220 lbs Bench Press

[andyteh]

Hi guys,
I have been training for a few years and my personal goal is to one day be able to bench press 220lbs for reps as I think 220 lbs is the first bench mark in bench pressing and for personal achievement.

Right now,I am able to bench press only 165 lbs for 5 reps.
So I would like to get the advice of those that have pressed 225 lbs > for reps,how do I get to that stage?

My current body weight is 150 lbs,is it a MUST to gain 20 lbs to be able to press 225 lbs,or it can be done at this bodyweight?

Hope someone can help on this

Thanks
Andy

[Tumescent]

150lbs sounds a little small to be benching 225 for reps to me...

The thing with the bench is that it is an entire upper body workout, with special attention to your pecs, triceps, anterior delts and even your lats. To get to a 220 bench all these muscles are going to have to grow and you will have to put on a bit of weight.

to get your bench up, I would say first thing is to get your diet up to scratch... you will need to get the calories in to build the muscle. Get a decent routine going and look at working the entire upper body (as stated earlier, you will never get a huge bench by only working the chest) concentrating on the body parts I mentioned earlier.

Don’t expect this to happen over night... it could take quite a while for you to build the base from which to do this... but keep at it and it will happen soon enough.

Good luck

[AlxandrTheGreat]

Dont you mean two plates, or 225lbs being the bench-mark?

I always made my best improvements on bench pressing doing chest/back/tricep workouts. That's exactly how I train now actually and have for a while because it works best for me. I do delts, biceps, and legs on a different day. I can't say that gaining weight always directly influenced my strength, but it does in the long run if you put on leaner quality weight. Dbol sure helps ALOT! Yeah, I tried it once.

[AlxandrTheGreat]

You can push alot of weight for ONE rep at a low bodyweight like you, because that type of lift requires little from muscles, but mostly neuromuscular effiecieny, and tendon/attachment strength, but to be able to push alot of weight for 6-10 reps you will have put on muscular weight because of the muscular strength required to do so.

My rule of thumb is 6-10 reps for chest presses, and 8-10 reps for back movements like wide pulldowns, cable rows, and undergrip pulldowns which is what I do for back.

That's how I roll.

[JOHN GARGANI]

Andy: one of my friends, who currently weighs 160 pounds, has just benched 275 for 3 clean reps, and , keep in mind, that he is in his late 40s......

it most certainly CAN be done.....

as the others correctly pointed out, training the accessory muscle groups will aid your cause....

[TJ2000]

Wow john, 160 huh? I'm 175lbs and can't bench half of that!
Anyway, back to the topic. It CAN be done depending on your diet, body type/genetics etc. Don't expect to take a bit of creatine and have it shoot up though in just a few days/or even weeks! It'll take month after month, possibly years to build a better base AND strength level. I'm still working on getting my bench up, but I'm more about size then pure strength. So, are you more of a bodybuilder or powerlifter? If your a powerlifter, and you have the genetics to go far then it will come soon enough. If not, then just gradually increase the weight (even by just 2lbs a side) every week or two and keep at it!

[Dominik]

Hi guys,
I have been training for a few years and my personal goal is to one day be able to bench press 220lbs for reps as I think 220 lbs is the first bench mark in bench pressing and for personal achievement.

Right now,I am able to bench press only 165 lbs for 5 reps.
So I would like to get the advice of those that have pressed 225 lbs > for reps,how do I get to that stage?

My current body weight is 150 lbs,is it a MUST to gain 20 lbs to be able to press 225 lbs,or it can be done at this bodyweight?

It really depends on how you're training. I feel if you're just starting out, working in the 8-10 rep range is the way to go because you're more safely introducing the tendons and joints to heavier loads and it provides you with plenty of practice to get your form right. I've heard it called an "Anatomical Adaptation" phase before and it makes sense. Once you've laid a solid foundation training that way, then you can move into lower rep work (i.e. 5x5, etc) and start making faster progress in terms of strength gains.

Bench is notorious for causing injuries and it's imperative you maintain strict form on every rep and work within your limitations, keeping your ego under control. You don't make progress when you're injured--you go backwards. Getting your diet sorted out and gaining weight will help but the most important aspect is your training. There are plenty of people out there who eat ****loads of food and can't lift much weight. So like Tumescent said, focus on bringing up the tris, front delts, pecs, and doing plenty of back work. It'll all make a difference.

[PickItUp]

Dont you mean two plates, or 225lbs being the bench-mark?

My first benchmark was a 45lb plate on each side. After I acheived that...the next benchmark is 2 45lb on each side, which is 225lbs, not 220.

I have met the intermediate point.

I am up to one 45 and one 25 on each side.

This is 185lbs, and I am doing about 8 reps on both decline and flat bench with that weight. My incline bench is not so strong due to a popping in the shoulders while performing. I tend to do lighter BB inclines, but I do heavier DB inclines where the freedom of movement does not cause the popping.

My next intermediate step is a single 45 and a single 35 on each side. This will be 205lbs, and I think in the next 6 weeks (8 weeks max), I'll be there. I hope to be putting up 225 for at least 5-8 reps by the end of the year. I want to add 5 lbs to my bench every 2 weeks. Since I cannot increse my bench by less than 5lbs at a time...then, I will go up 5lbs on week, and then stay the same for the next week (maybe add reps) and then add antoher 5 lbs the week after.

I need to lose over 70lbs of fat (currently 251 lbs at 5'11). Realistically, I cannot lose the fat and put on the muscle needed to bench 225lbs by then, so one of my goals will not be met...let's just hope that I can meet at least one of those goals.

By year's end, I would like to shed 40 more lbs of fat and gain 10 lbs of muscle. This would put me in a good position to bench the 225lbs for 8 reps...

[Wrek]

working your triceps, chest, etc., will help you improve on your benchpress but if you neglect to work your lats as well then you will have a much tougher road to your goals.

When the bar is on your chest you have to flex your lats to move it. Big lats will help get the bar up

Good luck!

[jason_bh]

I was at 155 years ago and could bench 275. It took a long time to be able to do that. At the time, I didn't really know how to train smart. I mainly focused on varios bench exercises (incline, decline, flat and even flyes). I did a lot of tricep isolation exercises and worked the back really good. So it is definitely possible for you to get to that 220 mark at your current weight. But if you train smart, your body weight should go up with your bar weight.

I took a few years off since those days. Today, I just do mainly compound exercises and I have seen my bench catch up to what I was doing years ago in just 6 months.

[Phokus]

Why are training lats important for your bench? Aren't lats used for pulling?

And I do pullups and rows to train my lats... is that good enough?

[Dominik]

Why are training lats important for your bench? Aren't lats used for pulling?

And I do pullups and rows to train my lats... is that good enough?

As I understand it they provide greater stability for pressing heavy weights.

From Dave Tate:

"Train the lats on the same plane as the bench.

I'm talking about the horizontal plane here. In other words, you must perform rows, rows, and more rows. "If you want to bench big then you need to train the lats." I've heard both George Hilbert and Kenny Patterson say this for years when asked about increasing the bench press. When you bench you're on a horizontal plane. So would it make sense from a balance perspective to train the lats with pulldowns, which are on a vertical plane? Nope. Stick to the barbell row if you want a big bench."

[Phokus]

As I understand it they provide greater stability for pressing heavy weights.

From Dave Tate:

"Train the lats on the same plane as the bench.

I'm talking about the horizontal plane here. In other words, you must perform rows, rows, and more rows. "If you want to bench big then you need to train the lats." I've heard both George Hilbert and Kenny Patterson say this for years when asked about increasing the bench press. When you bench you're on a horizontal plane. So would it make sense from a balance perspective to train the lats with pulldowns, which are on a vertical plane? Nope. Stick to the barbell row if you want a big bench."

Alright thanks... i guess that makes sense. So having bigger lats will spread the weight out over a bigger area, is that the reasoning?

[Andrew.Cook]

Alright thanks... i guess that makes sense. So having bigger lats will spread the weight out over a bigger area, is that the reasoning?

No... not really. The width of the bench you are using determines how stable you will be, plus in good benching form you are pulling your shoulder blades together which narrows your back. Lats are used to stabilize your shoulder girdle. The more stable your shoulders are, the more energy that can be directed into the press. Lat size is not necessarily going to make you a better bench presser... lat strength, will.

If you want to be strong, you need to train for strength. sets of 8-10? No no no no no...oh, and no. Can a 225 press be accomplished at the weight of 150? Yeah. No problem. I was pressing much more than this at only a slightly heavier body weight. 285 at a weight of 155 for a single... to be followed by 315 at 165lbs and 405 at 185lbs. Now, do you think when I hit 405 max that MAYBE I could press that 225 all day?

Here are my suggestions to the OP. Look into a good powerlifting program. In fact, pick your happy typing fingers up and march over to the powerlifting forum and ask this same question. Bet your answers will be different, and far more useful.

Best of luck to you, OP. Not a hard goal to achieve, but one to be proud of.

[andyteh]

Dont you mean two plates, or 225lbs being the bench-mark?

Thanks for the replies guys and yes,I means 2 plates or 225 lbs :P

So I guess without adding bodyweight,it is possible but it will take much longer than if you add 20 pounds of bodyweight.

I think I just try to do it without adding bodyweight first,by adding a little weight (2.5 lbs) every week to my bench press and see how it goes

Cheers!!
Andy

[Never2cut]

225 lbs by no means is out of the question. I've been repping out sets of 225 lbs for quite some time and was pressing it at my lowest weight of around 137 lbs. I'm up to 155lbs now and have successfully repped out a set of 295x5 reps. I've been working chest with 5x5s and have seen alot of improvement. Of course your height is gonna factor in a bit. I'm only about 5'8". My goal is to rep 3 plates, 315 lbs but i'm cutting now so it won't be for awhile. Hopefully by mid-winter when i'm a couple months into my bulk i'll hit it. But i'll probably be 10lbs heaver by then too. But i'd so push for it. Gotta have goals, and 2 plates is definitely an accomplishment. I've seen guys probably hittin close to 200lbs in my gym barely get a set of 225lbs out with decent form. I personally like having a high strength to weight ratio. Its decieving to people, and i like that.

[SwagMorris]

When I used to lift for strength I did this routine and would gain 5-15 pounds on my max each month

Bench Press
Warmup 15 reps
8,6,4,3,2,1,4

Incline Bench Press
3x5

Weighted Dips 3x Burnout

I did this twice a week.

Lastly, read first line of my sig.