r/benchpress

220bw over 4.5 years lifting

Upd: Incline Bench Press

My current max for this is 112.5–115 kg (248–253 lbs). I’m hoping that once I hit a 3-plate bench press, I'll be able to reach 120 kg (264 lbs) on this lift as well.

Felt strong this morning and said let’s give it a go.

Hey yall, just giving a quick update on my 405 goal by October. The last time I posted I hit 365 about 43 days ago. Today I hit 385

After restarting lifting around mid-March following 8 years detrained, I just did a relatively clean (I think?) touch-and-go bench press with 315lbs. I know my form still leaves a lot to be desired—minimal leg drive, bar going down too fast (it felt much slower doing it!), etc. I’m still working on my form and making noob gains, and my paused bench press looks significantly better.

Further context: 5’11”, 210lbs. I wanted to get into shape after turning 30, so I began lifting 2-3x a week as well as some running about two months ago. I did not follow a program; I just did multiple sets of 1-4 reps near or until failure, with spoto press and paused sets more recently. I do have comprehensive athletic background (hockey), and I am not new to the bench press. My most extensive bench press training was ~2x/week for about 6 months around a decade ago. My PR back then was 265lbs, but I weighed 20lbs less (very lean, <10% bf), never trained for 1RM, and used little arch/no leg drive at all. Zero supplements at the time.

I have done limited to no weight lifting or bench press ever since—maybe 3–5 times a year on average, and I have gone up to a full year doing nothing at all aside from occasional push ups. Still, I kept most of my underlying strength thanks to the additional bodyweight and reaching physical maturity, so my 1RM when I restarted 9 weeks ago was 255. I am *very* fast-twitch dominant, and most of my early gains are neuromuscular in nature. I am taking creatine and protein, which seem to be quite helpful. I have gained about 5 pounds overall since mid-March—mostly water from initial creatine intake, and minor recomp after that.

Best is 8 reps with slightly wider grip.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Coming out of the cut, my weight is increasing pretty fast, but so is my strength!

Bad form

When I bench, I feel like I’m properly using leg drive, and my grip and decent feel looks. However off the chest, the weight gets pushed back. I don’t know if it’s fatqiue or positioning issue. This is a 275lbs bench attempt at 155lbs bw. Don’t tell me to gain weight. I’m near the end of my cut. How can I get a better bar path.

Never posted gym content, but was too stoked about 365. This was after 3X4 at 315. Never been over 3 plates. Felt like this could have been a double, so hopefully 405 isn’t far.

Happy Victory Day to everyone!

P.S. To those who got all butthurt yesterday, you can check out my overhead press (military press) video on my profile. It’s the second to last post.

P.S. 2: Actually, I'm just joking. I appreciate you all, my gym brothers. Hugs.