How much can you bench press?

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I don't think I've seen anything other than an Olympic 20Kg bar in a gym. I have a 150cm "Standard" bar that weights about 3Kg at home.
 
The owner of the gym told me today that the bar me and my friends are using actually weights 12kg. But he also said that the Olympic bar in the gym weight just three more kg, making it a total of 15kg :confused: So, in theory, the real weight I have been managing right now is 44lb (20kg).
 
Well, here we go. I have been training as hard as I could since last summer. I really wanted to hit 4 plates on flat bench but just missed it, followed shortly thereafter with a shoulder injury I have been nursing along for the past 8 months or so. Well today I have blasted past my previous max bench press. Here's how my bench went today:

Started out with a warm-up - 135lbs x 20 reps
Added another plate per side - 225 x 15
Added another plate per side - 315 x 8 (with a spotter)
Added another plate per side - 405 x 4 (with a spotter)

Ramping up and feeling the weight of 4 plates and wanted to try it again, but this time I wanted to make sure it was me lifting the weight, so I instructed my spotter to just watch and not assist unless it started to drop.

I got pumped up and focused on the knurling on the bar, regulated my breathing, and tried to calm my heart rate and grabbed the bar and exploded it up and with all my confidence, lowered down to my chest and pushed it up without a spot. I then followed up with two more assisted lifts for a total of three reps, one on my own!

I finally got up 405lbs on my own! YAAAAAAY It was a personal goal I have had for a very, very, long time.

I followed up that set with a 315lb x 9rep set and called it a day.


To be honest, as of last week, it was my goal to try 405 today but I got sick over the weekend. A small case of food poisening I'm guess. Saturday after I puked my guts out pooped out everything else I didn't puke up, I just had water. On Sunday and just had some soup and bed rest. Slept for like 18 hours. So not being completely on my game, and being 6 lbs. lighter due to being sick, I am really happy with the results.
 
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Its all good man. I totally understand. I hope you get some motivation out of it. Watching guys lift heavy is what motivates me. :)

It was cool to see my partners step up and lift heavier after I set the pace. Its all good brother. Keep at it and you'll get there. Lift smart and don't get hurt. :cheers:
 
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WOW! Many years ago, I managed 405lbs. That was deadlifting though.

Congratulations!

I'm simply amazed! I'll be able to update this thread on Saturday, as I have shoulders tonight, and Legs tomorrow. Thursday and Friday no workout, and then Saturday to do my chest. I'll likely push up 185-200.
 
Hey, thanks man. Like I said, this has been a long term goal for me. I've had my eyes set on 4 plates as a goal for atleast the past 6 years. Not sure how much heavier I'll set my new goal, as my elbows are starting to get tore up a bit. Structurally speaking, I'm not that big of a guy, and when joints and ligaments start to bother you, it might be time to pick a new strategy. :). All in all I am very pleased. The only thing that would top this is if I pressed it in a bench contest. That would be cool. :cheers:
 
Pako
Hey, thanks man. Like I said, this has been a long term goal for me. I've had my eyes set on 4 plates as a goal for atleast the past 6 years. Not sure how much heavier I'll set my new goal, as my elbows are starting to get tore up a bit. Structurally speaking, I'm not that big of a guy, and when joints and ligaments start to bother you, it might be time to pick a new strategy. :). All in all I am very pleased. The only thing that would top this is if I pressed it in a bench contest. That would be cool. :cheers:
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So now that you've hit your personal goal, and ligaments are starting to bother you, have you thought what might be the next goal you set for yourself? Are you training as a Powerlifter, or just to be a huge guy at the beach? Or are you stuck in Gym Rat mode and aren't sure what's next?

I'm curious, as one of my life long dreams has been to be a bodybuilder. I've put that dream off for far too long and now its a personal goal to make that happen before I'm 40. To see someone with fantastic numbers, that I know alomst personally, makes me curious.
 
Der Alta
So now that you've hit your personal goal, and ligaments are starting to bother you, have you thought what might be the next goal you set for yourself? Are you training as a Powerlifter, or just to be a huge guy at the beach? Or are you stuck in Gym Rat mode and aren't sure what's next?

I'm curious, as one of my life long dreams has been to be a bodybuilder. I've put that dream off for far too long and now its a personal goal to make that happen before I'm 40. To see someone with fantastic numbers, that I know alomst personally, makes me curious.
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Those are good questions. Ultimately I'm in the gym for my health and to feel good about myself. Other than that bench goal I had, I'm in there for body building. "Reduce the weight, and isolate" is my mantra in the gym. I'm actually finishing up my supplements in a couple weeks and plan to start "cutting". I've been bulking for 2 solid years now... :lol:, it's time to trim down. Last week I weighed in at 248lbs. and I'm only 5' 11". I would like to get down to 215lb while maintaining my current muscle mass and I think I'll look pretty good, better than I ever have. I've never cut before so I don't know how hard it's going to be, kind of nervous to be honest.

I lift heavy but am definitely not a power lifter nor am I training for power lifting. Strength is coming with muscle development.

The only other goal I would like to achieve is 20" biceps. I've been stuck at 18.75-19" on a good pump. Just not sure if I have the genetics for it and where exactly I am maxed out as far as my body is capable of.

Maybe I'll go for 5 plates, 495 on bench next. :D

:cheers:
 
Well, on a similar note, but nothing exciting, I benched 185 lbs clean last Wednesday. No spotter. Combine that with my weight finally dipping under 200lbs. I'm getting so close to the break even point (bench my weight).

This is the first time in nearly 17 years, that I am less than 200 lbs. A huge goal in my eyes. Now, I've got 15 more to go to reach my goal weight.
 
Der Alta
Well, on a similar note, but nothing exciting, I benched 185 lbs clean last Wednesday. No spotter. Combine that with my weight finally dipping under 200lbs. I'm getting so close to the break even point (bench my weight).

This is the first time in nearly 17 years, that I am less than 200 lbs. A huge goal in my eyes. Now, I've got 15 more to go to reach my goal weight.
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That's awesome. Good for you. Keep it up! :cheers:
 
That is awesome!!! To me, loosing the weight was probably harder than getting the bench up. A huge congrats for you, that's awesome.

Do you have any future bench goals that you are looking at or is bench strictly a tool for acheving other goals like weight loss and muscle development?
 
Whoa, 185 to 225+ is a good jump for a max, and with just a few months left but totally possible. At 35 years of age myself, I'm cheering for the "Old Man"! Good luck to ya, Jakes going down! :lol:
 
And being closer to 36 than 18, count me in as a rooter for the old guy.

Good luck, Alex!
 
I'm fast gaining on the bet. Yesterday, I did my chest routine, and benched 135 for a set of 15. Not a "fantastic" weight, but not as heavy as I'd expected it to be. That was my exercise of the routine, and it set me up for a great workout.
 
Pako, 405 lbs is a wonderful achievement man! 👍

I could only dream of achieving half of that amount... Be sure to keep us updated on how the cut will be going for ya! :cheers:
 
Bram Turismo
Pako, 405 lbs is a wonderful achievement man! 👍

I could only dream of achieving half of that amount... Be sure to keep us updated on how the cut will be going for ya! :cheers:
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With effort and a well equipped gym I bet you could hit 90Kg by the end of the first year of Uni.

I'm lucky in the respect that I do alot of the ground work in uni and then push during the holidays when I have my fav gym buddy to help me along, but you can do it Bram!
 
ExigeEvan
With effort and a well equipped gym I bet you could hit 90Kg by the end of the first year of Uni.

I'm lucky in the respect that I do alot of the ground work in uni and then push during the holidays when I have my fav gym buddy to help me along, but you can do it Bram!
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My current goal is to lift 50 kilos for 5 reps in 3 sets. Although it's a short-term goal, I really want to achieve this height because bench press really is my weakest point. Hell, I don't even squat 90 kilos, and I have the most power in my legs of all guys in my class. (While climbing some mountains with the bike in Ireland, I left everyone pretty much standing :D)

After I've got 50 kilos, I'll be pushing so hard that I've probably got to add more short-term goals before putting up a new goal already at 100 kilos. (This is want I really want to push when doing Rippetoes). It'll be a long, hard road, but with some support (my girlfriend, and hopefully a gym buddy), I may just hit the goal next year of benching my own BW and squat twice my BW in Rippetoes 👍
 
Yeah. I did 165 last tuesday, then got 170 on thursday. I think I've got a little more in me, but I'll need to start on bench next time instead of starting with Push Press then bench.
 
I am 46 years old. I weight 190 lbs and can bench press 410 lbs. It's kinda weird because I don't believe it's genetics like everyone tells me. Both my parents were heavy.....
Good luck guys!
 
Corrections to my previous maxes, I was 10 pounds off, with 160 being my previous best. But that's all irrelevant, seeing as I got up 180 pounds on Wednesday :D

For reference, I weigh only 158
 

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