Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below
napsgear
genezapharmateuticals
domestic-supply
puritysourcelabs
UGL OZ
UGFREAK
napsgeargenezapharmateuticals domestic-supplypuritysourcelabsUGL OZUGFREAK

What does the average Joe bench?

How many reps?

For a 1-rep max, I'd say "av'g Joe" (normal 160-180lb guy, no injuries, good health) would probably be around 165-185....essentially BP their own body weight.

FWIW, I've trained with a few "little" guys (and girls) who could put up some suprising #'s considering their size (or lack thereof lol)

1) a 24 y.o. kid who's 6'3", and maybe 160 lbs soaking wet...was putting up 135 for 4-5 reps...not too bad.

2) 28 y.o girl who's 5'7" and weighs around 105 did 95 lbs for reps....again, I was impressed. (she squatted 135 for reps until I made her quit!!! lol)

On the other hand, back in HS (1982-ish) I trained with a friend who was 1 of the stars of our HS gymnastics team...5'6", 170-ish lb tank...he was putting up 355+ for reps with ease (yes, he had...ahem..."help"...if you know what I mean)
 
I would say most don't even hit 135... see WAY too many dudes in the gym doing less than that.....

A bodyweight bench would be most optomistic
 
The average untrained schmoe can't bench their own bodyweight. I'd guess that *maybe* they'd hit 75% of bodyweight on average, on a good day.
 
There are plenty of average dudes out there that probably can't even do push-ups, let alone bench their weight.

Not many people can throw around the pink dumbells like I can.
 
There are plenty of average dudes out there that probably can't even do push-ups, let alone bench their weight.
Click to expand...

There was a guy here where I work that said he could do 25 pushups. Yea, impressive. So he gets down and starts doing them with his knees on the ground. I just walked away shaking my head.

Also, BW means shit. I was 185-190 and benching about 85 pounds on a smith 2.5 years ago. If you have no muscle and lots of BW it means nothing.

The real reason for me asking this is that it seems that corporate America workers eat and do NOTHING. They look plump like they may be able to hold their own in a gym but they are as weak as fuck. It’s just fat! Bones and fat. Not a gram of muscle.
 
Avg Joe has a free bench max of 265 here in Colorado.







what







I have no idea really. My guess would honestly be 135. Consider that most have never done free weights since high school.
 
Average Joe. . . . .315lbs. . . .

You wouldn't believe how many newbies are hoisting around 315lbs in Golds Gym.

















Realistically, I would estimate between 85 and 115lbs without any serious training.
 
[email][email protected][/email] said:


Shit, when I break 265 I usually pay with tendon pain for a few days. Now I have a stigma or paranoia going over 265-275 because it’s almost guaranteed pain.
Click to expand...
Can;t relate. My free bench sucks. Machine bench doesn't count in my book...I could do plenty on that if I screwed around with the bench machines.

I think the free bench is a much better exercise though. Really long arms does not help at all on the free bench.
 
Really long arms does not help at all on the free bench.
Click to expand...

I'm 5'10" and my arms are pretty long. Forearms are thin as shit no matter what I do. Wrist curls to failure with 50s and they still will not grow.

I think this is where my pain is coming from. Damn shitty forearms. Bench is my weakest too because of the pain.
 
On average, I'd say about 100 lbs depending on overal size.

Of course, there are exceptions. On of my friends can bench 175 for reps and he's never worked out before I, on the other hand, could barely do 95 lbs when I first starting lifiting.
 
[email][email protected][/email] said:


I'm 5'10" and my arms are pretty long. Forearms are thin as shit no matter what I do. Wrist curls to failure with 50s and they still will not grow.

I think this is where my pain is coming from. Damn shitty forearms. Bench is my weakest too because of the pain.
Click to expand...
Want to make those forearms grow?

Do deads without a strap and hold unto the bar as long as you can. This works great..........seriously.
 
could barely do 95 lbs when I first starting lifiting.
Click to expand...

Like me did you wait for everyone to clear out before even attempting to lift it. Just in case you are sitting there rolling 100 pounds off your chest like you were rolling dough. :)
 
Do deads without a strap and hold unto the bar as long as you can
Click to expand...

1 blown disc and 2 bulging. Deads are a thing of the past for me. Got to love sciatica! At 34 I am falling apart! :)

Been doing alot of reverse curls. Behind the back barbell wrist curls too.
 
When first tried a bench press at age 14, I got owned by 80lbs. . .I did pull off a triple.

There for a while, I seriously thought I was a bad ass for working out with 70lbs for 10 reps. . this was in 1993. I had a Weider set, with the grey plastic cement filled weights.

Eventually, I became stronger where I could bench 4 wheels per side (four 15 pound plastic weights per side of the hollow bar)
 
When I started I could bench 85lbs on the barbell (2 25's and the 45lbs bar) for 3-4 reps.

After 4 years I can bench 245lbs for 5-6 reps on a good day. I lack good shoulders, and I am trying to work on them.

I have personally seen maybe 3 people in my entire life that could press 315lbs and 1 that could press 405lbs.
 
F117A Active Stealth said:
When I started I could bench 85lbs on the barbell (2 25's and the 45lbs bar) for 3-4 reps.

After 4 years I can bench 245lbs for 5-6 reps on a good day. I lack good shoulders, and I am trying to work on them.

I have personally seen maybe 3 people in my entire life that could press 315lbs and 1 that could press 405lbs.
Click to expand...

You have only seen 3 people that could push 315?? Damn bro what kind of gym do you work out at?? At the gym I go to we have one kid that does 405 for 10 with pauses on the bottom of over a second apeice. Then some big black dude I have seen throw 585 up before. Shit I thought 315 was just average =p.
 
I've been to 4 different Gyms so far. 2 of them pretty hardcore (Like the one I'm going to now)

Even the huge guys are pushing 315lbs (I'm talking guys with over 20" arms) and I've never personally seen anyone push more than 405lbs. Can you believe that? What's going on?
 
When I started I was pushing 95 lbs for 3 reps (failure). Now I'm maxing at about 290. But I started after being a long-distance runner and X-country skier for years at the age of 20. My lats and tris were ok but my shoulders and chest couldn't push the weight.

I'd say 120 lbs average, for someone with little to no strength training.
 
A few years ago, there was a stat being circulated that one man in 1,000 can bench his own bodyweight. Can't swear to the accuracy.
 
Hangfire said:
A few years ago, there was a stat being circulated that one man in 1,000 can bench his own bodyweight. Can't swear to the accuracy.
Click to expand...

I recall reading something similar, but I thought it was 1 in 100, but you could be correct. If you consider that something like 40% of the US population is considered obese, as in 40 lbs+ (something like that) over ideal body weight, you can rule out all those fat fucks right there. It is quite believeable that 1% or less could do so. It is truly amazing how weak 99% of people are that dont train. Sure, there is the odd farmboy stong guy, but those are rare.
 
[email protected]:

I'd venture to say that the problems with both your deadlift and your bench press...are GREATLY form related.

The first time I benched...I missed 95 pounds at age 16.

B True
 
I'd venture to say that the problems with both your deadlift and your bench press...are GREATLY form related.
Click to expand...

Deadlifts hit my lower back as they should. But the blown discs down there kill me for days. If there is a way to do deads without the pain later please let me know HOW!

I can see the pain from benching being a form issue. Hand placement maybe? I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you if my form was bad because if I knew it I would attempt to correct it. I tend to pivot my elbows out a little to alleviate the pain which in itself may be aggravating it at higher weight.
 
F117A Active Stealth said:
I've been to 4 different Gyms so far. 2 of them pretty hardcore (Like the one I'm going to now)

Even the huge guys are pushing 315lbs (I'm talking guys with over 20" arms) and I've never personally seen anyone push more than 405lbs. Can you believe that? What's going on?
Click to expand...

Out of 4 gyms over three and a half years that I've been to, I've seen one guy bench 415 for a single. I've seen probably 3-4 people who have repped with 315, and I don't think it's ever been more than 7 reps. Even more ridiculous is the fact that I've seen only two people do deadlifts with respectable weight, and that was a pull of 455 for one and another guy ripped off 315 for 10.
 
[email][email protected][/email] said:


Deadlifts hit my lower back as they should. But the blown discs down there kill me for days. If there is a way to do deads without the pain later please let me know HOW!

I can see the pain from benching being a form issue. Hand placement maybe? I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you if my form was bad because if I knew it I would attempt to correct it. I tend to pivot my elbows out a little to alleviate the pain which in itself may be aggravating it at higher weight.
Click to expand...

When I pull correctly...I don't feel it much in my lower spine. I'd honestly think about doing lots of reverse hypers, good mornings and pull throughs to strengthen that area...rather than just avoiding it. Avoiding a weakness (injury or otherwise) is a bad idea.

If it would help, you can video yourself doing deads (with 45, 135, 185, etc...whatever is easy) and mail it to me. I'll watch it and maybe I can find something that you are doing wrong. I'll do all I can to help. Let me know if you want me to PM you my home addy. If it would help...I'll send my number also.

B True
 
who cares a bench press is not the best measure of strength....i'd say a deadlift is the best measure of how strong you are overall
 
OXANDRIN said:
who cares a bench press is not the best measure of strength....i'd say a deadlift is the best measure of how strong you are overall
Click to expand...

i think cable crossovers are
 
If it would help, you can video yourself doing deads (with 45, 135, 185, etc...whatever is easy)
Click to expand...

I’ll definitely try to figure out how I can do that. Maybe a web cam when no one is in the gym. That would probably be the easiest way to do it or just rip the video to mpg off a camcorder.

It seems to only hurt when I break 300. If form is the gauge then maybe that’s when my form gets screwed because I may be lugging more weight then I should and sacrificing form to do it.

Today is back day and hopefully before I go to the gym I can catch a few hours at work to sleep on the chairs I have laid out right next to me. I’ll do some deads and REALLY pay attention to form.

I have been doing hyperextensions with a 45 plate at chest level for about 2 months since the pain went away. Gives excellent lower back pumps with a slight twist and tensing the muscle until it’s almost at Charlie horse level.

The one thing that I find funny about dead lifts is the firecrackers in your eyes when you complete the set no matter how much you are breathing!
 
Re: Re: What does the average Joe bench?

Imnotdutch said:


Depends whether you ask em what they bench.......or whether you insist on seeing em do it. The two are very different.
Click to expand...

You are smart
 
If someone truly never benched before It would be very difficult to get the bar up without the elbows flaring back and forth a million times. The form would be so bad that it would bring down the poundages used.

Trying to go "down and up" with a barbell is hard for the first timer.

Pluck "Joe" off the street and lay him on a bench, Put the max on and "DO IT". I say 125.
 
without the elbows flaring back and forth a million times.
Click to expand...

You’re right. When you said that I remembered how the bar felt like it was 10 feet long when Is started. I just couldn’t get a balance with it.

Another guy at work here (I know they are all muscle-bound) has tits like an old woman and arms the size of pencils. Actually had 2 feet of his intestine cut out because he was eating doughnuts and cookies for 2 years and developed some disease from eating no roughage.

Anyway, he said he’s going to get into shape. He asked me what I was benching so I told him. Benching for some reason seems to be how people gauge fitness. Must be from the old days in the 80s when I was in HS. Where everyone that was Italian had a huge chest and huge arms but that was it… He comes back at me and tells me that he is benching 220. 220 and he is in shit shape and about 180 pounds at 5’8”. I so wanted to tell him “let’s go across the street and test that out” but I didn’t want to be a dick.
 
I've worked out with people weighing almost 100 lbs more than me. They benched less than half of what I did.

Untrained people are very weak on certain lifts. Many bb'ing exercise use motions that are not used very often in daily life. Shoulder press being a good example.
 
Cornholio said:
75% of bodyweight
Click to expand...

I read an article in Mens Health were they took a few hundred guys between the ages of 20-35 that don't workout to see what the avg bench was. The avg bench for one rep was 75% of their bodyweight!

Same group did bodyweight pullups the avg was 2!
 
I'd venture to say that the problems with both your deadlift and your bench press...are GREATLY form related.
Click to expand...

Well, like I said in the prior post I finally did dead lifts and watched my form like a hawk. I worked up to 3 sets out of 6 of 315 X 5. It was not bad at all. I actually thought I could lift more but since it’s been months I didn’t want to push it.

No pain as of right now at all with the exception of a little back fatigue. Hopefully the spinal compression will not inflame my sciatica. Watching form closely will hopefully do the trick.
 
90lbs, if that.

For some fucked up reason the hammer wide is the chest exercise of choice at my gym, but for all the use it gets I've never seen anyone load it up with more than 2 plates. Anyone who's used it knows its a ego trip machine to rival the leg press.
 
i say it depends what level of fitness they are. my dad has streched and did pushups(not shitty ones either, the airforce teaches you real pushups:)) and situps almost everyday of his life, and also plays golf 5days a week (hes 73 years old) i wouldnt consider him in great shape, but i think he could put up a respectable # considering age, and health issues. but most people just arent interested in health, its really a shame because i think they will find even more direct parallels with shitty diet and major health issues. untill then mcdonalds will get rich off the fat slobs that eat there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

G
smith machine yay or nay?
Replies
10
Views
1K
TeeGee
TeeGee
J
doing push and pull back to back days?
Replies
7
Views
784
Arabian
Arabian
M
doing a cutting stack with EQ and anavar
Replies
10
Views
887
ceo
ceo
F
figuring which supps to buy at the store?
Replies
9
Views
901
wootoom
wootoom
E
how much do you pay to a good meathead gym?
Replies
11
Views
1K
abolone
abolone
Top Bottom