Benching

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  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
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    As others have noted, bragging rights for men usually start @ being able to bench bodyweight. I notice men seem impressed any time a woman can bench 100 lbs or more (although a smaller amt for short, small-framed women, obviously).

    Me? I bench 230 lbs x 6 to 8 And yeah that gets some looks.

    That said, I'm hardly at my goal weight OR fitness, but benching is my favorite stress reducer! So YMMV, just enjoy :-)
    You rock!!!

    :blushing:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Check out http://www.strstd.com/

    ^this

    Although that is a pretty bad measure for women. It overstates someones level imo - very much so for squats and deadlifts. Pressing, it's a bit more realistic.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Hi all! I'm wondering what I should be able to bench press? As of right now, I'm only able to bench 80# 5X. What should I work up to?

    Try to bench press more than you did last month. It's about individual progress. A body weight bench (with appropriate form) is a reasonable rule of thumb though.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Check out http://www.strstd.com/

    Ok, for this, is it total reps in one set, or total reps in a single workout?

    In a set.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
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    As others have noted, bragging rights for men usually start @ being able to bench bodyweight. I notice men seem impressed any time a woman can bench 100 lbs or more (although a smaller amt for short, small-framed women, obviously).

    Me? I bench 230 lbs x 6 to 8 And yeah that gets some looks.

    That said, I'm hardly at my goal weight OR fitness, but benching is my favorite stress reducer! So YMMV, just enjoy :-)

    damn!
  • smand2000
    smand2000 Posts: 88
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    Great goal, OP... But to get there, I'd recommend dropping the chest flyes from your routine. You don't need them, and they will sap your strength / time / recovery from the more important lifts. Best of luck in the new year!
  • heresmyinsidevoice
    heresmyinsidevoice Posts: 311 Member
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    Heck no! No magic numbers! Sounds like you're doing well to me! It's really all about form. Provided you've got spot-on form, then focus on how much you bench or lift.
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
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    As others have noted, bragging rights for men usually start @ being able to bench bodyweight. I notice men seem impressed any time a woman can bench 100 lbs or more (although a smaller amt for short, small-framed women, obviously).

    Me? I bench 230 lbs x 6 to 8 And yeah that gets some looks.

    That said, I'm hardly at my goal weight OR fitness, but benching is my favorite stress reducer! So YMMV, just enjoy :-)

    5858-freak-out.gif
    tumblr_inline_mrn71d5jKD1qz4rgp.gif
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    As others have noted, bragging rights for men usually start @ being able to bench bodyweight. I notice men seem impressed any time a woman can bench 100 lbs or more (although a smaller amt for short, small-framed women, obviously).

    Me? I bench 230 lbs x 6 to 8 And yeah that gets some looks.

    That said, I'm hardly at my goal weight OR fitness, but benching is my favorite stress reducer! So YMMV, just enjoy :-)

    Damn! Care to post a video? That's more than I can bench and I am officially jealous.
  • trojan_bb
    trojan_bb Posts: 699 Member
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    As others have noted, bragging rights for men usually start @ being able to bench bodyweight. I notice men seem impressed any time a woman can bench 100 lbs or more (although a smaller amt for short, small-framed women, obviously).

    Me? I bench 230 lbs x 6 to 8 And yeah that gets some looks.

    That said, I'm hardly at my goal weight OR fitness, but benching is my favorite stress reducer! So YMMV, just enjoy :-)

    You should compete...you know, since you already have a near American record for raw, natural bench press in your age and weight class.
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
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    You know, I did consider competing! When I looked, it seemed like the records for my weight class though (even once at a healthy weight of 145)...are ~350 lbs. Although looking @ age groups, I'm much closer!

    http://www.usapowerlifting.com/records/american/women-benchpress.htm
    Comp-level squats & deadlifts are out of the question!

    Honestly? I'm pretty tickled with 230. I cycle it about every 6 weeks, backing down to 160, then working back up. Keeps my shoulders happy. It really is my fave stress reducer, ever since it occurred to me to visualize throwing a particularly irritating manager across the room ;-)

    For now, am focusing on better overall health, including lower stress!
  • trojan_bb
    trojan_bb Posts: 699 Member
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    Edit: I'm 95% sure that link is for EQUIPPED records in the open category. Women's raw is here: http://www.goheavy.net/records/viewrecordset.aspx?recordsetguid=1a3bd67b-5477-4efe-af47-66a96c6af10c

    I assume your numbers are raw as you dont compete.

    yes, you could do masters age group which makes your lift very impressive. If you trained in the 1-3 rep range and worked solely on powerlifting form, a higher max would probably be obtainable.

    Not to mention, everyone knows a number of those USAPL competitors are not natural. So your lift is even more impressive, even if it isnt record breaking.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    yes, you could do masters age group which makes your lift very impressive. If you trained in the 1-3 rep range and worked solely on powerlifting form, 315 would probably be obtainable.

    Not to mention, everyone knows a number of those USAPL competitors are not natural. So your lift is even more impressive, even if it isnt record breaking.

    I thought USAPL was one of the better tested federations (not saying it does not happen though).
  • trojan_bb
    trojan_bb Posts: 699 Member
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    yes, you could do masters age group which makes your lift very impressive. If you trained in the 1-3 rep range and worked solely on powerlifting form, 315 would probably be obtainable.

    Not to mention, everyone knows a number of those USAPL competitors are not natural. So your lift is even more impressive, even if it isnt record breaking.

    I thought USAPL was one of the better tested federations (not saying it does not happen though).

    It is from what I know. I don't compete. But they cant test HGH ever via serum testing. IGF-1 tests can be beaten with some planning. Throw in some fast acting compounds, which I know for a fact dozens of USAPL competitors use, and bam, test passed.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Most "testing" exists so that sponsors (and willing public) can be told that competitors are clean, not to actually catch people using. The actual catching of people is bad for business.

    *not a remark specific for usapl but for most organizations in general
  • Stripeness
    Stripeness Posts: 511 Member
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    Edit: I'm 95% sure that link is for EQUIPPED records in the open category. Women's raw is here: http://www.goheavy.net/records/viewrecordset.aspx?recordsetguid=1a3bd67b-5477-4efe-af47-66a96c6af10c

    I assume your numbers are raw as you dont compete.

    yes, you could do masters age group which makes your lift very impressive. If you trained in the 1-3 rep range and worked solely on powerlifting form, 315 would probably be obtainable.

    You assume correctly. Wow. I'm really a lot closer than I'd imagined. Okay. Feeling REALLY motivated to get through this balancing weight/health phase so I can dive in. Trust me when I say I gotta focus on weight loss & flexibility right now, but THANK YOU - this is now very much on the table (or bench, as it were).

    ETA: I've got that page bookmarked & on the bookmark bar so I'm looking at it every day!
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Most "testing" exists so that sponsors (and willing public) can be told that competitors are clean, not to actually catch people using. The actual catching of people is bad for business.

    *not a remark specific for usapl but for most organizations in general

    I competed in the APA one - in the 'drug tested' category...no drug tests were done that day even though I (and others) got some records! There were some guys there obviously on gear. My comment was more to do with USAPL being one of the better ones - not that it is failsafe.
  • halleymw
    halleymw Posts: 246 Member
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    Here is another fitness test to check to see how you compare to the general poplulation, part of the ymca fitness test. At 80# x5, I would imagine you will score at least a good and maybe an Excellent on the test. (which is how many reps can you do at 35#)

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html

    Mike
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
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    Check out http://www.strstd.com/

    Ok, for this, is it total reps in one set, or total reps in a single workout?

    In a set.

    Damn....aaaaand now I I feel like a weakling, oh well, back to the gym :wink:

    Also, is it odd that I can bench more than I can squat?
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Check out http://www.strstd.com/

    Ok, for this, is it total reps in one set, or total reps in a single workout?

    In a set.

    Damn....aaaaand now I I feel like a weakling, oh well, back to the gym :wink:

    Also, is it odd that I can bench more than I can squat?

    A little yes...not unheard of but pretty unusual. I would double check your form for squats.

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