women bench pressing

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Replies

  • VeganZombie13
    VeganZombie13 Posts: 297
    Women shouldn't bench press. It'll mash their boobs.

    Ummmm actually it can make da boobies look bigger. Check yo' self.

    Pretty sure it mashes them flat. 30 Day Shred. That's what chicks should be doing. Helps with long lean muscle instead of smashed boobies and bulky muscle. Just make sure you get plenty of healthy fats.

    You obviously have never spotted for a woman who bench presses. If that's the case....I'm sorry. I'm crying inside just a little for you.

    Doesn't mash mine in fact made them bigger :)
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
    Thanks all..However the bar I use is not an olympic bar (I have one of those too) the bar I use is "attached" to my weight bench. the kind that slides up and down...I weighed it one time I just can't remember if it was 30 or 35 lbs.

    Bench my weight??? I guess I have more weight to lose than I thought ! :)

    So it's a Smith machine? I think you'd have to go down in weights to do a normal bench press.

    Agreed. I have been lifting weights for 7 years (off and on depending on circumstances) and do 55 lbs for 3 sets of 12 reps. I'm curious how your form is... but a smith machine explains that much weight also.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Strong work ladies. :drinker:
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    When I took weightlifting as a course in college we were taught to not add the weight of the smith machine bar to your numbers at all- because it's negligible and whatever 15 or 30 lbs won't translate to a freestanding lift anyway so there's no point in including it.
  • FullOfWin
    FullOfWin Posts: 1,414 Member
    5'3" I weigh 161..... and i lift 170lbs not counting the bar..

    So a 5'3" woman benching 215? I would love to see that video
  • megalin9
    megalin9 Posts: 771 Member
    Wow- that puts me to shame????
    I just started lifting by myself at home- no spotter. I'm only doing 50 lbs dumbbell (25/hand). Hopefully I'll get there slowly

    DBs are harder even than a bar! Be proud of what you're doing :)

    I was thinking that 25lb dumbbells is excellent as well! I just moved up to 25lbs last week, and it's definitely HARD!
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    .
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    It really depends on the the barbell. For some reason they market 35 lb bars as bars for women. My gym has a couple and it always weirds me out because they're thinner.


    That's because women's Olympic barbells are 35 lbs. Why? Maybe someone figured smaller hands? But that's why. Men's Olympic barbells are 45 lbs.
  • skierxjes
    skierxjes Posts: 926 Member
    When I was a junior in HS (6 year ago :( ) my max was 195lbs.. When I quit lifting in May, my max was back up to 180lbs
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    I started lifting about 6 weeks ago. I'm up to bench press of 70#, 5 sets of 5
  • crazy4lulu
    crazy4lulu Posts: 822 Member
    i can bench my weight!!! im five ft 11 and im 180 something:wink:
  • rmhand
    rmhand Posts: 1,067 Member
    Most Olympic barbells are actually 45lbs so you could be selling yourself short :)
    Olympic barbells come in 2 lengths 7ft and 6ft. The 7ft ones (45lbs) are usually found in the squat rack and not on the bench press. The 6ft ones are about 30lbs.
  • Hezzietiger1
    Hezzietiger1 Posts: 1,256 Member
    Women shouldn't bench press. It'll mash their boobs.

    Ummmm actually it can make da boobies look bigger. Check yo' self.

    Pretty sure it mashes them flat. 30 Day Shred. That's what chicks should be doing. Helps with long lean muscle instead of smashed boobies and bulky muscle. Just make sure you get plenty of healthy fats.

    30 day shred is good, until you get to strong for it. Just saying. Plus- we don't get bulky muscles. Troll.

    Anyway- Smith machine is way easier than an actual bench press, but you are still doing fantastic. I'm 5'1 155 and I can bench 115. on a Smith machine I can do 135.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Most Olympic barbells are actually 45lbs so you could be selling yourself short :)
    Olympic barbells come in 2 lengths 7ft and 6ft. The 7ft ones (45lbs) are usually found in the squat rack and not on the bench press. The 6ft ones are about 30lbs.

    All the gyms I have been to have the 45's only. They can be moved so if they are available at a gym they can be found anywhere.
  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
    I know very little about weight equipment..so this whole Smith Machine is confusing me..I weighed the bar by standing on a scale and holding the bar, and it was not 15 lbs it was 30 or 35. It is not a free weight (there is a place on the machine I can put the Olympic bar, but I don't often have someone to spot..so that doesn't seem like a good idea.) but I don't understand what everyone is saying about the counterweight....The machine I have is "Marcy Diamond Home Gym Smith Cage with Linear Bearings Home Gym"

    This is a decent article - http://www.livestrong.com/article/445999-does-a-bench-press-machine-add-the-weight-of-the-bar/

    Cliffs - "While the Smith machine's bar is counterbalanced, this does not always result in the bar having zero weight. If removed from the machine, the weight of the Smith machine's bar is typically 45 lbs or more, with the entirety of this weight added to your lift in a non-counterbalanced machine. Although a lot of this weight is reduced by the pulleys in a counterbalanced machine, the bar adds at least 10 lbs to the amount of weight that you are lifting."

    Again, the counterbalance assists with lifting the bar (for lack of a better term) so the bar may be 45lbs but with the counterbalance of the machine it's more like lifting 15-20lbs. Hopefully that makes more sense for you.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Most Olympic barbells are actually 45lbs so you could be selling yourself short :)
    Olympic barbells come in 2 lengths 7ft and 6ft. The 7ft ones (45lbs) are usually found in the squat rack and not on the bench press. The 6ft ones are about 30lbs.

    All the gyms I have been to have the 45's only. They can be moved so if they are available at a gym they can be found anywhere.

    Yeah, they are all the same at all the gyms I've been to too.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I started lifting about 6 weeks ago. I'm up to bench press of 70#, 5 sets of 5

    That is awesome for only 6 weeks.
  • FitandFab33
    FitandFab33 Posts: 718 Member
    5'10.5", 170 lbs.. Lifting since the end of September and my bench is my WORST lift (excluding incline bench- that's slihgtly worse). Yesterday I benched 110# twice, but that was the last set (12,6,4,4,2,2 of progressively heavier weights) so I'm not sure if I can do more or not. Upper body days make me feel weak.. but it'll get there!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    . Oops double post
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Most Olympic barbells are actually 45lbs so you could be selling yourself short :)
    Olympic barbells come in 2 lengths 7ft and 6ft. The 7ft ones (45lbs) are usually found in the squat rack and not on the bench press. The 6ft ones are about 30lbs.

    All the gyms I have been to have the 45's only. They can be moved so if they are available at a gym they can be found anywhere.

    My gym has some of the shorter ones. They are usually over by the free weight preacher curl rack for those who dont want to use the easy curl bar.
  • Bridget28152723
    Bridget28152723 Posts: 372 Member
    you are doing well, a little above average for a women....a man that is fit should be able to bench his body weight.....i have weak chest muscles ...I havent been using the bench for a few months becaus eit was out of comission...recently I did 90 lb for a few reps..i weigh much more than that ...my legs are my strong point, i am going to be working on my benching from now on though , it does not mash boobs that dude it crazy!!!!!!!!!! nothing can mash your boobs.. thats like saying benching will mash a mans pecks..stupid
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Most Olympic barbells are actually 45lbs so you could be selling yourself short :)
    Olympic barbells come in 2 lengths 7ft and 6ft. The 7ft ones (45lbs) are usually found in the squat rack and not on the bench press. The 6ft ones are about 30lbs.
    Every gym I've used has used the 45lbs exclusively.
  • keith0373
    keith0373 Posts: 2,154 Member
    Lulu has better muscles than I do for sure!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Most Olympic barbells are actually 45lbs so you could be selling yourself short :)
    Olympic barbells come in 2 lengths 7ft and 6ft. The 7ft ones (45lbs) are usually found in the squat rack and not on the bench press. The 6ft ones are about 30lbs.

    All the gyms I have been to have the 45's only. They can be moved so if they are available at a gym they can be found anywhere.

    My gym has some of the shorter ones. They are usually over by the free weight preacher curl rack for those who dont want to use the easy curl bar.

    I think you're talking about the really short bar for curls, not the one she's referring to.. I've seen the slightly smaller bars before, but it's been a while. At one of my old hole in the wall gyms there was this odd sized, thinner than usual bar on the floor in the corner. Never considered that it was a women's bar for smaller hands, but thinking back on it, that's not an unreasonable assumption.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    My gym has some of the shorter ones. They are usually over by the free weight preacher curl rack for those who dont want to use the easy curl bar.

    I think you're talking about the really short bar for curls, not the one she's referring to.. I've seen the slightly smaller bars before, but it's been a while. At one of my old hole in the wall gyms there was this odd sized, thinner than usual bar on the floor in the corner. Never considered that it was a women's bar for smaller hands, but thinking back on it, that's not an unreasonable assumption.

    Maybe. They are only about a foot shorter and my wife uses them for her overhead press sets. The 45 bar was just a little to heavy for her working sets and this one was 30 pounds. The straight curl bar I think you are talking about is not big enough for the handle portion to fit in the rack pegs.
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    I just finished new rules of lifting for women which doesn't really have any bench press in it till right at the end. I haven't done any normal bench press yet, but I have done incline bench press twice, with 18kg (about 39lb) 2 sets of about 7 reps :/ my upper body is stupidly weak, but working on it. Much prefer squats and deadlifts as well LOL
  • obsidianwings
    obsidianwings Posts: 1,237 Member
    By the way I have an olympic bar that weighs 15kg (about 33lb), it was marketed as an olympic training bar (the olympic competition bars were 20kg) and is 7 foot, so 7 foot olympic bar dousn't necessarily mean it has to be 45lb.
  • svgarcia
    svgarcia Posts: 592 Member
    Meganmason & Shannon- thanks for the encouragement...????.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I kind of wish my gym had those "women's" 35lb bars for deadlifts. My hands are really small and I think I could pull more with a smaller bar. I haven't seen them in like 10 years though.
  • sammyneb
    sammyneb Posts: 257
    I know very little about weight equipment..so this whole Smith Machine is confusing me..I weighed the bar by standing on a scale and holding the bar, and it was not 15 lbs it was 30 or 35. It is not a free weight (there is a place on the machine I can put the Olympic bar, but I don't often have someone to spot..so that doesn't seem like a good idea.) but I don't understand what everyone is saying about the counterweight....The machine I have is "Marcy Diamond Home Gym Smith Cage with Linear Bearings Home Gym"

    This is a decent article - http://www.livestrong.com/article/445999-does-a-bench-press-machine-add-the-weight-of-the-bar/

    Cliffs - "While the Smith machine's bar is counterbalanced, this does not always result in the bar having zero weight. If removed from the machine, the weight of the Smith machine's bar is typically 45 lbs or more, with the entirety of this weight added to your lift in a non-counterbalanced machine. Although a lot of this weight is reduced by the pulleys in a counterbalanced machine, the bar adds at least 10 lbs to the amount of weight that you are lifting."

    Again, the counterbalance assists with lifting the bar (for lack of a better term) so the bar may be 45lbs but with the counterbalance of the machine it's more like lifting 15-20lbs. Hopefully that makes more sense for you.

    I really appreciate your feedback! I'm going to have to try to bench pressing without the machine, I didn't realize it made such a weight difference, I knew using the machine was easier, because there more motion control. I'll have to wait until I have a spotter! But thank you, I think i get it now :tongue:

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