Imo, a 440 Bench is extremely impressive compared to a 440 Squat.
I feel like the majority of lifters, if they train consistently, with a solid program, good effort, and decent nutrition will reach a 440lb squat relatively easy, I don’t even think it requires great genetics.
But a 440lb Bench Press (200 Kilos) is a tremendous amount of weight to hold in your hands, that is a seriously strong person. That takes serious focus, good genetics/levers for benching and healthy lean mass. Even Touch and Go is still impressive to me.
For someone who has been training for a few years, going from 385lbs to 440lbs in 2 months is a very unrealistic expectation if there are no AAS changes. Even with the addition of AAS on someone who has never taken any, I don’t see getting from 385lbs to 440lbs in 2 months as a realistic goal. Maybe possible. I don’t know.
Just speaking from my experience, I increased from a 420lb raw competition bench press to a 450lb raw competition bench press in about 6 months (between the two meets.) I was surprised at that 30lb increase.
If one manages to get fairly strong on the bench while still being a crappy technical bencher, simple refinements on technique can yield some pretty impressive performance improvements quite suddenly.
That’s still impressive improvement to me, but it isn’t like I pulled off a training miracle when I learned how to keep my upper back tight after a few years of not doing that. It wasn’t quite that big of a jump and I never really tested my max at my strongest, but it was in that ballpark.
This. My deadlift increased from 315 to 495 in one workout by switching to conventional from sumo. It’s changed my entire training since then. I finally “got it.”
A little off subject, but somewhat similar as the two lifts feel completely different:
Have any here given the reversed grip bench press an honest try? Maybe have incorporated into your routine?
I have done it as a compound triceps exercise, but it does seem a balancing challenge and difficult to unrack and rerack without a spotter when the weight gets heavy.
This reflects my own thoughts on the matter. A heavy bench accomplishment - is an even greater accomplishment alongside a proper squat performance. When I’m under a +95% max heavy bar on squats, I also need to overcome my fear of being crushed by the weight. Even more so if I’m doing a 6 RM attempt! I’ve NEVER felt that way during a max bench - It’s more like I’m fine with making a failed attempt (though I always make sure the safety bars are in place).
This is a legit fear. A buddy of mine died in high school because he was benching on the smith machine in the basement gym at home, and it came down on his throat.
No one else was home and he had gone to failure with the hooks off, so who knows how long it took for his end.
That’s why I hate safety collars - If I can dump a failed attempt I might be embarrassed, but I tried, learned, and am still alive.
Becoming a dirty cheater who lifts weights the wrong way is a sure-fire way to boost one’s numbers at the expense of becoming a tremendous athlete who pulls conventional.
I’m not bragging about numbers - I have never competed, have no plans to, and would probably lose.
That freakish day everything in the background had lined up. This was at an apartment gym, and I was relaxed, got good sleep, and went out at 5 am to do a swim, then had breakfast, was reading about lifting, and went to lift at 10 am.
My plan at the time started out with deadlifts as the initial movement, then do a bunch of accessory stuff, but I’d never done more than 3 plates and decided randomly to go for as much as I could, so I kept adding weight and finally maxed out.
So it wasn’t that I magically increased my max in one workout, the work I had done before had obviously laid the groundwork, and I had been a pussy on deadlifts - it was just wild to see.
It’s probably just genetics, but that huge jump really amped me up to this day.
Okay, you got me. I don’t actually know how to prepare males to properly deadlift for a modeling career, nor do I own or operate a male modeling agency.
I’m just a simple man who finds value in legitimate feats of strength and athleticism like conventional barbell deadlifts and pressing against a bench through a full range of motion. Like our ancestors did.