Little guys...what's your bench?

[mrtony80]

I'm 5'6, 157, and I max at around 250 these days. Even with four plates, which I lift w/o a spotter, guys in the gym look at me as if they're surprised my little ass can lift that much...as if they need to keep a watchful eye in case I can't do it. I occasionally get the "I'm impressed" head nod.

[blue9steel]

I max at around 250 these days. Even with four plates

FYI, 250 would be described as two plates, not four. Four plates would be 405. (Yes, there are actually 8 plates in that scenario, but by custom you only count one side)

[WitYoChestBoa]

No offense brah but that's a VERY average lift. I hardly ever bench and have better numbers than that (no brag).

[Bando]

5'5", 176 best is 335.

[Iwillsavetheday]

I'm 140 and I bench 95 x 100 reps daily. It's part of a vegan workout I created to sculpt my muscles and increase vascularity as well as masculinity. I deadlift 45x100 for 20 sets to match the strength of Dwayne Johnson without injuring my muscles and adrenal glands. I consider myself to be in a detox phase.

[paolo59]

I would think that at your height and weight, 250 for a bench max is pretty good. It ain't slouchy! My bench sucks anymore. Ha! Some 20 years ago I could max out at 300 for a single rep. 85 pound DB incline presses. I can't do that anymore. I look at it philosophically...I guess I don't need to...or I'm not supposed to. ROFL

I know, I know. Nobody wants to hear about what you could do 'back in the day.'

[Brackneyc]

Op, imo, that's a good Bench. There are guys twice your weight that couldn't move that much.

[Sweetums6000]

No offense brah but that's a VERY average lift. I hardly ever bench and have better numbers than that (no brag).

It's not much in internetland, but in the real world I don't see a lot of guys under 200 pounds benching 2 plates in my gym.

[7Seconds]

Op, imo, that's a good Bench. There are guys twice your weight that couldn't move that much.

Thank you. This makes me feel better.

[bodyhard]

At 157 benching 250lbs is damn fcking good, dont let anyone tell you otherwise. Real talk

[paolo59]

At 157 benching 250lbs is damn fcking good, dont let anyone tell you otherwise. Real talk

I agree, brother! The OP didn't come across as arrogant in the least. Sounded to me like a little hard work, plug away, and see some goals attained 'crowing!' I can always cheer that on.

[chriswatton66]

No offense brah but that's a VERY average lift. I hardly ever bench and have better numbers than that (no brag).

No, that is not 'A very average lift', even for bigger guys, less so for smaller guys. It's a very decent number. It also depends on how long one has been training seriously, I guess.

I am 5'7", just over 160lbs and my Bench PR is 140kg, or around 306lbs, after three years' training.

[RexTheMiniBull]

405lbs

[WitYoChestBoa]

It's not much in internetland, but in the real world I don't see a lot of guys under 200 pounds benching 2 plates in my gym.

I see where you are coming from. I think it varies from gym to gym because at my gym, 3 out of the 5 benches have people moving two plates like it's a warmup on them.

[Zocas]

I dont BB bench anymore. 6ft. 170 I am DB flat 85s for 6 can get 90s up. So 180ish on the DB. Not bad for 6ft small guy imo. I know that's over 225.
Assuming you mean little by weight. I can assure you at 6ft. With long skinny arms 180 with DBs isn't easy lol. Not for me anyway.

[WitYoChestBoa]

No, that is not 'A very average lift', even for bigger guys, less so for smaller guys. It's a very decent number. It also depends on how long one has been training seriously, I guess.

I am 5'7", just over 160lbs and my Bench PR is 140kg, or around 306lbs, after three years' training.

It is an average site to see in my gym, so yes I consider it an average lift.

[Zocas]

I'm 5'6, 157, and I max at around 250 these days. Even with four plates, which I lift w/o a spotter, guys in the gym look at me as if they're surprised my little ass can lift that much...as if they need to keep a watchful eye in case I can't do it. I occasionally get the "I'm impressed" head nod.

BTW I think that is pretty impressive.

[induced_drag]

I'm 5'6, 157, and I max at around 250 these days. Even with four plates, which I lift w/o a spotter, guys in the gym look at me as if they're surprised my little ass can lift that much...as if they need to keep a watchful eye in case I can't do it. I occasionally get the "I'm impressed" head nod.

Saying "is that a good bench?" is asking for trouble . The key is what is your background. If you were a lifetime power lifter, I would say you are not doing well. If you are a weekend warrior who hits the gym a few times a week, I would say that is pretty good. You really need to ask yourself..... Is 250 good?. Are you wanting to lift more? Do you put the effort in your training and diet to achieve those goals? Only you can answer if it is "good".

As for people being surprised....That would depend on how you look. I would not be shocked if a 150 lb guy benched 300 if he looked fit. If you have a "dad bod"...well then I might be surprised to see you loading up the bar with that weight.

[sakustoms]

My best barbell bench was 275x1 @ 160lb BW, 5'-6" tall. I stopped doing barbell due to shoulder issues and only do dumbbell now.

At 160lbs my best DB bench was 110x2 and 105x7. I have been "trying" to cut for a while now and at around 155lb BW my numbers are now like 100x6 and 105x3. For incline DB bench it's more like 85x6-10 reps.

I know I'm not considered really strong but feel my numbers aren't bad for someone my size, especially considering I just turned 50.

[Brackneyc]

Saying "is that a good bench?" is asking for trouble . The key is what is your background. If you were a lifetime power lifter, I would say you are not doing well. If you are a weekend warrior who hits the gym a few times a week, I would say that is pretty good. You really need to ask yourself..... Is 250 good?. Are you wanting to lift more? Do you put the effort in your training and diet to achieve those goals? Only you can answer if it is "good".

As for people being surprised....That would depend on how you look. I would not be shocked if a 150 lb guy benched 300 if he looked fit. If you have a "dad bod"...well then I might be surprised to see you loading up the bar with that weight.

Take the next 500 people off the street, or in the gym at his weight, and what percentage can hit that number. I agree that some context can change the answer. But in a very general sense imo, the average guy moving 1.5x bw, or better on the bench isn't bad.

If he was competing, he'd already know the answer. TBH, without researching it, I dont have a clue where that bench puts him compared to the average power lifter.

[bodyhard]

As for people being surprised....That would depend on how you look. I would not be shocked if a 150 lb guy benched 300 if he looked fit. If you have a "dad bod"...well then I might be surprised to see you loading up the bar with that weight.

This is a really good point, appearance speaks volumes especially if someone "looks" out of shape yet is moving decent weight. There is this Chinese guy at my gym (I have mentioned him before on here) guys has a horrible shape skinny fat and looks extremely soft. Yet he is a power lifter always in the cage squatting, deadlifting, doing clean and jerks etc, with some heavy ass weights. One look at him and you would not think he could move weight like that, but he does. I would not trade places with him if you paid me

[Cantplankwell]

This thread is funny...Id be happy to bench even my body-weight, not there yet. Im 180 lbs 5'11". Working hard...long way to go. Hopefully by mid winter. Its really not my entirely my fault before I began lifting....I was handed 46 chromosomes, not one of them with athletic potential.

[itsagoodday]

As for people being surprised....That would depend on how you look. I would not be shocked if a 150 lb guy benched 300 if he looked fit. If you have a "dad bod"...well then I might be surprised to see you loading up the bar with that weight.

I would agree with this. At my gym, there are three things that will make people stop and watch someone bench.

- An exceptional amount of weight on the bar
- A more average amount of weight lifted by someone who doesn't look like they could bench that much
- Any weight lifted by someone with known bar control issues

The best bench for a smaller guy at my gym would be 380, as far as I know.

[Sweetums6000]

There's a couple guys at my gym who look like couch potatoes that I always see benching 3+ plates for a good number of reps. They're so fat though, that it doesn't really seem impressive, even though I'm sure it's well over their bodyweight. Also, I never see them doing anything other than bench press.

[Cass40]

Mine is only 100lbs.

I couldn't even bench myself lol..

[bodyhard]

I would agree with this. At my gym, there are three things that will make people stop and watch someone bench.

- An exceptional amount of weight on the bar
- A more average amount of weight lifted by someone who doesn't look like they could bench that much
- Any weight lifted by someone with known bar control issues

The best bench for a smaller guy at my gym would be 380, as far as I know.

At my gym is always the women that get looked at when they are squatting, benching, deadlifting decent weight (For a girl ).

There is a small gym that open adjacent to my gym, they have the large ropes, truck tires etc etc and they have some really strong women training there, most of the guys watch them train when ever they come into our gym to train.

[Gabbar99]

It's the internet, what do you want my bench to be?

250 at 157 lbs is awesome for a real life lift, but quite weak for an internet lift. In gyms I've been in over the decades, I've seen very few guys that size who could bench that much. In internet forums, most guys bench way more than that.

[itsagoodday]

I couldn't even bench myself lol..

Hey, I can't bench myself either, and I supposedly train for that kind of thing

At my gym is always the women that get looked at when they are squatting, benching, deadlifting

There may be some truth to this lol. I usually have a very good sense of when I'm ok benching on my own, and when I should grab a spotter. I've only failed a rep without a spotter once in six years, and in the 0.5 seconds it took for me to silently place the bar back down on my chest and roll it to my legs so I could sit up, I had three guys appear out of nowhere from different directions to pull the bar off me.

[Brackneyc]

It's the internet, what do you want my bench to be?

250 at 157 lbs is awesome for a real life lift, but quite weak for an internet lift. In gyms I've been in over the decades, I've seen very few guys that size who could bench that much. In internet forums, most guys bench way more than that.

I've seen guys in that range, push that weight. As you indicated, it is not typical.

I once touted the fact that I felt a 400lb squat was good, and the response was that 400lb squats are no big deal. So there is that.

[Bo_Flecks]

"How much you bench?"



^^A common greeting in bodybuilding land that is the equivalent of a dog smelling another dog's bung hole.