One of the more iconic exercises is bench press. Therefore, it is really surprising that people ask about the weight that is lifted. More over, people are divided into those who lift one hundred kilos and those who lift less. It is not surprising, therefore, that it is somehow an indicator of a person’s level of physical strength. Althouhg there are people who are sceptical, certainly many readers strive to improve their performance in this exercise. As long as you read this this text, you will be able to see how much you lift in terms of your weight, level of training, and whether it is a result worth bragging. And how to achieve it by changing the way you do the exercises.
Lifting a barbell while lying is a great exercise. If it performer regularl, the efficiency also improves. In addition, you can not ignore the fact that this is an excellent indicator of our level of mobility and motor skills. Seemingly bench press does not present anything difficult, but it is only superficial. It is not enough to remove the bar from the racks, lower it to the chest and push it up again.
It is necessary to do this exercise correctly but also to take care of the correct trajectory of movement and closing the circuit stabilizing the whole body. Incorrectly done exercise not only leads to incompetent time management, but also to wasting potential. Therefore, before we start checking in this exercise, you must first master the technique, and also perform the exercise comprehensively. It is advisable to get to know these tips in order to ensure efficiency as well as safety.
Table of content
How do you lift more on the chest? Rules that you need to know!
Correct posture
One of the most important aspects affecting the improvement of the results in the bench press is the use of the method of large back bending. The point here is to fasten the upper back with a bench before removing the barbell from the racks. In turn, the hips should adhere to it. The final effect of these activities is the arched spine. The goal should be to make it as large as possible. In this way, our attitude will be as close as possible to that on a horizontal bench. Then it is much easier to lift higher loads. This is due to the fact that the bent silhouette makes it possible to overcome a shorter road, and therefore we need to use less force to lift it. – mayoclinic.org says.
The width of the handle matters
Another aspect that matters in the context of weight progression is the width of the grip with which we grab the barbell. If the distance between the arms is too wide, it will be much harder for us to squeeze a large weight. On the other hand, you need to be aware that there is no universal method that precisely determines your hand spacing in this particular situation. Hence, the width appropriate to the conditions must be determined as part of individual practice. However, there is a rule saying that having stronger three-headed muscles of the arms. We can use a slightly narrower handle. It must be wider for the weaker. By using a wider handle, the load path is shorter, and it is easier to initiate a lift movement. The downside of this grip is, in turn, the more difficult final phase of movement.
Foot arrangement
When squeezing the barbell, the way we put our feet on the floor also plays an important role. Certainly, the feet must adhere to the ground with their entire surface, and it is even advisable to press them into the ground. Being a short person, it is recommended to place pads under the feet, e.g. barbell plates. Due to this clogging in the ground, it creates a slight movement of the hips, and the energy generated from it is transferred through the hips, further across the back and directed towards the hands. It affects the faster detachment of the bar from the chest.
Range of motion
It can be seen that many bodybuilders leave the bar on the chest high above the nipples, and sometimes even around the neck. The above solution works only when the primary goal is to build muscle mass. In the event that our primary goal is the greater weight obtained in the bench press, the above habit will not work. In this matter it is worth watching, even powerlifting. They drop the bar to the nipple line, and there are also competitors going even lower. This solution is perfect for improving the results because we shorten the path that the barbell has to overcome.
A matter of attitude and motivation
In addition to the correct technique and typically physical factors, the mental aspect also plays an important role in intentional bench press. To improve your current record, you need to be sure of it and go your way. Without a focus on success, it is difficult to make progress on a certain level.
Chest bench press
It is not unequivocal to determin how much should be lifted on the chest. A few factor nedd to be taken into concideration, such as a level of advancement or weight. However, to some extent there is a chance to get to know, although roughly, adequate performance that matches our situation. Let’s remember that people are built differently, and with an emphasized chest and relatively short arms it is much easier to carry heavy loads. It should not be surprising then that most of the leaking records are low.
However, we will focus not on professionals, but on ordinary people who want to record better and better results and at the same time to be able to confront them with reality. For this purpose, a bench press calculator will be useful, but first it is worth presenting the breakdown by level of training. However, before we get to it, it is worth presenting the classification of the trainees because it will facilitate further analysis.
Classification of trainees
- Novice – this is a person who is just taking the first steps in strength training. He usually has some theoretical knowledge, but practice and skills do not follow it.
- Beginners – such a person has already started training. It is usually said here for an internship of 3 to 9 months.
- Intermediate – someone who trains for about two years and presents a decent form. At the same time, there are no breaks in training.
- Advanced – with this term we appoint someone who exercises about five years, such someone knows various types of exercise techniques, at the same time it is supported by relevant results.
- Professional – in this case, someone who has a training experience is much longer than five years. He is often professionally involved in strength or figure sports. Of course, this is visible in high skills. It is necessary to say clearly and definitely such a level is achieved by a very small percentage of exercisers.
Online bench press table
| Body weight (kilos) | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 100 | 110 | 110 + |
| Novic | 40 | 43 | 46 | 49 | 52 | 55 | 58 | 61 | 64 | 67 | 70 | 72 |
| Beginner | 45 | 49 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 71 | 75 | 81 | 87 | 90 |
| Intermediate | 54 | 59 | 64 | 69 | 74 | 79 | 83 | 88 | 92 | 98 | 104 | 107 |
| Advanced | 80 | 87 | 94 | 101 | 108 | 114 | 120 | 126 | 132 | 140 | 146 | 150 |
| Professional | 100 | 108 | 116 | 124 | 133 | 142 | 151 | 159 | 166 | 174 | 180 | 185 |
Chest press and body weight
It is estimated that an average man just starting training in the gym is able to lift about 70% of his body weight in barbell bench press on the horizontal bench. For women, we have a range between 25 and 50% of their body weight. You can see here that the compartment dedicated to women is much more spacious, which is due to hormonal fluctuations. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the average man, with typical fitness and being around twenty years old, should be able to lift about 106% of his body weight. In turn, ladies have this level set at around 57%.
How much should I lift?
At the age of over forty, it already suggests a decrease in these values to 88 for men and 52% for women. When we are over fifty years old, these values are 75% for men and 46% for women, respectively. Of course, it should be noted that these are the results that can be obtained by most of us, but you need to spend at least a year on training. On the other hand, they also get these results faster because they are average values for most populations. Based on various studies, it is determined that the conversion bench press for an amateur sports man, and therefore he is not planned to appear in competitions, is recorded at 100% of his weight. In turn, women should strive to be able to lift the equivalent of about ¾ of their weight. These results come from research and analysis resulting from the experience of trainers dealing with physical preparation.
It is worth realizing that these are the results presented above are intended as a guide for adults. At the same time, they should be treated as a goal when our current results are lower than those given. Therefore, such a maximum weight calculator should motivate us and encourage constant physical development.
A word of summary
Barbell bench press is one of the key exercises that helps in the development of many sports. As a result, you absolutely cannot afford to miss our training plan. When preparing your training, which aims to improve the maximum results in this exercise, you should remember that you should develop holistically. Hence, you cannot neglect training units that are designed to improve our dynamics or hypertrophy, and more important muscle parts. For this we recommend taking care of eliminating weak links. Certainly there will be no sense in discussing the next innovative methods of periodization of strength training in the event that we neglect the fundamental elements. In fact, first you need to improve and correct the extrusion technique and exclude weak links. It is these issues that must be our priorities during the next trainings. Underestimating, it does not even make sense to wonder how much I should lift because we will not be able to make significant progress. In addition, senior councils can be invaluable. Such a person, observing our technique from the side, can advise on seemingly minor modification which will ead to better results and further progress.
