# Good 225lbs Rep Max on Bench?



## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Hey all,
I just started powerlifting and while I don’t have record breaking numbers, I decided to test my 225lb bench press max. I got 12 reps. I’m not completely satisfied, as I have bigger goals but I was wondering if that’s a decent number?? Thanks for the input and here’s a link to the video:

https://youtu.be/yYyH2h-v1xk

critique and advice is much appreciated!


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## Trump (Jun 16, 2019)

I think it’s a good number, you need to remember not to compare yourself too much to other people. Set yourself some targets and aim to achieve them. Once you hit them targets set some more, keep the reasonable and don’t put too much pressure on yourself and keep at it.



Jth375 said:


> Hey all,
> I just started powerlifting and while I don’t have record breaking numbers, I decided to test my 225lb bench press max. I got 12 reps. I’m not completely satisfied, as I have bigger goals but I was wondering if that’s a decent number?? Thanks for the input and here’s a link to the video:
> 
> https://youtu.be/yYyH2h-v1xk
> ...


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## Jin (Jun 16, 2019)

Certainly don’t compare yourself to trump!

Your form could use some work. Specifically in your eccentric phase. Try actually pulling the bar down to your chest as you flex your back & meet the bar with your chest, rather than just letting the weight fall via gravity. 

Nice work!


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Trump said:


> I think it’s a good number, you need to remember not to compare yourself too much to other people. Set yourself some targets and aim to achieve them. Once you hit them targets set some more, keep the reasonable and don’t put too much pressure on yourself and keep at it.




Thank you you so much for the reply! I really appreciate it. I was hitting a lot more while in the Army and I think I can get that number back fairly quickly. I’ll definitely not compare myself to others like you said, and will set my own targets. I’m hoping to hit 405 at the end of the year. My personal best in the Army was 365, so I say it’s very doable! All the best, brother.


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Jin said:


> Certainly don’t compare yourself to trump!
> 
> Your form could use some work. Specifically in your eccentric phase. Try actually pulling the bar down to your chest as you flex your back & meet the bar with your chest, rather than just letting the weight fall via gravity.
> 
> Nice work!




Thank you Jin! Yeah my form was definitely a bit sloppy. I probably would have gotten 10 if I just controlled the weights. I definitely do paused reps during training and not just touch and go’s &#55357;&#56834; Soon I’ll be back where I used to be!


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## Trump (Jun 16, 2019)

Whats your PB as of now?



Jth375 said:


> Thank you you so much for the reply! I really appreciate it. I was hitting a lot more while in the Army and I think I can get that number back fairly quickly. I’ll definitely not compare myself to others like you said, and will set my own targets. I’m hoping to hit 405 at the end of the year. My personal best in the Army was 365, so I say it’s very doable! All the best, brother.


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Trump said:


> Whats your PB as of now?


 
I hit 325 yesterday for a single.


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## Trump (Jun 16, 2019)

Thats a pretty big jump in 6 months, why dont you aim for getting 325 for a tripple for your 1st target. Once you have achieved that then see what you can get for a single



Jth375 said:


> I hit 325 yesterday for a single.


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Trump said:


> Thats a pretty big jump in 6 months, why dont you aim for getting 325 for a tripple for your 1st target. Once you have achieved that then see what you can get for a single



Thanks for the input and reply, Trump! I’ll definitely focus on getting that as a triple then!


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## Gibsonator (Jun 16, 2019)

what was your mos in the Army? 
225x12 is solid, i agree with trump, work on bringing that 325 up to a triple and go from there. 
injure yourself trying to move that 1rm up too quick you won't be benching at all.


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## BigSwolePump (Jun 16, 2019)

That made my ribs hurt. 

Like others have said, 12 reps with that weight is solid.

If you want to get stronger, slowing those reps down by 50% will make a big difference. 

Props to posting a video on your accomplishment.


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## Straight30weight (Jun 16, 2019)

Jth375 said:


> I hit 325 yesterday for a single.


There’s a 335 for a single on your videos, is that not you?  

As the others have said, 225 for 12 is really good. You look young, with the numbers you’re putting up already I don’t see any reason why a 400 plus bench isn’t in your future.


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> There’s a 335 for a single on your videos, is that not you?
> 
> As the others have said, 225 for 12 is really good. You look young, with the numbers you’re putting up already I don’t see any reason why a 400 plus bench isn’t in your future.



haha yeah that was me in the 335 video but that was also a few years ago in the Army. I had a video somewhere of me hitting 365 on my older phone which I’ll have to find! I really appreciate the encouragement, I know bench isn’t everything but I’ve always dreamt of hitting four plates for some reason. As of now I’m just trying to get my old strength back, which is coming back fast. So realistically if I do get back to 365 soon (which I think I can easily), 405 shouldn’t be too far off!


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## Straight30weight (Jun 16, 2019)

Jth375 said:


> haha yeah that was me in the 335 video but that was also a few years ago in the Army. I had a video somewhere of me hitting 365 on my older phone which I’ll have to find! I really appreciate the encouragement, I know bench isn’t everything but I’ve always dreamt of hitting four plates for some reason. As of now I’m just trying to get my old strength back, which is coming back fast. So realistically if I do get back to 365 soon (which I think I can easily), 405 shouldn’t be too far off!


Totally agree. There’s going to be guys that tell you bench means nothing, there’s better ways to build the chest, blah blah. But I get it. For me it was a huge accomplishment to take 4 plates for a ride, and I imagine it’ll feel great when you do too.


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> Totally agree. There’s going to be guys that tell you bench means nothing, there’s better ways to build the chest, blah blah. But I get it. For me it was a huge accomplishment to take 4 plates for a ride, and I imagine it’ll feel great when you do too.



Hell yeah! I might even do a meet this December in Montgomery, depending where I’m at when the time rolls around.


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

BigSwolePump said:


> That made my ribs hurt.
> 
> Like others have said, 12 reps with that weight is solid.
> 
> ...




Haha yeah, my form was far from great, that’s for sure! Guess I kind of let my ego get to me!  I absolutely love incorporating paused bench presses into my routine though. I promise the next videos to come will be much improved!


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## Jth375 (Jun 16, 2019)

Gibsonator said:


> what was your mos in the Army?
> 225x12 is solid, i agree with trump, work on bringing that 325 up to a triple and go from there.
> injure yourself trying to move that 1rm up too quick you won't be benching at all.



I was 11B!


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## Texan69 (Jun 17, 2019)

Not too bad, looking good brother! Probably stronger than a good amount of guys on the board. Are you natty?


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## Jth375 (Jun 17, 2019)

Texan69 said:


> Not too bad, looking good brother! Probably stronger than a good amount of guys on the board. Are you natty?


 As of now, no. I have hit 365 natural in the past though.


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## Trump (Jun 17, 2019)

Oooh what you running?



Jth375 said:


> As of now, no. I have hit 365 natural in the past though.


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## Gibsonator (Jun 17, 2019)

Trump said:


> Oooh what you running?



inquiring minds must know..... :32 (17):


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## Seeker (Jun 17, 2019)

Texan69 said:


> Not too bad, looking good brother! Probably stronger than a good amount of guys on the board. Are you natty?



what makes you claim that he's probably stronger than a good amount of guys on the board? who are you to make such a statement..


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## Gibsonator (Jun 17, 2019)

yea dude, 225 is good and all but i would think most the guys on this board can do that if not much more. speak for yaself


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## Jth375 (Jun 17, 2019)

Trump said:


> Oooh what you running?



Running some test e, deca and dbol.


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## Jth375 (Jun 17, 2019)

Gibsonator said:


> yea dude, 225 is good and all but i would think most the guys on this board can do that if not much more. speak for yaself


 Definitely. I didn’t say nor think my numbers are near the best lol.


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## Gibsonator (Jun 17, 2019)

Jth375 said:


> Definitely. I didn’t say nor think my numbers are near the best lol.



was referring to texan, keep doin what ur doin brother


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## Jth375 (Jun 17, 2019)

Gibsonator said:


> was referring to texan, keep doin what ur doin brother


Will do brother! I’ll keep the updates coming along!


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## Tiny (Jun 18, 2019)

Nice job

Regarding your Q,
225x12 230lb body weight  "pretty good"
225X12 180lb body weight  "skinny mofo is strong af"

Form looks like shit. BREATHE
You'll get stronger faster doing 10 controlled reps with a strong exhale on push then 12 manic reps. Just curious but is strength training your main goal?


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## Jth375 (Jun 20, 2019)

Tiny said:


> Nice job
> 
> Regarding your Q,
> 225x12 230lb body weight  "pretty good"
> ...



Yeah my form was horrible it was an ego lift for sure haha, but I’m slowing down now and doing a lot more paused reps! Yup, strength is my goal. I have a powerlifting meet in October.


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## Texan69 (Jun 20, 2019)

Seeker said:


> what makes you claim that he's probably stronger than a good amount of guys on the board? who are you to make such a statement..



Im Texan69 that’s who! I’ll make any statement I want. Nah but for real Just trying to be nice  probably a dumb statement. I know there’s guys on here who rep 400+. Probably be more accurate to say stronger than the average natty gym bro


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## Texan69 (Jun 20, 2019)

Gibsonator said:


> yea dude, 225 is good and all but i would think most the guys on this board can do that if not much more. speak for yaself




Well for a one rep max ya not good but he was saying he hits it x amount of times, also thought he was natty so the reps he did with 225 wouldn’t be bad for a novice natty lifter (in my opinion) ....y’all need to chill I never said he’s stronger than y’all . Holy smokes, I try to be supportive and nice to a member and get my head bite off


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## Straight30weight (Jun 20, 2019)

Texan69 said:


> Well for a one rep max ya not good but he was saying he hits it x amount of times, also thought he was natty so the reps he did with 225 wouldn’t be bad for a novice natty lifter (in my opinion) ....y’all need to chill I never said he’s stronger than y’all . Holy smokes, I try to be supportive and nice to a member and get my head bite off


Send pics of your old lady and all will be forgotten


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## Texan69 (Jun 20, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> Send pics of your old lady and all will be forgotten


Lol I was just playing, Hope they were too
ill see what I can do. She’s being a bit of a biatch tonight. We just finished at the gym 
and she caught me looking at some college girls in gym shark


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## Gibsonator (Jun 20, 2019)

it's all good tex, I'll be the first to admit i am slightly more of an asshole on tren :32 (17):


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## Straight30weight (Jun 20, 2019)

Gibsonator said:


> it's all good tex, I'll be the first to admit i am slightly more of an asshole on tren :32 (17):


I appear to be unchanged. Same asshole I ever was


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## Seeker (Jun 20, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> I appear to be unchanged. Same asshole I ever was



im old and beat down. Perfect reasoning for being an asshole


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## Gibsonator (Jun 20, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> I appear to be unchanged. Same asshole I ever was



give it some more time lol


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## Straight30weight (Jun 20, 2019)

Thinking about adding 4 more weeks to the cycle...


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## Trump (Jun 20, 2019)

What was initial plan? 



Straight30weight said:


> Thinking about adding 4 more weeks to the cycle...


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## Straight30weight (Jun 20, 2019)

Trump said:


> What was initial plan?


8 weeks total


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## Jth375 (Jun 21, 2019)

https://youtu.be/ktaRewJDeBE

Hit 275 for 7 today after hitting 335 for a single (didn’t get a video of the single though). Old strength is coming back fast. Getting excited.


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## Tiny (Jun 21, 2019)

Weird angle vid but almost looks like you might get a 5% boost in strength by just widening grip 1/2" total based on your arm length
Keep it up, looked a lot better then last vid


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## Trump (Jun 21, 2019)

I agree with tiny try putting your little finger where the mark on the bar is. You can see the smooth ring on the bar in your vid



Tiny said:


> Weird angle vid but almost looks like you might get a 5% boost in strength by just widening grip 1/2" total based on your arm length
> Keep it up, looked a lot better then last vid


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## bigdog (Jun 21, 2019)

Straight30weight said:


> Thinking about adding 4 more weeks to the cycle...



AHEM AHEM.... what did I say weeks ago?.....  AHEM...:32 (10):


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## bigdog (Jun 21, 2019)

Jth375 said:


> https://youtu.be/ktaRewJDeBE
> 
> Hit 275 for 7 today after hitting 335 for a single (didn’t get a video of the single though). Old strength is coming back fast. Getting excited.



YEP.... widen grip a bit..


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## Straight30weight (Jun 21, 2019)

bigdog said:


> AHEM AHEM.... what did I say weeks ago?.....  AHEM...:32 (10):


Your exact words were “I’d run it a bit longer than 8 weeks.....”. Today is the end of week 4. I feel like 8 more would be nice.....


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## Jth375 (Jun 21, 2019)

Hey all, thanks for the support and replies. Yeah I’ve been told a lot my grip is fairly narrow, so I’ll trying widening it a bit and see how it goes. I used to bench REALLY wide in high school and my elbows flared out a lot which caused shoulder issues, but I’ll give a wider grip a go next session!


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## Tiny (Jun 21, 2019)

Jth375 said:


> Hey all, thanks for the support and replies. Yeah I’ve been told a lot my grip is fairly narrow, so I’ll trying widening it a bit and see how it goes. I used to bench REALLY wide in high school and my elbows flared out a lot which caused shoulder issues, but I’ll give a wider grip a go next session!



Was thinking about this for a bit late yesterday. If you're carrying more strength in your arms it may actually hurt your results. Since you've needed to have a history in lifting to start getting up there in weight it may be that those tendons are already developed and that's what comfortable.

Since you have a specific event you're prepping for (if I remember right), I wouldn't change your grip NOW. Just start incrementally widening in future training till you get to that sweet spot between too wide where your shoulders are effected and too narrow that will limit your potential going forward. 
Let us know how it goes


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## Jth375 (Jun 21, 2019)

Tiny said:


> Was thinking about this for a bit late yesterday. If you're carrying more strength in your arms it may actually hurt your results. Since you've needed to have a history in lifting to start getting up there in weight it may be that those tendons are already developed and that's what comfortable.
> 
> Since you have a specific event you're prepping for (if I remember right), I wouldn't change your grip NOW. Just start incrementally widening in future training till you get to that sweet spot between too wide where your shoulders are effected and too narrow that will limit your potential going forward.
> Let us know how it goes



Will do! Yeah I’m probably more triceps dominant now than chest but I don’t think it would hurt either to lessen the ROM in the future. I’m training under Team Juggernaut now through online coaching to prep me for my first meet in October (Bench only). Hoping to do well.


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## Metalhead1 (Jun 21, 2019)

Jth375 said:


> Will do! Yeah I’m probably more triceps dominant now than chest but I don’t think it would hurt either to lessen the ROM in the future. I’m training under Team Juggernaut now through online coaching to prep me for my first meet in October (Bench only). Hoping to do well.



Good choice. I had been looking at them for my prep, also. Keep us updated


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## Metalhead1 (Jun 21, 2019)

Also, with your comp in October, I believe you have time to try, and incorporating a wider grip. 

Start with your pinky on the rings. Then ring finger and so forth and see if your strength is still there. Without causing any shoulder troubles obviously.


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## Jth375 (Jun 21, 2019)

Metalhead1 said:


> Also, with your comp in October, I believe you have time to try, and incorporating a wider grip.
> 
> Start with your pinky on the rings. Then ring finger and so forth and see if your strength is still there. Without causing any shoulder troubles obviously.



Ill definitely let you know how JTS is! I got paired with Kristen Dunsmore so I’m stoked about progressing. I’ll also see what I can do with a wider grip next session and will get back to you guys about it!


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