Bench Press - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

Welshace · 11-25-2005, 04:17 PM

Hi, im a 1* year old male, i weight 9.6stone and am 5.8 foot. I can only lift 45kg on benchpress and thats 3 sets of 3 reps. Is this a good weight to be lifting for my age and size?

SlinkyRobinson · 11-26-2005, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welshace

Hi, im a 1* year old male, i weight 9.6stone and am 5.8 foot. I can only lift 45kg on benchpress and thats 3 sets of 3 reps. Is this a good weight to be lifting for my age and size?

Are you looking to increase in size and mass through this weight training, or is it more a case of just wanting to be physically fit? Considering your weight, you are lifting about 75% of your bodyweight right now, which is definitely a good start.

Sixbells99 · 11-26-2005, 02:24 AM

I wouldn’t say only 45kg as that’s a fair amount of weight for your size. But never be too concerned with the weight you’re lifting. What’s more is that your training program allows you to progress and that you can lift more weight than you did the previous month. It doesn’t matter if you started on 10Kg or a 100Kg if you have a training program where you increase every month then eventually your strength is going to shoot past most people. When I started training again I lifted 20Kg dumbbell press 8 -10 reps. Now I lift 54Kg dumbbell press with 9 reps and that’s after pre-exhausting them with dumbbell flys.. Many people may think 54Kg is not a lot, but considering where I started from to me it’s a massive strength gain and every month that weight is getting heavy. I’ve no idea what my 3 rep range would be fresh. Probably a lot higher, however I don’t train in the 3 rep range as I feel it’s a little too dangerous for me. Which is something you should also consider when your training within that zone. Make sure you have spotter and also make sure you have perfect form. The big mistake people make when they are training to their limits on the bench-press is to arch their backs. They may not even realize they are doing it which is why having someone watching you and correcting you is vital to reduce the risk of injury when lifting in the 3 rep range. That would be considered pure strength training and it brings its own risks. Just make sure you have a spotter.

Welshace · 11-26-2005, 05:27 AM

Basicly im trying to get my upper body strength good for rugby,
so if i do a pyramid workout will it increase my strength like:
Benchpress
8x1 40kg
5x1 42Kg
3x1 45Kg

Then Dumbel Flyes
15x1 10Kg
8x1 14Kg
5x1 16Kg

If i do this twice a week and gradualy increase the weight will it make my chest and other upper body muscles stronger? Also will it help for Rugby?
And do i need to take in 1g of protien per body lbs, or is this just to gain muscle mass? I'm not trying to gain muscle just get stronger.

SlinkyRobinson · 11-27-2005, 09:28 PM

Honestly, if i'm reading your 8x1 as 8 sets of 1 rep, then i would change a few things for strength. While 1 rep sets are good for shocking the muscle with extra weight, at a lower weight it's not going to be as productive. It's good to warm up with a lower weight to loosen up the muscles, but i would maybe perform 1 set of 8 reps at the lower weight before moving up.

I can't say how it will work for you, but what I would do goes something like this:

1set x 8reps 40kg
1set x 6reps 42Kg
1set x 4reps 45Kg
1set x 1/2reps 48kg (or whatever you can push - but have a spotter!)
1set x Xreps 40kg (to failure)

You'll want to be resting for about 2min between each set as you're going for strength instead of mass. Try this maybe 2 times/wk and then each week increase the weights by whatever you feel comfortable with.

Protein is necessary for muscle repair, not just growth and mass (for which you also need a large calorie intake increase). 1g:1lb of body weight is a good ratio for heavy weight lifting.