Bench Pressing Twice your Body Weight.

[_aj_]

New to the forum. I came across this thread and thought it pretty interesting, lots of responses. I can currently do a 2 x body weight bench press raw. I am 46 and weigh in at 212. My son made a youtube video of me on my last set of benching a while back. I had done a lot of reps at 225 before the 405 single, so my strength was tapped somewhat, not a lot, but enough to make a noticeable difference.

Vid below:

Props.

[ukjeff]

My excuse, besides being old is that my arms are 36" long (sleeve length). This is a heck of a long ways to push up that weight when you are only 5'11" tall.

[XFACTOR]

I haven't stood on a scale in probably three years. I'm guessing 210-220. So 440 around.  I tried 405 about a month ago and struggled. So I would most likely fail this challenge.

[Irongrip400]

It really is a Midget, Manlet Exercise.
405@165 here

We had a bench contest in college and a dude, who wasn't fat, but his arms were probably 15" tops and he was short, did this same lift. It was very impressive.

[Tedim]

New to the forum. I came across this thread and thought it pretty interesting, lots of responses. I can currently do a 2 x body weight bench press raw. I am 46 and weigh in at 212. My son made a youtube video of me on my last set of benching a while back. I had done a lot of reps at 225 before the 405 single, so my strength was tapped somewhat, not a lot, but enough to make a noticeable difference.

Vid below:

Two Thumbs up...

[T-REX007]

Thanks gents

Honestly, I think the bench press is the hardest lift to get really good at for most people -myself included
(Elite level I am talking here) -  what IS elite level differs for some people I am sure-  for me squats and deads just seemed to grow without nearly the effort required for bench pressing - again just me talking here

[Primemuscle]

Thanks gents

Honestly, I think the bench press is the hardest lift to get really good at for most people -myself included
(Elite level I am talking here) -  what IS elite level differs for some people I am sure-  for me squats and deads just seemed to grow without nearly the effort required for bench pressing - again just me talking here

I agree with what you are saying here. It certainly has been my experience that making gains bench pressing are very difficult. Congratulations on your success. I like using the smith machine for benching too because I am less likely to drop the weight on my neck. My grip is poor due to arthritis in my hands and the cramping that occurs there. My favorite machine is the ISO lateral flat bench press. It is virtually impossible to drop the weight on oneself using this equipment. I find that removing this fear allows me to take more risks as to the amount of weight I will use.

[deadpan]

my best was about 1.5 but i stopped doing flat bench. shit exercise, impinges your shoulders, doesn't do any good for chest, all front delts with some triceps. i'm starting to do decline though, much better imo.

dorian yates is of the same opinion, he talks a lot about benching forms here

can't embed unfortunately because it's MD

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/md-tv/lifestyles/2010-md-spring-seminar/2660-gaspari-nutrition-presents-the-md-seminar-dorian-yates-chest-training.html

[Primemuscle]

my best was about 1.5 but i stopped doing flat bench. shit exercise, impinges your shoulders, doesn't do any good for chest, all front delts with some triceps. i'm starting to do decline though, much better imo.

dorian yates is of the same opinion, he talks a lot about benching forms here

can't embed unfortunately because it's MD

http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/md-tv/lifestyles/2010-md-spring-seminar/2660-gaspari-nutrition-presents-the-md-seminar-dorian-yates-chest-training.html

I am concerned about doing declines only. Being old, my pecs are fuller at the bottom than higher on my chest. This is the effect of gravity I suppose. I don't have tits like some old guys do. Thank goodness.

Have you seen photos of Arnold in recent years when he's been photographed completely out of shape? Was a time when he had pecs that were admirable. In fact some contend it was his best body part. The sure as heck aren't that anymore. Last photo I saw, it looked like he needed a pec lift.

[deadpan]

I am concerned about doing declines only. Being old, my pecs are fuller at the bottom than higher on my chest. This is the effect of gravity I suppose. I don't have tits like some old guys do. Thank goodness.

Have you seen photos of Arnold in recent years when he's been photographed completely out of shape? Was a time when he had pecs that were admirable. In fact some contend it was his best body part. The sure as heck aren't that anymore. Last photo I saw, it looked like he needed a pec lift.

dorian argues that the bench variation doesn't have any effect on where your chest fills out and that's all genetics. if you look at arnold in his heydey, he definitely seems to have a rounder fuller "boob" chest at the bottom than on top, unlike a guy like franco who has a massive upper chest split but not much in the way of a lower chest. not sure if it's true or not. as someone who wants to build an insane franco-esque split i hope not, but it seems that way.

i think posture has a lot to do with the sagging you describe, back then (and still today) everyone focuses on chest and arms and end up getting massively overpowered anterior delts which leads to that hunched over, shoulder girdle protraction posture, which in my opinion allows the chest to sag over time as opposed to keeping your shoulders back and standing straight up which tightens and lifts it.

[Primemuscle]

dorian argues that the bench variation doesn't have any effect on where your chest fills out and that's all genetics. if you look at arnold in his heydey, he definitely seems to have a rounder fuller "boob" chest at the bottom than on top, unlike a guy like franco who has a massive upper chest split but not much in the way of a lower chest. not sure if it's true or not. as someone who wants to build an insane franco-esque split i hope not, but it seems that way.

i think posture has a lot to do with the sagging you describe, back then (and still today) everyone focuses on chest and arms and end up getting massively overpowered anterior delts which leads to that hunched over, shoulder girdle protraction posture, which in my opinion allows the chest to sag over time as opposed to keeping your shoulders back and standing straight up which tightens and lifts it.

Like you suggest there many things that affect how one's pectorals develop and appear. In my case, bad posture plays a big role. Although I don't have deltoid development which probably leads to that hunched over posture.

I matured young in that I was a lot taller than my fellow classmates when I was as young a 12 and still in grade school. I was this tall skinny kid who hunch over because I wanted to look more like my classmates. This bad posture stuck with me long after my classmate started to surpass me in height. My maximum height being at 17 or 18 years when I was 5'11". There are probably medical reasons why I didn't continue to grow, but they were undiagnosed. After all 5'11" was taller than the average back then. However, my father was 6'5" so clearly something was wrong. My mom wasn't short either at 5'8".

I have a good sized hump at the top of my spine which I first noticed decades ago. Perhaps if I were to spend a year or two in traction, I might be able to change this some. At my age, I am not about to devote that much time to anything that isn't fun. I think I will just have to work with the bad posture because it isn't going to change much now.

Perhaps one of the reasons some people like me get into bodybuilding is to improve on our natural genetics. That being the case, I prefer to believe I can develop the pectorals of my dreams if I just work them long and hard enough, employing the right exercises. I'd prefer to hold on to this fantasy, if that is what it is, rather than give up. My center insertion is wide. I can accept that, although I would prefer a nice tight line there.

[Sherief Shalaby]

this was more than twice my BW

[deadpan]

Like you suggest there many things that affect how one's pectorals develop and appear. In my case, bad posture plays a big role. Although I don't have deltoid development which probably leads to that hunched over posture.

I matured young in that I was a lot taller than my fellow classmates when I was as young a 12 and still in grade school. I was this tall skinny kid who hunch over because I wanted to look more like my classmates. This bad posture stuck with me long after my classmate started to surpass me in height. My maximum height being at 17 or 18 years when I was 5'11". There are probably medical reasons why I didn't continue to grow, but they were undiagnosed. After all 5'11" was taller than the average back then. However, my father was 6'5" so clearly something was wrong. My mom wasn't short either at 5'8".

I have a good sized hump at the top of my spine which I first noticed decades ago. Perhaps if I were to spend a year or two in traction, I might be able to change this some. At my age, I am not about to devote that much time to anything that isn't fun. I think I will just have to work with the bad posture because it isn't going to change much now.

Perhaps one of the reasons some people like me get into bodybuilding is to improve on our natural genetics. That being the case, I prefer to believe I can develop the pectorals of my dreams if I just work them long and hard enough, employing the right exercises. I'd prefer to hold on to this fantasy, if that is what it is, rather than give up. My center insertion is wide. I can accept that, although I would prefer a nice tight line there.

yeah i was hunched over too, my growth spurt happened early and i got to my current height (6'3") at like 15 or 16, so my posture suffered. coupled with clueless weightlifting in high school (chest and biceps allday errday), it got worse, but working my upper back has helped immensely.

you might have some luck with various site injection routines if you're that determined. some people swear by various peptides like MGF for achieving this purpose, but i've never seen it done for specific parts of the chest as far as i'm aware

[Primemuscle]

yeah i was hunched over too, my growth spurt happened early and i got to my current height (6'3") at like 15 or 16, so my posture suffered. coupled with clueless weightlifting in high school (chest and biceps allday errday), it got worse, but working my upper back has helped immensely.

you might have some luck with various site injection routines if you're that determined. some people swear by various peptides like MGF for achieving this purpose, but i've never seen it done for specific parts of the chest as far as i'm aware

Thanks for the tip. I will check this out.

I think we all were clueless when it came to weight training when we were still kids. I did have the benefit of an experienced bodybuilder to mentor me for a few years. Even so, that was over 50 years ago and we've all learn a lot that we didn't know about proper lifting techniques over the years. I do still see many younger and older folks doing some pretty odd looking lifts at the gym though. So maybe not everyone has progressed.

[prizm]

It really is a Midget, Manlet Exercise.

[The Idol]

i did 315 for two+three reps, am at 185 lbs.  i guess i could do 370, but i'm not risking a pec tear, have nothing to gain, so i will never know.

Sure you did.

[Mattyh7688]

I did 455x2 at about 235 a few years ago... I don't flat bench almost ever anymore, and I changed my lifting to more bodybuilder since then

[OTHstrong]

I did 455x2 at about 235 a few years ago... I don't flat bench almost ever anymore, and I changed my lifting to more bodybuilder since then

I was just about to make a thread tomorrow asking where you went but now I don`t have too, lol. 

[T-REX007]

I think as you get heavier it's gets somewhat harder to bench 2 x bodyweight -been my experience anyways. When I first doubled my body weight on FB it seemed a lot easier at 175 than it did at 215, again just me talking here.

I think it's harder for a 250 lb. guy to hit 5 bills than it is for a 200 lb. guy to hit 4 bills

[slaveboy1980]

Don't bench press anymore and I see no point in bragging about the past. 

[deceiver]

I'm getting close, I think I'll be able to do that in a year or two.

[Ronnie Rep]

I've done 350 at 185 a long time ago! Never did singles or max's!

[dj181]

I've done 350 at 185 a long time ago! Never did singles or max's!

impressive

[Mr Nobody]

360 is Big Dicked Bob's warmup set.

[Mattyh7688]

I was just about to make a thread tomorrow asking where you went but now I don`t have too, lol. 

Just moved to Columbus for an awesome new job. Working kind of a lot, and don't feel comfortable yet to go on getbig at work ha.. although I am sure its ok.

So I have been busy with adjusting, training(best its been in a long time), and using online dating to find a massive amount of whores.