LOL. Maybe, but I don’t think it would be enough. I know what he already has done to try and gain weight, and it wasn’t far off Blakely.
Yes it should have been moot. Although given I was completely silent when typing the message it was also mute. However I think the correct Phrase in this case as @Polar-Bear pointed out was Moo! It was definitely a moo point.
People seem to get mixed up in these thought experiments. There’s a huge difference between “possible” and “possible under conditions x, y and z”. If people let go of whatever their terms happen to be, like keeping abs year-round or deciding that gaining weight can’t happen, it becomes a much less distant possibility.
Then there’s people who just don’t have a good perspective on the feat and how one might achieve it.
“I’ve been hitting the Nautilus machines for 20 years to stay fit and even I can’t bench 350. No way would an average Joe be able to do it.”
I was just busting on you a little, no harm intended.So I hope I didn’t come off as a dick.
Not at all, if I didn’t want to get my balls busted I’d stay away from topics like this. Thought of me arguing like a mime artist stuck in a box made me laugh hard.
I am a pessimist on this, and will tell you the answer: Up to 16.5% of men can achieve this, as explained below.
At least 33% of men are genetically non-gifted to the extent that they would have no chance at all. Remember, these days people are allergic to dust, sun light, and nearly everything else. We have the medical know-how to allow nearly everyone to conceive a child, and to allow children to survive with physical limitations that would caused them to perish 100 years ago. This isn’t a bad thing, unless you are relying on them to bench 350 lbs.
At least 33% of men barely have the dedication to wake up and get dressed and go to work regularly. This isn’t a bad thing, unless you’re their boss or are relying on them to bench 350 lbs.
I’d say about 33% of men, with professional coaching and nutrition, could theoretically achieve this feat. Of this 33%, at least half will get injured to the extent they will not be able to ever get there. This isn’t a bad thing, unless you’re their physical therapist or had money on them being able to bench 350 lbs.
So, no more than 16.5% of men could achieve this in theory. That is actually a huge number of people, but far less than “everyone”.
I miss Nautilis. They were the shit.
That’s rubbish.
Most healthy men can achieve this feat. I never attempted to quantify that in any way, but I didn’t see the need to. That obviously excludes men who have health conditions that make this unattainable, but that’s nowhere near 83.5 percent of men.
All of the human factors are up to each of us to manage, and you either do, or don’t. That doesn’t diminish the fact that most healthy men have the potential to achieve this feat. Things can and will go wrong along the way, but that doesn’t make it unattainable for the 5’4" skinny dude who navigates the path successfully.
In practical terms I referred to in the 600lb deadlift thread, I see no reason why any healthy male lifter interested in pushing the envelope on strength should embark on the process with the notion that any particular number will be out-of-reach. What one man has done another can do, and maybe you end up being the guy who does it even better.
You won’t know unless you aim for it and apply yourself.
After reading your retort that had many put-it-on-a-coffee-mug inspirational moments (I love the “What one man has done another can do, and maybe you end up being the guy who does it even better”), I retract my answer.
Everyone and his mother can do this.
I actually stole the line from that movie where Anthony Hopkins killed the man-eating bear with a spear in Alaska, as well as one of the Baldwins.
It’s a good thing he didn’t mope around saying “I read on the Internet that only 16.5 percent of men can kill a bear with a wooden spear.”
The thread title is “350 lbs Bench Possible for Everyone”, you just quantified it with:
I suppose using the word “most” would meet the definition of the word “quantify”.
You got me. I quantified.
Sometimes I wonder if flicks like this aren’t a mans way of living out their dreams.
I’m guessing it’s not possible for every physically healthy male to reach a 350 raw, paused bench. The guys who are genetically gifted for long distance running, or some other endurance sport probably couldn’t get there no matter when they started training, who their coach was, and how much effort they put in.
It’s 100% not possible. There’s so many individual factors to consider. I’ve been in and around a ton of weightrooms, seen everything from average Joe’s to elite athletes and men of all sizes over several years and live in one of the largest cities in the country and have seen probably less than 30 dudes bench over 315, and can count the amount of people benching 4 plates on two hands. I’m sure it’s much more common in hardcore bodybuilding or powerlifting gyms, but now we’re talking about extreme dedication and focus and A LOT of drugs.
The fastest people in the world are 100% in sprinting. This is not up for debate. There are several collegiate sprinters who’ve played in the NFL who are the absolute burners of the league but middle of the pack sprinters.
It does not take extreme dedication or any dedication outside of 5-6 days of training a week.
Have you benched 350?
Nope, and like I wrote I’ve been in and around different weightrooms, athletes, average Joe’s, gym rats, whatever for probably 15 years and have seen it done less than 30 times. Saying it doesn’t take extreme dedication and all you need is to show up 5-6 days a week is absurd.
I’ve benched 350lbs, trained people that have done it, and many people in my last gym could do it.
If you haven’t achieved this lift, I’m not sure how you can tell me what it take to get there.
What is your bench presently?
This sounds about right, unless you’re on the internet where apparently every healthy male can do it.