What is your max bench press?

[TheToneZone]

I never go over 225. I know I could for ego lifting but I’m scared of injury honestly. I’ll do 225 for reps. I’ve had a few shoulder injuries and as somebody who has had a few injuries before and works a physical job, I’ll stay at 2 plates.

I do full pulls and focus on form. I like to think that I can gain the same gains from that than doing 3 plates and cheating a bit.

I injured my shoulder or pec once benching with bad form. I was benching every other day plus weighted dips. I had a big back arch and wide hands.

I felt (and in my memory, heard) like what seemed like Velcro tearing up near my shoulder and I instantly had bad weakness and my spotter had to help lift it off me. There wasn't really pain unless I was doing some pushing motion then I had bad weakness and some pain. I was really worried. But there was no bruising.

I didn't do any kind of pushing movements for a few months just lots of self massage, extremely light mobility stuff and hot tub and ate lots of protein. Eventually I started back with pushups for a few months then got back into weights very slowly.

Now I'm stronger than ever before but I don't arch my back at all and use a closer grip than before. I take at least 2 or 3 days off after, no more every other day.

My bad form and lack of recovery really hurt me! But I learned my lesson. Now I take it pretty slow and never jump up in weight until I've really mastered a weight for a while. I was so worried when that happened that I tore my shit or something and was gonna need surgery but thank God it healed up without that.

Looking back it was a relatively minor injury but I've never felt anything like it felt when I hurt it. It was like a heard and felt Velcro rip apart in my pec!

 

[TheToneZone]

I like to do 5x5 as heavy as I can with good form and control, then I do about 5 more sets with a little lighter weight for about 8-10 reps.

I like how it feels.

What kinda set/rep schemes are you beefy monster using?

 

[Stargazer Rex]

470 last year. Probably was around 485 when I got a weird pec strain because I decided to move my grip out an inch lol. Didn't think it would hurt because I was already as close as I could grip before touching the smooth part of the barbell and thought it would help to get some more pec into the mix. Feels fine now. Going to give it one last go and see if I can get 500. If my pec starts acting up I'll just go back to pressing like I've been the last 8 months.

 

[HunterAcosta]

Bout tree fiddy.

 

[ChickenBrother]

After losing 40 pounds my bench fell quite a bit but the ratio is similar so win I guess?

At 255 it was 415

At 217 it’s now around 350

I feel like bench is highly correlated with bodyweight. It's not like squats or DL where you see smaller dudes doing stupid weight all the time. I also notice your maxes and my previous max was right around 1.6x BW which is around where a lot of nattys seem to hit a ceiling. Benching 2x BW is pretty rare and I feel like most dudes who can do it are either enhanced or have great genetics for that lift.

 

[Phlog]

I hit 143kg, 315lbs and injured my back missing a re rack of the bar. Had to take a year off bench and now I'm back to health I don't feel the need to bench much! When I do it now it's for reps of 10 plus.

 

[cincymma79]

I feel like bench is highly correlated with bodyweight. It's not like squats or DL where you see smaller dudes doing stupid weight all the time. I also notice your maxes and my previous max was right around 1.6x BW which is around where a lot of nattys seem to hit a ceiling. Benching 2x BW is pretty rare and I feel like most dudes who can do it are either enhanced or have great genetics for that lift.

I’d love to be able to hit 365 again but I just don’t think that’s feasible and be lean

 

[560ti]

I feel like bench is highly correlated with bodyweight. It's not like squats or DL where you see smaller dudes doing stupid weight all the time. I also notice your maxes and my previous max was right around 1.6x BW which is around where a lot of nattys seem to hit a ceiling. Benching 2x BW is pretty rare and I feel like most dudes who can do it are either enhanced or have great genetics for that lift.

148lb and 165lb weight class are really the only 2 where it's not rare to see over 2x BW for bench. Probably the 2 best weight classes for pound for pound strength.

I remember years ago my coach wanted me to compete in 3 lift totals at 148lb weight class. Basically, be really solid on all 3 lifts but not specifically train for only a single one. Raw only so no wrist straps or compression shirts.

The WR for that weight class all 3 lifts same day was 1542lb total (532 squat, 630 deadlift, 380lb bench). Pretty much gave up all future competition aspirations on the spot

 

[ChickenBrother]

I’d love to be able to hit 365 again but I just don’t think that’s feasible and be lean

I'm sure it's possible but probably comes down to, are you willing to be twice as dedicated with diet and routine for 5% relative gains in that lift? We all have lives outside of training and I've found that whenever I'm pretty far on the learning curve on any lift or activity, I'm probably neglecting something else that needs more work.

148lb and 165lb weight class are really the only 2 where it's not rare to see over 2x BW for bench. Probably the 2 best weight classes for pound for pound strength.

I remember years ago my coach wanted me to compete in 3 lift totals at 148lb weight class. Basically, be really solid on all 3 lifts but not specifically train for only a single one. Raw only so no wrist straps or compression shirts.

The WR for that weight class all 3 lifts same day was 1542lb total (532 squat, 630 deadlift, 380lb bench). Pretty much gave up all future competition aspirations on the spot

I was talking regular gym bros not dedicated competitors because yeah, some will be freaks of nature. But even still, if you enjoy the training why not compete? Even if you don't break the WR you'd still be better than you were yesterday.

 

[TheToneZone]

I'm sure it's possible but probably comes down to, are you willing to be twice as dedicated with diet and routine for 5% relative gains in that lift? We all have lives outside of training and I've found that whenever I'm pretty far on the learning curve on any lift or activity, I'm probably neglecting something else that needs more work.



I was talking regular gym bros not dedicated competitors because yeah, some will be freaks of nature. But even still, if you enjoy the training why not compete? Even if you don't break the WR you'd still be better than you were yesterday.

You can always compete with yourself. There can be a lot of wasted time in the logistics of trying to compete officially with other people.

 

[ChickenBrother]

You can always compete with yourself. There can be a lot of wasted time in the logistics of trying to compete officially with other people.

While this is of course true, I've found that actual competition against others tends to bring more out of you.

 

[TheToneZone]

While this is of course true, I've found that actual competition against others tends to bring more out of you.

Yeah everyone's different. It can definitely be cool to go to events like that.

 

[560ti]

I was talking regular gym bros not dedicated competitors

I was referring to not competitors but people who actually go to the gym to try to put up some weight and have been doing it for a while. The 2x BW for bench I see why more often with those 148-165lb guys. Perfect balance of having enough weight to be strong but not too much weight to were double your bodyweight is unrealistic weight.

But even still, if you enjoy the training why not compete? Even if you don't break the WR you'd still be better than you were yesterday.

I should have. This was 7-8 years ago when I competed in MMA. Ended up ironically enough transitioning to golf which is a complete 180 (lol).

 

[ROcknrollracing]

The only way to compete in strength sports is to sabotage your competitors in the warm up room. It is a boring activity but what else are you going to do not train?

 

[ChickenBrother]

I was referring to not competitors but people who actually go to the gym to try to put up some weight and have been doing it for a while. The 2x BW for bench I see why more often with those 148-165lb guys. Perfect balance of having enough weight to be strong but not too much weight to were double your bodyweight is unrealistic weight.

The smaller competitors have better PFP lifts but for some reason the regular gym bros I've seen benching 2x BW tend to be a little bigger. Like around 180 to 220. And quite often they're guys who played football in high school and prioritized bench for many years.

I should have. This was 7-8 years ago when I competed in MMA. Ended up ironically enough transitioning to golf which is a complete 180 (lol).

Nothing wrong with golf - if you walk all 18 holes it's a pretty good workout. But even if you take a golf cart, it's still more activity than most people get in a day. I was always terrible at it but the older I get, it's starting to sound more appealing lol.

 

[KnightTemplar]

Because of the shoulder operation I had last year, I have to use a Football Bar for Benching. These are great if you have any kind of shoulder issue when pressing. The problem is the bar can be awkward to balance with heavier weights. So I've had to drop the weights I use and increase the reps. My Bench workouts now focus more on Hypertrophy than Strength.

It's not perfect, but you play the hand you're dealt.

 

[Fluffernutter]

When I was in my mid-20s, 305lbs (weighed 145).

Today, I don't bench anymore. I just do pushups and dips for my chest workout. So, I assume my current bench is probably a hair over my bodyweight. (I weigh the same, but less of my weight is lean.

In full disclosure, I'm a manlet.

 

[SummerStriker]

I've gotten 225 for 12 before, but I don't think I've ever ORM over 265.

 

[Baby Hanma]

I don't know... I do 225 pounds for more than ten reps so, take that for what it's worth.

 

[Trabaho]

I did 125kg like 11 years ago. Nowadays I train about 5x a month. Casually did 1 rep of 110 kg yesterday, cause a friends told me to.

Now starting to train more on vacation. But it's hot and I'm tired.

Maybe I could get 120 kg nowadays.

Also did 110 kg 7x like 4 months ago when I trained a bit more regulary for 3 weeks.