Bench press.
5 years after I bought my first bench, I have finally achieved what once seemed so far away:
I can bench my own body weight comfortably (ie 6 reps).
Which is?
Your favourite gym exercise
- Thread starter Robert Plant
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Which is?
Well, I didn't want to brag about how much I could bench, which is why I stuck to the humble 'my own body weight' comment earlier.
I still don't want to brag about how much I can press, so I will show you a photo of myself so you can guess for yourself how much I'm pressing.
Me. As you can see, I'm into the same music as you.
Joke aside, I am pressing 90 kg's for six reps at the moment, but tend to stick with lower weights for more reps for most sets. I currently weigh 87 kg's but will have that back down to the low 80's before long, now that footy season is over and I can get back into my own rhythm.
My next frontier is pressing 100 kg's comfortably (ie six reps or so). Hopefully by Summer.
What are you pressing these days? And what do reckon is a good rep range for gauging strength on the press? As you can see, I like 6 reps (+/- 1 or 2) as a gauge.
Oberfuhrer Abetz
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Curls while staring sideways so I can see my guns in the mirror.
Well, I didn't want to brag about how much I could bench, which is why I stuck to the humble 'my own body weight' comment earlier.
I still don't want to brag about how much I can press, so I will show you a photo of myself so you can guess for yourself how much I'm pressing.
Me. As you can see, I'm into the same music as you.
Joke aside, I am pressing 90 kg's for six reps at the moment, but tend to stick with lower weights for more reps for most sets. I currently weigh 87 kg's but will have that back down to the low 80's before long, now that footy season is over and I can get back into my own rhythm.
My next frontier is pressing 100 kg's comfortably (ie six reps or so). Hopefully by Summer.
What are you pressing these days? And what do reckon is a good rep range for gauging strength on the press? As you can see, I like 6 reps (+/- 1 or 2) as a gauge.
I'm pressing anywhere from 120 to 160 depending on how i'm feeling,and how my shoulders are.I guess it's fair to say on an average chest workout at the moment i'm benching around 140 for 6-8 reps and 5 sets.
I don't really know what is a good indicator of bench strength,because like most heavy exercises alot of it comes down to genetics.If you're benching your own weight,and still improving,then in my opinion that's good strength.I consider myself comparitively weak when it comes to benching.There are guys my size that can bang out 180 no worries.
Jaysus.
How much do you weigh, if you don't mind my asking?
122kg,although i tend to float from anywhere from 115 to 123 or so,seemingly at random.A couple of years ago,i had a good run with injuries,allowing me to train for about 10 months solid.I was about 113kg's at the end of that,i'd like to get there again.As any lifter knows,a slightly trimmer 113kg actually looks bigger than a slightly fatter 120kg's.The fun part of having a bit of extra bodyfat is the guns look huge
just over 20 inches atm
Kong
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Am loving the Standing Shoulder Press lately.
It's bloody satisfying to lift a reasonable amount of weight, standing up with perfect form (whilst concentrating on contracting the middle and front delts all of the way). At the end of each set I hold it up just before the lock-out position to fully exhaust the delts; not only does it work wonders, it's pretty good for the ego, too.
Would love to actually test my strength on it sometime, to see how much I can hold above my head.
It's bloody satisfying to lift a reasonable amount of weight, standing up with perfect form (whilst concentrating on contracting the middle and front delts all of the way). At the end of each set I hold it up just before the lock-out position to fully exhaust the delts; not only does it work wonders, it's pretty good for the ego, too.
Would love to actually test my strength on it sometime, to see how much I can hold above my head.
122kg,although i tend to float from anywhere from 115 to 123 or so,seemingly at random.A couple of years ago,i had a good run with injuries,allowing me to train for about 10 months solid.I was about 113kg's at the end of that,i'd like to get there again.As any lifter knows,a slightly trimmer 113kg actually looks bigger than a slightly fatter 120kg's.The fun part of having a bit of extra bodyfat is the guns look huge
Are the blokes doing 180 (or even your good self, if I may ask) using some kind of... chemical enhancement?
I suppose some are,but there are natural powerlifters that can bench 180.I have done one course of juice yeah.Probably go again later this year or early next.Although i'm not 100% sure yet,because i have a few niggles,sometimes i have to just stop training altogether,and i don't want that to happen half way through a course.So the timing and maintenence has to be spot on.
Thanks for the honesty. How much does a 'course' set one back? And once you get off the juice, can you still hold onto some/most of the gains?
cost depends on what you use and for how long.You can do a course of Sustanon 250,which is human (not vet) test for a few hundred dollars.Say around 600 for a 12 mils,but it varies depends on your connections of course.You can certainly do a good course of quality juice for less than a grand.
In regards to gains,this is complicated.It depends on what you had in the first place.You will almost certainly lose some of the size you gained when you come off the juice,but still have a net gain of size and strength overall.I had net gains,and i did what would be considered quite a low dosage course.But keep in mind i'd already been training off and on for years,and was already pretty big.I mean,a 19 year old stick insect who does juice is wasting his time.I would recommend at least 2 or 3 years of solid training first,and make sure you're finished growing (for a male,this is about 21-22 yrs old i think).
Juice is not a substitute for hard work and heavy lifting.In my opinion it should be used to compliment an already mature physique,if at all.And it will never overcome genetics.
The muscle that is forever the slave of genetics...
cycling is the best i think.Calf raises might have some effect,then again they might not
peternorth
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i have massive calves, built up over years and years (i mean starting in high school through uni). have lived in a 2 storey house so always ran up stairs.
but aside from that
but as others have said, its genetics.
peternorth
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I have only done a few sessions on the calves, and they already look bigger and a lot more cut... obviously time will tell if that continues, but are you saying is a point where no matter what you do to train your calves, they will not get bigger?
In response to this thread, nothing compares to really heavy deadlifts... nothing.
What does that mean anyway?
Yo, dudes, I've recently added squats to my routine, and need some advice.
I'm noticing that, as I get down near parallel, I really feel like my lower back is doing a bit of weight-bearing, and I'm often a bit stiff in the lower back after doing them. Also started getting a bit of pain when I sit down at work for long periods.
I've had a look at my form, and I don't notice a whole lot of rounding, but I can't be certain. I may start bending forward from just above my hips the further down I get.
Trainer at the gym said my form seemed ok, but I've just got this niggling feeling that it doesn't "feel" right when I'm doing it. I'm built like a rail, and have a proud family tradition of back problems, so it's not an exercise I'm inclined to take any risks with (I've been keeping it very light at the moment - just the bar or with 10-odd kilos on it) until I'm confident in my form.
So, yeah, any tips on how to get started with this exercise? Most significantly, how does it "feel" when you're doing it right?
I'm noticing that, as I get down near parallel, I really feel like my lower back is doing a bit of weight-bearing, and I'm often a bit stiff in the lower back after doing them. Also started getting a bit of pain when I sit down at work for long periods.
I've had a look at my form, and I don't notice a whole lot of rounding, but I can't be certain. I may start bending forward from just above my hips the further down I get.
Trainer at the gym said my form seemed ok, but I've just got this niggling feeling that it doesn't "feel" right when I'm doing it. I'm built like a rail, and have a proud family tradition of back problems, so it's not an exercise I'm inclined to take any risks with (I've been keeping it very light at the moment - just the bar or with 10-odd kilos on it) until I'm confident in my form.
So, yeah, any tips on how to get started with this exercise? Most significantly, how does it "feel" when you're doing it right?
I'm no expert nor am I a monster on the squat rack (just hit my first goal though, repping 100kg haha). but I find one key to keeping my back straight is to keep my head back a bit and my shoulders really wide with my chest out.
Also I put a bench under my arse, so I know how far to go down. Don't really think this is cheating myself in any way, but it just helps with my form so I'm consistent with how deep I go. Just don't 'push' off it or then you are cheating.
Of course if others want to correct me feel free
I dont proclaim to be an expert.
