How much should I bench press for my weight?

How much should I bench press for my weight?

How much should I bench press for my weight?

The amount that you should bench press for you weight, is entirely relative. It can depend on numerous factors including your age, gender and how long you’ve been training.

There is no right answer. However, what there is, is plenty of data on the average bench press, which you can then use to apply to your own situation.

In this article, we’ll be looking at this data to discern an appropriate weight that you should be lifting depending on how long that you have been training.

How much should a man bench press for their weight?

Below are the average bench press results for men based on their training ability. Here’s how much they are bench pressing depending on their body weight.

Body weight (lbs) Untrained Novice Intermediate Advanced Elite
114 85 110 130 180 220
123 90 115 140 195 240
132 100 125 155 210 260
148 110 140 170 235 290
165 120 150 185 255 320
181 130 165 200 275 345
198 135 175 215 290 360
220 140 185 225 305 380
242 145 190 230 315 395
275 150 195 240 325 405
319 155 200 245 335 415
320+ 160 205 250 340 425

The main factor that has been ignored here is age. Most sources suggest the best way to calculate this is to take 10% off the estimated total if you are over 30, and another 10% every decade older you are than that.

Essentially, if you are untrained – or some mild form of gym experience, you should be able to bench press around 75% of  your body weight. Whereas if you are an incredibly seasoned powerlifter you may be able to bench press up to twice your own body weight.

How much should a woman bench press for their weight?

When it comes to the average number of what women should be bench pressing for their weight, it’s a lot lower.

As the chest muscles are typically less of a focus to women in the gym, and other reasons such as general physiology, the lift is typically a lot lower in untrained women.

Here is a list of the average lifts on bench press for women for their weight:

Body weight (lbs) Untrained Novice Intermediate Advanced Elite
97 50 65 75 95 115
105 55 70 80 100 125
114 60 75 85 110 135
123 65 80 90 115 140
132 70 85 95 125 150
148 75 90 105 135 165
165 80 95 115 145 185
181 85 110 120 160 195
198 90 115 130 165 205
199+ 95 120 140 175 220

As you can see, the levels and proportion of bench press to actual body weight are very different.

How to improve how much you can bench press for your weight

There are several ways that you can help improve your bench press for your weight – regardless of your gender.

Below, we’ll give you some hot tips on how to increase your bench press at a faster rate.

Log Everything and Build on It

One of the fastest ways to see results is to keep a detailed log of every workout session. This includes bench press and other lifts. There are plenty of apps out there that can help you do this.

By logging everything, you’re making yourself a score to beat for the next time you return to that particular session. Either you could squeeze in another set, another rep – or even better raise the weight. As long as you are doing more on paper than you were doing last session – even by a tiny amount – you’ll be building to a bigger bench press.

Healthy Diet

It seems obvious, but making sure you’re getting good fuel into your body can help improve your bench press. Giving your body everything it needs to perform at the most optimum level is great for making it perform at its best.

Good Form

Always making sure you have immaculate form is an effective way to get a good bench press for your weight. By doing everything right, you work all the muscles in the right way to build balance and strength across them for one big controlled lift executed to perfection the next time you attempt your one rep max.

What is a good bench press for your weight?

In conclusion, how much you bench press for you weight depends on a variety of factors including the actual weight that you are, your age and how long you have been training.

In our article, we have supplied tables which show the average weight bench pressed depending on weight and skill level that you can use to identify for yourself as to what you think a decent bench press level is.

Be sure to take 10% off the estimate figure for every decade older you are from 30 and onward.

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