How much can you bench press?

[Astro14]

Maybe I need to start then lol I know very few people who work out it’s never been my thing.

You do need to start. At your age your body is adding muscle as you grow. You still feel good.

In a couple of years, and it’s only a couple, you will start to lose muscle and grow weaker. You can prevent that through strength training.

A lack of cardiovascular exercise will result in early heart disease and early death. You can prevent that, too, and I would recommend that you start sooner rather than later.

 

[aquariuscsm]

You do need to start. At your age your body is adding muscle as you grow. You still feel good.

In a couple of years, and it’s only a couple, you will start to lose muscle and grow weaker. You can prevent that through strength training.

A lack of cardiovascular exercise will result in early heart disease and early death. You can prevent that, too, and I would recommend that you start sooner rather than later.

Totally agree!! Maintain your health while you're young. Don't let yourself go and let your body go to pot, past the point of no return.

 

[aquariuscsm]

If you can better your own body weight, you are doing good.

When I was on my high school's weight lifting team, that's what our coach always told us. You want to be able to at least bench your own weight.

 

[Cujet]

I've got some health issues (mito dysfunction) resulting in severe exercise intolerance. I can lift a weight once or twice, and then must rest for about 2 hours.

So the answer is (when I had to stop going to the gym) a sad 120 pounds, once or 100 pounds twice. After that, 10 pounds is impossible. A far cry from my older-adult peak in the mid 200's.

I was always an athlete (avid bicyclist) and never let myself get out of shape or eat poorly. Life had other plans... In any case, as my health declined, I switched from the bicycle (not able to make it back on some rides) to serious weight lifting at the gym. That was clearly better for me, and I was able to improve my condition markedly for a few years and I felt great after a workout.

My conclusion was that weightlifting was better than bicycling for overall health.

Unfortunately, I can't do any of it anymore.

 

[AutoMechanic]

You do need to start. At your age your body is adding muscle as you grow. You still feel good.

In a couple of years, and it’s only a couple, you will start to lose muscle and grow weaker. You can prevent that through strength training.

A lack of cardiovascular exercise will result in early heart disease and early death. You can prevent that, too, and I would recommend that you start sooner rather than later.

Good to know. I definitely don’t want that to happen at all.

 

[doitmyself]

Negative Nancy here. I personally know a half dozen men that attribute their post 50 (age) health problems to their over-exuberant exercise and work out lifestyles. Whenever I did physical work with them such as logging, it was always a competition of manliness and look how much I can lift, how fast I can go, etc.. I was the tortoise and they were always the hare. Dangerous in my opinion.

I advocate to proceed with common sense cardio and strength training. And, as mentioned above, sometimes a healthy lifestyle cannot overcome genetic conditions. Certainly better, but not a cure.

 

[Pew]

I've maxed out at 225x3 before the lockdown and I'm 5'7" and 170 pounds but I've never tried any more than that. I've never been big into bench so I'm actually surprised I can do that much. I was a runner in the beginning of last decade, doing a minimum of 3 miles and an average of 5 miles but for the last few years I've been at the gym almost every day. Now it's just 135x12 and 185x10 and more using free weights for chest than the bar.

 

[Wolf359]

Negative Nancy here. I personally know a half dozen men that attribute their post 50 (age) health problems to their over-exuberant exercise and work out lifestyles. Whenever I did physical work with them such as logging, it was always a competition of manliness and look how much I can lift, how fast I can go, etc.. I was the tortoise and they were always the hare. Dangerous in my opinion.

I advocate to proceed with common sense cardio and strength training. And, as mentioned above, sometimes a healthy lifestyle cannot overcome genetic conditions. Certainly better, but not a cure.

Yeah, you can overdo it. I know a guy from my running club that use to run ultra marathons, like distances of 100 miles. He did several of them. I guess running marathons under 3 hours wasn't enough for him because while that's fast, that's not fast enough for prize money and he was getting slower with age so I think that's why he took up ultra marathoning. Now he doesn't run, has a heart condition that he thinks came about due to the ultra running.

 

[gfh77665]

Some of you might remember I had major surgery two months ago, so, I am not quite ready to resume weightlifting. As a a former collegiate powerlifter, I really miss it. I hate the feeling of not being "tight", but its prudent to wait another month. My healing is going well and I don't want to derail it.

 

[gfh77665]

When I was on my high school's weight lifting team, that's what our coach always told us. You want to be able to at least bench your own weight.

Yes, we were graded on a scale of weight lifted / body weight. For example, Bench press 1.5 x BW = A, 1.4x BW = B and so on. Squats were 2.0 x BW = A, 1.8 x BW =B, and so on.`

 

[volk06]

A lesson I was taught a long time ago, don't use your health to build your wealth because in the end you'll use your wealth to try and keep your health.

Covid and a newborn has killed my workout routines since March and I can't wait to get back in the gym.

 

[Wolf359]

A lesson I was taught a long time ago, don't use your health to build your wealth because in the end you'll use your wealth to try and keep your health.

Covid and a newborn has killed my workout routines since March and I can't wait to get back in the gym.

Yeah, same here, no workouts at the gym since March. Still can't find any decent weights in the stores, the hoarders are still at it, buying everything up and then trying to resell it. Probably haven't done a bench press in over a year. Mostly I just do fitness classes and it's always interesting as they're always coming up with routines and moves you've never seen before and not even sure you can do.

 

[TheLawnRanger]

I can lift a car and often do.

 

[bbhero]

Some of you might remember I had major surgery two months ago, so, I am not quite ready to resume weightlifting. As a a former collegiate powerlifter, I really miss it. I hate the feeling of not being "tight", but its prudent to wait another month. My healing is going well and I don't want to derail it.

What surgery man ??

I missed that.

You are smart though... Better to be right physically first. No need in hurrying back too fast.

Though this world champion typing this...

Had badly and I mean badly sprained my left ankle... Blood drained down to the bottom of my foot and swelling obviously... I was playing volleyball within a week... Not a good idea.

Or the time I had jaw alignment correction surgery... I was playing basketball about 4 weeks later... Not remotely intelligent to be doing that. I was 18 at the time.

 

[gfh77665]

What surgery man ??

I missed that.

I ordinarily don't comment on my health, but I though this time it was worth sharing. Here is the gory details...

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/down-and-almost-out.333077/

 

[JLawrence08648]

Age 52 joined a gym, worked out 7 days a week, 9 months later benched 280, use to leg press 3 sets 10 reps 1,000 lbs.

 

[Peted]

Totally agree!! Maintain your health while you're young. Don't let yourself go and let your body go to pot, past the point of no return.

What is considered young? At 19 I was 130 pounds benching 275. I stopped working out around 26 and just picked it back up at 32. So far so good. I may be incredibly weak. but I still feel great.

 

[gfh77665]

Curious, when you all say bench press, is it with a machine or dead weights?

 

[MrPlow]

I've literally never used a bench press in my life. Closest thing was a full-court press in pee-wee basketball.

I would like to see a Harbor Freight jack stand bench pressing competition. You get under a vehicle and start working on it, then when the jack stand fails and the vehicle falls on you, you have to bench press your way out. Competition starts with a Mini and works it's way up to a Hummer.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Curious, when you all say bench press, is it with a machine or dead weights?

Dead weights are all I've ever done.