General Cycling Discussion - how much can you bench press ?

I have never been much of a weight lifter, in fact I rarely lift weights. However, 3 months ago I decided to hit the gym and lift weights 3 times a week. So far I am making it about twice a week but oh well. The thing that really strikes me in the gym is that EVERY single male is bigger and stronger than me. I weigh 122 lbs but right now my max bench press is 155 lbs which I thought was pretty good for never lifting weights.

At 122lbs it isn't really surprising that most males are "stronger" than you.
Afterall, they're carrying around all that extra weight all the time.

Now the thing is, if you stick to weight-training as a smaller guy, you'll probably see significant gains much faster than a galoot like me.
And you'll be cut like greek god.

I'd rather be lean and mean than to look like the dad on that Orange County chopper show.

That said, my max is 385lbs on the bench, in competition form (pause) at a bodyweight of 179.

When I hit 52 I was still doing 350lbs at the end of the bench workout in a gym with lots of surprised witnesses.

I don't worry about it too much. I do some strength training, but could care less about the total weight versus someone else. My satisfaction comes from knowing that at 50+ I am in a lot better shape than a lot of 35-40 year olds I see. :D

Aaron :)

How high up a wall can you wee.. how fast can you play 'Orange Blossom Special'.
same thing.

its the squats and leg presses that get you moving with more power on the bike.

"6"...yeah "6".
I won't say 6 what or how often. But I will say, "6".
What that has to do with anything, I have no idea.
But I'll stick with "6".

Bench press is overrated.

Not sure that (fill in name of your favorite pro cyclist) worries about how much they can bench. It's how fast/hard/long/efficiently, etc he can ride the bike. If cycling is your sport of choice - tailor your weight training for it, and stop worrying about the bench press.

155# for a body weight of 122#, is pretty good. I'd at least maintain it.

Max bench (or any other exercise) is less valuable than how many times you can do a similar exercise. I'm more impressed by someone who can bench 200 pounds 40 times then by someone who can bench 250 one time. Even the NFL uses this as a major measure of stregnth, having players do reps of 225 during the rookie combine.

Back in the early days, as a freshmen in college, I weighed 185 lbs and could bench 300 lbs, once. That was way before I even thought about riding a bike. I'll also say that I probably had the endurance of a fat sloth. I was very strong for my size, but I seriously douobt I could have jogged a mile without being way too winded. Fast forward about 7 years, and I weigh about 12 lbs less, have no idea how much I could bench, as I haven't lifted weights in over 5 years, but can jog 5 miles, and regularly bike 40.

I would guess that I would be luck to bench my own weight. I would tell anyone that I'm much healthier now, but I do feel like I've traded strength for endurance.

Bench press is most important when you consider your body weight vs. your max bench weight. For example lots of law enforcement agencies require you to take the cooper fitness test. To pass the benchpress portion you are expected to bench 80% of your body weight. So by that measure for you to be benching 150 and only weigh 120 your doing damn good. As was already mentioned though, being able to do reps with your body weight I.E. weighing 120 and benching reps of 120 is still a better measure of strength.

Nice i weigh around 135 and can max out at 185 not to bad,but then again i tried weights for alittle bit i tried all the powders and all that ate like a tank and didnt gain any weight at all beside 2 pounds in a month and to me for the extra 150 i spent on food and powders wasnt worth it to me.

When I worked out in the gym many many years ago I was happy with being able to bench 160 when I weighed 135 pounds and held the leg press record at the same gym based on % of weight to the lift.

Primarily worked on endurance for martial arts, rock climbing, and cycling where packing extra weight is a handicap and it was only when I went into working and wrestling with steel on a daily basis that I added much upper body mass and got some really huge legs.

Lifted 250#- after a 15 year hiatus from lifting- twice a week back.

I'm 6' 205 FWIW.

Nice i weigh around 135 and can max out at 185 not to bad,but then again i tried weights for alittle bit i tried all the powders and all that ate like a tank and didnt gain any weight at all beside 2 pounds in a month and to me for the extra 150 i spent on food and powders wasnt worth it to me.

Did you do any lifts besides bench? Squats are where it's at.

I can bench press both girlfriends if they hang on to the bar......

OK first, for context, I'm a clyde with a linebacker frame. Back in the day I could do 425# for three reps. I maxed @ 455# and blew out a shoulder trying 475#. I had to quit benching for a year because of that. And the biggest insult of it all was that my workout partnter put up 525# that day. I hurt myself because I stupidly tried to keep up with him. That's when I quit worrying about max bench. the point is, that no matter what your number is, there is someone who can do more - just like average speed.

Of course, I'm 15 years older now, and even in my best shape (which I'm not in) I couldnt come anywhere near that. In fact, if I could work back up to a max of 315# I'd be really happy.


Besides, your body type isn't meant for heavy lifting. Just like mine isn't meant to fit into euro cut jerseys.

I'm 6 foot and weigh 123 lbs. I lift weights as well but my max for bench is 110. The fact that you are benching 30lbs over your body weight is exceptional! Really, good job and keep it up. I know how you feel man, I get looks all the time at the gym from meat heads, I just shrug and say, "Gotta start somewhere." You are doing awesome man don't trip.

As a former college football player and competitive power lifter, bench press is waaaaay behind lifts like squats or cleans or deadlifts in relevance to athletic performance in just about any sport.

Asking about bench press on a cycling forum is about as relevant as asking if someone can breath the atmosphere on Neptune.

Just curious OP.

122#'s and how tall?

I could bench 250 in high school (weighed 135) and have never checked since. Bench press really isn't important with respect to, well, anything.

I could bench 250 in high school (weighed 135) and have never checked since. Bench press really isn't important with respect to, well, anything.

Except that's pretty impressive.

I don't like the bench press so I rarely do it. My one rep max is about the same, but when I am training I usually do 120.

Except that's pretty impressive.

Thanks, I thought so at the time with the ubiquitous self-centered world view of youth, but of course it wasn't that exceptional. People develop the ability to press insane amounts of weight. My unqualified advise is to forget about maximum bench press and just concentrate on pushups along with full-body exercises.

Back when I was 220 I'd work my way up to 330 while pyramiding up in weight. I worked out alone so I never had a spotter so I never really maxed out.

my bench press workout:

135 lbs- s ets of 15 reps to warm up
185 10 reps still warming up
225 10 reps
250 8 reps
275 6 reps
300 3 reps
330 1 rep
then down
250 4 reps
220 10 reps
135 20 reps

then incline bench:

180 10 reps 3 sets then off to the pec deck for high rep light weight concentrated movements.


and yes, I had no problem riding a 5 1/2 hour century on a bicycle. :D

Doesn't show all the equipment I had but an idea. Squat rack on the opposite side of the room.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5043/5230151194_8825dc9cda.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40913998@N06/5230151194/)
IMG_4718 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40913998@N06/5230151194/) by gulpxtreme (http://www.flickr.com/people/40913998@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5247/5229557847_dbe30d5c1d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40913998@N06/5229557847/)
IMG_4717 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/40913998@N06/5229557847/) by gulpxtreme (http://www.flickr.com/people/40913998@N06/), on Flickr

225x35
315x15-18
405x4-6

I weigh 218

Thanks, I thought so at the time with the ubiquitous self-centered world view of youth, but of course it wasn't that exceptional. People develop the ability to press insane amounts of weight. My unqualified advise is to forget about maximum bench press and just concentrate on pushups along with full-body exercises.

Wrong- one rep / low rep maxes are very good, but must be used sparingly. Reps, speed reps, high weight/low reps all have their uses and train muscles differently.

Those who say bench is overrated probably can't bench €€*** - but no it is not the be all end all of exercises.

There are few lifting types of exercises that get your whole body the way maxing out the big three do - bench, squat, and dead lift.

There are few lifting types of exercises that get your whole body the way maxing out the big three do - bench, squat, and dead lift.

That's right! The major pressing movements are the ones that add size. I've seen lots of guys doing curls and other refining movements and wonder why they can't add muscle or size. The heavy major movements do as they incorporate every muscle fiber and related muscle needed to do the movement.

When I lifted I rarely ever did bicep curls. This exercise is a finishing movement. But many thought I did lots of curling since I had decent biceps. It was all from benching and heavy shoulder presses that were demanding on the biceps and triceps if done correctly.

Wrong- one rep / low rep maxes are very good, but must be used sparingly. Reps, speed reps, high weight/low reps all have their uses and train muscles differently.

Those who say bench is overrated probably can't bench €€*** - but no it is not the be all end all of exercises.

There are few lifting types of exercises that get your whole body the way maxing out the big three do - bench, squat, and dead lift.

As I said, "unqualified", and I fully expected qualified trainers to disagree. ;)

But it's not generally "wrong". Your context - that of a weight training regimen - is more limited than mine is. Pushups, pullups and situps and then add specific exercises as you wish, I'm not wrong about that. And btw, I assume that "full body exercise" does include squats and dead lifts.

Half my weight.

There are few lifting types of exercises that get your whole body the way maxing out the big three do - bench, squat, and dead lift.Those are my three foundational lifts when on a gym/weight training schedule. I used to be a competing powerlifter in the 165 and 181's. Still love to bench press but I wont be on an active lifting schedule while out on the fogline during the summer months.

roughly 2 and a half clowns.

or a 2 full sized clowns and one half-man or a dwarf....maybe 2 small children

roughly 2 and a half clowns.

or a 2 full sized clowns and one half-man or a dwarf....maybe 2 small children

Define "small children", kids are kind of fat these days. Small as in height or weight? I need to know so I can judge my clown pressing awesomeness.

I started weightlifting after high school to get in shape and have been stuck on it since. I never put much emphasis on barbell but I have reached 315, I prefer to use dumbbells for the range of motion and so I don't favor one side. I have recently gotten back into biking because because I was getting too big/fat for my clothes. Down 10lbs so far!

I don't know how much I can bench press, but I can do 25 push-ups with the Perfect Push-Up. I'd say one push-up on those things is equivalent to 2 push-ups on the floor. So, I might be able to do 50 push-ups.

roughly 2 and a half clowns.

or a 2 full sized clowns and one half-man or a dwarf....maybe 2 small children

As long as they are balanced I can do 2 full sized and 2 dwarf clowns. 1 full sized and 1 dwarf is just too unbalanced to lift. But if I put one of each on each end of the bar I'm ok. I've actually lifted 2 full size and 3 dwarf clowns with one hanging in the middle. The little bugger in the middle kicked me in the junk and I dropped them all. Learned my lesson that time. Never let a dwarf clown hang near your manberries.

My step father was a huge man with a chest you could not wrap your arms around, had massive legs, and he could swing a 30 pound sledge like we would use a roofing hammer... when I was running track in school I challenged him to a foot race and he destroyed me.

My grandfather was a beast and worked with my father in a lumber camp in the 40's and until he arrived, my grandfather was considered to be the strongest man there but told me he had never seen anything like my stepfather when it came to the raw strength. My stepfather made money taking bets on how much he could lift.

Seeing him dead lift and toss a full oil drum into the back of the truck like it was nothing made me thankful he never hit me and discovered he was quite a wrecking machine when it came to brawling... was told he was not much for punching but would just pick people up and toss them into fixed objects.

These are guys who never saw the inside of a gym and would have laughed at the "how much can you bench" although if they tried I bet it would have been impressive...in his 70's my grandfather could dead lift more than his kids and grand kids and during one building project he picked up a cast iron stove that weight 400 plus pounds and walked it up a flight of stairs.