Please Reply this one! Thank you very much

[bc-05]

Hi... sorry for asking... but i was just wondering... how much do u normally bench press in a gym, how many repetition and how many sets of it? and how much can you bench press maximum (like as in only 1 rep or lift weight)?? Because 1 of my friend could actually lift 150(300+ pounds) kilograms of weight (once)... Eventhough he only did it once.. He is a very strong man! and I wanted to know how he does that! He wouldnt tell me how much training he does..! so if you have lifted this weight before can you please tell me what you normally do in the gym thank you.. please responce because your responce would greatly appreciated!

[waterpro]

1 rep max = injury. Never do a 1 rep max. I thought I remember reading somewhere that you are suppose to take whatever weight you can lift 10 times and multiply that by 1.33 and that will be your hypothetical 1 rep max. I would never suggest doing a 1 rep max. Too much stress on teh body. You are just asking for an injury.

[Chuck]

bc-05
The tendency in the weight room is to start measuring the length of your johnson by how much you can lift. Leave it to the idiots! If you are training for tennis, you don't want to max out anyway. Few reps and high weight mean bulk and probably some loss of rapid resonse, endurance and flexibility. Everyone in the weight room is different. If lifting 50kg's for 12 reps gives you a good workout, fine. Don't fret that the neanderthal next to you is doing 150kg's once and bragging about it.

[netman]

One good measure of real upper body strength is the ability to bench press 2x your body weight for 1 rep. Not many normal folks can come close to it, but many try. I actually saw a contest on TV a few months ago where guys were bench pressing 3x their body weight. Amazing stuff.

As Chuck said, something about the bench press tends to make guys do stupid things to try and impress folks. Many a rib has been broken on the bench. Barbells don't bounce much off a chest.

From your posts, it sounds like you are looking to gain some in-depth knowledge on strength training. Go to www.exrx.net and start reading all the articles. You'll learn a lot and can develop a weight traininig routine that is appropriate for you and your goals. There is a lot of BS out there concerning weight training, but its really quite simple. Work a muscle past its current strength capability and it will grow, given appropriate recovery time to form and recruit new muscle fiber. What works for me, your friend or the guy selling personal training advice may or may not work for you. Best thing to do is read, read, read and experiment in the gym to find the best routine for your body. One nice thing about weight training is that if you are just starting out, you will see impressive progress if you stick with it for 3-4 months.

[Mikael]

When someone says he/she benches for example 200lbs, does that include the weight of the barbell or not?? What's the consensus on that?

[netman]

Mikael,

IMHO, if you benched just the bar, you wouldn't say I benched 0 lbs because you had just lifted 45 lbs (Olympic bar). So logically you should always include the weight of the bar.

[waterpro]

Originally Posted by netman

One good measure of real upper body strength is the ability to bench press 2x your body weight for 1 rep.

That seems really high. I would tend to bet that 90% of men can't bench their own weight non-the-less 2x their weight.

[Kobble]

What did these guys weigh who were benching three times their body weight? A 200lb. guy would have to push up 600lbs.

[netman]

Kobble, some of these guys were in fact 200-225 lbs and were benching 600-700 lbs. It was an amazing sight. They had massive upper bodies that were totally out of balance with their lower bodies. There were even a few parapeligics who used weight training to keep their fitness up. They had different weight classes as well. There was an official organization name for the event but I can't remember it. It was one of those events they show during "deadtime" on ESPN.

Waterpro, benching your own weight one time is really not that hard if you have been weight training for some time. 2x is a whole 'nother matter. Thats why it separates true strength from posers. I weight 190 lbs and can one rep 275 lbs and I've been weight training for years. Can't even imagine lifting 380 but its a fun long term goal.

[Kobble]

Don't forget that people who are smaller can handle their body weight much better than larger people. It is not the truest test of strength, although, anyone who can bench press 600 lbs is incredibly strong. Also, the bench press is really not the most telling test of athletic prowess. I would rather be a great squatter than a great bencher any day. Especially, for tennis.

[K!ck5w3rvE]

more reps of less is much better than less reps of more

[PHSTennis]

I dont do much of benching but free weights... I do 35lbs 10-15 reps, you want to do more reps of something than doing less reps of something more... you wont get anything... and if your benching too much, you'll get too bulky... like my pro he played football in highschool.. he doesnt have a tennis body, you want your muscles to be fairly small yet strong and have endurance... do more reps of light stuff..

[gmlasam]

Originally Posted by Danel Palise

more reps of less is much better than less reps of more

It depends on what you are trying to do. High reps and low weights are good for training muscle fiber types for endurance, and low reps high weights will train muscle fiber types for strength. The best weight training is to do a combination both, do a pyramid routine as it will work out the different muscle fiber types in your body. Uninformed people do not realize that the human skeletal muscle have two major muscle fiber types, fast twitch and slow twitch. You need to workout both types of muscle fibers.