If you have worked out for any length of time you have asked, and been asked, the most common question in lifting… “So… How much do you bench?” You almost expect to hear it in the gym. Maybe even on the street like this funny video where Men’s Fitness asked guys what they could bench and then suprised them with a bench to prove it.
Everybody loves the most common exercise in the gym – flat bench with a barbell. THE bench press. Nobody walks into the gym the first time and looks for a decline bench or pec deck.
Why? Probably because it is so common almost everyone including non-lifters have heard of it and seen it. There are entire contests devoted to it. Even the NFL combine uses it as a measure for all positions.
Simple, fun little test… Walk up to the biggest guy in the gym and say something like – “Mind if I ask you a question? So how much do you…” then stammer and pause for a second or two and they will almost always tell you their bench max.
Try it. Let me know if you get some other response – could be interesting. Why am I so sure? Because nobody, and I mean NOBODY, asks you what you can fly, leg press, run a mile in, etc. Crossfitters might ask your WOD time, but only once, besides, most of them have specific rooms in the gym and they rarely mingle with people who only lift.
International Chest Day – aka Monday
Most often the question will be asked on a Monday. Why? Because that is International Chest Day.
For some reason 97% of people work out chest on Monday. My guess is because that is what most people associate with fitness – that and arms.
I would also guess that most people have good intentions and work out chest on Monday and then life happens and they don’t show up most of the rest of the week until Friday which is second only to Monday for common lifts – Friday is almost always bicep/tricep – curls for the girls…
Excitement at work? I workout!
This morning I was at work taking an elevator up eight flights. Three other people entered the elevator on the same floor. They had just come from a meeting and were obviously in a hurry.
One very young guy probably early 20-ish (very young by 40-ish standards) kept looking at me like he knew me. Kinda freaking me out because I am pretty good with faces and I was certain I didn’t know him, but wearing a name badge you sometimes cross paths with people you only know from conference calls. I just couldn’t quite see his from the angle he was standing.
The two people he was with exited a floor later. Really, you couldn’t take the stairs? 7 floors left.
As the door came to a close, almost on cue, he literally burst with a “you work out, right?” Yes. Note that I work at a big corporate office – jackets required so you can’t always tell who is in shape. Jackets/ties… Ugh. Another story for another time. Back to the story at hand.
He immediately said in a rapid fire voice… “I just started working out a few months ago and I love it.” Six floors to go. Wait for it… “So, how much do you bench?”
What? I haven’t had coffee yet so it took a second to sink in. Five floors to go.
Well, I don’t max out much anymore since I’m 45 and it irritates my shoulders, but… “Well, about how much do you think you could?” A few months ago I was playing around and went heavy at the end of a session and got 315 so I told him probably 325 or maybe 335 on a good day. Three floors to go.
“Wow, that is a lot. I am only doing 145.” I told him it didn’t matter how much he benched, but only that he keeps doing it and it will improve. That lifted him back to the previous level of excitement and before I could say anything else the door opened and he bolted out.
Haven’t seen him since and may never again with a few thousand people running around here, but what he didn’t know is that the question and his enthusiasm motivated me to one of my best workouts in years the next morning.
Workout Motivation
Getting up early and losing sleep isn’t much fun and after years of working out it is easy to lose sight of the pure adrenaline and yes, fun, that comes with lifting or working out. Making new max lifts, reps, or however you want to measure progress should be inspiring.
Take a few seconds during your next workout to appreciate your progress and the fact you are doing something most people won’t or can’t. Check out this link or this link on how much people on Bodybuilding.com can bench. Enlightening.
If you want some encouragement, do a quick google search on what percentage of the population even works out. Then to get downright amazed, search on how much the average man/woman can bench… or how fast they can run a mile…
Comment below… so, what do you bench? 😉 Alternative – how fast can you run a mile?
Include current age, height, weight and 1 rep max or min/mile. For grins, include the last time you stopped to appreciate that number. Whatever it is.
[…] Check both Mike Sisk and the Low T Center if you have questions. As always, consult your doctor. And just because you are in a “NORMAL” range, don’t assume that is the final word – NORMAL is a huge range for a huge range of ages. Who wants to be like the AVERAGE man or woman. […]