How much did you start off benching?

[jacobbu]

I need some motivation on the bench as doing a good 3 sets of 10 I can go 25 lbs on each side plus the bar (guessing in total, 90 lbs?). At the end, the last couple of reps my muscles are done and I'm pushing myself to finish.

So I'm wondering what others started off in benching and what you are at now and how long it took to get there. Thanks!

[draybin]

You are benching 95 pounds man. Don't worry you can defenitely bring it up. I started out benching a measily 70 pounds, now I can do 135 fo reps. :-D One thing I will tell you though. Make sure you consistently have good form as you work your way up in the weights, bringing the bar all the way down to your chest, do not settle for half reps and half range of motion for more weight, it is not the way to go.

[jacobbu]

You are benching 95 pounds man. Don't worry you can defenitely bring it up. I started out benching a measily 70 pounds, now I can do 135 fo reps. :-D One thing I will tell you though. Make sure you consistently have good form as you work your way up in the weights, bringing the bar all the way down to your chest, do not settle for half reps and half range of motion for more weight, it is not the way to go.

Thanks. I guess I always heard people talking about how you should be benching your weight and I'm a good 230 lbs, so I'm far off. But yeah, I'm always trying to bring the bar as far down as possible, getting it down to my chest for that burn.

[BoBByBouLders]

like dray i was only capable of benching 70-75 when i started, now i can put up 205 for 10-12 reps, 245 max

[ReedT]

Thanks. I guess I always heard people talking about how you should be benching your weight and I'm a good 230 lbs, so I'm far off. But yeah, I'm always trying to bring the bar as far down as possible, getting it down to my chest for that burn.

We all start somewhere dude so no worries on that. Fyi, the bar is 45 lbs if it isnt attached to a smith machine.

[jacobbu]

like dray i was only capable of benching 70-75 when i started, now i can put up 205 for 10-12 reps, 245 max

How long did it take you to get that high?

[BoBByBouLders]

How long did it take you to get that high?

2 years of hard work, dunno if this is a long time or not but i was learning my body/messing around with diet macros n different workout programs

[gbsju]

I'd say 100-110 wayyyy back in the day (2-3 years back)

Now I'm at 225x4.

Keep working at it man.

Stay focused and patient; it'll come.

[mustang5spd]

I'd say 100-110 wayyyy back in the day (2-3 years back)

Now I'm at 225x4.

Keep working at it man.

Stay focused and patient; it'll come.

the first time i tried i was somewhere around 120-130lbs just before 9th grade. Kept the whole curl/bench routine through 9th grade. I know I did 230lbs 1rm in 10th grade weighing about 145. Which was one of the best in my class. I got lazy since then on and off. IN january I maxed out after only lifting a total for a few months over the last 5 years or so. 205 was my max. In six months I could do 265. Now sadly I can bench more than I can squat. LOL. Just keep working at it. You gain a lot the first few months

[syriangrimreaper]

I need some motivation on the bench as doing a good 3 sets of 10 I can go 25 lbs on each side plus the bar (guessing in total, 90 lbs?). At the end, the last couple of reps my muscles are done and I'm pushing myself to finish.

So I'm wondering what others started off in benching and what you are at now and how long it took to get there. Thanks!

I was an animal when I starting lifting. I did a whopping 90lbs lol. Im got up to 385 one rep max and took me about 3 1/2 yrs. Keep at it and never look back. Make sure your doing strength routines for bench with really low reps, thats what worked best for me!

[titomuheedo]

DIDNT READ ANY POSTS. i use to bench 80x20 2 years ago. I didnt ever max, i mostly repped out.. I worked out like once every 3 weeks lol. if you asked me to max i wouldnt know what the **** that would mean lol. current max = 235.

[jacobbu]

Thanks guys. Glad to know that I'm at a great starting point. Wish I got into this years ago and going to try to keep the drive to hit 150 by the end of the year.

[Jerok88]

Thanks guys. Glad to know that I'm at a great starting point. Wish I got into this years ago and going to try to keep the drive to hit 150 by the end of the year.

Yeah I get discouraged - I'm a fat guy and benching 165 and these guys who weigh 100 pounds less are benching 225+... we'll get there dude no worries.

[tehAnimaI]

Bro this is my story, well part of it and I've never shared it on any forum.

The first gym i joined was hardcore, it had pros and posers wall to ****ing wall in there, but I was 18 and had no car and it was the only gym I could walk too.

I walked in there on my first day weighing 360+lbs with a waist of 62 inches.

You know when your that big you get paranoid that people are laughing AT you, well this wasent paranoia the people there were actually laughing at me.

When I slid under the bar that day and could barely bench 44lbs for 3 reps the s******s and grins almost drove me away.

But I used it, I used that rage not to eat like I usually would, or sit in solitude and punish myself, instead i punished that ****ing iron like nobodies business.

6 months later through education of proper form, diet and technique I was benching the same as them, sure I looked like a sack of **** but I had matched their strength and it was amazing how their attitude changed toward me.

Im not exaggerating, 44lbs for 3 reps.

One thing you have to remember, it doesnt matter what they are lifting, i know thats hard, but when you have 220lbs of iron in your hands they arent going to lift it for you.

Its all you baby!

[FrozenMercury]

I started at the same level as you. Wouldn't that be 95 lbs? a 25 on each side managed to squeeze up 8 reps for 3 sets. Now I can push up 225 for 8. Thats 2 45 lbs plates on each side. This took me 1 year 5 months.

[iDrive]

Weight: 290lbs+
Bench: Bar (45lbs) srs

I had a hard time keeping the bar straight and not wobbly so my friend made me stick to the bar for a week then I started moving up. I got to 275lbs after about 11months before losing weight and now I can do 225 x 7 with no spotter... I haven't tried to max out in almost a year.

[chmbs1]

When I first touched weights I started with 35s on either side for reps of 8-10. I got up to 135 pretty quickly.

[mgftp]

Started with the bar, so 45, now doing 205 or 225, depending on what reps I am going for. We all start at the bottom man, just keep up the hard work.

[Kelvandros]

Started with the bar in High School. Ended up working out at home for a while and did the max we had (100lbs) in the house for a few years. Once I got my own place and started working out, I was hitting 155 max at 200lbs. Been lifting to increase strength now for a few months and my newest max is 200lbs at 168lbs.

[tjwoody]

barbell... when i started just the dumb bar for a couple weeks but got to 95 lbs quickly. i dont do a lot of barbell cause delt issues but last week i worked up to 225 for some reps. i normally do Dbs and when i was at a friends i would do 80s with reps only cause thats most he had. i got to a planet fitness gym and feel i was getting weak cause they only go up to 60 lbs DBs! lol.

[Kjerski]

I started out at 95x3 right as I turned 15, and was at 135x3 in no time after a few months. I hit 225x3 when I was 16, about 1.5 years later. Basically quit lifting after that and just recently started back up, I could barely put up 135x3 lol.

[Nealwanderfoot]

lift consistently! we all started low and only got stronger through hard work and dedication. lift consistently and realize that failure is not a bad thing. you're going to fail when you try to lift heavier weight, everyone does. change your attitude about failure (in terms of lifting) and you'll see your improvements build up bit by bit. and read these boards, a lot of great info on improving muscular strength/endurance.

train hard.

[tmaltbie]

The very first time I tried benching? The Bar.

[jacobbu]

Bro this is my story, well part of it and I've never shared it on any forum.

The first gym i joined was hardcore, it had pros and posers wall to ****ing wall in there, but I was 18 and had no car and it was the only gym I could walk too.

I walked in there on my first day weighing 360+lbs with a waist of 62 inches.

You know when your that big you get paranoid that people are laughing AT you, well this wasent paranoia the people there were actually laughing at me.

When I slid under the bar that day and could barely bench 44lbs for 3 reps the s******s and grins almost drove me away.

But I used it, I used that rage not to eat like I usually would, or sit in solitude and punish myself, instead i punished that ****ing iron like nobodies business.

6 months later through education of proper form, diet and technique I was benching the same as them, sure I looked like a sack of **** but I had matched their strength and it was amazing how their attitude changed toward me.

Im not exaggerating, 44lbs for 3 reps.

One thing you have to remember, it doesnt matter what they are lifting, i know thats hard, but when you have 220lbs of iron in your hands they arent going to lift it for you.

Its all you baby!

Damn thanks for sharing that story. 6 months, wow. That's amazing. Hopefully I can do what you did.

[Buildinmuscle7]

I started with 135 probly around half way. Not even all the way down. Its been 2 months now and I can bench 155 for more than 5 reps all the way down. Wednesday I'm putting 160. Do Starting Strength!

[spenny666]

i have only been lifting just over 1 week and i managed to bench 121lb's 4 rep's and i think that isnt too bad for being 6ft 3in and only 142lb's the hardest thing for me is just being patient and not trying too lift too much too soon

[Mayor_West]

When I started lifting regularly, I was working out at the small "gym" at my old apartment complex, which consisted of a treadmill, a spin class-type bike, some adjustable dumbbells and a multi-gym, which had a bench press facsimilie. The weight stack wasn't even measured in a way to try to approximate the weight; rather, each plate was numbered in sequence (e.g. top plate 1, then 2, etc.), from 1-12.

My first time in that gym, I had no clue WTF I was doing, and I had set the pin on the 5 weight. After struggling mightily for a few seconds, I twisted my upper body slightly off the bench to create enough momentum to get the bar above me.

Now, as embarrassed as I was (thank God there was no one else there to see that), I refused to accept that I had let myself go to the point where I was that weak. This helped serve as motivation for me to not only go back the next day, but to also continue to work hard enough to begin to gain a decent amount of strength and muscle.

[Endless1000]

I started out benching 135 4 sets of 10 an maxed 185lbs....then worked out for awhile an was doing 225lbs 4 sets of 10 an maxing around 305lbs...Then I got lazy for 1 yr lost everything now im back to the begining once again....Gah is so depressing knowing what I was an now I have to start all over.Im starting back 2day so ill see where im at exactly with my strength

[mrcupide2]

I had trouble benching 95 lbs...and in about 5 months I was able to bench 205 x4.

[koatliki]

I remember about 5 years ago when I was in college, my roommate and I started with 115lb (35lb on each side of the bar) and we were all excited about looking cool benching with 45lb on each side haha.

I remember some pretty muscular girl once came by and bench pressed 45's on each side: my roommate and I almost died of embarrassment.

Now.. I warm up with 45lb on each side and can do 205lb 7-8 times and about 255lb dead lift. I am 165lb currently.

So don't worry with time and diligence you'll get there