Bench press limits.

[Lizzy3200]

What is possible to bench naturally? More specifically, what is possible in terms of body weight percentage and/or weight class.

I recently hit 290lb @ 147lb BW and my preconceived notions of what was possible kinda fell apart. 290lb didn’t feel like a wall, but a stepping stone. There is still mountains of things I can improve on or train harder. I hit 275lb for a double, prior and felt like there was still another half a rep or more in the tank. I hadn’t hit that weight in over a year and when I did I was 173lb body weight. I though 260-270lb was going to be the best I could do at this weight. Now I’m trying to get a better understanding of what is possible since I’ve been surprising myself over and over again this last summer. All my previous understandings of strength limits and whatnot fell apart.

[air2fakie]

In 4 humble brag thread. Good job though at your bw!

If you're natural & not gaining weight you're probably on the cusp of reaching your limit, but it's certainly possible to push further if that's a primary focus of your training, you have favorable dimensions & perfect your technique.

[CW47]

It's going to be very different from one person to the next. You're already well beyond most people. Congrats! But there's definitely the potential that you could do more.

As a reference of somebody who's lifting quite a bit more at a comparable bodyweight, check out this YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/UFpwrLifter/videos

[EliKoehn]

Hey, nothing wrong with an occasional humble brag if legit and kept in check, IMO. Great job OP!

2x bodyweight bench press is incredibly good. A few questions though:

- Was it paused or touch and go?
- Was your back arched or relatively flat?
- Did you use any accessory equipment or just plain clothes and raw hands on the bar?

If I was you, I'd gain 10-15 pounds and aim for going as high above 3 plates as possible. Since I'm way heavier, I probably will do the same with 405 as a lifetime goal.

Once again, impressive and good job.

[paulinkansas]

Those are good numbers. The best I could do was 295 at 165 pound bodyweight. I don't max out anymore. Joints can't take it. I just lift for looks and to assist myself the next time I find a 2 legged intruder in one of my rental properties.

[MyEgoProblem]

Pre conceived notions from lifting around gen pop are way lower than if you train around powerlifters or strength athletes in general.

Depending on your sex, weight class, age category and kir...

https://www.powerlifting.sport/championships/records

See how you stack up.

[Bodhy]

Without e-statting, bragging, or ego-lifting, my max is 300lbs, or 3 plates.


It took me awhile to get there, but the noticeable thing was the gains were asymptotic. Gains were fairly constant and linear until I was pressing over 275lbs and that's where I really had to fight for gains. At 3 wheels I hit a brick wall and stuck there. Still there today, in fact I'm a bit under.


I've resigned to the fact that unless I turn to the dark side, I'll remain here. I've tried everything to get through it: Deloading, powerlifting routines, GVT, all sorts of supplements, different diets, dropsetting, supersetting, trisetting, different exercises, DB only, etc. Nothing. Can't budge.

It's not a bad lift at all and titanic strength compared to regular folk. Not really complaining.

[EliKoehn]

Without e-statting, bragging, or ego-lifting, my max is 300lbs, or 3 plates.


It took me awhile to get there, but the noticeable thing was the gains were asymptotic. Gains were fairly constant and linear until I was pressing over 275lbs and that's where I really had to fight for gains. At 3 wheels I hit a brick wall and stuck there. Still there today, in fact I'm a bit under.


I've resigned to the fact that unless I turn to the dark side, I'll remain here. I've tried everything to get through it: Deloading, powerlifting routines, GVT, all sorts of supplements, different diets, dropsetting, supersetting, trisetting, different exercises, DB only, etc. Nothing. Can't budge.

It's not a bad lift at all and titanic strength compared to regular folk. Not really complaining.

So how is claiming a number for a lift on a forum not e-statting? (I see zero problem with it of course, but just amusing that there's apparently some kind of difference here.)

You don't look like a heavy-set person from your avi. Did you ever try gaining some weight to see if it could get you over the hurdle?

Even though in terms of bodyweight ratio my bench is not especially good, the real hurdle for me was 315. Only recently have I gotten it consistently when I occasionally attempt it, and it's still T&G anyway. Strangely, the difficulty curve from 300 to 315 just feels like a massive gulf. I could rep 300 for triples at the same time that putting up 3 for a single was not a given.

[MyEgoProblem]

I've tried everything to get through it: Deloading, powerlifting routines, GVT, all sorts of supplements, different diets, dropsetting, supersetting, trisetting, different exercises, DB only, etc. Nothing. Can't budge.

Sounds like you tried a lot, but haven't tried actually sticking to something long enough if you messed around doing ALL of that.

[Bodhy]

So how is claiming a number for a lift on a forum not e-statting? (I see zero problem with it of course, but just amusing that there's apparently some kind of difference here.)

You don't look like a heavy-set person from your avi. Did you ever try gaining some weight to see if it could get you over the hurdle?

Even though in terms of bodyweight ratio my bench is not especially good, the real hurdle for me was 315. Only recently have I gotten it consistently when I occasionally attempt it, and it's still T&G anyway. Strangely, the difficulty curve from 300 to 315 just feels like a massive gulf. I could rep 300 for triples at the same time that putting up 3 for a single was not a given.

I've tried a few bulk cycles. This pic in my avi was taken at the end of a bulk, actually. Whilst I gained some good size, in terms of lifts I still didn't push the 3 plates threshold.


I'm all for suggestions as to how a diet or weight gain might be the trick, I've just never seen it work for me before, even with big calorie intakes and big carb ingestions before a workout.