Why I Don't Want to Bench 405

Training
101

[quote]masse wrote:
I half agree completely with the OP.

Here’s my take on the forum and TMag as a whole:

I’m not sure how the website started (notice only a member since 2005). I do know what the website is now. It’s an information bank, and in some areas, a floor for rather intellectual debates on the human body. We aren’t all here to be massive, just bigger (muscle obviously). That’s the goal everyone has. Even the biggest guys just want to be bigger (relatively).

If I bench 250 at a bodyweight of 160lbs, where 6 months ago my 1RM was 205lbs (at bodyweight of 150lbs), I consider that a huge personal success. 250lbs is not much weight for bench press, and no its not an impressive number, but the success is still there for me.

So no, I don’t want to bench 405 either (I do however want to get to 315), and I don’t want to be 250lbs. I just want to be bigger than I am now, and stronger. It’s the road we need to be concerned with, not the destination or beginning. That’s what we have in common. Personal development goals.

I come to this website for the articles, the information. That’s the value of T-Nation.

[/quote]

See problem #1, This is America… save the politically correct just better than myself shit for media day…
Set some outstanding goal, and let us laugh at you for not accomplishing it. Or be disciplined and pop shit when you did it and we didn’t.

Don’t start a fucking thread talking about “well you know… you just have to be the best you can.” or… “i’m not really trying to be very good”… competition was made for people with testosterone. if you have no ballz join the quilting forum.

This sums up what he said… “listen everybody I want to do something, I’m not sure I can do it so I’m going to just try a little bit. I was thinking about doing 405x10, but I might not get it if I don’t it doesn’t matter because I didn’t try to hard. I’m too scared to try hard, what if I fail?”

102

[quote]GluteusGigantis wrote:

Weightlifting is this great mental game. You never win, you never can.[/quote]

Just like Robotron.

103

Here’s something I’ve always wondered…

Granted, this thread is somewhat pointless (as is 95% of all the forum action on this site), the most anyone really should have said to the OP was “Ok.” I can understand/appreciate what the OP said, but there was really no need to say it. He just wanted to type his thoughts it would seem.

We all know this is a BODYBUILDING forum, as it’s been screamed from the mountain tops…

However I think an important topic that we can draw from the OP’s opinion was that BODYBUILDING is not the same to everyone. I personally do NOT want to be as large/muscular AS POSSIBLE, I do however, want to continue gaining muscle/lift weights/look good naked. So I presume to do so by using bodybuilding and strength training to accomplish my goals.

I see Prof. X has said we need a FITNESS forum, which in my mind conjures up basic bootcamp style training, not necessarily weightlifting. My question is: where should a person turn (on this site) if their goals are infact to build their body, just not to the extreme other wish, if not the bodybuilding forum?

104

it seems that peoople just like saying they can list so and so, and only real men can lift so an so. Personally, i dont give a shit what my lifts are. all i know is that the weights that used to be heavy aint quite so heavy anymore, and the weights i couldnt even touch are now the weights i crave. but then if im not liftin weights, im tryin to do crazy hard bodyweight stuff, since pullups, which used to be real hard, aint so hard anymore.

i measure progress relative to myself. so when pissin contests start, i got nothing to say cause i really dont care to compete. if you got a 405 bench, congrats man. its not like you get a 405 bench, and then bam, you finish your liftin career. you modify your goals. when i finally started deadlifting, i saw my traps and tris grow. i got stronger. so i put more weight on the bar. but you know what felt better than liftin heavy? a friend of mine had never deadlifted above 185. i knew he could go heavier. so i pushed him hard, and that day he hit 245. he couldnt believe it. if he came on this board and said he hit 245 on a dl, hed get ripped on for it. and thats a shame

105

[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Jstreet yes I agree at bench comps there are alot, I thought you were talking about raw at a gym.

[/quote]

Those guys at the bench comps workout at a gym somewhere, and whenever I talk about bench numbers Im always meaning raw. I don’t know how to guage shirt numbers, becuase I think I am too claustrophobic to try one.

106

Weightlifting is a journey, not a destination. I don’t ever envision myself reaching point X, where I say, “It is enough”.

Side note:

People have their own goals, and they don’t have to be identical to yours to be considered a “real bodybuilder”. Building muscle and staying relatively lean are both worthy goals in the pursuit of bodybuilding. Where you fall along the continuum of muscle vs. body fat is a personal decision. I don’t see either extreme as particularly healthy, but I’m not going to judge others as not being “real bodybuilders” just because they are at a different point in that continuum than I am.

107

[quote]pstruhar7786 wrote:
Here’s something I’ve always wondered…

Granted, this thread is somewhat pointless (as is 95% of all the forum action on this site), the most anyone really should have said to the OP was “Ok.” I can understand/appreciate what the OP said, but there was really no need to say it. He just wanted to type his thoughts it would seem.

We all know this is a BODYBUILDING forum, as it’s been screamed from the mountain tops…

However I think an important topic that we can draw from the OP’s opinion was that BODYBUILDING is not the same to everyone. I personally do NOT want to be as large/muscular AS POSSIBLE, I do however, want to continue gaining muscle/lift weights/look good naked. So I presume to do so by using bodybuilding and strength training to accomplish my goals.

I see Prof. X has said we need a FITNESS forum, which in my mind conjures up basic bootcamp style training, not necessarily weightlifting. My question is: where should a person turn (on this site) if their goals are infact to build their body, just not to the extreme other wish, if not the bodybuilding forum?[/quote]

95% of the forum action is as pointless as this? I don’t think so. Give us some credit dude. Benching 405 is not as extreme as you make it sound.

108

I totally understand the OP - sometimes the injuries and repurcussion of weights just is not worth it. I do enough to get by and LOOK good. It’s a great sport though and kudos to those who CAN push themselves to their limits.

109

[quote]Professor X wrote:
threewhitelights wrote:
Therizza wrote:
This thread is terribad. Who doesn’t want to look like Mariusz Pudzianowski?

It’s not that people wouldn’t like to look like him, it’s that they aren’t willing to make the sacrifices to get that. I can understand that line of thinking.

I have a pretty lofty long term goal, and when I look at all the sacrifices I would have to make to get there and ask “Am I willing, do I really want to?”, I don’t even have to think twice before the answer is yes. However, it won’t be easy, and I can understand if someone isn’t willing to put the same amount of dedication into it.

However, someone like that does not belong in this forum. This topic is irrelevant…because to belong in a forum where the goal is something much more extreme than what most people can even achieve, that requires sacrifice. If someone is unwilling to make that move, then why the fuck are they here? To bring the rest of us down to their level?
[/quote]

I can’t really agree with that, but then, I spend more time in the strength forum than the bodybuilding forum.

I think this is more of a broad spectrum message board. I love that there are guys that are competing and have high goals, but at the same time I don’t really care if not everyone shares those really high goals. I think it would be a very small forum if only the people that were willing to put that kind of effort in were allowed to post.

Besides that, there are people that come to this board looking to get bigger and stronger than they currently are. Even if that “bigger and stronger” doesn’t include being 250+ with a 405lb bench, I’d rather them be here than on the Mens Health forums where someone would tell them it’s impossible to get over 200lbs without hawt abz.

Further, if I let weak and undedicated people “bring me down”, then I never would have accomplished what I have and what I plan on accomplishing, and neither would you.

I can see the other side of the argument of course, but then, that is what the t-cell is for.

110

[quote]MytchBucanan wrote:
pstruhar7786 wrote:
Here’s something I’ve always wondered…

Granted, this thread is somewhat pointless (as is 95% of all the forum action on this site), the most anyone really should have said to the OP was “Ok.” I can understand/appreciate what the OP said, but there was really no need to say it. He just wanted to type his thoughts it would seem.

We all know this is a BODYBUILDING forum, as it’s been screamed from the mountain tops…

However I think an important topic that we can draw from the OP’s opinion was that BODYBUILDING is not the same to everyone. I personally do NOT want to be as large/muscular AS POSSIBLE, I do however, want to continue gaining muscle/lift weights/look good naked. So I presume to do so by using bodybuilding and strength training to accomplish my goals.

I see Prof. X has said we need a FITNESS forum, which in my mind conjures up basic bootcamp style training, not necessarily weightlifting. My question is: where should a person turn (on this site) if their goals are infact to build their body, just not to the extreme other wish, if not the bodybuilding forum?

95% of the forum action is as pointless as this? I don’t think so. Give us some credit dude. Benching 405 is not as extreme as you make it sound.[/quote]

Eh, lately a lot of the threads havent been help/advice oriented, just silliness, lots of troll calling and posturing, very little VALUE. Anyway I didn’t mean 405 was when you look like ronnie coleman. my point was I know a lot on this forum WANT to look like that, and some do not, but still want to “bodybuild” and then get flamed to hell for not wanting to be as large as possible, get called weak pathetic lazy etc etc etc, both groups want to BODYBUILD< just have different goals.

111

[quote]MODOK wrote:
What is the point of this fucking thread? To spout “philosophy” of why you don’t want to push yourself to the limit? To have extraordinary results you have to give extraordinary effort. I can’t imagine thinking that way. Have fun being average; with that mindset that all you’ll ever be.[/quote]

Agreed. No one gives a shit about everyone’s individual specific goals. What matters is that you ARE willing to make sacrifices to push harder than most do. It seems some of these people actually want us to acknowledge their lack of effort as worthy. It isn’t. If you can’t be bothered to actually live the fucking lifestyle, then you are in the wrong fucking forum.

It doesn’t matter if your goal is specifically 230lbs or 240lbs. To make a thread in a forum like this about why you don’t want to put in the effort is retarded.

112

[quote]threewhitelights wrote:
Professor X wrote:
threewhitelights wrote:
Therizza wrote:
This thread is terribad. Who doesn’t want to look like Mariusz Pudzianowski?

It’s not that people wouldn’t like to look like him, it’s that they aren’t willing to make the sacrifices to get that. I can understand that line of thinking.

I have a pretty lofty long term goal, and when I look at all the sacrifices I would have to make to get there and ask “Am I willing, do I really want to?”, I don’t even have to think twice before the answer is yes. However, it won’t be easy, and I can understand if someone isn’t willing to put the same amount of dedication into it.

However, someone like that does not belong in this forum. This topic is irrelevant…because to belong in a forum where the goal is something much more extreme than what most people can even achieve, that requires sacrifice. If someone is unwilling to make that move, then why the fuck are they here? To bring the rest of us down to their level?

I can’t really agree with that, but then, I spend more time in the strength forum than the bodybuilding forum.

I think this is more of a broad spectrum message board. I love that there are guys that are competing and have high goals, but at the same time I don’t really care if not everyone shares those really high goals. I think it would be a very small forum if only the people that were willing to put that kind of effort in were allowed to post.

Besides that, there are people that come to this board looking to get bigger and stronger than they currently are. Even if that “bigger and stronger” doesn’t include being 250+ with a 405lb bench, I’d rather them be here than on the Mens Health forums where someone would tell them it’s impossible to get over 200lbs without hawt abz.

Further, if I let weak and undedicated people “bring me down”, then I never would have accomplished what I have and what I plan on accomplishing, and neither would you.

I can see the other side of the argument of course, but then, that is what the t-cell is for.

[/quote]

Again, you, like many others, miss the point. It is NOT about whether you can bench exactly 405lbs. These numbers alone don’t mean shit. This is a lifestyle, not some fucking minor hobby that you can either do or not do and still be fine with that…which is exactly what the OP was referring to. I make sacrifices. I push harder than most. That is what this site and especially this specific forum are about. If you can’t put the time in or think it isn’t worth it, then please find somewhere else to play around.

113

Even if your goal is not to get to 200+ lbs, why make excuses and half ass it. Bust your ass get to your goal, and if you are happy, fine coast from then on out and just maintain, but I’d be willing to bet your goal will change once you get there. I don’t know ANY big muscular guys who wished they weren’t so big.

114

[quote]jstreet0204 wrote:
Even if your goal is not to get to 200+ lbs, why make excuses and half ass it. Bust your ass get to your goal, and if you are happy, fine coast from then on out and just maintain, but I’d be willing to bet your goal will change once you get there. I don’t know ANY big muscular guys who wished they weren’t so big.
[/quote]

They won’t ever get there. Anyone who starts out setting limits will be more likely to avoid ever reaching even the limits they set for themselves. It takes all out effort just to make relatively minimal progress. These guys are making claims of avoiding all out effort from the very fucking beginning and acting like that is ok and we should accept that as “bodybuilding”. It isn’t…and it isn’t fooling anyone but the idiots making the statements.

115

[quote]Professor X wrote:

Again, you, like many others, miss the point. It is NOT about whether you can bench exactly 405lbs. These numbers alone don’t mean shit. This is a lifestyle, not some fucking minor hobby that you can either do or not do and still be fine with that…which is exactly what the OP was referring to. I make sacrifices. I push harder than most. That is what this site and especially this specific forum are about. If you can’t put the time in or think it isn’t worth it, then please find somewhere else to play around.[/quote]

You may be right, and it is kinda pointless, but I see it as HOW FAR someone is willing to go. You are willing to go a lot further than most people in your sacrifices, as is obvious by your accomplishments. Some people aren’t willing to go as far as you have, but then obviously they can’t say that they really want to accomplish as much as you. If they REALLY wanted that, then they would be willing to make the sacrifices, etc.

I do agree that hearing people talk about their goals and then not putting in the time, sweat, and sacrifices. Nothing pisses me off more. But at least the OP is being honest about how far he wants to go. I don’t wanna hear someone talk about how they want to gain weight but don’t like eating more. If you don’t want to eat past the point of pain, then you don’t REALLY want it that badly.

Maybe there should be a ‘recreational bodybuilding’ forum. On second thought…

116

[quote]threewhitelights wrote:
Professor X wrote:

Again, you, like many others, miss the point. It is NOT about whether you can bench exactly 405lbs. These numbers alone don’t mean shit. This is a lifestyle, not some fucking minor hobby that you can either do or not do and still be fine with that…which is exactly what the OP was referring to. I make sacrifices. I push harder than most. That is what this site and especially this specific forum are about. If you can’t put the time in or think it isn’t worth it, then please find somewhere else to play around.

You may be right, and it is kinda pointless, but I see it as HOW FAR someone is willing to go. You are willing to go a lot further than most people in your sacrifices, as is obvious by your accomplishments. Some people aren’t willing to go as far as you have, but then obviously they can’t say that they really want to accomplish as much as you. If they REALLY wanted that, then they would be willing to make the sacrifices, etc.

I do agree that hearing people talk about their goals and then not putting in the time, sweat, and sacrifices. Nothing pisses me off more. But at least the OP is being honest about how far he wants to go. I don’t wanna hear someone talk about how they want to gain weight but don’t like eating more. If you don’t want to eat past the point of pain, then you don’t REALLY want it that badly.

Maybe there should be a ‘recreational bodybuilding’ forum. On second thought…[/quote]

Here’s the deal…I’m a doctor. That took a shit load of sacrifice to get here. There were many parties I didn’t go to, many opportunities for sex that I passed up and many weekends spent studying information most people would have trouble reading. Do you think ANY doctor wants to hear about how someone isn’t willing to go that far but that they deserve the same respect as those who did?

That is what people are thinking when they read this piece of shit thread. If you want to be “elite” then expect to have to put more into this than some jackass who can’t be bothered to sacrifice anything. Telling people what you plan to NOT do makes no sense at all. If you don’t plan on making sacrifices then don’t plan on getting the same respect for it.

/thread.

117

[quote]jstreet0204 wrote:
Even if your goal is not to get to 200+ lbs, why make excuses and half ass it. Bust your ass get to your goal, and if you are happy, fine coast from then on out and just maintain, but I’d be willing to bet your goal will change once you get there. I don’t know ANY big muscular guys who wished they weren’t so big.
[/quote]

I’ve never met anyone that was successful with this. If you’re putting a cap on it from the beginning, then you will probably slow before you ever reach that goal.

118

[quote]Professor X wrote:

That is what people are thinking when they read this piece of shit thread. If you want to be “elite” then expect to have to put more into this than some jackass who can’t be bothered to sacrifice anything. Telling people what you plan to NOT do makes no sense at all. If you don’t plan on making sacrifices then don’t plan on getting the same respect for it.

/thread.[/quote]

I agree. The deal is though, some people aren’t willing to make those sacrifices and have to accept that they won’t get the respect for it. Some people might “like” to be a doctor but aren’t willing to go through med school. They don’t get or deserve the respect that someone that does go through it deserves.

I’m not one of those people, I’ve never understood why anyone would half ass anything as I’m an all or nothing kind of person. BUT, I’d rather hear these people admit that they don’t have what it takes than hear them whine and make excuses for it. I’d rather hear “I’m not willing to suffer” than “boo hoo my genetics sucks and I can’t accomplish that and my mom didn’t love me enough”. At least the first one is honest.

119

Ok, I’ve read two of the five pages, but whatever. Even Dr. John Berardi spoke of periods of his life where he only intended to maintain. Life is about balance, for me anyway. I think that this is the most important thing. The OP’s point is that his life isn’t defined by how much he can bench, and it can be argued that the lives that are defined by such things are shallow to a certain extent.

I have a wife and kid, a fledgling business, and family members that need to be cared for. And you know what? Right now I’d be more than happy to just be where I’m at in 6 months. Yeah, I’m playing not to lose, for now, and that’s ok. Am I a pussy? Well, call me what you want, I don’t care. I guess I could neglect my family’s needs, or tell my wife and son to take a back seat to my training and nutrition when I only see my kid a few months out of the year, but right now I’m structuring my life to maximize my time with my son, not maximize my bench or bring up my delts.

I still go to the gym, and when I’m there I bust my ass, but if I miss a workout or a meal or two, I don’t really care, because right now there are more important things. Don’t get me wrong, I cheer for those pushing themselves to bench 500lbs or get to over 200lbs at 5% body fat. I also cheer for those who have other ambitions in life. The OP is in the gym, staying in shape, and not being a fat useless piece of shit like most Americans.

My hat is off to him, and everybody else who used this forum for something constructive instead of just going off about how their life is somehow being lived better than somebody else’s. I want you (everybody) to live a life that is successful for yourself and those around you, whether that be curing cancer or helping people reach their strength goals.

Don’t worry, my intention is that things will settle down and in the near future I’ll be able to put training and nutrition at the top of my list again (I’ll be doing the V-Diet, life permitting).

120

[quote]Short Hoss wrote:
Lol@mediocrity.

Sorry, I like striving for perfection.[/quote]

There’s no such thing as perfection in bodybuilding or powerlifting, you can always improve.