i finally decided to see what i can max out at today on the bench press. but tell me if this is accurate.?

Question

ive just picked up weight lifting again after an entire summer of slacking off. ive never seen what i can totally max out at but i decided to see today. im 5'8 140 LBS. the thing is i didnt feel like loading up a lot of weights on the free weight bench press so i went over to the machine bench press and maxed out at 145. first off is this good progress me being 140 LBS, and second is this accurate showing of what i max out at because it was the machine bench press?

Answer 1

I spent the summer working out at a small gym back home and found that by the end of the summer I was doing sets with the machine on 230 pounds (the max).



When I came back to the university gym this fall I found I was struggling to push out sets of 135 on the bar when I was expecting to be able to press 170+ after accounting for the machine variation.



Bottom line: machines can't work you like barbels can and you just can't compare the two, especially in regards to weight. If you want to know what you truly max out at, get a friend to spot you at the gym and grab a bench and start loading up the barbel. Start with lower than what the machine gave you. You're pretty skinny, so I'd start with a 25 pound plate on each side of the barbel (assuming it's a standard 45 pound bar) and if you can lift that without help, add 10 pounds after each successful lift until you can't get it up.



What's "good" completely depends on the people you're working out around. In high school the stronger guys were only doing sets of 135 (a 45 pound plate on each side). In college, that's the status quo for every skinny guy. That's respectable but nothing special. Some guys lift twice that. As long as you work out regularly and see a consistent increase in the weight you can lift with proper form (bring the bar all the way to your chest) you should be happy.



And in my honest opinion, max's don't mean jack. It's all about what you can lift in the 8-10 range.

Answer 2

I'm looking at the chart i always go by, and if you've been lifting for a month then you go into the "untrained" category. And it says if you are 145, an untrained person should max bench press at around 110, so if you are maxing at 143 you're doing great.

Answer 3

It is not accurate at all. The machine is balancing the weight for you. That weight will NOT carry over to free weights.



MACHINES:

- Prevent the body from performing movements naturally. The human body did not evolve to interact with machines: the musculature of the body is designed to accommodate a range of motions that it can perform on its own. Depending on which machine you are using as a substitute, you may be working with a gimped range of motion, lifting at an incorrect angle, isolating one muscle group while ignoring another.

- Do not activate stabilizing muscle groups. In order to develop whole-body strength, you need to have strong stabilizers. Continue using only machines, and abandon any hopes of ever seeing true strength.

- Are easy. Strength isn't gained through dicking around and being a little *****. Somewhere down the line, you have to make it hurt, you have to embarrass yourself, you have to disappoint yourself. If you desire to move ahead, you will be leaving your weakness behind you in time, but first comes hard work.



FREE WEIGHTS:

- Demand full participation of major muscle groups and stabilizing muscles

- Offer any number of COMPOUND MOVEMENTS are the foundation of a strength training program.

- They're not easy. Working with free weights in a no-bullshit, tiring, difficult program will harden your body and mind to the stresses of training. As you continue to train you'll start to feel "good" during your workout. Later on you'll feel like a million bucks. Soon after that you'll probably feel like s*** because you didn't work out, so the next day you'll go out and get your iron fix and feel like a * beast, on top of the damn world.