A man is not a man until he can bench 2 plates

[simo74]

or a good thread for a perfect argument

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

@The_Myth

I believe you said, "I have my wife on . . . " as if she is a pet, a draft animal you own, and has no say in the matter. Lord Andrew dictates that his wife takes Anavar.

My wife read this comment and laughed at it. Then laughed when I explained you’re a 60 year old “man” acting like this.

I don’t care about your opinion on social issues, male/female relationships, or your opinion of me. Why did you think you’d be able to “educate” me?

Do you normally call your students “cunts” before trying to educate them…?

Get help, dude.

[Desparate_for_gains]

Yes, you get it.

[Desparate_for_gains]

Yes, my priorities might seem strange and unacceptable to most people here, I accept this. “This guy doesn’t want to keep getting bigger and stronger because his face gets a little fat? What a pussy.” Well, that is my choice.

But seeing that there are 60 year old men here, who, juding by the stuff they write, could pass for an angsty 18-year old (which was my first guess when I read said person’s comments, before someone revealed their age), this seems like a varied enough community that I don’t feel completely out of place here.

[dagill2]

I’ve just remembered why i usually stay in the Training Logs section of the site.

[alex_uk]

@dagill2

@Desparate_for_gains

this seems like a varied enough community that I don’t feel completely out of place

Yup definitely a varied community - stick around and keep engaging. I like the fact that you have a very specific goal. Bench 2 plates without gaining weight is kind of what I take that goal to be, correct me if wrong. In which case I’d post some videos of your bench up here, I’d be fairly certain there’s technical aspects of the bench that you can almost instantly gain pounds on (leg drive, lat engagement, bar path etc).

Programming wise if you’ve been on 5/3/1 for a long time a change of pace might assist as well. Throw up more info and videos and you’ll get support to reach your goal even if we don’t all get the point of it!

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

If you really want to “be a man”, we do far more than merely calling people cunts, toxic assholes and titty babies, or going on unhinged rants about the benefits of sniffing celery.

Start a thread asking for training program recommendations and list your goals.

Just don’t be the kind of asshole that asks for help, gets responses from over a hundred years of collective experience, then tells us we’re all wrong

Benching 1.5x bodyweight will be a struggle for anyone, but it is possible. It’s also possible to gain some mass without being overly fat.

[Njord]

@Desparate_for_gains

As I said before, my body was lean while my face looked like Paddy Pimblett during his off-season.

My body looked good. Did not look skinny-fat. I didn’t stand the fact that with my clothes on, or from pictures above my neck, people assumed I was quite overweight. My body distributes fat in a way that if I gain 25 lbs, my face looks as if I had actually gained 50 lbs or more. Hated it too much to keep going.

You’re going to have to pick.

I’m 6’ - 6’1 on a good day and 230. A 225 bench is still in warmup territory or for volume work on flat bench, and volume on the incline.

I look good at a pool but am probably gym bro lean at 215-220 right now.

I don’t have the baby face you’re mentioning but I do have Nordic genetics and the cheekbones that come with it which can fill out a face with the slightest bit of water retention or weight gain. Just keep in mind you can drop puffiness and retain at least some if not most strength gains once achieved but will struggle to make significant gains without a calorie surplus and ensuing weight gain. So be puffy for a little while. Not to be confused with fat or wild weight swings.

I read your post as tongue & cheek bravado on your own journey to 225, not a genuine statement of gym alphas at a 225 bench. Nothing wrong with that. A real man drinks his coffee black, changes his own oil, eats bullets for breakfast et cetera.

Confirmation bias has already been discussed but I think you’re right, you can hit a 225 or higher bench at 185. This is high school athlete level strength.

Belief barrier is another concept. Mental limitations around monkey see, monkey do basically. If you’re at a gym where 225 is an amazing feat, find another gym. When you see people lifting significantly more weight, you will too. I’m willing to bet there’s more holding you back mentally than physically on your lifts.

For reference I go to a gym (granted it’s a specialized powerlifting/strongman gym) where attitudes around 225 are “you’ll” get there one day, don’t give up”, 315 is “keep going, you’re doing a good job” 405 is “welcome to the club”. And there are guys who make 405 look like child’s play, belief barriers or not they’re the true outliers. But even the guys at body weights of 200 or below are benching way more than 225.

So up your game, understand the path to your goal, make the sacrifices and lean your cheeks out later.

[Smashedguitarist]

There are three things you need for manhood.

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women

[dagill2]

Crom laughs at your 2 plate bench. He laughs from his mountain.

[antiquity]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Benching 1.5x bodyweight will be a struggle for anyone, but it is possible. It’s also possible to gain some mass without being overly fat.

Not to brag, but as a 51 year old I can bench 1.5x bodyweight and beyond. It’s certainly doable for anyone with a lifting history that isn’t holding too much fat.

[Smashedguitarist]

The real trick to power is semen retention. I struggled to get to 225 forever and then found this technique. Got me there and beyond.

Now i consistently retain semen. If i accidentally cum or sneeze/cum, i just eat it quickly so i retain the power

[barley1]

@alex_uk

I’d be fairly certain there’s technical aspects of the bench that you can almost instantly gain pounds on

That was my first thought, too.

[Friedrich]

I did the 3 plates on each side a couple of times in my youth. I am pretty sure it did not make me more manlier. Four plates is a head turner most definitely.

[tredaway]

I think bodyweight and age should be taken in to consideration, i’ve never been able to bench 2 plates.
I’m 5ft 3 and weigh on average 144lbs and the most i’ve ever benched was 189lbs.

[RT_Nomad]

@tredaway

I think bodyweight and age should be taken in to consideration

The number of big plates on the bar is simply a visual thing. The visual impact doesn’t care what you weigh or how tall you are. Is it “fair?” Probably not. The “visual impact of the bar” is independent of the person lifting the bar.

If you want fairness apply the Schwartz/Malone formula to the weight lifted.

[T3hPwnisher]

Holy cow dude, welcome back! Been a bit.

[davemccright]

I don’t know what provokes the Mini arguments that make up these types of threads, but when I see 80 replies on a thread from 24 hours ago, I know it’s about to get good!

Also to OP: dude you’re about an inch taller than me and you weigh what I did as a sophomore. It’s time to up the protein, start taking creatine and gain some weight! Keep lifting heavy and progressively. I think something like DC would be a great prescription for someone in your shoes. You can worry about 1.5x bodyweight to strength ratio later, you need to get generally bigger and stronger first. Personally, I wasn’t always able to bench over 1.5x my own bodyweight, but I can now at 210. Adding muscle was such a huge part of the equation.

[Brant_Drake]

I think I figured the formula for internet benching.

Anyone who benches less than me is no man.

Anyone who benches more than me is a roided-up cheater.

[knight1000]

I don’t think anyone else got your movie reference. I did because he was part of what got me lifting as a kid. lol