Is it BS?

[ReturnedFire]

i'm 21, and when i was in HS, several of the kids could do over 200 on bench. a couple of the seniors could do high 200's, and 1 or 2 could do 300+

pretty crazy, and that was a small high school... my graduating class was like 98 kids, so... yeah it's all true

[Geeper]

Some of it is BS, some of it is doing whatever it takes just to get a number ("I can bench 200 ect) even if that means horrible form, and a lot of it is the truth.

I can tell you the average, the average man out there can bench is 135. I've seen this number in countless surveys and have witnessed it myself day after day in a very busy gym. I can remember the day I broke that barrier, I was so proud, and I think these kids have such an advantage over me cause they've done it so young, and started so young.

Kudos to you kids,

[Hopetobefit]

Just this Saturday I went to football weight lifting competition between my school and anothers. One guy on our team was competeing against one of the guys from the other school on who could get the highest squat. Our guy maxed out at 540 and the other guy 525. The same guy who got 525 squat easily got 355 on bench. He was huge.

Also a guy on our football team is about 180 benching 300, squatting 475 (missed 500), and powercleaning 260. This was with proper form because coaches watch and determine if we did it properly (squats have to be parallel). So believe it, most of it is true.

[Canadian Crippler]

all i can say is that i am slightly offended...i work my @ss off for my numbers...

and as for my deadlift...i train with kids who put up around 300lbs on bench but cant dead 300lbs...my back is my strong point...i just started doing deads 2 months ago and my max has jumped from 315 to 385

I know what you mean. My dead strength has gone up a constant 10 lbs per week for the last 4 weeks! It's awesome.

[userName-pLump]

everybody is diffrent. Im 15 and bench 215. there is a 130lb kid i work out with that does 185. Just the fact some people are beasts and others arent.

[HvT_StiNs_47]

Yea im almost 17 and im fairly skinny, i keep up with people 50-100+ my weight .. you just have to be discipline and i promise you will see results. I also have been lifting for about 2 years but i play sports and dont lift during the season, which im chaning that because i want to keep building. Its amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

[JLGoins41]

its definately not bull****.. u cant trust people on the internet but still its not too uncommon...
i am 15 and weight 160
i bench 275, squat 365, and powerclean(HC)265
and all of these are legit
trust me, i know what is cheating and i definately go parallel on squat

[bIgHwN86]

lets just put it this way...do you think Kyle Turley, LaRoi Glover, or even Orlando Pace were only doing 185lb bench, 275 squat, and 315 deadlift...in high school...i highly doubt it..kids are getting stronger faster....

[Hockey66]

I'm 15 and I bench probably over 200 now for one rep and I've pulled a 315 deadlift before. Most of the 15-16 year old guys I would out with can bench between 170 - 220 for one rep and deadlift at least 225 for one. As someone said before read CC's journal. He gradually turned himself into a machine.

[Gabrielle]

there are definitely 15 and 16 year olds pushing 225 + on bench..but I rarely saw any kids that age using 3 plates or more on bench...I used to workout at a high school gym for a little bit..the numbers all depend on form, consistency and drive

[SkinnySadMan]

I know what you mean. My dead strength has gone up a constant 10 lbs per week for the last 4 weeks! It's awesome.

Mind telling what kind of sets/reps you did with deadlifts? Also did you do it once a week or more?

BTW I'm 16 years old, I'm one of those real skinny dudes 125 lbs. Can't lift much weight.

I workout at home, and the only equipment I have is 1 barbell, two 20 lbs. dumbells, two 25 lbs. plates, two 5 lbs. plates. I'm going to buy more plates, like another 100-200 pounds worth of plates.

[Paul Stagg]

A lot of the youngsters posting here are already dedicated to lifting, and it doesn't suprise me at all how strong some of them are.

They are certainly a minority of HS kids.

Bottom line, don't worry about what other people do, worry about what you do. If you aren't happy with your progress, start a thread asking for help with your training.

[crazedwombat]

^^^^

yea, 3 years and only at 135 is weak. in a year I could see about anyone adding 40-50 lbs to their bench until they reach the higher numbers 315 or so. even if not that much weight in a year, at LEAST 20-30 lbs in a year. Like said earlier, I dont think you've been really working your body so you are just wasting time in the gym. do heavier weights, less reps. or at least increase the high rep 135 to maybe high rep 155/165 then add weights for high rep as you can do them. it doesnt sound like you've been increasing very much. I'm 22 next month and I started out at the bar on my bench and am at 225 and that was in 1.5 years and I was/am a chunky monkey.

I started my DL's a month ago and went from 135 to 275. You just have to push yourself. Plus to add to your bench go DBs more, get those stabilizer muscles into gear and safer too.

[MixmasterNash]

Agree with Paul. Not to mention that the whole concept of absolute #'s is somewhat ridiculous. It's not particularly hard to believe that some big ole' kid who came into HS at 200+lbs BW could be benching quite a bit after a year of training, whereas a tall, skinny 110lb'er won't be benching 300 anytime soon.

[bill]

For sure some of the lifts posted or told to you by word of mouth is B.S. and age makes no difference. Sure some of the kids can lift this amount, some can do much more than you posted. Then again some of the B.S. is through people doing half squats and bouncing the bar off their chest on bench.

[Gordo]

Not BS in all cases. There are a lot of younger guys who work hard. I coach football and I have several kids who can bench over 200 at 16. When I was in school there were a few of us who were 300 benchers 400 squatters. Just a matter of comittment and constantly trying to better your lifts, reps/weight ect.. Not trying to be an @ss, but if you have been lifting for three years and are still at the same weight on your bench you're doing something wrong. Even with the reasons you listed you should have made decent gains in three years. Not trying to say you aren't working hard, just not making the gains you should be. Get over the mental stuff and hit the weights.

[Brotherofiron]

the dedication that i see in the high school weight room is unparrelelled...i walk in and see some kids doing pyramids on bench that go up to 305lbs...but then i see some kids just standing around talking to girls, theyll do a couple reps and just stop...those are the kinds of kids who wont get anywhere.

it all depends on your dedication...i know i am dedicated...i am addicted and i live for the pain...

[dualman7]

Today was chest day for me. Some of your posts really motivated me, so i decided to add weight. I did the bench press as follows; 6X155 8X155 6X175 6X175. With 135, i am able to bring the weight all the way down and touch the chest, and then raise up. With heavier weights, I can't do that. I look around the gym and people bring the bar maybe half way down, about 4 inches from the chest. What is the proper form?

[Stupendous]

Today was chest day for me. Some of your posts really motivated me, so i decided to add weight. I did the bench press as follows; 6X155 8X155 6X175 6X175. With 135, i am able to bring the weight all the way down and touch the chest, and then raise up. With heavier weights, I can't do that. I look around the gym and people bring the bar maybe half way down, about 4 inches from the chest. What is the proper form?

Bring the weight down to your chest but do so in a slow, controlled manner. Too many people either 1) barely lower the weight in an attempt to look stronger by lifting heavier or 2) lower the weight quickly and bounce it off their chest.

[dualman7]

does it have to touch the chest?

[cosmicdebree88]

To the OP, yep it's true. I'm 16 atm (almost 17) and I max at 300 lbs on my bench press. I have only recently (4 weeks ago) started DLing and I'm not sure of my max but I can do 6 reps of around 205 lbs. I have achieved this through almost 2 years of weightlifting (kinda sloppy at times). I always use the proper form and almost never "cheat". I also know that I am in no way genetically superior to anyone else... (my family is far from in good shape). I have never taken any kind of steroid and the oly supplement I use is whey protein. (experimented in the past with creatine, glutamine, and NO2). So I personally believe anyone on this site around my age who makes those kinds of claims.

EDIT: Also if u are looking to improve ur weight on any lift the most important things to do are first and foremost EAT ALOT and do not be scared to try more weight. I personally train with the philosophy that weight > reps (to a certain extent^^) each time I lift I try to push myself to put up more weight. If I can't preform the amount of reps I wanted to... I just don't do that many reps. The next time I do the same exercise I put on the same weight and try to bust out another rep or two. Eventually u will be able to do that harder weight.

-Hope that helps^^

[Gordo]

I think the best form is to touch your chest. I know a lot of guys who don't because they have bad shoulders. There is also the idea that you can get used to heavier weight and the feel of it by not going down all the way. I have never had any trouble with my shoulders so I go to my chest. Sounds like you just have a sticking point all the way down.

[Vapour Trails]

I personally think most people's numbers are inflated. It also depends on how they perform the lift. There is one skinny guy (150lbs?) at my gym that I regularily see benching 185 lbs for reps, but he lowers the bar about 1/3 of the way to his chest before going back up. If he brought the bar down and touched his chest, I doubt he'd get it up once. Same thing on squats, how low? It makes all the difference in the world.

[pytron]

I've never heard of not touching your chest with a bench press. I mean, if you get in the squat rack and kind of squat down a little, is that a squat? No, it's a 1/4 squat.

If you aren't bringing it to touch your chest, it's not a bench press. It's a partial press. Useful for some specific sticking points, but don't kid yourself that it's a real bench press.

[SW]

To the OP:

I've been lifting for about a year and a half, am 17, and have worked my ass off. I gained by leaps and bounds at first, then it leveled off some. Last year I benched 300 (at 16) deadlifted 365 and squated 315 the first time I did it.

I'm pretty sure several people don't believe me when I say I low-lat pulldown 415 with relative ease, or seated row 340 several times. I have lived on a farm my entire life, and have done many a day's hard work.

Bottom line: There are some fabrications of course, but also several (like crippler and chubrock) that work very hard and get good results.