Maxing out on bench press question

[Venum]

I have never put up a weight on flat bench press that I can only do once, and I want to find out my "max out"....I was curious as to when the best time to do this would be...I am assuming save it for the day I am training chest and not thrown in some other day...but I am worried about using up too much gas to max out leaving me tired for the rest of the chest work out...any suggestions?

[Undecided09]

a max out won't ruin the rest of your lift man, not even close...The reason singles aren't incouraged is exactly that actually, because the muscle isn't being put underenough stress for long enough to really encourage growth!! I feel 4 rep minimum is where i draw the line...

[helium3]

towards the end of my 8 week workout my reps drop right down to my max weight i can lift/press for 1 rep i do this for a week to end my cycle(training).which means i hit each body part that week 3x maxing out for each exercise.i sometimes get a little curious through my cycle and just do a test to see what i can bench/dead,i dont worry about the timing,just because im doing a full chest workout that day doesnt put me off maxing out.

[Venum]

I would still do my normal amount of sets for chest, just wondering if it would effect the work out at all..I guess it wouldnt then. Thanks guys

[BullDogg20]

if your maxing out on your last set, you wont be pushing your max, do a few warm up sets then, see what you can do...make sure you have a good spotter..

[kyjelly]

I actually max out at 6 reps. And that becomes my hardest working set of the core exercieses. then I take off about 10, and do 7, take off 10, do 8, and then maybe a 5 and do 8 more. I like to keep it in the 6-8 range. in a month and a half, my bench has gone up 45lbs.

As soon as I start feeling that the 6 is getting easy, I either up the weight slighty and/or increase the reps slightly, or just recalculate my whole max at 6.

[Venum]

so when people say "I can bench 300" or whatever, mostly of the time doesnt that mean a max out, which is one rep?

[helium3]

so when people say "I can bench 300" or whatever, mostly of the time doesnt that mean a max out, which is one rep?

its usually there 1 rep max!

[Undecided09]

I hardly ever max out, I mean i guess its fun to see what you can do, but I don't really give a shit...Besides, I always start chest day with upper chest first, so my flat bench is never as high as it could by the time I get to it...

[1buffsob]

I'm not a powerlifter, I could care less how much I bench.

Be the guy who looks like he's in the 400lbs bp club......... or................ be the guy who is that looks like he doesn't workout.

1buffsob

[tretch187]

Find a chart and call it good.

No reason to waste a perfectly good day of training to feed the ego.

[piepiezzz]

I'm not a powerlifter, I could care less how much I bench.

Be the guy who looks like he's in the 400lbs bp club......... or................ be the guy who is that looks like he doesn't workout.

1buffsob

I have to kind of disagree..........I hate ALL SHOW, NO GO.......I laugh at those guys in the gym. They all blow up every summer for the beach, looking good, admittedly. But they know what I know....that I own them....they won't lift next to me, by me, etc.

You can do both......I am a pretty big boy muscularly......6' 218 but I am also a member of the 500 club...........A lot of my good friends are the same way.

Under every powerlifter's physique, there is a bodybuilder....that all has to do with diet and cardio. In powerlifting comps , I have seen TONS of guys that could go from the bench right to the stage.......I competed in a powerlifting comp at 3-4%.

You just have to alternate training from Power to bodybuilding. Reads Arnold's Encyclopedia, he explains this very well.

You see guys at the gym with shirts that say "strength doesn't come from needles". In a certain way a agree with this. I could bench 450 lbs at 220 before I ever experimented with AAS. So I say "sustained strength doesn't come from needles" because I can be off AAS for 2+ years, as I am now and still bench over 400 lbs. Last night I did incline dumbells, 130's for 8 with perfect form.

Like I said, you can alternate power/muscle building. During muscle building phases forget about 1 rep max..........but during strength training, build up an 8 week program that leads to a 1 rep max (as competition prep normally does)

[mwolffey]

I'm not a powerlifter, I could care less how much I bench.

Be the guy who looks like he's in the 400lbs bp club......... or................ be the guy who is that looks like he doesn't workout.

1buffsob

ditto...very true for me...im a bodybuilder, not a powerlifter

[tretch187]

I have to kind of disagree..........I hate ALL SHOW, NO GO.......I laugh at those guys in the gym. They all blow up every summer for the beach, looking good, admittedly. But they know what I know....that I own them....they won't lift next to me, by me, etc.

You can do both......I am a pretty big boy muscularly......6' 218 but I am also a member of the 500 club...........A lot of my good friends are the same way.

Under every powerlifter's physique, there is a bodybuilder....that all has to do with diet and cardio. In powerlifting comps , I have seen TONS of guys that could go from the bench right to the stage.......I competed in a powerlifting comp at 3-4%.

You just have to alternate training from Power to bodybuilding. Reads Arnold's Encyclopedia, he explains this very well.

You see guys at the gym with shirts that say "strength doesn't come from needles". In a certain way a agree with this. I could bench 450 lbs at 220 before I ever experimented with AAS. So I say "sustained strength doesn't come from needles" because I can be off AAS for 2+ years, as I am now and still bench over 400 lbs. Last night I did incline dumbells, 130's for 8 with perfect form.

Like I said, you can alternate power/muscle building. During muscle building phases forget about 1 rep max..........but during strength training, build up an 8 week program that leads to a 1 rep max (as competition prep normally does)

Competed in a powerlifting event at 3-4% eh?

To say that you are in the minority is an understatement

[piepiezzz]

Competed in a powerlifting event at 3-4% eh?

To say that you are in the minority is an understatement

Like I stated earlier.......I saw a lot of guys that could compete in powerlifting and bodybuilding in the same week.......I think you are imagining the 400 lb guys benching 850 lbs as powerlifting. The REAL powerlifters IMO are at the lower weight classes that I competed in. I was in the 181 class and later the 198 class. I benched 2.45x my bw at 198.2 all natty. There aren't many heavyweights that can do that. THey put up huge numbers but not as a multiple of bodyweight. I have seen guys in 148 and 165 class do 3x their bodyweight. mind boggling. In my area we have somone in the "powerlifting magazine's" national top 10 in almost every weight class.

My body is strange that the leaner I get, the stronger I get. I NEVER lose strength when cutting even 15-20 lbs. After research I have come to believe that this is because the leaner you become, the more test your body release. Bodyfat can hinder test production. Hence, the prior statment.

[Doc.Sust]

ok to truly max, you take an entire wk off, the following wk you max. dont worry about the rest of your workout,maxing will take alot out of you. you also have to peak before you max, you trian with heavier weights and lower reps 3 - 4 wks before you max using approx 80-90% of your progected max, than 1 wk off than max, and that is your true strength value

[piepiezzz]

ok to truly max, you take an entire wk off, the following wk you max. dont worry about the rest of your workout,maxing will take alot out of you. you also have to peak before you max, you trian with heavier weights and lower reps 3 - 4 wks before you max using approx 80-90% of your progected max, than 1 wk off than max, and that is your true strength value

I agree, a week off is mandatory in competition prep for bench

[~fuelforfire~]

ok to truly max, you take an entire wk off, the following wk you max. dont worry about the rest of your workout,maxing will take alot out of you. you also have to peak before you max, you trian with heavier weights and lower reps 3 - 4 wks before you max using approx 80-90% of your progected max, than 1 wk off than max, and that is your true strength value

yeah man that sounds good

[Alex_Skachko]

warm up, warm up, warm up!
rest 5-10 min! Phychologic - prepare!!!!!
I do 60%*3, 80%*2. 90%*1....I prepare, I imagine weight I want, I imagine lift, I become monster. I do not like go under what I want, I want to go over. Many time, I can't make it. **** it, I do it one more time, same weight. One time I do 3 time fail, one time success. doing 98% - for gays, I do 105%!!!

This way I do on training 5 more kg then chempionship

[boondockSAINT]

ok to truly max, you take an entire wk off, the following wk you max. dont worry about the rest of your workout,maxing will take alot out of you. you also have to peak before you max, you trian with heavier weights and lower reps 3 - 4 wks before you max using approx 80-90% of your progected max, than 1 wk off than max, and that is your true strength value

I agree with this. And then on max day, I will usually do 2 sets of 10 with 135 as warm up, and then everything else from there is explosive singles, no matter what the weight.

[Anabolios]

I'm not a powerlifter, I could care less how much I bench.

Be the guy who looks like he's in the 400lbs bp club......... or................ be the guy who is that looks like he doesn't workout.

1buffsob

well put i agree

[firmechicano831]

good luck venum and don't forget to let us know what it is?

[Doc.Sust]

when i max, i do as few reps warming up as possible, 135 2 sets of 3 225 for 2, 315 for a single and than i jump to about 90% of my max for a single, than 95% for a single than a 100% for a single, if i feel i have more i do one extra set, if 100% was to much i call it a day.i find that to many warmups is a waste, if you are a BBer, maxing is really pointless, taking off 2 - 4wks to peak wouldnt make alot of sennse but on the other hand, if you are training to failure every wk with high reps,and than one odd wk you decide to see how much you can do for a single without a peaking routine, this is a waste because you will never be at 100%,therefore you arent reaching your full potential when maxing

[HORSE~]

for gays, I do 105%!!!

That would explain where you got your urine and sperm work out routine.