Benchas): Nick is a specialized powerlifting coach and renowned equipped bench specialist who has spent 13 years at the forefront of the sport. He is the creator of Big Benchas, one of the industry's most respected coaching and education platforms dedicated specifically to muscle development and bench press optimization. An elite athlete in his own right, Nick has achieved an 820 lb multi-ply bench press, cementing his status as a premier voice in the heavy strength community. Beyond his personal accolades, he has coached lifters across the globe, focusing on practical technique and the granular details of health optimization and strength mechanics.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Where I feel like everyone has a hard time when it comes to equiplifting,

0:04.0

they try to do too much on the handoff process.

0:06.6

As much as I talk about the setup being so key for a raw bench,

0:09.8

the handoff process is the most important part for a quip bench, in my opinion.

0:14.2

It's time to sit down, keep it real, and cut the bullshit.

0:27.5

Welcome to Table Talk.

0:29.7

First question for you, Nick or Ben, I'm confused.

0:34.5

That's a good one.

0:38.3

All right, now we're good.

0:40.3

It's super confusing because my name is Nick Benarachis, but everyone calls me Ben, Benny.

0:47.3

Where's that come from?

0:49.3

So it's a long origin, but pretty much in high school, my grandpa was they had the nickname of Benny in the Army in the military.

0:59.9

So I had a high school baseball coach called me Benny.

1:05.4

And I was like, because he told me his nickname was Benny.

1:08.2

He called me Benny.

1:09.1

So I was like, we're going to roll with this.

1:10.5

I hate it being called Nick. Everyone's name was Nick. So I was like, we're going to roll with this. I hated being called Nick.

1:12.1

Everyone's name was Nick.

1:13.3

It would be like five Knicks in a class.

1:24.9

So I just kind of took that. So he's just calling you Benny, like out of nowhere? Yeah. Well, my last name, Beneracus. Oh, okay. Okay. Now I get it. Yeah, now it makes sense.

1:29.9

And so while you're in high school, was that your main sport?

1:31.2

Baseball, yeah.

...

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