Benching your own weight once
 

I am a newbie to weight training, and I am under the impression that this feat is incredibly hard to do.

I would like some discussion with the serious weight training people on this board.

I have heard that if you can bench your own body weight for one full rep, using free weights, that you are stronger than 99% of the people in the world. Is this true?

I was also told that it would probably take me about 1 year of solid weight training(ie in the gym 3 times a week for an hour without fail) to be able to bench my own weight. I honestly think that it will take longer.

For what it's worth, my stats are 6'4.5" 210 13% body fat.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

I can do it a few times. I'm 6'3" 215. I don't see that its such a big deal, I lift with guys that are 150-170 and they can easily bench their weight.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

Shouldn't take you anywhere near a year of training. Definitely not that hard.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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Shouldn't take you anywhere near a year of training. Definitely not that hard.

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Re: Benching your own weight once
 

Working up to bench your weight should not be too tough. It should not take you a year to bench 215. It will work against you that you are tall and have long arms.

When you first start lifting you wont be able to bench very much but when you get used to benching you will make huge leaps that wont be growing muscle just getting used to benching. If did a bench workout once a week you should be able to do it pretty soon. But you should lift more than just chest if you start.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

Took me a while to achieve that when I was starting out... I was pretty weak.

Got up to 114% of my body weight, then broke my collarbone and pretty much gave up weightlifting.

I could still do at least one rep at my own weight, though.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

meh, i can do it and i dont even weight train. i'm only 5'11" 160 though.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult, but I think it's one of those things that signifies how in shape you are. Someone once sent me a list of 10 things that meant you were in great shape, but the only other one I can remember is dunking a basketball.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

Can you do a c0ck push-up?

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I am a newbie to weight training, and I am under the impression that this feat is incredibly hard to do.

I would like some discussion with the serious weight training people on this board.

I have heard that if you can bench your own body weight for one full rep, using free weights, that you are stronger than 99% of the people in the world. Is this true?

I was also told that it would probably take me about 1 year of solid weight training(ie in the gym 3 times a week for an hour without fail) to be able to bench my own weight. I honestly think that it will take longer.

For what it's worth, my stats are 6'4.5" 210 13% body fat.

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How did you measure those stats? If accurate, you are in great shape and should have no issues with a body weight bench within a year. Start slowly and don't worry too much about deadlines. However if it's a prop bet, make it for as much as possible.

As others have said, it's fairly trivial but sadly the 99% figure while high, is probably closer than it should be.

The truly elite feat is a 2X bodyweight bench but that is usually only seen from competitive lifters and may be what you are thinking of.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult, but I think it's one of those things that signifies how in shape you are. Someone once sent me a list of 10 things that meant you were in great shape, but the only other one I can remember is dunking a basketball.

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Dumb.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult, but I think it's one of those things that signifies how in shape you are. Someone once sent me a list of 10 things that meant you were in great shape, but the only other one I can remember is dunking a basketball.

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So, Vin Baker or Charles Barkley is in great shape, whereas Lance Armstrong and most soccer players would fail this test?

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult, but I think it's one of those things that signifies how in shape you are. Someone once sent me a list of 10 things that meant you were in great shape, but the only other one I can remember is dunking a basketball.

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So, Vin Baker or Charles Barkley is in great shape, whereas Lance Armstrong and most soccer players would fail this test?

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lol can barkley still dunk? i dunno.... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

btw i bet lance can dunk.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

I'm pretty sure I can do one rep, but I'm like 6'0 140 or 145, so maybe I don't count.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult, but I think it's one of those things that signifies how in shape you are. Someone once sent me a list of 10 things that meant you were in great shape, but the only other one I can remember is dunking a basketball.

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So, Vin Baker or Charles Barkley is in great shape, whereas Lance Armstrong and most soccer players would fail this test?

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lol can barkley still dunk? i dunno.... [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

btw i bet lance can dunk.

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Hmmm. What is he, 6'6"? He might be able to do it once, then die of a heart attack.

I believe Lance Armstrong is 5'11. He might be able to dunk.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I was also told that it would probably take me about 1 year of solid weight training(ie in the gym 3 times a week for an hour without fail) to be able to bench my own weight. I honestly think that it will take longer.

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Absolutely not... it will be hard at first if you've never lifted before but initial progress when weight training is surprisingly fast. You'll gain the most muscle and the most strength in your first few months of training than you ever will (assuming no chemical assistance of course).

Also you should be careful not to misinterpret 3x a week in the gym for an hour. 3 1-hr workouts a week spreading your different muscle groups out throughout the week = good. Working on your bench press 3x a week = waste of time.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

im pretty sure barkley is actually more like 6'4(1/2)."

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

There is absolutely no way Lance Armstrong can dunk a basketball. Percentage wise, almost no one under six feet tall can dunk.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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The truly elite feat is a 2X bodyweight bench but that is usually only seen from competitive lifters and may be what you are thinking of.

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2X is not an elite feat, not even close

i was up to 1.5X 160/240 in a pretty short amount of time, 6-8 month.

if you arent fat, its easy to get to 1X in 3 months or so imho.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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There is absolutely no way Lance Armstrong can dunk a basketball. Percentage wise, almost no one NOT-BLACK under six feet tall can dunk.

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Re: Benching your own weight once
 

I havent read any responses but you're buddies are either screwing with you or very inexperienced. When i first started out I was benching about 75% of my weight. Genetics do play a roll in what your limits are but I think in general most guys can do at least their body weight if they train good enough.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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Also you should be careful not to misinterpret 3x a week in the gym for an hour. 3 1-hr workouts a week spreading your different muscle groups out throughout the week = good. Working on your bench press 3x a week = waste of time.

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Yes this is a given. I will be working each muscle group once a week for roughly 20 minutes, and I'll have 9 groups total.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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There is absolutely no way Lance Armstrong can dunk a basketball. Percentage wise, almost no one under six feet tall can dunk.

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he's 5'11. you're telling me "given that he is under 6 foot, he probably can't dunk." brilliant. i guess that's all you know about him, since that's the evidence you quote to back yourself up, which makes it strange that you would feel so strongly about it.

how about "given that he's 5'11, he probably can't dunk." you'd still be right. but how about "given that he's 5'11 160ish and an elite athlete (albeit an endurance one), theres a decent chance he can dunk." your statement has no bearing on that.

i'm 5'11. i can almost dunk. the hoop at my house is 9'11" because of a slant and i can dunk on that. i don't do any strength training at all.

i've played with some white guys my height who can dunk easily.

but i guess that since very few males of heights from one to six feet, in which group lance armstrong falls, can dunk, you probably are right that it's impossible for him to be able to. thanks for educating me.

by the way, people who can't make any statement without going to extremes (for whom "there is absolutely no way" is used in place of "i doubt highly") are annoying.

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2X is not an elite feat, not even close


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This obviously depends on how much you weigh.

~D

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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2X is not an elite feat, not even close


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props to anyone who can lift 2x their weight, if you can do that, you need an ELITE t-shirt.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

Lol, 1x bodyweight is trivial for an active person, but 2x bodyweight is elite, no matter what Kane says. We're talking .1% of the population.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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2X is not an elite feat, not even close


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This obviously depends on how much you weigh.

~D

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Well Kane is full of it as usual, 240 is a far cry from 320 and bouncing 240 off your chest while your buddies "spot" you is not quite a legal lift. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Here are someresults from the 2005 men's nationals. Note that some the strongest men in the country are putting up 2X to 3X.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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Lol, 1x bodyweight is trivial for an active person, but 2x bodyweight is elite, no matter what Kane says. We're talking .1% of the population.

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Agreed. Set 1.5x as a reasonable goal over time of you're starting out.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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2X is not an elite feat, not even close


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This obviously depends on how much you weigh.

~D

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I'm likely never to weight less than 210 or so. (I'm around 195 lean mass right now.) Even if I lost the weight to get to 210, which is unlikely...I'm aiming for 220, benching 420 is _hard_. Particularly given that I'm 6'3".

I will never hit 2x. 1.5x is iffy. I'm just glad I hit 1x.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

Im calling bullshit. 2x your body weight is VERY VERY tough, Ive been lifting seriously for 4 years. At my peak, before my bulk cycle, I was 6 1 225, ~7.5bf%. I can deadlift 495 x 3, squat 405 x3 (deep squat), and my peak bench was 315 for 2. Im a little behind on my bench, because of lack of focus, but there is no way I will be benching 450lbs any time soon. 1% of the population could bench 2 times their body weight.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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There is absolutely no way Lance Armstrong can dunk a basketball. Percentage wise, almost no one under six feet tall can dunk.

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Are you freaking kidding me? I'd put money of Armstrong being able to throw it down with 2 hands. No way someone with legs that powerful can't get up.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I wouldn't say it's incredibly difficult, but I think it's one of those things that signifies how in shape you are. Someone once sent me a list of 10 things that meant you were in great shape, but the only other one I can remember is dunking a basketball.

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This is great news for me...

I'm 6 1/2 feet tall, weigh 210lbs, and I can probably bench press about 90lbs (sorry, but this is not a brag post, no matter what you say). Unathletic? nay, I can dunk, like 180s and [censored] too. And this whole time I thought I was pathetically and hopelessly out of shape.

In seriousness though, I should start lifting, but if I put on weight, I may not be able to dunk anymore...

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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There is absolutely no way Lance Armstrong can dunk a basketball. Percentage wise, almost no one under six feet tall can dunk.

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Untrue. I've seen powerlifters shorter than 6' dunk.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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There is absolutely no way Lance Armstrong can dunk a basketball. Percentage wise, almost no one under six feet tall can dunk.

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Are you freaking kidding me? I'd put money of Armstrong being able to throw it down with 2 hands. No way someone with legs that powerful can't get up.

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I thought this at first, but I think that jumping require something different than just power. I have very powerful legs, but I cant jump worth [censored] for some reason.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

I think you guys are exaggerating. for someone who's never benched anything before, it can take a hell of a lot longer than 3 months to bench your body weight.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I think you guys are exaggerating. for someone who's never benched anything before, it can take a hell of a lot longer than 3 months to bench your body weight.

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I don't think it's exaggerating at all. It shouldn't take long. This is fairly easy.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

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I think you guys are exaggerating. for someone who's never benched anything before, it can take a hell of a lot longer than 3 months to bench your body weight.

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I don't think it's exaggerating at all. It shouldn't take long. This is fairly easy.

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Jake is correct. A month or so in, unless you are a giant vag, you should be benching your body weight.

two times your body weight is some serious lifting. 1.5 times is about right for someone in pretty damned good shape.

The best I ever did (working out 5 days a week onboard a Navy ship) was 245lbs for 2 reps, no assistance. I weighed 160 at the time.

Skinny little fucker. Now I'm a bloated hippo compared to my former self. If I were to bench twice my weight now, I'd be benching almost 460 lbs.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

100% of your weight isn't that difficult as a rule, but it does depend on your body build. When I was at my weight lifting peak I was 6'8" and about 215lbs. At that point my all-time max was 235lbs. Not very impressive in terms of percentage of body weight, but for my skinny frame and long-ass arms I felt pretty good about it.

Swede

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

You may well be able to do 1x your body weight starting out. When I started lifting as a freshman in college I weighed 175 and my 1 rep max was exactly that.

I think that's a minimum standard of strength that police are held to in some academies, so it signifies reasonable strength but nothing out of the ordinary.

10 reps of your body weight or 1 rep of 1.5x your body weight are pretty reasonable 6-12 month training goals if you're serious about it.

Re: Benching your own weight once
 

for someone who's never benched? prop bet? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]