Anybody know how to improve their bench press max?

No man, I don't believe it. A 185lbs guy should lift more than 125lbs, do you realize how big 185lbs is and how light 125lbs is? I know a ton of guys who never been to the gym and lift much more than that. For a 185lbs to only be able to lift 125lbs ONE time max I imagine him not be doing at kind of physical activity at all.

 

Jeez... Go do some pushups... At your weight and max, benching is not even neccessary....

 

I bet there are plenty or 6' 180lbs guys out there that can't bench press 125lbs free weight. Same thing goes with 6' tall guys who can run 10secs in a 100m dash to another person who does it in 15secs.

As for the OP. I don't think he have the given physique to go with his weight or height. That's just my guess.

 

I agree with this. There are all kinds of different physiques among people and different people have different strength levels. You're being too judgmental, CountyClerk.

 

^This

At that weight/bench max ratio you probably can't do more than a few pushups.
I suggest getting to the point where you can do at least 30-40 pushups before you think about getting under a bench press.

And as a few have stated, maxing out on any lift is r****ded unless you're a competitive power lifter. You can accurately gauge your progress in other ways.

 

If you are genuinely interested in working out and getting strong, there is never a reason to max out (in the sense that you lift as much as you can one time) on anything. All it is for is bragging rights and gloating, and serves no real purpose. And you're more likely to severely injure yourself.

 

^^^ this.

I don't understand these workout warriors.

Work out for your *health*... you're not going to be trying out for the Texans or World's Strongest Man...

 

You're right but at 125lbs max i don't think he'll be doing any one of those things anytime soon.

 

Remember, Rome was not built in a day, neither was your body

 

If you are in college, I would just keep doing what you do, no need to add supplements. I was pretty scrawny all through colleg even though I was working out, it wasn't till shortly after college, I think I was 22 to 24 when I really started to fill out and subsequently added on strength.

 

agreed. For me, I like to switch off with machines and then maybe barbell/dumbell presses that way you can focus on pushing the weights and controlling them.

IMO, its more than just working out the chests for me. I honestly think squats, bent over rows, lat pull downs also help me bench press more along with eating ...

if that doesn't work, you can always take it to the next level...... with steroids.

 

lmao. I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it.

 

As an ex-powerlifter, my favorite way to increase the bench was to perform high sets and low reps. Ten sets and three reps is what I used. It allows your body to get in a habit of lifting heavy weight.

Second, you have to pick a couple of assistance exercises. These are exercises that work the chest, triceps, and shoulders. Don’t pick exercise where you are not lifting a lot of weight. The assistance exercises must be heavy. For instance, close grip bench would be a perfect assistance exercise because you can put a lot of weight on the bar, and it mimics the regular bench press. Board presses are another good assistance exercise. That is where you put a 2x4 on your chest and perform a bench press. If you have access to a rack, benching from different levels is great.

 

a lot of things can work, if you are new to working out though i would recommend working out with low weight and high reps. this will help you establish a routine and get you comfortable with the equipment, be it a bench etc...

for example 10 sets of 10, the weight should be low enough to not be killing yourself at first and by set 7 you should be feeling it.. be sure to do your reps slowly

this wont build a great deal of strength at first but its a good way to get comfortable with what your doing and its pretty safe because you will know when its time to stop. you should be able to do this workout every other day. .

once you get comfortable with this you can find your own way...
keep increasing weight and you can reduce reps, or sets whatever your comfortable with..

if you stick with 10x10 you will slowly grow stronger and increase your functional strength...

once you are comfortable with this you will eventually want to work to heavy weight low reps and sets.. to "bulk up".. this can increase your max strength and size more rapidly. See Voice of Reasons post.

also i would recommend a weigh protein to help aide in recovery.

 

use freeweights.. always.

 

This is a great program for strength total body strength. http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles.html

It helped me get me bench up to 240-250 at 148 pounds.

 

I never understood the point of bench press. Some people looked like they can bench a lot and really can't and some people are skinny and are putting 3 plates on there. I usually just rep my body weight just so I can keep somewhat in shape.

 

Nice. :grin: