This one resonates with me. I always had a pretty strong bench but mostly lifted in higher rep ranges as a bodybuilder. Several people encouraged me to do a powerlifting meet. With 6 weeks of peaking I broke the state record in my first competition (USAPL). The meet director was shocked I had just started powerlifting and encouraged me to continue. What I didn't tell him was that I stopped benching and all pressing movements for 2 years a few years prior on the advice of my orthopedist. I had distal clavicle osteolysis (weight lifters shoulder) which made pressing impossible without 10/10 pain. I kept lifting and slowly worked my way back to benching. The jagged clavicle bone resected to a smoother shape enabling pressing again. That almost never happens. When I switched over to powerlifting from bodybuilding and realized 500+ was possible while still weighing 200. I spoke with Ben Pollack and he offered to coach me. He believed I was capable of breaking several records (push pull, top 3 total, all time world record bench). We targeted the American Pro to go for the records and put together a plan. Everything was on track. A few weeks out I was doubling 500 with 4 second pauses. I needed to hit 515 for the ATWR (masters, full power, 198lbs). I was becoming 'that guy'. 4 days prior to the meet I lost my job and a close friend suffered permanent brain damage resulting from a bad accident. It hit me hard. I couldn't sleep and my digestion and strength suffered. This all happened in the middle of a water cut. I decided not to pull out of the meet. I missed the ATWR by 1/2 inch, maybe less. I'm not sure if I'll go for it again but I know it's there if I do. I still doubled my lifetime goal of 500 at less than 200 BW.
That's still amazing. A mentor once told me that what the devil can't destroy he'll distract. Sounds like he pulled out all the stops to get you to miss that. What he can't take is the work ethic and toughness it took you to get there in the first place. Hope you're doing well brother.
@@ProfessorX117 thanks! I have a lot to be grateful about. Awesome family, friends, career. Still able to hit the weights hard after 30 years of lifting. I enjoy the journey and people I've connected with along the way. It was great to meet and learn from many top level powerlifters.
Wow very inspiring story. Sorry to hear about the grief you went through before the meet. We make plans and god laughs, but you still persevered whether one thinks you did or didn’t. Fantastic goals and an inspiration to the body/power lifting community
@@jocaingles8464 I’ve squatted reasonably regularly and started revisiting the deadlift. My squat and deadlift bests were 500lbs for 4 and 595lbs for a double respectively. Not as impressive as my bench press all things considered.
I have never put much time into benching, preferring OHP and weightlifting style movements much more but I think I’m going to give it a shot now that I’m rehabbing my lower body so much I might as well get strong in the upper body lift everyone looks at.
525 was my highest bench press 15 years ago 46 now imms try to get 500plus for old time sake mid 400 now but i always lift all my life having my own home gym I always stayed at a certain level of strength all my life this all i know after retiring from Sports 💪
Same here. I was pushing to try 545 because it was the next impressive looking plate but then covid happened shutting down gyms and then I got injured trying to rush back to get to my peak. I may try again but aging isn't on my side. My peak was late 2018...
Am a baby but I just hit 315 And that seemed like a lifetime number that I’d never hit I started lifting in 2016 and I’m nowhere near my peak and I immediately understood that 4 and 5 can be on the table within the general peak training age for natties. Shit at-least 405, just thought I’d share.
Dude good job! It sounds like you are making a sound steady progression by your age. I don’t think 5 plates is unreasonable as a natty goal if you can get your weight up 220ish
I’ve done 420 for 3… 452.5 for one at 45. I remember when 315 was a wet dream for me. I haven’t maxed in a while- but I can still hit my rep maxes at 48 and 230 with natural 500 T.
I have no desire to bench 600 pounds i’m happy that I made it up to 325 even though it took way too long and to be quite honest benchpress is my least favorite exercise after lunges lol unpopular opinion on the bench press is one of the most overrated exercises 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
I'm 26 now I'm using my gf TH-cam atm the doctors said to me when I was 17 I was done doing powerlifting an body-building cause I had a bulged disc 9 years of training later I can dead lift 800 lb an sqaut 240 kg an bench 200 kg I weigh 109 kg my buldge disc somehow healed itself the muscles in my back got so strong the pressure on my discs reduced so my spine healed always believe in Ur self all because a doctor who has no weight training experience tells u it's over don't panic do the rehab an get back to it💪💪
I tore both shoulder labrums. Poor range of motion in one of them. My doctor told me to lay off years ago. I'm back at it, figuring you only live once (@ 63). My goals change with each 1 rep max!
i tore my left shoulder's labrum at 14, its haunted me for almost a decade, horrible injury. benching is a no no for me, dips too. dumbbell bench is better for me though.
@@user-vv1do1wg1j yeah my labrum is torn right shoulder. I can’t flat barbell bench it’s impossible without excruciating pain. I can OHP, dumbbell presses , and dips with certain ROM though so fuck it
As someone who has gone from New York to Ohio, I can tell you almost every guy in Ohio looks exactly like this dude.. and most of them are pretty calm like him. I’m not saying that the bench 600 fucking pounds I’m just talking about his style and demeanor. I stick out like a sore thumb over there. Lol.
@@reallifehorror lmao he at 155 and even talking about 600. How about you go for 225 and then see how long that takes, then you can talk about 275, 315 then 405. 600lb bench press your tendons can rupture quit being silly and follow some basic lifting advice doing 5x5s.
I can currently bench 160 for 8 reps without a spotter. I don't have any more weights, but what do you guys think my 1 rep max would be once I finally get more weights?
The max I’ve ever benched was 235lbs at 225lbs 6’2 after four months of lifting then got injured haven’t done it since. I’m coming back to it now, goal is 350lbs. I’ll be pretty happy with it, 500lbs is too heavy 😅
@Peter Engert damn dying at 29 is too young, lifting weight is to be healthy and strong, not to poison ourselves, I don’t know if there’s will be 10 people benching 500 naturally, it’s so heavy, I deadlifted 4 plates once, I don’t know how to add 100lbs and lift it with my chest and arms 😂 It’s a huge milestone, 0 people will achieve it naturally.
@@peterengert1986 10 to 20 is a ridiculous number of people benching 500 lol. Even your perspective is warped. I'd be surprised one or more out of the 13k who watched this video could bench 500. 99 percent of the people talking about their bench press max in the comments are lying straight out of their teeth anyways.
I could get 225 for 42 reps but never could get 500. Came close but I wasn’t the best one rep maxer. I was the strongest player on the team in college but football strong and powerlifting strong aren’t the same. Football your doing exercises that are sport specific and you are powerlifting too. Always great vidoes
Lol,good luck at getting 600lbs for most ppl lol,500 even is alot depending on your weight,hell 400 is alot depending on ur weight,I would be happy to bench 350lbs at 170 lb bw lol,almost half of 600 lol
Even 315 is a heavy bench. My best was an ugly 335 and after a shoulder injury I haven't been above 300. It just won't come back..... or it's a mental block because I associate weight with pain and injury.
170 bw is your problem man. You want to bench big you gotta be big that's a reality of life. Not saying you need to eat like a pig and get fat but if you're trying to be under 200lbs and bench over 315 good luck.
Let us call a spade a spade boys ...why don't you guys talk about the most important factor ..the super supps?! This is where all ur specialist knowledge sounds hollow
@@TrollLindemann lmfao. I don’t think you understand the definition of TRT. Blasting high dosages of testosterone is not the same as having to use it as therapy to have a normal range .
This one resonates with me. I always had a pretty strong bench but mostly lifted in higher rep ranges as a bodybuilder. Several people encouraged me to do a powerlifting meet. With 6 weeks of peaking I broke the state record in my first competition (USAPL). The meet director was shocked I had just started powerlifting and encouraged me to continue. What I didn't tell him was that I stopped benching and all pressing movements for 2 years a few years prior on the advice of my orthopedist. I had distal clavicle osteolysis (weight lifters shoulder) which made pressing impossible without 10/10 pain. I kept lifting and slowly worked my way back to benching. The jagged clavicle bone resected to a smoother shape enabling pressing again. That almost never happens. When I switched over to powerlifting from bodybuilding and realized 500+ was possible while still weighing 200. I spoke with Ben Pollack and he offered to coach me. He believed I was capable of breaking several records (push pull, top 3 total, all time world record bench). We targeted the American Pro to go for the records and put together a plan. Everything was on track. A few weeks out I was doubling 500 with 4 second pauses. I needed to hit 515 for the ATWR (masters, full power, 198lbs). I was becoming 'that guy'. 4 days prior to the meet I lost my job and a close friend suffered permanent brain damage resulting from a bad accident. It hit me hard. I couldn't sleep and my digestion and strength suffered. This all happened in the middle of a water cut. I decided not to pull out of the meet. I missed the ATWR by 1/2 inch, maybe less. I'm not sure if I'll go for it again but I know it's there if I do. I still doubled my lifetime goal of 500 at less than 200 BW.
All things are possible through Jesus and tren
That's still amazing. A mentor once told me that what the devil can't destroy he'll distract. Sounds like he pulled out all the stops to get you to miss that. What he can't take is the work ethic and toughness it took you to get there in the first place. Hope you're doing well brother.
@@ProfessorX117 thanks! I have a lot to be grateful about. Awesome family, friends, career. Still able to hit the weights hard after 30 years of lifting. I enjoy the journey and people I've connected with along the way. It was great to meet and learn from many top level powerlifters.
Wow very inspiring story. Sorry to hear about the grief you went through before the meet. We make plans and god laughs, but you still persevered whether one thinks you did or didn’t. Fantastic goals and an inspiration to the body/power lifting community
Listening to JM is so calming. He's always so relaxed sounding. I'd be afraid to see him actually angry.
Deep insight by Dave at the end. Some of the smallest things that we do or say can have the biggest and long lasting impacts. Every moment matters
exactly right
Everyone in these comments apparently bench 400-500 lbs 😂
You don't know? 76% of men can bench 400+ lol
Yea that's absolutely hilarious,ppl act like 500lbs is normal when in reality far and few between,and is elite
@@littlethuggie No way 😂
Come on. We all know everyone benches 600 reversed close grip with no arch and 100% natty for reps and sets.
allways...best to start with "im so weak with my 405 x 8 bench compared to his 600 :("
I’m just bless to found the Bench again.. Lord show me where I belong at .. everyone keep lifting and stay safe . 💪🧨
425lbs for a double was the most I’ve ever done. I’m 28 now. I want to reach the 500lbs club in the next five years.
Do you squat and deadlift?
@@jocaingles8464 I’ve squatted reasonably regularly and started revisiting the deadlift. My squat and deadlift bests were 500lbs for 4 and 595lbs for a double respectively. Not as impressive as my bench press all things considered.
@@usayeed727 it will lift it self for you)
what's your bodyweight?
JM has that thanos level jaw and and beard. What a stud
i benched the 100lb dumbbells on thursday.
I have never put much time into benching, preferring OHP and weightlifting style movements much more but I think I’m going to give it a shot now that I’m rehabbing my lower body so much I might as well get strong in the upper body lift everyone looks at.
Same
Brother !! Praying for great success on the bench 💪🧨🧨
OHP is so much more fun than benching in my opinion
"Make the most of the thing I can still do"
The motto of the aging athlete
525 was my highest bench press 15 years ago 46 now imms try to get 500plus for old time sake mid 400 now but i always lift all my life having my own home gym I always stayed at a certain level of strength all my life this all i know after retiring from Sports 💪
Same here. I was pushing to try 545 because it was the next impressive looking plate but then covid happened shutting down gyms and then I got injured trying to rush back to get to my peak. I may try again but aging isn't on my side. My peak was late 2018...
Sir I want to bench press 225 first
Am a baby but I just hit 315 And that seemed like a lifetime number that I’d never hit I started lifting in 2016 and I’m nowhere near my peak and I immediately understood that 4 and 5 can be on the table within the general peak training age for natties. Shit at-least 405, just thought I’d share.
Dude good job! It sounds like you are making a sound steady progression by your age. I don’t think 5 plates is unreasonable as a natty goal if you can get your weight up 220ish
my God i love this man's beard
Mindset is huge. So is having healthy shoulders and having the discipline to lay off long enough for a strained rotator cuff to heal..
Off topic; the thumbnail pic for this video of JM is a selfie of us during a training weekend. Cool!!! Thanks elite!
I’ve done 420 for 3… 452.5 for one at 45. I remember when 315 was a wet dream for me. I haven’t maxed in a while- but I can still hit my rep maxes at 48 and 230 with natural 500 T.
315 is a wet dream for me... I'm 36 and have been stuck @ 275 for awhile... what do I do to increase?
@@Ice-Sik-ill a solid bench press program... two sessions per week. Variation. Experement with hand positioning. Arch. Leg Drive. Technique.
@@nuancepill8066 thanks, will these out.
So there's a reoccurring theme, if you want to have a big bench just break your back so all you can do is bench
I will be happy to hit 365
Road to 405 by 40.
JM press 🎉
I don’t need to bench 500lbs. Just more than last time :)
Coach Greg is that you
@@big666beans yes my child.
My best is 295 I'm having a mental block for 315 any advice I've hit 315 with a slingshot for 4reps
I have no desire to bench 600 pounds i’m happy that I made it up to 325 even though it took way too long and to be quite honest benchpress is my least favorite exercise after lunges lol unpopular opinion on the bench press is one of the most overrated exercises 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Id love to hit a 3 plate bench press let alone a 6 plate lol
Wow that’s some good word.
I'm 26 now I'm using my gf TH-cam atm the doctors said to me when I was 17 I was done doing powerlifting an body-building cause I had a bulged disc 9 years of training later I can dead lift 800 lb an sqaut 240 kg an bench 200 kg I weigh 109 kg my buldge disc somehow healed itself the muscles in my back got so strong the pressure on my discs reduced so my spine healed always believe in Ur self all because a doctor who has no weight training experience tells u it's over don't panic do the rehab an get back to it💪💪
Just hit 365. Only took almost 6 years lol
I just want to hit 400
thanks for sharing. Hey JM, where did you get that Tee Shirt? I love it.
“So u wanna snap?”
It seems like it's always or in my case the people closest to you that discourage you the most when it comes to benching high numbers
I used to bench 700 in high school but then i started to work. Lately i went back to the gym and i did 600. Imagine if i actually trained!
I tore both shoulder labrums. Poor range of motion in one of them. My doctor told me to lay off years ago. I'm back at it, figuring you only live once (@ 63). My goals change with each 1 rep max!
i tore my left shoulder's labrum at 14, its haunted me for almost a decade, horrible injury.
benching is a no no for me, dips too. dumbbell bench is better for me though.
@@user-vv1do1wg1j yeah my labrum is torn right shoulder. I can’t flat barbell bench it’s impossible without excruciating pain. I can OHP, dumbbell presses , and dips with certain ROM though so fuck it
430 x 2 on BB Incline @ 41. I want this 500 on incline @ 42.
Please interview Kevin the hulk Washington on bench pressing
I bench 400lbs. Where’s the 500lbs vid? I’m 59. I won’t live long enough to get 600lbs. 😢
Did Blakley just lift in geared contests. ??
I still got a baby bench at 280 rn but some day i want it to be great
As someone who has gone from New York to Ohio, I can tell you almost every guy in Ohio looks exactly like this dude.. and most of them are pretty calm like him. I’m not saying that the bench 600 fucking pounds I’m just talking about his style and demeanor. I stick out like a sore thumb over there. Lol.
I benched 155 on Sunday going for 160 tommrow. Hopefully one day I can bench 600. Staying natty ofcourse.
Put your mind to it my brother and you can do it! Make sure to hit those triceps hard 💪
dont be silly youll never bench 600 natty good luck ever reaching 405
@@reallifehorror lmao he at 155 and even talking about 600. How about you go for 225 and then see how long that takes, then you can talk about 275, 315 then 405. 600lb bench press your tendons can rupture quit being silly and follow some basic lifting advice doing 5x5s.
@@russellmuscle7434 yeah if he hits 95lb skull crushers I bet he'll be hitting 600lb natty in no time! Hahahaha
@@artv4nd3l4y I meant 160
I have no desire to bench 600lbs
I can currently bench 160 for 8 reps without a spotter. I don't have any more weights, but what do you guys think my 1 rep max would be once I finally get more weights?
Probably about 200lbs, if i were u id throw in some overhead press or guillotine press if you can only load up 160. Good start bro
My best bench ever is 270 at 170lbs 17 years old. I know it’s not much but I’m trying to hit 3 plates before I graduate highschool
It is a lot, standards are just inflated on the internet.
I’ve benched over 600 once in my life. I watch the video a lot lol just seeing this video made me feel good because of them thinking that was heavy
Video?
Raw or with a shirt? Probably raw right?
Yupp
I do have a video, it was raw. Not saying I was the best, just that it’s cool to see these guys impressed by that number
@@Nick-re8bq Let's see it.
Most of y’all claiming to bench 3+ have no proof 315 is not common for the average gym lifter who doesn’t even compete
Notie how most all of these guys are bald at a young age from all the T injected?
I can bench press 160 for 12 reps
I saw jm blakleys TH-cam channel he has weird videos saying stuff that doesnt make any sense.
425 once 15 plus years ago. 405 for a few reps, it felt like my face was going to explode. Never again, no thanks
She gave me a bj, face felt like it was gonna explode. Never again. No thanks .
😂
since everybody in the comment section benches at least 450lbs, i decided i can bench 500lbs (yo but it was 15y ago)
😂
I want to hit 800.
The max I’ve ever benched was 235lbs at 225lbs 6’2 after four months of lifting then got injured haven’t done it since. I’m coming back to it now, goal is 350lbs. I’ll be pretty happy with it, 500lbs is too heavy 😅
@Peter Engert damn dying at 29 is too young, lifting weight is to be healthy and strong, not to poison ourselves, I don’t know if there’s will be 10 people benching 500 naturally, it’s so heavy, I deadlifted 4 plates once, I don’t know how to add 100lbs and lift it with my chest and arms 😂 It’s a huge milestone, 0 people will achieve it naturally.
@@peterengert1986 10 to 20 is a ridiculous number of people benching 500 lol. Even your perspective is warped. I'd be surprised one or more out of the 13k who watched this video could bench 500. 99 percent of the people talking about their bench press max in the comments are lying straight out of their teeth anyways.
I could get 225 for 42 reps but never could get 500. Came close but I wasn’t the best one rep maxer. I was the strongest player on the team in college but football strong and powerlifting strong aren’t the same. Football your doing exercises that are sport specific and you are powerlifting too.
Always great vidoes
When I was in my 20s I hit 865 for one rep one time. Only touch and go, no pause. Now in my 40s I’m weaker, best is 5 reps @ 735lbs. Still working 💪
My max bench is 405 for 2 I'll stay with my 315 for work out sets not trying to busted up my shit again
Took me sbout 2 years to bench 315 @ ~165. 600 won't take long 😅
Algorithm
Lol,good luck at getting 600lbs for most ppl lol,500 even is alot depending on your weight,hell 400 is alot depending on ur weight,I would be happy to bench 350lbs at 170 lb bw lol,almost half of 600 lol
600 requires hard training, great genetics, and a shitload of gear. It basically isn't attainable by anyone not willing to jump on the sauce.
Even 315 is a heavy bench. My best was an ugly 335 and after a shoulder injury I haven't been above 300. It just won't come back..... or it's a mental block because I associate weight with pain and injury.
170 bw is your problem man. You want to bench big you gotta be big that's a reality of life. Not saying you need to eat like a pig and get fat but if you're trying to be under 200lbs and bench over 315 good luck.
Let us call a spade a spade boys ...why don't you guys talk about the most important factor ..the super supps?! This is where all ur specialist knowledge sounds hollow
You benched 600 because you took a ton of gear.
Ok. Find out what he took, get it and you hit 600.
JM was only on TRT
@@TrollLindemann lmfao. I don’t think you understand the definition of TRT. Blasting high dosages of testosterone is not the same as having to use it as therapy to have a normal range .
I'm sure he did, but if everyone who took gear benched 600 lbs, JM wouldn't have been their first guy in Ohio to do it.
Knowing he "sold out" to what the Dr.s said years ago I would love to know how quickly he sold out again and took the vax when they told him to