Can alot of guys actually bench 3 plates

[Octaneforce]

The most important ego lift...the bench press.

It seems benching 3 plates (315) is almost a rite of passage for weight lifters/gym bros. Theres alot of guys who are pretty experienced lifters and cant press that much. And im not saying thats bad, most of the guys at my gym who look awesome actually dont seem to exercise with a ton of weight. I go to a local gym and its a mixed bags. You got your regular folks just going through the motions, and then theres a handful of freaks sprinkled in. Id say im somewhere in between, maybe slightly above average. When i load 3 plates onto the bench people start looking at me sideways.

So...Can you press 3 plates? And i mean clean full reps. Touching chest and all the way back up. Nothing is worse than seeing a guy do 1/3 reps with practically no range of motion.

Id like to reiterate that i am a broscience tool and everyone has a different way to build strength and it might not be by benching

[Ernst]

Well, it's true that I don't do flat bench and I don't lift for max weight...

but no, I'm pretty sure I couldn't put up 315lbs once, much less for 3 clean reps.

[Livinlean]

Im lucky to be at a gym with some heavy lifters... Always find motivation even on a long day after seeing someone lift a ridiculous weight.

I can bench 315 for 12-13 clean reps but there will usually be someone there who can out lift me lol... on chest anyways

[AR's King Silabolin]

The most important ego lift...the bench press.

It seems benching 3 plates (315) is almost a rite of passage for weight lifters/gym bros. Theres alot of guys who are pretty experienced lifters and cant press that much. And im not saying thats bad, most of the guys at my gym who look awesome actually dont seem to exercise with a ton of weight. I go to a local gym and its a mixed bags. You got your regular folks just going through the motions, and then theres a handful of freaks sprinkled in. Id say im somewhere in between, maybe slightly above average. When i load 3 plates onto the bench people start looking at me sideways.

So...Can you press 3 plates? And i mean clean full reps. Touching chest and all the way back up. Nothing is worse than seeing a guy do 1/3 reps with practically no range of motion.

Id like to reiterate that i am a broscience tool and everyone has a different way to build strength and it might not be by benching

I do one plate inclines and my chest is way bigger now than when i reped 4 plates 15 years ago.
Best feeling in the world. Stop at one plate while the guy next to u does 3 plates and the gymgirls dont even notice his existence.

Full range of motion and not bouncing the chest is no max number of chestmuclescells stimulation guarantee.

Lift muscles, not weigths, homie.

Sent fra min BLA-L29 via Tapatalk

[Gallowmere]

Just got to 315 for the first time during this week’s 1RM testing, after 3.5 years of training. Bench has always been a shit lift for me, partly because I have gorilla arms, and partly because I’ve never taken it seriously. Practicing pausing on the chest helped a lot, but really the biggest thing for me is just giving a shit about it.
It’s funny though, in my local gym, you have 3+ plates for bench and no one bats an eye. I use 405+ for squats or pull 500+ and people act like it’s some kind of miraculous thing. What the actual fuck?

[Cuz]

Trying to have a competitive bench is proving too much injury for me im gonna drop it down some this year. I think id rather have size anyway

[< <Samson> >]

I use to care about this a lot more

95% I do super low weights just like all the rest of the best looking old timers I c

The other day I felt like loading these up - gym was empty & now I can do full weights




The high weights really don’t do much imo - I pushed these for 5 reps, I don’t c how’s that’s any better than my warm up of a dozen with 85’s


I’m 20 pounds away from triple plates - maybe, I’ll hit it this year


PR goals mostly help in other ways - mentally mostly

[Octaneforce]

I do one plate inclines and my chest is way bigger now than when i reped 4 plates 15 years ago.
Best feeling in the world. Stop at one plate while the guy next to u does 3 plates and the gymgirls dont even notice his existence.

Full range of motion and not bouncing the chest is no max number of chestmuclescells stimulation guarantee.

Lift muscles, not weigths, homie.

Sent fra min BLA-L29 via Tapatalk

For sure, ive long since realized that big weight isnt what grows a chest. I always do low weight high rep chest exercises on chest days, even after i try to go max weight. Less weight and slower, deliberate reps delivers a sweet pump

[Charlie67]

I mainly go to a humongous mega gym that I hate most days. Of the 6 flat benches they have, and the 100's of people I see lifting daily, and the 1000+ members I see throughout the month.... I see maybe 3 guys benching 315 for reps. And there's some big dudes in there.

My second, and more favorable gym, is a run-down little hole that costs 3 times as much and traffics in tetanus from all the rust. Of the 100+ member and the 10 guys I see regular, maybe 3 are benching 315 for reps...

But, conversely, I can name 5 guys right now who can do it... weird.

I fell like the number is low.

[Gallowmere]

I mainly go to a humongous mega gym that I hate most days. Of the 6 flat benches they have, and the 100's of people I see lifting daily, and the 1000+ members I see throughout the month.... I see maybe 3 guys benching 315 for reps. And there's some big dudes in there.

My second, and more favorable gym, is a run-down little hole that costs 3 times as much and traffics in tetanus from all the rust. Of the 100+ member and the 10 guys I see regular, maybe 3 are benching 315 for reps...

But, conversely, I can name 5 guys right now who can do it... weird.

I fell like the number is low.

This is where conversation about this kind of thing can get fucked up. “For reps” can mean a whole lot of shit. The difference between a double and five is notable. The difference between 5 and ten nearly as much. Then we have the occasional freak like Spoto who would take that shit for a ride for more reps than most NFL combine candidates can do with 225.

[bethdoth]

I have to check my ego at the door, I love showing up the youngsters. I can do 325 for a clean 7-9 reps, 315 9-10. I don't believe in going past the 90 degree angle because you are engaging shoulders when coming off the chest and that can cause injury at higher weights.
Do I feel heavy reps build chest.... look at my avatar LOL I feel hitting the chest from every angle and going to failure build chest, so if you push hard with 225 and go to failure then you will grow!

Edit to answer question: I go to a small gym with an old client base. There used to be one other guy that went 3 plates or more, but he moved on to a large commercial gym. So now I am the only one, most don't even reach 250.

[CA_DXB_85]

After I fucked my rotatorcuff and got a surgery where they put 2 anchors in my right shoulder, my bench, which wasnt strong to start with lol, went to shit.
I don't do flat bench much now and when I do, I don't go heavy to avoid getting destroyed. I rather do dropsets and go until failure. But like u said, it is some ego meter. I always wantee to bench a shit load of weight :/

[Cuz]

I mainly go to a humongous mega gym that I hate most days. Of the 6 flat benches they have, and the 100's of people I see lifting daily, and the 1000+ members I see throughout the month.... I see maybe 3 guys benching 315 for reps. And there's some big dudes in there.

My second, and more favorable gym, is a run-down little hole that costs 3 times as much and traffics in tetanus from all the rust. Of the 100+ member and the 10 guys I see regular, maybe 3 are benching 315 for reps...

But, conversely, I can name 5 guys right now who can do it... weird.

I fell like the number is low.

This is pretty much what i see also i have been in gyms for 15 years and very few workout with 315 i may see 5 reps at the most and probably 5-6 people at my gym put 3 or more on the bar. Bc when i do see someone i always watch them to see what they are about i mean hell who doesn’t

[Brianwhite745]

I don't see 3 plates very often. I feel like people can get pretty strong with very basic programming, but getting to the point of repping 315 requires some technical and more specialized training geared towards powerlifting.

I see guys at my gym who do flat bench and arm curls 3 times a week, work their way up to repping in the mid 200's but that's about it

[The Deadlifting Dog]

More people will say they can bench 315 then can actually bench it clean.
No bounce, full ROM, ass on bench the whole time....

That being said... most people who are 220lb+ and train bench can get their bench over 315.

You just have to train for it.
And that is the problem...

most people don't know how to properly train for strength. (just like most people don't know how to train for size either...)

[Octaneforce]

More people will say they can bench 315 then can actually bench it clean.
No bounce, full ROM, ass on bench the whole time....

That being said... most people who are 220lb+ and train bench can get their bench over 315.

You just have to train for it.
And that is the problem...

most people don't know how to properly train for strength. (just like most people don't know how to train for size either...)

Ive lifted my whole life and ive always been “potent” but i only really learned how to build my bench strength recently. It took me about 2 years to comfortably use 315 as my working weight. You’re exactly right, to get better at benching requires dedication to that movement.

To easily rep 315, you gotta practice repping 335+

[< <Samson> >]

Now - it's def more for form than weight



I push my 225 clean af for a dozen reps on a very good day

[-Ender-]

Frankly speaking: I'm a little surprised by this thread.

To answer the OP's question, yes. 315 for nice clean reps.

Even when I have been away from the gym due to an injury, the first thing I do when I return to regular training is to ensure that I can accomplish anything over 300 pounds on bench. It's a mental necessity. ego, no. OCD physical thing, probably.

Hell I always thought 405 was the rite of passage!?

[Gallowmere]

Frankly speaking: I'm a little surprised by this thread.

To answer the OP's question, yes. 315 for nice clean reps.

Even when I have been away from the gym due to an injury, the first thing I do when I return to regular training is to ensure that I can accomplish anything over 300 pounds on bench. It's a mental necessity. ego, no. OCD physical thing, probably.

Hell I always thought 405 was the rite of passage!?

That’s kind of where I am. My personal standards for “strong” don’t even start until 400+ bench, 600+ squat and 650+ deadlift. If you’re not there, unless you weigh under 200 lbs., you’re not even in the conversation about what constitutes strength. There are women doing close to those numbers.

[Capebuffalo]

There was a time I could to it on bench and military.

Now I can’t do flat only incline.

All the heavy shit has fucked shoulders and elbows and hips for me. IMO not worth it over time.

[Gallowmere]

There was a time I could to it on bench and military.

Now I can’t do flat only incline.

All the heavy shit has fucked shoulders and elbows and hips for me. IMO not worth it over time.

Not picking at you specifically, but I hear this a lot, and it’s usually from the same guys who mock powerlifters for their arch and heavy scapular retraction. Guess what both of those are doing. Yeap, putting the shoulders in more advantageous positions. Same thing with squatting the way raw powerlifters do and putting the hips in a more advantageous position.
Heavy weight doesn’t fuck people up. Lifting like shit with heavy weight does. You cannot try to lift a true max like you would some pump work stuff. It’s begging to tear something.
It’s a rare freak who can completely flat back bench and push a respectable weight. Same with ATG squatting.

[Livinlean]

Im with you Ender on the thought of 405 being the rite of passage which is why i'm working so hard to get there.

The term ego lift gets thrown around quite a bit but I don't see this being a thing for serious lifters. Frankly I don't give a shit whether I bench 265 or 365 but what I do care about is progressing week over week and not letting silly terms like "ego lift" get in the way of my progress.

[ghettoboyd]

I can not bench 315...I never max out but the highest weight ive done for reps was 285...I’ve been bbing for 20+years and I’ve never had a serious injury...my thing is to look like i can rep 315 and I feel I’ve accomplished that...there are stronger peeps than me in my gym but they all want to look like me and they are far from it...bbing and powerlifting are different animals that produce different results imho but you all know this...

[Capebuffalo]

Not picking at you specifically, but I hear this a lot, and it’s usually from the same guys who mock powerlifters for their arch and heavy scapular retraction. Guess what both of those are doing. Yeap, putting the shoulders in more advantageous positions. Same thing with squatting the way raw powerlifters do and putting the hips in a more advantageous position.
Heavy weight doesn’t fuck people up. Lifting like shit with heavy weight does. You cannot try to lift a true max like you would some pump work stuff. It’s begging to tear something.
It’s a rare freak who can completely flat back bench and push a respectable weight. Same with ATG squatting.

Never mocked anyone. This was before internet and you tube. It wasn’t being shown on uhf or vhf tv. No cable then for me. I did the best I could with no instruction. Damage was done.

[Gallowmere]

Never mocked anyone. This was before internet and you tube. It wasn’t being shown on uhf or vhf tv. No cable then for me. I did the best I could with no instruction. Damage was done.

Exactly why I specified that I wasn’t trying to poke at you. I’ve never seen a word out of you about this, but I promise, it’s definitely a thing, and extremely obnoxious. As I’ve told all of them “Jen Thompson benched more than you when she weighed 123 lbs., so you don’t get to talk shit to anyone about their technique, especially when you don’t know why it’s being done”.

[GearHeaded]

first time I benched 315 for a couple reps was at a body weight of only 185 or so.. I actually had to purposely train the bench press over about 8 weeks time to get there. when you learn how to train the bench press , your bench can go up dramatically. but this is totally different then training your chest for hypertrophy .
whats impressive is benching 315 as a bodybuilder for hypertrophy .. benching 315 is not a hard number to hit for powerlifter style training for the bench

[Capebuffalo]

Exactly why I specified that I wasn’t trying to poke at you. I’ve never seen a word out of you about this, but I promise, it’s definitely a thing, and extremely obnoxious. As I’ve told all of them “Jen Thompson benched more than you when she weighed 123 lbs., so you don’t get to talk shit to anyone about their technique, especially when you don’t know why it’s being done”.

So Maybe I’m reading your post the wrong way, but everything I say being nice and relaying my personal experience you have a snide comment towards me.

[Gallowmere]

So Maybe I’m reading your post the wrong way, but everything I say being nice and relaying my personal experience you have a snide comment towards me.

No, not at all toward you, and I apologize if it seemed that way. It was merely a chain of thought that followed, related to your mention of your experience.

As I said, it’s one that I see very often often (this part does apply to you, as you had stated your damaged shoulders being an issue), but usually from people who have smartassed things to say about others bench technique (this part does not apply to you, as I’ve never seen you be anything but helpful) as they don’t understand what’s being done from a biomechanics perspective, yet want to keep arguing points that they don’t understand.

And if it was the Jen Thompson thing you’re talking about, that was just me reiterating what I have stated to them so many times, because she embodies everything they say PLs are doing wrong, yet her bench and shoulders keep getting stronger, even with how old she is now.

[Capebuffalo]

No, not at all toward you, and I apologize if it seemed that way. It was merely a chain of thought that followed, related to your mention of your experience.

As I said, it’s one that I see very often often (this part does apply to you, as you had stated your damaged shoulders being an issue), but usually from people who have smartassed things to say about others bench technique (this part does not apply to you, as I’ve never seen you be anything but helpful) as they don’t understand what’s being done from a biomechanics perspective, yet want to keep arguing points that they don’t understand.

And if it was the Jen Thompson thing you’re talking about, that was just me reiterating what I have stated to them so many times, because she embodies everything they say PLs are doing wrong, yet her bench and shoulders keep getting stronger, even with how old she is now.

Cool. I wish I’d known Couch back then. He can tell you the proper form and add a ton on your bench.

[KittyO1]

I know personally, using the form of a power lifter has helped my shoulders(health) a ton! Plus strength has increased immensely. Nowhere near 3 plates...but one plate still counts! Haha

[Capebuffalo]

I know personally, using the form of a power lifter has helped my shoulders(health) a ton! Plus strength has increased immensely. Nowhere near 3 plates...but one plate still counts! Haha

Hey there Miss Kitty. How are you?

[SampsonandDelilah]

I can and I do....routinely.
My heavy bench days 315 for 10 is in the middle of my routine. I was blessed with really big triceps which act as cheaters for me. For a guy 6’3” with long arms, I can cleanly bench some pretty good weight.

Never understood why guys (usually “that guy”) think bench press is the quintessential lifting benchmark

My favorite though, random guy at the gym, bar, airport “what do you bench bro”?

Me “not as much as I used to” (secretly thinking “more than you bro”)

[SampsonandDelilah]

Not picking at you specifically, but I hear this a lot, and it’s usually from the same guys who mock powerlifters for their arch and heavy scapular retraction. Guess what both of those are doing. Yeap, putting the shoulders in more advantageous positions. Same thing with squatting the way raw powerlifters do and putting the hips in a more advantageous position.
Heavy weight doesn’t fuck people up. Lifting like shit with heavy weight does. You cannot try to lift a true max like you would some pump work stuff. It’s begging to tear something.
It’s a rare freak who can completely flat back bench and push a respectable weight. Same with ATG squatting.

Have to disagree here a little..

I don’t think I’m a freak and I routinely bench well above 400# and keep my back flat as a board, my ass on the bench and go bar to chest with no bounce and don’t have that heavy scapular rotation that power lifter utilize. I keep my elbows tight, the bar just below my nipples and have a controlled negative and an even press. Knocking on wood here, but I’ve never been hurt with my technique. Yes form is essential but utilizing a powerlifting technique for bench is not the only way to go heavy and avoid injury

[GearHeaded]

Have to disagree here a little..

I don’t think I’m a freak and I routinely bench well above 400# and keep my back flat as a board, my ass on the bench and go bar to chest with no bounce and don’t have that heavy scapular rotation that power lifter utilize. I keep my elbows tight, the bar just below my nipples and have a controlled negative and an even press. Knocking on wood here, but I’ve never been hurt with my technique. Yes form is essential but utilizing a powerlifting technique for bench is not the only way to go heavy and avoid injury

respect ..
your avi then is clearly you and those big strong triceps are definitely playing a role

[< <Samson> >]

I know personally, using the form of a power lifter has helped my shoulders(health) a ton! Plus strength has increased immensely. Nowhere near 3 plates...but one plate still counts! Haha

One plate for a female is still quite a bit

I can’t remember what’s the most I’ve seen one do in person


Shit - I’m 2 scared 2 have the wife load up the chest after she got her knockers put in


Implants & chest workouts just don’t seem too Kosher

[Capebuffalo]

One plate for a female is still quite a bit

I can’t remember what’s the most I’ve seen one do in person


Shit - I’m 2 scared 2 have the wife load up the chest after she got her knockers put in


Implants & chest workouts just don’t seem too Kosher

I can hold them in place for her so they don’t get damaged.

[99JT]

It all depends what you train for. I know a guy who's around 6' 190 lbs and can bench 3 plates, squat 4, and deadlift 5+ on the other hand I know a guy who was a fairly lean 240 and wouldn't bench over 185 yet his chest was massive.

[Fluidic Kimbo]

I can load 1.5 plates onto the left side, and then load 1.5 plates onto the right side. Maintaining equilibrium with those two torques, I push the weight of 3 plates.

Actually the bar is another plate so that's 4 plates.

Clean reps too.

[Fluidic Kimbo]

One plate for a female is still quite a bit

If my future wife can bench a plate I'll be pretty chuffed

[Octaneforce]

I can and I do....routinely.
My heavy bench days 315 for 10 is in the middle of my routine. I was blessed with really big triceps which act as cheaters for me. For a guy 6’3” with long arms, I can cleanly bench some pretty good weight.

Never understood why guys (usually “that guy”) think bench press is the quintessential lifting benchmark

My favorite though, random guy at the gym, bar, airport “what do you bench bro”?

Me “not as much as I used to” (secretly thinking “more than you bro”)

Man your a monster. I always assume its harder for very tall guys to have good bench lifts because your ROM is massive compared to a short guy. But i think this is because many tall guys are lanky. Thats not the case for you obviously.

Im 5.5 and hover around 195-200lbs. I can press 315 7 times very clean. My goal for this winter is to be able to do 315 for sets of 10. A month ago i was able to press 315 4-5 times with fair form. So im improving. I think proportionally this would put me in a very good category of strength, especially if i can maintain it in the spring when i trim down to 185-190lbs.

This bench press thing is purely just a fun little competition im having with myself at the gym. And this is a fun thread