The Official Ov35 Bench Press Thread!

[Mark1T]

Got my first 405... but it was with a band, lol

Nice. What is your raw flat bench max?

[headintosa]

I am 45 in these two. Sorry in advance for the attire but was at a business conference and the spotter said he could out bench me so my competitive side kicked in. Yes it is a hotel gym and a ripe 7:00am!! Needless to say, he stopped at 295.

425lbs which I hadn't even tried to this attempt:
http://youtu.be/Zb8TgJF-KRQ

450lbs and you can see I almost didn't make it:
http://youtu.be/_Aasg7zzl8Q

[stingray72]

I am 45 in these two. Sorry in advance for the attire but was at a business conference and the spotter said he could out bench me so my competitive side kicked in. Yes it is a hotel gym and a ripe 7:00am!! Needless to say, he stopped at 295.

425lbs which I hadn't even tried to this attempt:
http://youtu.be/Zb8TgJF-KRQ

450lbs and you can see I almost didn't make it:
http://youtu.be/_Aasg7zzl8Q

Dude If it wasnt for the fear of God and that guy yelling you never would have pushed that hard in the 450 bench haha. Ive NEVER in 27 years in gyms seen anyone come back like you did those couple times.

[headintosa]

Dude If it wasnt for the fear of God and that guy yelling you never would have pushed that hard in the 450 bench haha. Ive NEVER in 27 years in gyms seen anyone come back like you did those couple times.

Ha - amen you are spot on

[daveb78]

Geez, and here i am at 47 thinking I was doing big stuff getting 2 reps of 295....

295 twice is impressive also. I am 37 and just now started lifting again. I thought I was doing good at 180lbs to get 3 reps of 200. I have no idea what 1rm is. good to see us "older" guys are putting up sick numbers.

[induced_drag]

I have not visited this thread in a while....and boy has it gone to total sh!t. Guys e-stating, 3/4 reps and equipped lifting.

Come on guys...anyone know what a proper bench press is anymore?

[tuwood]

Just dropping in to state a goal of 225. When I was 20 I was able to bench 225 three reps at my peak, but now I can barely bench the bar. (ok, more like 135 three to four reps)
I certainly want to do more than 225, but it's a fun goal for myself to get back to.

[tuwood]

I have not visited this thread in a while....and boy has it gone to total sh!t. Guys e-stating, 3/4 reps and equipped lifting.

Come on guys...anyone know what a proper bench press is anymore?

I'm extremely new to this so I truly don't know what a proper bench is. Is it simply picking up the bar, touching the chest and fully extending? I guess that's what I think of as a proper bench press.

[headintosa]

I'm extremely new to this so I truly don't know what a proper bench is. Is it simply picking up the bar, touching the chest and fully extending? I guess that's what I think of as a proper bench press.

Yes and no. I always stop just before my chest as if I go any lower I get severe elbow and shoulder pain. So for me it is an inch or two off.

[tuwood]

Yes and no. I always stop just before my chest as if I go any lower I get severe elbow and shoulder pain. So for me it is an inch or two off.

gotcha, and I suspect the other benefit is there's no bounce off the chest for assistance.

[induced_drag]

I'm extremely new to this so I truly don't know what a proper bench is. Is it simply picking up the bar, touching the chest and fully extending? I guess that's what I think of as a proper bench press.

Yes you are correct. That is a proper bench press. It is taken a step further in powerlifting with a pause at the lowest portion touching the chest.

There are some people that due to an underlying injury cannot do a full range of motion exercise. But they are in the minority and would never claim what they are doing is a full bench press. Most people who do partial range of motion do so to feed their ego. Just staying a inch or two off the chest allows for a significant increase in the amount of weight you can use.

[headintosa]

Yes you are correct. That is a proper bench press. It is taken a step further in powerlifting with a pause at the lowest portion touching the chest.

There are some people that due to an underlying injury cannot do a full range of motion exercise. But they are in the minority and would never claim what they are doing is a full bench press. Most people who do partial range of motion do so to feed their ego. Just staying a inch or two off the chest allows for a significant increase in the amount of weight you can use.

your statement that staying an inch or two off your chest allows for a a signifcant increase in strength is crap. I've been doing this for a long time and while there is a slight increase by not going all the way down it isn't that big of a deal. Also, it isn't about feeding ego its about pain. You can claim to be a purist but look at my lift and you'll see it isn't a "partial" range of motion. It is slightly off chest and all the way up. It's guys like you that keep people who love to lift and for whatever reason may not be able to it perfectly, away from sharing their experience.

Toot your purist horn in another thread and save your holier art thou views.

[quiknutz]

Yes and no. I always stop just before my chest as if I go any lower I get severe elbow and shoulder pain. So for me it is an inch or two off.

I used to get really bad shoulder pain then my buddy picked up a slingshot... it worked wonders!!! I went from struggling with 275 ish in pain to 345 with no pain. I work up to a few heavy singles then overload with the slingshot and it's fixed my form and built up my joints.

[induced_drag]

your statement that staying an inch or two off your chest allows for a a signifcant increase in strength is crap. I've been doing this for a long time and while there is a slight increase by not going all the way down it isn't that big of a deal. Also, it isn't about feeding ego its about pain. You can claim to be a purist but look at my lift and you'll see it isn't a "partial" range of motion. It is slightly off chest and all the way up. It's guys like you that keep people who love to lift and for whatever reason may not be able to it perfectly, away from sharing their experience.

Toot your purist horn in another thread and save your holier art thou views.

If only an inch or two does not make a big difference why can people do significantly more weight when they do board presses? If you have been around a while, I am sure you have seen the difference. It is not uncommon to see a guy add 50 pounds to his max doing a two inch board press. Maybe that is not significant to you but I would call that a lot of weight

[stingray72]

I think the main reason ID was calling out the partial reps is because he didnt want others to get the wrong idea about what is considered proper form and treated as such. As far as your injuries I have no doubt the pain is there and I can understand why you wouldnt want to risk things because most mess up their elbow with things like skull crushers. Thank goodness after 27 years I still have zero elbow issues.

[induced_drag]

I think the main reason ID was calling out the partial reps is because he didnt want others to get the wrong idea about what is considered proper form and treated as such. As far as your injuries I have no doubt the pain is there and I can understand why you wouldnt want to risk things because most mess up their elbow with things like skull crushers. Thank goodness after 27 years I still have zero elbow issues.

Exactly! I don't quite know how he could miss that when I said

"There are some people that due to an underlying injury cannot do a full range of motion exercise. But they are in the minority and would never claim what they are doing is a full bench press. "

But for an experienced guy to say an inch or two doesn't matter.....that is just stupid or denial (or both)

Anyway.....it was clearly defined in the first post what this thread was supposed to be.

[aperry580]

is the original point of this thread to post your benching achievements.
im new to the over 35 just wondering

[stingray72]

^^^By posting a video of you doing it yes.

[aperry580]

heres 555 I don't have any more current
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5qycAfpqQA

[headintosa]

Exactly! I don't quite know how he could miss that when I said

"There are some people that due to an underlying injury cannot do a full range of motion exercise. But they are in the minority and would never claim what they are doing is a full bench press. "

But for an experienced guy to say an inch or two doesn't matter.....that is just stupid or denial (or both)

Anyway.....it was clearly defined in the first post what this thread was supposed to be.

my apologies for taking it personally.

[stingray72]

my apologies for taking it personally.

Its cool its hard to know sometimes with the internet. Regardless of how you did the bench that was a ton of weight you were moving there.

[induced_drag]

@ headintosa
No big deal. At our age, many of use are working around things...totally get it. I have a significant hip issue myself (and shoulder too). It is the guys that are perfectly healthy that short their ROM to try to say they lift more that bug me.... No worries in the end. Obviously you are a strong dude regardless.

heres 555 I don't have any more current
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5qycAfpqQA

WOW.....That is an insane bench! Not only that....it is just plain strong. A lot of big benchers optimize their techniques by extreme arching and/or very wide grips to where they reduce their ROM to a very short range. Although still considered a legal bench it is not nearly as impressive (to me) as a guy who can just man-handle some weight like you did. I mean, you are almost set up like a CGPB. Really nuts and awesomely powerful.

[Mark1T]

heres 555 I don't have any more current
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5qycAfpqQA

Nice lift. I haven't seen one that big here.

[aperry580]

Thanks guys I've been at it a little over five years all natural . I don't have great technique I just put my pinky on the ring an push . I'm trying to get to 600 . I need to learn how to take a break so I can set up better

[induced_drag]

Thanks guys I've been at it a little over five years all natural . I don't have great technique I just put my pinky on the ring an push . I'm trying to get to 600 . I need to learn how to take a break so I can set up better

Natural or not....that is unbelievably impressive. There are not many 500lb+ raw benchers around. With refinement I think you could take it over the top. Really world class..... Not many people alive or dead that have moved that kind of weight. People often forget what is truly strong because of equipped lifting.

At your age (still young) you could probably be one of the top guys if you wanted to be. Seriously impressive.

[aperry580]

I think I need to gain 20 to 30 pounds more muscle to really reach my peak . That's a tough challenge with my current financial situation but I really appreciate the kind words an encouragement. Right now I have no supplements and I can't eat like I wish I could but I'm doing the best I can an staying positive .

[Plateauplower]

Wow that is impressive, all of your numbers are pretty insane. Great work. You should be able to eat to gain relatively cheaply if you shop right. I always stock up and freeze meat when it's on sale. I don't eat many carbs but you can get rice, potatoes and beans cheap. A lot of eating "healthy" and for growth without breaking the bank just comes down to buying things in season and lots of food prep. Great lift, more than my current Deadlift max....can't even fathom trying to press that kind of weight.

[aperry580]

Bench day Thursday ill try an get close to 580 on vid at least 570 or im gonna feel like a big ol xxxxx lol. this is a 505 pause set from a couple months ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3_7pQJjUwU

[aperry580]

heres 575 try for 585 next couple weeks seem to be getting stronger as the weather gets cooler. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2-tXX9NN0M
sorry about the crappy video quality

[catherton]

I finally reached a long time goal of benching 185 tonight. Here's my video link: https://youtu.be/4tbFFPUFErg