# Bench Mark for naturals



## 69ingchipmunks (Apr 20, 2013)

Howdy, I'm a natural bodybuilder age 16. I was wondering what was considered 'heavy' for squats, I did 130kg for 10 reps the other day, benched 100kg and dead 120kg. Taking into account I'm 16 and natural, is that heavy? Didn't want to be compared to fat 30 year old powerlifters


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## Eiserner Hahn (Apr 20, 2013)

how much do you weight, and how tall are you?


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## 69ingchipmunks (Apr 20, 2013)

About 85kg on a good day and 5,9


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## Eiserner Hahn (Apr 20, 2013)

lifts are pretty good for your age and weight. Deads are a little low imo


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## 69ingchipmunks (Apr 20, 2013)

Haha yeah, I normally do that for high reps, low rest periods, my lower back gets worked in squats enough, I could go heavier if I didn't leave them till the end of my back workout


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## Dr.G (Apr 22, 2013)

^^^your lifts are very good but my advice is not to be carried away in the gym and  forget about maxing at your age and especially maxing with deadlifts and squats, you don't want to screw  up your vertebrates and cartilage. you should focus on bodybuilding and not on power lifting because power lifting will lead to injuries that can sometimes be very crucial for someone your age.


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## 69ingchipmunks (May 3, 2013)

Yeah man, I prefer BBing anyway, I just one rep max to track my progress


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## c4x (May 3, 2013)

Showing off?


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## JerseyDevil (May 4, 2013)

I've been lifting for over 20 years.  If I had to do it over again I would not have been so focused on "how much can I do?".  Screwed up my knees, have arthritis in my elbows, and had a full tear of the rotator cuff that required surgery and a brutal recovery.  Focus on how you look, more then how much you can lift.  In the end, its not about how much you can bench press, its all about how much you _look_ like you can bench press .  I saw a guy the other day that benched 505 lbs for a single.  He was a sloppy looking total fat fuck.  Not impressed.

Of course you want to track your progress and there is nothing wrong with doing occasional singles, but don't make it your main goal.  Your lifts are very good and at 16, they are bound to go up naturally if you stay healthy.


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## Dr.G (May 4, 2013)

^^ exactly


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## OTG85 (May 4, 2013)

I try to stay in the 3 rep max range when I max out every blue moon.Fuck one rep max injury waiting to happen.


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## 69ingchipmunks (May 6, 2013)

Haha yeah, I was just wondering. I see people post how much they can lift and sounds bs. I never see people ever lifting what they say they can do the Internet, I was wondering was I weak or as expected; they are just chatting bullshit


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## DaMaster (May 6, 2013)

To answer your original question... I've always went by the old axiom of % of body weight for what's considered good strength.
Bench = 1.5 x bw
Squat = 2 x bw
DL = 2.5 bw

Now these are old rule of thumb numbers. They hold as much importance as you give them. Nothing more. 

I also don't believe what was said above that you shouldn't do powerlifting. I believe if you do it correctly and don't go for singles most of the time, you're going to be fine. Probably better off for a few reasons. 
- BB style workouts tend to focus on what you look like and now how your body works. This mentality can lead to imbalances in muscle function all over the body. Basically form (the looks of your body) over function. 
- Power Lifting focuses on Function over form. You build sound structural base with balanced muscular function because you train using more compound multi-planar movements that require a balanced whole body approach. 
- Power Lifting workouts also tend to avoid the 'over training' that you see in typical BB workouts. Especially if you stick to the proper schedule splits. 

Just my opinion... Good Luck


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## 69ingchipmunks (May 7, 2013)

Thanks pal, I do use power lifting sometimes as a method for BBing but often I stay away. But when when I read that statement, I don't know that many people my age or much older that can lift those stats for bench press


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## 69ingchipmunks (May 7, 2013)

Haha


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## Dr.G (May 7, 2013)

just trust me stay away from maxing you are young and you will get stronger even if you are not trying to max, the years of getting stronger did not even start for you, so just concentrate on form and technique and you will get stronger i  can assure you. being obsessed with maxing will inevitably lead to injury ask me
as for the stats, at your age i could not lift more than 60 kgs at a body weight of 65 kgs or so, later in my late 20's i lifted 315 (around 143 kgs)in a competition at a bodyweight of 74 kgs which is  more than 190% without even seriously training for it, i did not enter in the squat and deadlift competitions because i never go real heavy on those. later when i trained heavier and gained some weight i maxed unofficially 325 lbs at a bodyweight of around 78 kgs. but then with time and injuries  i learned my lesson. I was all natural never had done any AAS at that time, up until today ( i am 52, i never saw anybody natural lift at 190% ). now at 52 years old and 76 kgs i still can do 100 kgs for about 6-7 reps. To tell you the truth your lifts are very impressive for your age so don't worry about it.


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## DaMaster (May 7, 2013)

69ingchipmunks said:


> Thanks pal, I do use power lifting sometimes as a method for BBing but often I stay away. But when when I read that statement, I don't know that many people my age or much older that can lift those stats for bench press



Well bro, you're still very young. You've got PLENTY of time to build up. Don't try to make gains too fast. Recipe for disaster. Learn proper form and stick with a sound lifting plan. Even if you can add 5-10lbs (2.5-5kg) per month to your basic lifts that will add up to a lot each year. Think about it. I've told countless youngster to grow slow but they don't want to. They want it too fast. So years later they're no where near where they could be if they did it the right way. That's even IF they make any measurable progress at all.


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## 69ingchipmunks (May 8, 2013)

DaMaster said:


> Well bro, you're still very young. You've got PLENTY of time to build up. Don't try to make gains too fast. Recipe for disaster. Learn proper form and stick with a sound lifting plan. Even if you can add 5-10lbs (2.5-5kg) per month to your basic lifts that will add up to a lot each year. Think about it. I've told countless youngster to grow slow but they don't want to. They want it too fast. So years later they're no where near where they could be if they did it the right way. That's even IF they make any measurable progress at all.



Yeah thanks for the advice man


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## DaMaster (May 8, 2013)

and by the way... those numbers you posted are very good numbers for your age and starting out. 

Also, only compare yourself to yourself. This is a personal endevour. 


Set reasonable goals
Set reasonable time frames for those goals
Create a plan to reach those goals
Follow your plan
Adjust when needed
Small steps add up to BIG gains over time
Compete with yourself


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## JerseyDevil (May 12, 2013)

DaMaster gives really good advice.  I want to add I was NOT saying powerlifting was bad, and I should have made that clear.  The really well trained powerlifters use percents starting 10-12 weeks out.  They build up to a max gradually over that time and peak for a contest.  The typical gym rat who wants to lift big numbers maxes out every 2 week or so.... that was me. No decent PL'er would ever advise training like that.


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## Booby (May 12, 2013)

Im 44 years old and ive been lifting heavy most of my life...I still do, and i max out to track my progress atleast once every 90 days...Ive never had a injury or any joint problems...If you train properly with correct form eat right sleep right and are making gains injuries are not a problem...I hear way to many people say training heavy causes injury and its simply not true...Its all the other factors i mentioned that when not done properly that cause injuries 99% of the time...I also hear way to many people say dont lift like a powerlifter lift like a bodybuilder, thats more illogical advice...First off heavy is relevant to the lifter...You lift whats heavy for you not the weight a 290 lb powerlifter or bodybuilder uses...Second off Most pro bodybuilders lift very heavy weights like a powerlifter, its the form thats different...Heavyweight will only benefit your body and growth as long as you are using correct and good form.


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## Dr.G (May 13, 2013)

yes booby but the guy is 16 so for him he should be now in the phase where he is focusing on proper technique and avoid any critical injury. with heavy weights should come some maturity in lifting and some responsibility towards your body and learn how to listen to your body, and you are probably an expert on that.


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## 69ingchipmunks (May 14, 2013)

Yeah, I always make sure to feel a burn in my muscles, the second I feel my joints weakening I stop. I used to have knee problems from rugby and boxing but weigh training is fixing them and making them better because I don't train like a retard who goes heavy every weak


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## Adrenolin (Apr 15, 2014)

JerseyDevil said:


> Focus on how you look, more then how much you can lift.  In the end, *its not about how much you can bench press, its all about how much you look like you can bench press* .  I saw a guy the other day that benched 505 lbs for a single.  He was a sloppy looking total fat fuck.  Not impressed.


BB.
I always laugh when I see this stated, because it is never stated by anyone who actually does look like they can lift a lot.


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## ckcrown84 (Apr 15, 2014)

Adrenolin said:


> BB.
> I always laugh when I see this stated, because it is never stated by anyone who actually does look like they can lift a lot.



True.

Different people have different goals. I don't know why some people don't understand this or respect that.
There are many different sports and not everyone wants to look like a bodybuilder.

And personally I don't care what someone looks like they can lift, I care about what they can lift


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## AllergicToApples (Apr 21, 2014)

When I started training I was 100% a number whore.  Always maxing out week in & week out. After about 3 years of heavy poundages, I racked up some impressive numbers and a bunch of joint problems.  Not worth it imo... But we all go through that phase.


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## MDR (Apr 21, 2014)

Dr.G said:


> ^^^your lifts are very good but my advice is not to be carried away in the gym and  forget about maxing at your age and especially maxing with deadlifts and squats, you don't want to screw  up your vertebrates and cartilage. you should focus on bodybuilding and not on power lifting because power lifting will lead to injuries that can sometimes be very crucial for someone your age.



I agree about not focusing on max lifting too often at his age.  Powerlifting at 16 is just fine.  It will not lead to injury if you are training properly.  I was already competing as a powerlifter at 16.  I rarely performed max lifts other than at meets.  Injuries come from training with improper form, not from the occasional max lift, even as a teen.


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