Bench press progress - setting realistic targets

Supercell

Realistically, I know I'm not going to be a Hanley (all hail Hanley!!)in six months time pushing monster weights up but would l was wondering if people have any previous experience of whats a good weight curve to be following if they are training properly?

I'm 5'7" and would be described broad shouldered.
On Olympic barbell a week ago I could manage a kittenproud total of 25kg (the bars about 10kg i think?) on best lift

Yesterday did 40kg, which is still embarrising to be honest, but well chuffed that its increasing. I know in my prop forward rugby playing days in school that I was massively stronger in the shoulders so there is potential to grow fast hopefully.

Anyone know what would be realistic targets to set myself for lifts over the next six months or so?

_blank_

Moved to Fitness.

Mods, if you don't want this, let me know where it should have gone.

Cheers

DesF

Hanley

I came from humble beginnings. I remember the days I used to lie in bed and dream of doing 2 reps with 50kg, and at that stage i was a LONG way away from it. I woulda been about 16-17 at the time I'd say....

An olympic bar is usually (around) 20kg for a 7 foooter, 15-17 for a 6 footer.

Depedning on how long you're training wiht weights, and your current bodyweight, I see no reason you couldn't bench 60-80kg in 6 months.

BossArky

Longfield wrote: »

....l was wondering if people have any previous experience of whats a good weight curve to be following if they are training properly?

I'm 5'7" ...

Similar size as me. When I started off in the gym in the summer of 98/99(?) I worked up to 14kg military press / 18kg bench press (dumbbells each arm), after a month or too. (I think that was kg... maybe lbs ... cannot remember ) . I remember my arms were shaking all over the place as my motor system was not used to the force. In the showers afterwards I could barely raise my arms to wash my hair.

Years later at U.L. when I started training again I got up to 60kg after a few months. Got stuck on that plateau for the rest of my Uni days though as like the typical student I didn't eat enough.

Really only started to increase my bench again in the past year as a working lifestyle gives you the financial power to back up proper eating. Man I remember those student days when a tenner would get you 6 pints of Murphys with a pound left over for a block of cheese and loaf of bread for the next few days...

Supercell

Thanks guys, didnt know the bar weighed 20kg, thats a little more respectable.
80kg sounds like a good target to aim for so, at least I'll know now if my progress is good or not.

crotalus667

Longfield wrote: »

Thanks guys, didnt know the bar weighed 20kg, thats a little more respectable.
80kg sounds like a good target to aim for so, at least I'll know now if my progress is good or not.

Id say aim for your body weight , but don’t aim straight for it if your benching 40 aim for 45 then 50 then 55 I started lifting again a few months back about 6-7 , It's a nice feeling when your doing working sets with a weight that once you struggled to make your 1rep max, I started with working sets of 40kg now Im using 80kg as one of my working sets , with a 1rm of 93kg (I hit that last week for the first time that put’s all my lifts over my body weight:D)

It just takes time (And a lot of protein:D:D)

pm.

hi, i work out in the gym twice a week 2 and a half hour sessions, im only back working out 6 mths and in doing 4 set of 6 105 kg bench. the important thing is to warm up very slowly i start with an empty bar (10kg) then 30,50 all with 10 reps 70 with 6 reps 90 3 reps then 105 for this week, my advice is never raise the weight by 2.5 kg a week if you feel you can lift 40 kg do 4 sets of 10 and stick with weight till you reach your target of 4sets of 10, then the next week go to 42.5 kg and so on, you should also try squats it will bring every muscle in your body its the best all round workout. and protein helps the best i got was from tony quinn health shops, best of luck with it, and remember take your time with it if you do too much you will soon get psissed off with.

Supercell

pm. wrote: »

hi, i work out in the gym twice a week 2 and a half hour sessions

How the hell are you lasting 2.5 hours ?

I'm totally utterly destroyed within about 30 mins. This evening I was doing a negative chin up at the end of the session and thought I as going to faint. The sweat was seriously dripping off me and I thought my head was going to pop off my shoulders.

What kind of time frame do you guys actively use on a workout?
I'm very impatient and dont like sitting on my ass staring at the mirror (well maybe that time might increase as the lard gets shifted).

Also, do you push to 0rp? , eg until you cant wipe the sweat off your brow? I'm doing 3x10 (increasing weight every time) and a couple of weeks ago I had the shakes, but now I can do another with a rest and then another without arm shakes and feel maybe I'm not pushing hard enough as a result.

#Smokey#

1 to 1 1/2 hour depending on programme eg cardio or strength training or mixed.
Wat splits do you work on? As if you do up to 0rp then try tomorrow you'll just end up hurting yourself

tech77

Hanley wrote: »

I came from humble beginnings. I remember the days I used to lie in bed and dream of doing 2 reps with 50kg, and at that stage i was a LONG way away from it. I woulda been about 16-17 at the time I'd say....

An olympic bar is usually (around) 20kg for a 7 foooter, 15-17 for a 6 footer.

Depedning on how long you're training wiht weights, and your current bodyweight, I see no reason you couldn't bench 60-80kg in 6 months.

Wow, Inspiring stuff.
Can't imagine someone like Hanley dreaming of lifting 50kg tbh.
It's easy to get the impression heavy-lifters like Hanley were pretty much born that way but apparently not it seems..
Gives novices like me a bit of hope.

Hanley

tech77 wrote: »

Wow, Inspiring stuff.
Can't imagine someone like Hanley dreaming of lifting 50kg tbh.
It's easy to get the impression heavy-lifters like Hanley were pretty much born that way but apparently not it seems..
Gives novices like me a bit of hope.

Man that's nothing, after 18 or so months I'd say I worked up to benching abotu 105kg for one.

Then I decided to start dislocating my shoulder. Had the whole thing torn apart, opened up and then put back together. It was another 6 motnhs after that til I had full range of movement. One of my outstanding memorys is being in the gym 4 weeks after the op sitting on a leg extenstion machince just trying to do SOMETHING.

pm.

Longfield wrote: »

How the hell are you lasting 2.5 hours ?

I'm totally utterly destroyed within about 30 mins. This evening I was doing a negative chin up at the end of the session and thought I as going to faint. The sweat was seriously dripping off me and I thought my head was going to pop off my shoulders.

What kind of time frame do you guys actively use on a workout?
I'm very impatient and dont like sitting on my ass staring at the mirror (well maybe that time might increase as the lard gets shifted).

Also, do you push to 0rp? , eg until you cant wipe the sweat off your brow? I'm doing 3x10 (increasing weight every time) and a couple of weeks ago I had the shakes, but now I can do another with a rest and then another without arm shakes and feel maybe I'm not pushing hard enough as a result.

its very easy look at the amount of warming up i do just on the bench, after i bench i deadlift and the same all over again start with empty bar, when you get to heavy lifting you/i need at least 5 to 7 mins between lifts sometimes 10
mins, i will only bench/dead lift once a week then next visit is squats bap lat pull back rows and some more arm work, whats orp ??? the reason you get the shakes is you shocked you body if you keep at it for at least 2 months and give your body time to recover after your heavy lifts you will see a great improvement.

Running Bing

I too am looking to eventually bench my own Bodyweight.

I do 3x6 at the moment with 47kg but it is very very slow progress(I weigh 78kg).

Im thinking of doing this programme http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/ryan2.htm

I like the way its structured and you know exactly where you stand but 10% in 10 weeks seems pretty slow(for me that would be adding just under 5 kg in 10 weeks).

Maybe thats the best weigh to do it though?


Alternatively I was thinking off following the programme but using 15% or even 20% instead of 10%

#Smokey#

there is no easy way to jump up your lifts quick best bet is hard training and more sets/reps try 10x10 with 45kg and are you using incline bench or flat bench? I found incline to be harder to do but it increased my lifts on the flat bench alot

TerrorFirmer

dont forget to eat plenty, thats just as important. as a student as tied in with what bossarky said I simply don't eat enough (usually even less then 2500 kcal which makes trying to build muscle impossible). so my strength goes up very slowly and physically i gain very little. it took me about 18 months of on off going to the gym to get to having a 85kg 1rm which is pretty much downright awful for someone going 18 months.