[quote]Schwarzfahrer wrote:
Guys, please educate me:
how likely is it to bp 400lbs natural?
Those who read my posts know, I am liberal towards drug use, don’t want to downplay this feat of strength nor the hard work it takes - not in the slightest.
It’s quite an acomplishment.
I ask because a lot of experienced (german) lifters I dealt with or read from find this idea unrealistic.
If someone did this naturally, please speak up! I’m really curious here.
Stay strong-pressing!
-S.[/quote]
Germany has got to be the worst country ever when it comes to strength training.
We have maybe 3 or 4 hardcore gyms in the entire country (ok, maybe more, but few and far in-between), not counting a few private PL gyms…
-People here start out/are RIDICULOUSLY WEAK.
-As you said, 100Kg on the bench is considered major weight here, while that’s basically total beginner level.
-Most don’t have a clue as to what is “strong”/achievable.
-Almost everyone gets shitfaced practically every day in my area. That doesn’t help you get any stronger.
-People’s diets are crap over here.
-They don’t have a fucking clue about programming.
-They don’t have a fucking clue about setup and technique, and I mean NONE.
-They live in their own small world and have no idea what’s going on outside of Germany. They all love to tell you how American supplements are laced with drugs and how every really strong guy is on gear though.
All experts when it comes to that stuff 
-Zero intensity and control over their musculature. No explosiveness either.
-Local “natural bodybuilders” are anything but bodybuilders in my opinion. I don’t know why every ass feels the need to call himself a bodybuilder nowadays, just because they lift (light) weights.
-The opinion of some local “advanced guys” at my last gym was that bodybuilding = something like 4-6 sets of 12-15+ reps on 4-5 exercises per bodypart, light weight for the pump. And yes, they were serious.
-Most here are constantly lean. That’s not how you get strong and big, at least not in most cases. Those guys stay almost exactly the same year after year.
Do yourself a favor: Find a proper gym or some training partner who is putting up major weight, even if he is using. It helps a lot to have someone who inspires you… Lift around people who are much stronger etc.
Someone with great genetic muscle-shape who weighs less than your dog and puts up baby numbers is not someone I’d listen to for training and diet advice for genetically ~average guys either.
As for the “chance” of benching 405 naturally… It’s zero for most simply because of:
-shitty diet
-shitty technique/setup
-mind-set
etc.
I doubt that there are many guys with “average” genetics who can’t potentially reach a 405 raw bench naturally. They’re just too damn stupid to get there.
Thing is, if you really are a serious trainee, then 405 is far from un-achievable.
For someone my height and structure, 405 raw flat or close grip for a single is pretty much the end of the intermediate stage (pressing-wise anyway)… Someone taller like Waylander or AustinBicep will have to bench 445 or something like that and weigh a lot more to break into the advanced stage as far as serious training goes.
Some get there sooner than others, of course… At average height (5’10 or so, ~178cm) as a drug free male in your teens or twenties, benching 405 at 200lb bw or less is going to be very difficult to achieve raw (you’d either have to get much bigger and stronger first and then diet down, or do a lot of relative-strength work while trying not to get over 200 lbs and get up to 405 at snail’s pace. That is imo retarded for someone of average height though… And it’s going to take way too long if you’re not especially gifted for benching)
I think at around 220-230 you can definitely make it though, and by 240 you probably should be doing it or surpassing it, even with long arms.
If regular flat bench is not for you, then a closer grip (tucked elbows on the way down, competition setup, not necessarily a huge arch though) may help. It sure helped me…