Just hit a new pr the other day lifting 205lbs and was pretty happy with it (I'm 19M/5'5/152lbs). I aim to lift 225lbs hopefully in a month maaybe two if I take longer.

So got curious: What are your pr in bench press anons? Also any advice would be appreciated

>>76415255 (OP)
Good job anon, breaking 200 is an awesome feeling.
I don't have access to a gym now, and have switched from bench to weighted pushups and dips with a plate loadable vest. Earlier this summer when I was ending my bulk and was still benching I could do 205 for 6/185 for 14.
I found benching at the lowest incline setting comfier on my shoulders than flat, haven't flat benches in a good while. Food for thought.
Keep up the good work bruv.

>>76415255 (OP)
I'm about the same height and weight but older and my best set is 230x5. I'm not trying to powerlift but I want hit a set that estimates at a 3pl8 1rm just for the street cred. My arms and shoulders are manlet solid but I worry about my little wrists.

>>76415316
thank you.

At which point do you recommend doing weighted pushups? I always do them as a warmup before starting my session every day (along with pullups). I do 3x20 for pushups and 3x11 for pullups. Same question about the dips even though I just recently started doing them.

Doing 205 for 6 reps is really good. You are pretty strong. Aiming for that!

Keep up the good work you too anon

>>76415464
that's really good dude. For how long have you been going to the gym?

Also yeah, wrists are a bitch.

>>76415516
I have no idea how long this stuff can or should take. I first lifted when I was 12 and it was off and on for 21 years from there.

>>76415255 (OP)
I don't go for 1RM (mostly since i'm in the gym alone at night) so all i know is that i'm at 225 for 8 right now (fat fuck at 5'10" 230lbs). I'll start overloading it again in a push for 3pl8s after i get my squat to something acceptable

>>76415255 (OP)
All time pr is 350lbs, that was a couple months ago when I was at peak bulk (205lbs @ 5'9), cutting down now and haven't tested 1rm for a while but have done 275 for a 5 by 5 without much trouble. I can strongly recommend Greg Nuckols' 3x a week bench programs, took my max from 290 to 350 in 7 months (granted I was bulking pretty aggressively)

>>76415255 (OP)
Nice bro

>>76415255 (OP)
Maybe I'm the only person on God's Earth this happened to, but I stalled out for two months at 205 and finally powered through doing decline reps. I just felt 15% stronger after I got used to decline. However, decline can kill you, never ever use clips and always use a spotter. But, man, about three weeks of that and it got me sorted out.

>>76415683
I chose to add in sets of dips because decline felt fucking weird even though i'm sure it'd be useful
and 100% on clips, genuinely angers me every time i see clips on random bars set up for weights or lifts that don't need then or make them actively less safe to perform. I swear someone's going to tear something major or fucking die in this gym one day the way everyone mistreats shit and ego lifts.

>>76415255 (OP)
>I'm 5'5

>>76415723
Yes saar that's his height pradesh

>>76415723
>just out of nowhere he started using physical descriptors on a physical culture forum

>>76415553
wow 21 years is a lot. I started at 15 but was off and on too for some years. But I would say I started actually taking it more seriously (going 4/5 times a week) like september of last year (even though I stopped going as much for 3 months), so almost a full year

>>76415572
3 pl8s is at another level I can only imagine lol, but I'll try to get there sometime. Keep it up anon, I'm sure you'll get there.

>>76415611
That sounds like really good progress, I'll check it out, thanks for the recommendation. 350lbs is insane

>>76415618
thank you

>>76415683
I'll make sure to try that if I ever hit a plateau. Not doing incline, but I always ask for a spotter when going for a pr or for a 1/2 rm

>finally reached 215 without injuring myself
>realizing how much time I wasted as a kid

>>76415255 (OP)
>be 200lbs
>reach lmao2plate 1RM in 4 months
>ffw cut
>160lbs
>struggle to do more than 2 reps of 185lbs for 6 months now

all in a course of a year. Well fuck, gotta start getting back 225lbs

>>76416488
Wdym you wasted time as a kid?
>>76416757
If you already got there, you can do it anon. Keep it up

>>76415255 (OP)
>What are your pr in bench press anons?
60kg

>>76415255 (OP)
315 for 1
Then I hurt my shoulder in BJJ, about 6 months later started shooting for it again. But didn't let myself drop below 5 reps, got up to 285 for 5, then my shoulder started bugging me, just started again 2 weeks ago, hit 260 for 5 2 days ago.

>>76417248
That sucks. From what I've seen shoulders end up being the annoyance and what holds someone back. But 3pl8s is huge, I'm sure you can make it back up there again

>>76415255 (OP)
Stuck at 110 lbs for 5 reps, 181 cm tall and fat as fuck at 224 lbs. Cutting right now, so I guess it makes sense I’m not getting stronger, but damn, it’s kinda demoralizing.

>>76417661
how new are you to lifting? you should absolutely be able to get much stronger than you are presently, even while losing weight. nailing down your technique and neurological adaptations should be enough to do it.

>>76416757
I feel that, did my first cut a year ago. Learned that 'mass moves mass' really is fuckin true

>>76415255 (OP)
I recently started pushing myself beyond my comfort zone on the bench press and can do 8 reps of 275 on my first set. I'm guessing I could probably start going for 315 and see what happens. 225 is a good place to be and it has been my comfort zone for many years. Benching 225 for reps yields a decent chest a triceps size. I am not in any place to give you advice because I dont even know what im doing.

>>76415255 (OP)
I never bothered with more than 225lb for low rep sets. You can only go so heavy before you fail to use pecs as the primary force in the motion. Ego lifts are gay.

>>76415255 (OP)
You're east asian aren't you?

>>76419062
Really good, good luck on that

>>76419245
It isn't ego lifting. I find it fun as an objective to gradually keep adding weight. What's the purpose if not becoming stronger?

>>76419641
I'm not from there but from south america. For curiosity, what gave you the impression I'm from east asia?

>>76417701
7 months since I started going to the gym, like in the beginning I couldn't do more than 50 lbs, so I think I got a little stronger but for nearly a month I've been stuck at 110 lbs.

>>76415255 (OP)
Nice OP. I'm currently stuck at 175 pounds / 80 Kg and I actually regressed a little since my GF dumped me and I'm somewhat depressed. Lost appetite, even, so I'm pretty sure feeling like shit plus less food are the cause

May I ask how you worked your way up to 200? What was your progression like

>>76419840
>It isn't ego lifting.
It's all ego lifting unless it's for a job to buy food for your children.

>>76420096
Well lifting makes everything you do easier including your job so I guess ego lifting doesn't exist.

>>76415255 (OP)
120kg 1rep max
First time I felt like I was strong enough to be considered remotely strong

>>76419840
>I'm not from there but from south america. For curiosity, what gave you the impression I'm from east asia?
Not him, but I have studied East Asian languages and Latin derived languages. I'm currently drunk, but I may be able to shed some light on a few things.

Parallel constructions in informal contexts are often expected. You omit the subject "I" right off the bat, signaling informal usage, but then introduce a hard stop (.) and do not omit the subject. Since the context is "just hit", the reader believes the situation to be in progress. Therefore, perhaps
>Just hit ..., aiming for 225 lbs...
might be better, because softening the stop into a comma lets you omit a redundant "lift" and give everything continuity with "aiming", which feels more "in progress". Also, you extend maybe into "maaybe" which signals a pausing, so you should prefix that with a comma
>hopefully in a month, maaybe two...

I'm not exactly sure why you got the plural wrong, but if I had to guess it's cultural. The reason the other guy thought you were East Asian is because of this. You said
>What are your pr in bench press...
You probably thought, "I'm speaking to a group, that's plural". But if it were plural, you would have to say "prs" because a group cannot have one pr. On the other hand, it's very heckin' valid to speak to everyone individually, reaching through the screen to just them. In which case you'd say
>What's your pr in bench, anon?
Everything is singular, even though you're messaging a crowd, which would make it seem like you're talking just to those people who want to reply. This is actually an advanced concept East Asians will never get.

>>76415255 (OP)
3pl8s for fahve

>>76420293
Just to jerk myself off a bit further, there's a concept known as topicalization. If there is some official place to state a topic (here a subject), and it is indeed is clearly stated, then the overall topic has been fixed. In this case "PR in bench press".

Because you both topicalized things and established informal use, you could omit "press" and simply use "bench". Since this is an adjective, you could combine it with "pr"
>So I'm curious, what's your bench pr, anons?
And since we established immediacy, we can choose "is/are" over the potentially more proper "would be", and then soften advice to "thoughts", soliciting feedback from those who dislike givng advice for cultural reasons, perhaps amplifying
>Any thoughts are greatly appreciated

>>76420330
As a triple self-jerk, there are some East Asian languages with first class support for topicalization in formal speech. So you could just say "PR in bench press" as a complete opening subject sentence, like a professor might say "so as for the theory of relativity...".

>>76420340
>PR in bench press

>Just hit a new pr the other day at 205 lbs and was pretty happy with it (I'm 19M/5'5/152 lbs), aiming for 225 in a month, maaybe two if I stall a bit.

>So I'm curious: what's your bench pr? Any advice, thoughts, or tough love is greatly appreciated.

I'd consider this approximately canonical; guidance in parts of the USA is something neither the sender nor receiver want, whereas "tough love" is essentially "guidance you might not want to have to say and that I might not want to hear".

>5'5
Lmao

>>76420299
Where'd you get stuck the longest, and did whiskey help or hurt?

I did 225 x 3 but I’m hardstuck there and I’m on a cut right now

>>76420438
Also I’m 165 and 5’10

>>76420086
Sorry to hear that, but keep your head up and continue going to the gym. It helped when I went through something similar.

As for the question, I am progressing quite fast. I train chest 2 times a week (tuesdays and fridays), and I usually start the day with that. But before I always warmup doing abs, pullups and pushups. Then for bench press I do 3 series like this:

1st: 40lbs less than my pr, 6 reps
2nd: 20lbs less than my pr, 3/4 reps
3rd: 100% of my pr, 1 rep
4th (optional, if I feel like I can do a new pr): 10lbs more than my previous pr, 1 rep

It's all give or take. Basically 1st rep to warmup, something you find easy to do 6reps but not super easy. Don't go to failure, so put a weight you can do 8/10 and do 6.
For the second you want a middleground, since the next one you are going for your pr. But also don't put that much weight, leave some room so you reserve all your strength for the third go.
Then you go for your pr. Here is where I check how I feel, and if I see I did 1rep easily and could have done a second (even if barely), then I up by 10lbs and go once more. Also to mention, I rest like 3/4 minutes between series.

So for example this tuesday when I did 205lbs, I did:

1st: 155lbs, 6reps
2nd: 175lbs, 3reps
3rd: 195lbs, 1rep (was my previous pr)
4th: 205lbs, 1rep

This is what I've been doing and found it good from personal experience. Usually I make a new pr every 2/3 weeks which I think it's pretty good.

>>76420063
how is your training and what do you usually do? I posted a reply where I show what I do, maybe it can help you

>>76420207
that's pretty strong yeah, good job

>>76420293
Wow that's a really long analysis lol, but thanks it's very interesting. I find myself guilty of mixing different grammatical rules that depend of formal context, and just write first thing that comes to my head. As for the plural, I knew I was writing it incorrectly, but got lazy thinking about the correct way so just wrote the minimum understandable question. But thanks for the suggestion, I will take it.

>>76420389
Didn't know about that (when writing this I just realised I omitted the "I" again). Culture differences I guess. But thanks a lot for this, really interesting insight. Came looking for gym tips, ended up with linguistics ones. Did you study this for yourself, or does your job relate to this field?

>>76420406
If I was taller I would get all the girls. They had to nerf me for the greater good. Be thankful.

>>76415255 (OP)
congratulations boy

>>76415492
I don't know that I ever would have added them had I access to a proper bench. I've spent time in the infantry and incarcerated, and so have used pushups as a stand in for bench many times. I can currently do 50-60 bw decline pushups, and got 27 with +50lbs two days ago on my first set, also decline.
I would generally recommend getting to where you can do at least 30 pushups and 10 dips before adding weight, but there is no hard and fast rule.
I can do something like 30-35 bw dips and 15-16 with the same +50lbs on my first set.
Make chinups a primary lift.

>>76415255 (OP)
> (I'm 19M/5'5/152lbs). I aim to lift 225lbs
Do you even feel bench in your chest?
I can't feel my chest at flat bench at all, meanwhile I can feel my pec strains on incline bench, dips and doing push-ups

>>76421924
thanks

>>76421936
thank you for the recommendation. I think I will start next week adding weight for dips, and I'll wait a little bit longer before adding weight to pushups.
>Make chinups a primary lift.
I already do pullups 5 times a week, but I will start doing chinups too then, thanks for the info

>>76421948
I do yeah. I think it depends on how you grab the bar. Today I did flat bench again and felt it a lot, but I also went to absolute failure (at my last rep the bar just dropped lol, first time it happened to me)

>>76415255 (OP)
I tested my PR today and shit my pants from excitement.
Been lifting since February last year, had a 3 month break at start of this year.

Hit 145kg bench 1rm PR.

Just had shit ton of energy today for some reason, everything felt right.
Before the biggest bench I've done was 120kg x5, never tested my 1rm.

>Tried 130kg went up relatively easy.
>Tried 140kg went up ok, a bit slow, but up.
>Decided to just say fuck it and go for 145kg, bit of grind from middle to end got it.

I'm like 6ft1 and currently 94kg (207lbs). I still remember that hitting 80kg bench for 5-6 reps was a big deal to me last year. Feels good man.

>>76423694
you should feel proud of yourself anon, great job at that. I relate to those random days where your body suddenly gets a burst of energy and strength and everything feels amazing. Those are the best days. Also that's 1.5x your bw, really good ratio!

>>76421099
You're probably weaker after 155x6.

45x10
95x5
135x5
175x3
195x1

might be better.

>>76423694

Nice bench anon.

>>76415255 (OP)
I would estimate 107kg. I do 105kg as part of my warmup before my first working set of 100kg. 105kg is a bit hard rn but it doesn't slaughter me so I would hazard a guess I can do 107kg giving it my all.

HOW THE FUCK DO INCREASE MY BENCH??? I’ve been stuck to 225 for 3 reps for the last 6 months

>>76425015
Idk, many variables at play. If you get DOMs from chest with no progress decrease volume. If not, increase the volume.

>>76415464
Nice. I started lifting again in Feb. TRT as well. I couldnt do 225 when I started, no fucking way. I can now do 5 reps of 225. Muscle is stacking on very nice as well. I was running 180mg TRT once a week (Test C) I have bumped it to 350 in 2 doses.
Im 47.
I bench with 195 lbs. I could push higher I guess.

>>76425047
Yes I could bump up weight. My partner is my girly and Im nervous she cant pull the bar off me if I fail.
>>I do have safety bars so no worries, really.

>>76425015
For me it's always adding weight, not reps. Even if I'm making invisible gains when doing high rep, it never seems to increase strength until I switch

>>76425015
Go up in weight. Get a partner, if only on bench press days. Get your partner to help you on concentric (going up) and you SLOWLY do eccentric (negatives, going down). Your muscles will SCREAM.

>>76425015
like the other anon said >>76425125 try adding weight and put aside your rep goal

my sticking point is always the bottom-most position so every second workout i lower the weight and lift without safeties (foreveralone) just to really stretch that position as well

f

>>76415255 (OP)
My PR is 140kg (315 3plates) but i was on 350mg a test per week. Took me 9months to reach it.

When i started lifting weights at 16 it took me 12months to reach 100kg bench (225) and 180kg deadlift (395)

With roids 350mg a week i did 225 after 2weeks of starting to work out.

180cm 5"11 and around 85-87kg 185-190lbs


Roids is so fucking easy to get strong, if i had done 500mg test and added tren i would easily do 4plates 180kg bench in 2years period.


I started lifting again as a natty this time older and muscle memory but still natty it took me 2months to reach 225lbs. Another 2months to go from 1 to 2reps at the same wieght.

With roids (350mg) it took me 2weeks to start repping on 100kg 225lbs... quite a big difference. You can also feel just how much stronger your muscles contract when ur juiced up compared to natty.

I think my natural test is probably pretty shit after my previous roid usage so im expecting it to take probably 2-3years before i hit 3plates instead of 9months while on 350mg test.

Luckily test isnt everything when it comes to strength, ur genetics for muscle building etc, frame, cns, like some women can get strong as fuck in powerlifting.

So despite my test levels being pretty damn fucked it aint over for me, i cna still improve qand get pretty strong

>>76425735
Also one limiting factor for me is i have the longest fucking arms 188cm 74inch between fingers so im really weak in bench for what i should be

alot of my family were elite athletes and bench was always my weakest due to the longest arms

thats why powerlifting is kinda meme, strongman shows strength better

in deadlift im a beast though

I am the same height as you, but am just over 140 lbs. I hit 100 kgs on the bench (two plates) once and then never again. I just felt superhuman on that day and broke my personal record of 80 kg for 5 reps, by doing it for 10 reps. I was halfway through my cut as well so it wasn't like I had energy to spare usually. My spotter then told me to go for 100 kgs since the previous set looked so easy for me. I did two sets of 1 rep with 2 plates. I have been riding that high ever since and have stopped bothering with benching. I don't think I could even do 100 kilos again. Keep going for it, because if I can do it, other people probably can too.
YW for the blog post.

>>76415255 (OP)
I mostly incline bench. My current PR is 300lbs for 3 reps. I'm 180lbs. I'm not sure how good or bad that is because social media has me believing anything less than 405 is weak.

>>76425826
>anything less than 405 is weak.
If you're on trt or juice yes

for a natty its good

>>76417232
>Wdym you wasted time as a kid?
I gamed when I could have worked out or socialized.

>>76424887
I'll take it into consideration. But idk about 45x10 and 95x5, it feels like I'm not working anything at all. I do that only when I haven't warmed up, but I usually do other stuff first before bench.

>>76425765
Surely if you got it once you can do it again if you start trying again.

Since you are the same height as me, how was the process of cutting?
I've been asking myself whether to do it or not, because in one hand I don't want to lose much strength, but I also want to have visible abs for the end of the year. I already believe I have a strong core, and sometimes barely I can see the shape there.
Idk how much you cutted from, but since you are aprox 64kilos, did you notice a difference in the aesthethic?

>>76425826
That's really good, don't worry about social media, everyone lies anyways. I should start doing incline bench tho, but I will do it with dumbbells.

>>76425897
Oh but I did the same as you, don't think of that as wasted time but more of as another part of your life. Your past makes your present. Keep it up anon

Most I've ever benched was 285 iirc I never really bother with benching though and probably could have gotten to 3 plate but I was busy with other shit
I was like 260 (6'4") at the time tho so not particularly impressive.

>>76425015
I agree with >>76425125, >>76425141 and >>76425132. Try adding weight, even if you barely lift it or can't at all. Make your body used to the weight

>>76425735
How old are you? Im the TRT guy who posted the pics. 47. Wish these had IDs, dont know who is replying or who Im talking to. I dont think I'll get to 315. Jeez. I can try though.

>>76425826
Comparison is the thief of joy.
Stop.
Ive heard flat bench is a waste, and to do only inclines.

>>76425735
It sounds like roids make a huge difference in pretty much everything, but 315 is something I could only dream of.
>So despite my test levels being pretty damn fucked it aint over for me, i cna still improve qand get pretty strong
Keep going for it anon, you will continue improving

>>76425970
I do flat bench, pushups and pec deck and I have a pretty good chest (as a personal opinion and what other people told me). And I never do inclines (even though I will start adding them), so personally I don't think flat bench is a waste

Just did 4x10, 120kg (to be honest 10, 10, 8+2, 7+3). In an official event some of the reps most likely wouldn't have counted, as my ass lifted from the bench, but fuck that.
Best is 155kg, but I seem to be hard stuck there, the magical 160kg haven't gotten any closer in the last 8 months. Maybe with a spotter I'd be able to get at least the 157.5, but gone gym master race

Stats: 104kg@1.82m, 29 years old, lifting for 10 years. Navy method puts me at 18%bf, but a realistic guess would rather be 24%

>>76425915
>Since you are the same height as me, how was the process of cutting?
It wasn't too bad honestly. I went from 66 kg to 62 kg, now I'm 63 kg. That was a cut from early February to mid-May. I just measured out 300-400 grams of meat for every day, allowed myself a single portion of bread (or potatoes) and then some fruit/ veg. Occasionally do a fast for a few days but always OMAD and the least amount of snacking I could stomach. After each meal I had some yoghurt with a tiny bit of honey That was basically lets say rolling 20 hour fasts. I had a cheat day once per week where I ate something I wanted but stayed away from sweets and did not pig out.

There was a pretty big difference but it was just too difficult for me to maintain 62 kg, or rather I did not have the will. I went from having just a tiny bit of definition to basically seeing the top 2 abs and sometimes seeing the next pair. If I slightly pull down some stomach fat I can see all six, but it's not too clear. I reckon another 2 kilo cut will make me look great, but I'm pretty sure my "natural" level of leanness is where I am now, though that might be cope. My arms veins are way more visible now.

Personally I never experienced any strength loss from either of my 2 cuts. I have been lifting since October 2023, for reference, so I might be still considered a newbie.

>>76425047
>>76425965
>>76426005
5 months 5reps at 225, trust me you will do 3plates soon enough.

If your doctor gives you 180-200mg a week u will get far past that too if you dedicate yourself

>>76426376
You give me hope, sir!
Yes Im prescribed 180mg a week Test C. I added my own to bring it up to 350 (split into 2 doses a week)
Im also on week 4 of Tren Ace at 100mg EOD.

>>76426005
I flat bench as well. Incline sometimes, but Im gassed by then. We do push-ups on the other days (not chest day) and dips. I'll have my P throw a 25 pound plate on my back on the push-ups. Go until I cant, remove the plate, and continue until I cant, then do slow negatives. I will build to the coveted 315.