For a beginner lifter, 135 lbs could be considered a good bench press weight as it represents a good starting point for building strength and improving technique. However, for an experienced lifter and especially an elite athlete, 135 lbs may be considered a relatively low weight and may not be challenging enough to provide significant strength gains.

In general, 225 lbs is considered a benchmark weight for the bench press exercise, particularly for male lifters. Many strength coaches and fitness experts use the ability to bench press 225 lbs for reps as a measure of upper body strength and a sign of becoming an intermediate lifter. However, whether 225 lbs is a good bench press weight for you specifically will depend on your individual circumstances and goals. Factors such as your body weight, training experience, and genetic potential will all play a role in determining whether 225 lbs is a challenging weight for you to lift.

How Much Should I Be Able To Bench Press?

Looking to increase your bench? Or perhaps you’re wondering how much you should be able to lift in the first place.

The bench press is a popular exercise for building upper body pushing strength, but it’s important to have realistic expectations and avoid injury.

In this article, we’ll explore what the average bench press is, factors that can impact your bench press strength, and tips for safely improving your bench.

Table Of Contents

1 “How Much Ya Bench Man?”
2 How To Bench Your Bodyweight
- 2.1 Food Intake For Skinny Beginners
3 How To Bench Over Bodyweight!
- 3.1 Incorporate Bench Press Variations
- 3.2 Vertical Pressing To Build The Triceps & Shoulders
4 Frequently Asked Questions
5 Conclusion

“How Much Ya Bench Man?”

When it comes to how much you should be able to Bench Press, a lot of people recommend basing it on your body weight. I tend to agree!

If you’re 300 lbs and can bench 300 lbs, that’s okay for the most part. However, someone weighing 150 lbs and bench pressing 300 lbs is much more impressive!

That’s double their bodyweight and their relative body strength is much higher as a result!

kid asking trainer how much he benches and the guy laughs at him

If you’re a beginner male trainee the first goal you should be aiming for is 225 lbs. This is a solid test of strength and the first step toward having a big bench press.

For beginner female lifters, 135 lbs is comparable and something my female clients can do within 6 months of training.

In general, however, a male trainee benching 1.5-2 times your body weight is what many would consider strong!

This means a 200 lb male trainee should be capable of benching 300-400 lbs.

For female trainees, who have lesser upper body strength by default, 1-1.5 times your body weight would be considered a strong bench press.

How many 100 lb women have you seen bench 150-200 lbs? Exactly! It’s strong and it’s rare. So how do we get to this level of strength?

How To Bench Your Bodyweight

To obtain the strength to bench at least your body weight, I recommend something simple like Starting Strength.

This program by Mark Rippetoe focuses on basic compound movements with an easy-to-follow progressive overload system.

You can get the book for cheap on Amazon, and it’s absolutely the #1 book on getting stronger for beginners!

By following his program, you should be able to bench 225 lbs in your first 3-6 months of training.

An important focus of benching 225 for the first time is eating enough food to gain strength and muscle.

This is without a doubt the most essential thing when it comes to getting stronger in general.

Food Intake For Skinny Beginners

If you have a hard time gaining muscle and strength, building your bench press to this level is going to be difficult.

Here’s what I recommend for those that need to gain a ton of muscle quickly!

NOTE: This is only recommended for those that have a hard time gaining weight and don’t put fat on easily.

Here’s the basic diet that will put weight on you quickly!

If you can’t build muscle using this basic eating plan you’re either not eating consistently, or you have a tapeworm most likely. I’m sorry, it happens I guess!

Drink 3 protein shakes in full-fat milk after each meal
Consume 3 peanut butter and honey/jelly sandwiches in between each meal as a snack
Consume a dozen eggs per day
Consume 1 lb of ground beef a day
Consume 1 cup of jasmine rice with chicken broth at each meal

If you do any combination of these 4 things, not only will you gain weight quickly, your strength will skyrocket!

When the goal is building muscle, you need to eat like it.

How To Bench Over Bodyweight!

To bench over your bodyweight, you might have to change your training strategy up to increase the musculature in your upper body.

The major muscle groups that will assist you the most in benching more weight are your chest, shoulders, and triceps.

obi-wan telling vader he will become more powerful than he could possibly imagine

Rather than working on sets of 3-6 for strength forever, consider working on building muscle over strength for a couple of months.

Sets of 5-8 taken to failure are the best way to build muscle while minimizing fatigue.

Here’s an example of how this might look over a month!

Week 1 – 200×8
Week 2 – 205×7
Week 3 – 205×9
Week 4 – 210×6
Week 5 – 210×7
Week 6 – 210×8

Basically, you add weight or reps each week. If you do more than 8 reps, add weight the following week and push to failure.

If you do less than 8 reps, keep the weight the same and try to beat your reps.

Once you can’t add weight or reps to your bench, add another set in the 5-8 rep range.

Continue doing this until you can’t make progress on 3 sets of bench in either weight or reps.

You can then test your bench press after a deload, switch to another bench press variation to repeat the process or go right into a strength training phase.

Incorporate Bench Press Variations

Another way you can push your strength even higher on the Bench Press is by using different variations.

The main Bench Press Variations that transfer over exceptionally well are Close-Grip Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, and Pause Bench.

You need to figure out what works best for you, however.

If you’re weak off your chest, Pause Bench should help you build the strength necessary in that range of motion.

If your lockout always feels weak, using Close-Grip Bench will definitely assist in building the Triceps.

When incorporating variations, I recommend using your standard Bench Press form at all times.

That way, you are always practicing proper form and building your exercise-specific musculature.

On the other days of the week, you can use more variations to push your strength to new limits.

I recommend benching at least 2-3 times a week. Here’s how that might look!

Workout 1:
- Bench Press 3 Sets @200
Workout 2:
- Incline Bench Press 3 Sets @160
Workout 3
- Close-Grip Bench Press 3 Sets @180

Very simple to set up as long as you know what your weaknesses are! You can also incorporate them on 2 different days and simply do more sets of each.

Workout 1:
- Bench Press 5 Sets @200
Workout 2:
- Close-Grip Bench Press 5 Sets @180

Regardless of what you choose, pick at least 1 other movement from your main Bench form. This will give you more practice, build more muscle, and over time, more strength.

Vertical Pressing To Build The Triceps & Shoulders

Some of the strongest Benches in the world do 2 very important movements to increase their Bench Press strength, Dips and Military Press. I consider both to be Vertical Pressing movements.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeremy Hoornstra (@hoornstra_strong) on Dec 27, 2018 at 7:01pm PST

Here is Jeremy Hoornstra doing a set of 5 with 265 lbs of added weight, the stronger you get at Dips, the better your Bench Press will be!

Here’s proof! He Benched 645 lbs for 2 reps here so the transfer in strength is obviously massive!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeremy Hoornstra (@hoornstra_strong) on May 6, 2019 at 8:07pm PDT

To Bench weights greater than your bodyweight, having strong relative body strength is an awesome way to pack on muscle and get stronger.

Dips are one of the best upper body movements and transfer over to Bench Press strength exceptionally well.

When my Bench Press was the strongest, I was able to do sets of 10-15 at 275 lbs. If you want to bench more weight, work on increasing your dip strength. It will help you build the strongest triceps possible!

The other movement I recommend for building a big Bench Press is Military Press.

The strength and stability you can build through your upper back and shoulders using this movement is insane!

Show me somebody with strong shoulders and I guarantee they have a strong bench.

Here is Derek Kendall doing Seated Military Press with 500 lbs! He has also Benched over 600 lbs in competition so you know he’s insanely strong at both!

Get your Military Press stronger and your bench will go up as well, guaranteed!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 135 a good bench?

For a beginner lifter, 135 lbs could be considered a good bench press weight as it represents a good starting point for building strength and improving technique.

However, for an experienced lifter and especially an elite athlete, 135 lbs may be considered a relatively low weight and may not be challenging enough to provide significant strength gains.

Is 225 a good bench?

In general, 225 lbs is considered a benchmark weight for the bench press exercise, particularly for male lifters.

Many strength coaches and fitness experts use the ability to bench press 225 lbs for reps as a measure of upper body strength and a sign of becoming an intermediate lifter.

However, whether 225 lbs is a good bench press weight for you specifically will depend on your individual circumstances and goals.

Factors such as your body weight, training experience, and genetic potential will all play a role in determining whether 225 lbs is a challenging weight for you to lift.

What is a respectable bench press?

A respectable bench press is one that demonstrates a good level of upper body strength, relative to an individual’s body weight and lifting experience.

However, what constitutes a respectable bench press can vary widely depending on several factors.

For example, an intermediate lifter who has been training consistently for several years and weighs around 180 lbs may be considered respectable if they can bench press 225 lbs for multiple reps.

On the other hand, a beginner lifter who has just started lifting weights and weighs 130 lbs may be considered respectable if they can bench press their body weight (130 lbs) for multiple reps.

Should I be able to bench my bodyweight?

In general, being able to bench press your body weight for multiple reps is considered a good benchmark for upper body strength, particularly for intermediate to advanced lifters.

However, for beginner lifters or those with limited training experience, it may take some time to build up to being able to bench press their body weight.

It’s important to note that body weight is just one factor that can impact your bench press performance.

Other factors such as technique, training intensity, and recovery also play a role in your ability to lift weights.

Can an average person bench 225?

According to some studies, the average bench press weight for adult men is approximately 135 lbs, while the average bench press weight for adult women is approximately 65 lbs.

However, these numbers may vary depending on the specific population being studied.

In general, bench pressing 225 lbs for reps is considered a significant achievement and is often used as a benchmark for intermediate to advanced lifters.

However, this weight may be too heavy for some individuals, particularly those who are new to lifting weights or who have limited training experience.

Conclusion

If your goal is to build a bigger Bench, you need to focus on getting stronger, building more muscle, and training MORE than just your Bench Press.

A great goal to start with is benching at least your bodyweight for men and half your bodyweight for women.

After a year of training, benching your bodyweight should be doable as long as you’re following a solid training program such as Starting Strength.

After that, your goal should be benching 1.5-2 times your bodyweight for men and 1-1.5 times your bodyweight for women.

Again, these are just high standards you should be aiming for. Don’t feel distraught if you aren’t anywhere close to those parameters. Just keep working hard and check out some of my other tips if you want to build a big bench fast!

What tips worked in getting your Bench Press stronger? Let me know in the comments below!

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Until next time,

-Dante

“How Much Ya Bench Man?”