Weight/ Benchpress for my bodysize

[chrisw08]

I was just curious with my body size and how much average person can bench. I weight 188 and i have a crappy 26% bodyfat. my 1 rep rep bench is about 140 mabye even 145 now. But im only about 5 9 with my feet together. I was wondering I lose about 20 pounds of fat and got to about 165 and could bench around 150 how strong is that?

[bushido_man96]

What you should worry about instead is improving your bench press, if that is what you are worried about. Everyone has to start somewhere, and with a progressive training system, you can make some great gains.

There are some charts out there you can look into, but I'm not sure what they are based off of. But like I said, doing something about it would be a better option.

[Wastelander]

"Strong" is a very subjective term, and how much you lift in comparison to how much you weigh means very little. What bushido_man96 says is correct--if you want to bench more weight, focus simply on improving your bench press. There are many weight training sites online that can provide you with information on how to do this, and you already know your 1 repetition maximum weight, which is what they will rely on.

[jaypo]

Most average men can't bench their own body weight. I would suggest working on your form first. Use your chest and not your shoulders. Make sure both feet are on the ground, your shoulders are "disengaged" from the exercise, and "flex" your pecs when you are lifting. Exhale on the push and inhale on the negative. Use a cadence of about 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down with a 1 second pause at the top.

I would work out with about 60% of your 1 rep max and do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps using good form. You'll find yourself getting stronger, but be patient. I was 175lbs when I started working out, and I couldn't bench press 95 lbs. Within 2 years, I upped my 1 rep max to 315. After numerous shoulder injuries, I can no longer use barbells, so I use dumbbells. I now work out with 95lb dumbbells on flat bench and 90 on incline, and I'm at 188 lbs body weight.

If you really wanna get scientific and gain strength, try this routine. Do 3 sets of the max weight you can do 6-8 reps of on bench press. Do 1 set, then rest 5 minutes (it sounds like a lot, but trust me!) After those 3 sets, go to incline bench. Do 2 sets with as much weight as you can do 10 reps of. Do 2 sets of 10 with 3 minutes in between the sets. Then, go to dips, and do 20 dips. I guarantee you will increase your strength dramatically. It's called SAIS training. After 18 years of weigth training, this helped me get over plateaus and increase strength a lot. I used to do hammer curls with 35lb dumbbells. Now, I can do sets with 70lb dumbbells. I'm not a huge believer in gimmics, but this method is something I found, researched, and has worked for me.

[Kempodad]

Most average men can't bench their own body weight. I would suggest working on your form first. Use your chest and not your shoulders. Make sure both feet are on the ground, your shoulders are "disengaged" from the exercise, and "flex" your pecs when you are lifting. Exhale on the push and inhale on the negative. Use a cadence of about 2 seconds up, 2 seconds down with a 1 second pause at the top.

I would work out with about 60% of your 1 rep max and do 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps using good form. You'll find yourself getting stronger, but be patient. I was 175lbs when I started working out, and I couldn't bench press 95 lbs. Within 2 years, I upped my 1 rep max to 315. After numerous shoulder injuries, I can no longer use barbells, so I use dumbbells. I now work out with 95lb dumbbells on flat bench and 90 on incline, and I'm at 188 lbs body weight.

If you really wanna get scientific and gain strength, try this routine. Do 3 sets of the max weight you can do 6-8 reps of on bench press. Do 1 set, then rest 5 minutes (it sounds like a lot, but trust me!) After those 3 sets, go to incline bench. Do 2 sets with as much weight as you can do 10 reps of. Do 2 sets of 10 with 3 minutes in between the sets. Then, go to dips, and do 20 dips. I guarantee you will increase your strength dramatically. It's called SAIS training. After 18 years of weigth training, this helped me get over plateaus and increase strength a lot. I used to do hammer curls with 35lb dumbbells. Now, I can do sets with 70lb dumbbells. I'm not a huge believer in gimmics, but this method is something I found, researched, and has worked for me.

I'll second this post. The only thing I'd add is core, core, core. I push core exercises hard twice a week and make sure my core is taught during every exercise. Helps with stability, focus, breathing, and everything else in between.

Form first. Of 3 strength building days a week I spend one strickly on 50% the weight focusing on form. Machines are good because they are, for the most part, safe. You'll eventually want to use free weights in your form focused routines but make sure you're confident with the machine and your own ability first... and core.

Building strength exercises, you should fail or almost fail by the last rep in each set. No kidding on the 5 minute wait either.

You'll get there. Try the above routine for 2 weeks. You'll see a noticeable difference and want to use it for the next 2 months.

[Evil Dave]

My first question is why do you want to increase specifically your bench press? Personal testing, aesthetics, performance, competition, etc. This will tell you what you need to work on, whether its pure strength, power, mixed in with other work and what not.