How many presses/reps do I need to do to say I can bench nth amount of weight?

[ForevrLonely29]

I weigh 240lbs and my height is 5'6.75" (pretty much 5'7).

I did 3 presses of 195lbs. That includes the bar (45lbs), 2 of 45lb plates, 2 of 25lb plates, and 2 of 5lb plates combined. Of course, this occurred after I was benching lower amount of weight and worked my way up today.

Thoughts?

[Oliverlogan263]

Dude, nice work hitting those 3 presses of 195lbs! That's no small feat considering your size. Honestly benching your body weight is killer at any height.

To say you can bench a certain weight for reps is kind of subjective, since everyone's strength levels progress at different rates. But here's generally what I've heard:

- 3-5 reps is considered the minimum to "claim" a 1 rep max weight. So you've definitely got dibs on saying you can bench 195.

- For benchmarks like bodyweight, rounds plates, etc. most would say you need 5 clean reps without failing. So next goal would be 205 for 5.

- If you wanna compete or something, 8-10 reps is used more to gauge true strength endurance. But that's longer term goal material.

Best advice is just keep working and you'll keep surprising yourself with PRs. Focus on progressive overload - add a few pounds each session and keep reps in the 3-5 range. Make sure to give your body proper recovery too. Keep crushing it man! You're gonna be benching 200+ in no time.

[NewUser22]

Try the 5x5 workout. It is not fun by any means but if you’re looking to get stronger that is what personally has worked for me and a lot of other people. The key is to start a little lighter than normal. So let’s say you can bench 185 for five reps pretty consistently, you’d probably want to start the workout around 165 pounds for five sets of five reps. Try to do them as clean as you can. The first couple weeks should be easy because you’re doing weight that you normally could do more than five reps but trust me it catches up quick. Every time you succeed hitting the five sets of five reps you add five pounds for the next week or next time you bench. You’ll be surprised how quickly the weight adds up. If you fail on a set and only get say 3 or 4 instead of five that is fine. You just continue the workout. Do all five sets whether you get five or not. Let’s say you get to 200 pounds and you get it for 5 5 4 3 3. Next time you bench you repeat that same 200 pounds but try to improve. And maybe this time you get all five or maybe just add a rep or two to those later sets that you only got four or three on. Regardless that is progress. Before you know it you’ll be pressing more than you thought you could.

[exitseven]

You only need to do it once . However for it to be a legal lift you have to bring the bar down to your chest and bring it back up again