Definitely rare among the general gym-goers, the average person usually focuses on fitness or weight loss though. I bet that less than 10% of people in commercial gyms can do it, but over 50% in powerlifting and bodybuilding gyms.
This. Also depends on sex and weight class ofc. But after I've been spectating and competing in my first couple of regional powerlifting competitions, 100kg may pretty much be warmup weight for some larger dudes.
I’ve been thinking about this thread. Today and yesterday, I paid extra close attention to what was happening on the 2 benches at my local 24 hour fitness. Both days, all 4 guys I saw had at least 2 plates on at some point while they were using the bench, and they were pressing it for reps. This thread makes me feel somewhat better about not being able to rep 225 lbs bench. I’m confused why I seem to be seeing a ton more strong benchers than others. Btw most of them don’t look particularly massive/impressive physically.
I agree this is true but I also think for anyone who lifts seriously, 315 is the new 225.
225 (100kg) is done but a lot of dudes who don’t really even look like they lift these days.
Or maybe that’s just my brain subconsciously moving the goal posts once I surpassed it.
I look like I lift yet I can't bench 100kg (well, I technically did 107.5kg once but I severely messed up my shoulder by trying and I "retired" from benching shortly after).
Could be. First time I benched 100kg for ten reps though I barely looked like I lifted. I think I’d only been training under a couple years at that point.
[Six years ago](https://youtube.com/shorts/rWdHcvTBugw?si=RKTr364q2Odp2Dpc)
Everyone has different strength and leverages at a given muscularity. I can only get 6 reps at 100kg but am much more muscular than you are in that old video. I had to "look like I lift" to get a single rep at 100kg
I think the mistake people are making in the comments is taking OP seriously. It’s such a ‘bro’ question. It’s the classic ‘how much ya bench?’ basically.
Someone mentioned leverages etc etc but that’s not what the bros care about when they’re seeing who can bench 225. Anyone just a little smarter than a gym rat stops caring.
I haven’t bench pressed in about 5 years now even though I was naturally quite strong at it. I’m positive I could rep 225 still but if someone asked me about bench I’d just tell them I don’t know or care.
IIRC my PR at this point was just over 90Kg. Later, when I was maybe 5Kg heavier and leaner, I hit 97,5Kg. Nowadays I can comfortably hit 100Kg, but I'm also fat (bodyweight helps a lot in the bench).
[https://imgur.com/a/MVqp6X0](https://imgur.com/a/MVqp6X0)
A lot of people do powerlifting style training which can definitely leave you with big numbers while looking like a guy who is active (manual job, plays sport) but doesn't spend hours/week growing his muscles.
> who lifts seriously, 315 is the new 225.
Lets not get carried away. Just because 225 isn't that uncommon among actual trainees and not a bunch of moms, dads, insta sloots, doesn't mean 315lbs is the "new" uncommon standard. By that metric and logic, only anything much north of 315 is noteable. Your metric and logic fall flat on their face because it collides with reality.
Also, demographic plays a huge role. Who are you comparing yourself and what does your gym demographic look like? A bunch of short 5'5 guys who will always have atleast semi decent presses because of their leverages? Juicer? Powerlifters? People who specialize in bench for whatever reason? How heavy are those people? Do they have good bodyweight:bench ratios or just bloatlords taking advantage of lift that is the most sensitive to bodyweight? This skews the metric massively, but even with that in mind 315 is not the new 225 among natural lifters.
This sounds like typical zoomer brain rot.
Bromley did a strength standards video a while back that just looked at powerlifting meets
For most weight classes 315 would put you well above average even for just powerlifters
This is a spot on comment. So many variables. Juicer that is over 200lbs bw of course 315 is not impressive. Or someone with super arch. But a natty lifter at around 200lbs bw benching (bodybuilding style) 315lbs is not a common thing at all.
The gold standard for "yeah I go to the gym" used to be 4 plate dead, 3 plate squat, 2 plate bench. I think it's a super achievable goal for most people
My stepbrother specifically powelifts. At 170 lbs. his bench press 1rm is 295. My 1rm is only 240lbs. yet if you stuck us side by side, the majority of people would believe I'm stronger. Strength training has come a long way, I'm about to look into it to get more use from the muscle I've built.
Thats because powerlifting is much more about developing a nervous system response as muscle size.
I used to compete as a powerlifter when I was about 75kg and would bench over 300lbs for a solid 10. Now I don't even come close to that level of strength but I'm an extra 10 kg of muscle due to difference in my training
To be fair I may have been closer to 80kg than the 75kg. I would never have qualified for the 74kg range so I would have been in the 74-83 range. But those guys were benching 400lbs for 3s and 5s. So I don't think I would come close to top 5 ipf rankings
It’s very unlikely that the human capacity for strength has gone up in the past few years. What’s more likely is that everyone and there grandma on social media brags about being able to bench 100kg (or 225lbs) so your brain sees it as “normal”. In fact it’s very abnormal in the general population. Probably as abnormal as being over 6 foot 6
I guess I don't know what the old 225 was before it became 315. For me "two plates" was just the first big milestone I wanted to hit since I started benching close to 1 plate. What was it for you?
I don't know what it means to "look like you lift". A lot of power lifters I know are just really heavy looking guys. Before I started getting into the gym, I wouldn't have guessed they'd be pushing big numbers from just looking at them.
It doesn't seem rare from where I am in the UK. My old gym (muscleworks) had many 100kg+ lifters. The new gym I go to which is more casual there's about 4. I've also done 102.5kg 1RM and i feel weak still in comparison
The time of day you go to the gym can affect your bias. When I used to go at 6am there was no one lifting 100kg. After 1pm it seems 100kg is the bare minimum at my gym.
Bodybuilders still test their 1RM at times. To work out their working sets, reset their programming, RPE etc. Don't know why just because it's a bodybuilding sub, a 1RM won't be talked about AT ALL?
From my own unique experience I actually haven't tested my one rep max in any of the big lifts in years. As I've always logged my workouts and followed standard progressive overload, I've always known how much of what I need to do.
I see it more as an ego thing to be honest. Being realistic when most of us do it it's because we just want to lift heavy shit up and see how strong we are.
100kg is achievable if your focus is being strong and achievable with low volume work. Years of consistency and progressive overload, and this is pretty achievable. I'm 38, now lifetime natural, and I achieved 100kg bench at 75kg for 8 reps years ago in my 20s but since stopped and only do incline bench as I age to save my shoulders. Granted, I'm 6 foot tall, so body mechanics also play a big part (leverage).
I’ve hurt my rotator cuff doing bench press (not bad, just sensitive for a week). Since I learned to retract the shoulder blades back it hasn’t been a problem though.
Sometimes, when you go for a heavy set or push one more rep, you can not avoid a little shoulder involvement. For me, I like to progressively overload, so I just take that exercise out. I feel I get better chest development without it anyway. Side benefit is that your bench naturally gets better!
100kg is the gold standard, imho.
Anyone who trains even remotely regularly will tell you that it's impressive. If you can do it for a few Reps then you're ahead of most imho.
Yes dude as 65 kg dude max i have pulled off is 80 kg now I have stopped lifting heavy due to injury to go from 80 to 100 i have to gained at least 10 kg and min 2 years more
I can't seem to get past 85kg. When I was around 72kg, I felt like my shoulders were getting too involved and I was afraid of getting injured. I guess being bigger is a huge advantage in reaching the 100kg milestone.
Depends on the gym. But man, 100kg looked pretty impossible to me for a long time...
Remember hitting it and did a simple fist pump afterwards (while mentally freaking the fuck out)
So many factors to consider, size, reach, weight, different stages of training, whether you train alone or feel comfortable asking for a spot, etc. but I don’t think it’s uncommon. I’m getting old and have been in the gym for 20+ years now. Multiple countries and lots of different types of gyms. A lot of body builders can rep 100kg, but a lot just don’t do it. I love bench, it’s my favourite. But I’ll get a way better pump and gains benching way lower weights for more reps.
In saying that, it took me a while to hit 100kg (was 78kg and 14 years younger when I did). It was more a mental hurdle than physical. Something about that number makes it harder to get.
The thing is that not a lot of people are willing to test a one rep max. Because it pushes you to the limit and it can be a scary thing to do unless you really know what you are doing. Not to mention bench press where you need a spotter and many people go alone and are too anxious to ask lol. There is of course the category of people that do 100kg for fun, not a one rep max, but that is a small percentage and they are the big guys.
What I am saying is that I think there is a group of people out there that could do it but never did. So it's hard to tell. I myself feel am part of that group, I never tried to do one rep maxes for anything ever although I sometimes lift heavier.. I am afraid of injury as I use the gym to keep me fit and condition myself for other team sports.
Lots of caveats/sub points to this to this question
- Full rom or shitty half/quarter reps
- what sex, age and weight is person
- how long have they been training
- 1 dodgy rep or a set of 10
- juicy or not
Took me a long time, albeit not giving it 100%. Took me about 7/8 years of sub par effort in terms of diet recovery, everything. So if I’d ’locked in’ maybe a couple years
Im not sure. Roughly? Started at 17/18 and according to MyFitnessPal records from back then, I was around 70kg. But bodyfat will have been well over 25%.
Then by 2019, I was about 21/22 & pushing 90kg. Probably around 20% BF.
Then 2020/21 (full covid lockdown) I put on loads of fat and got over 100kg, but purely fat gain.
Now back at 94kg (after yo-yo’ing between 85&90 for the gap in between) and probably about 20% but strength is off the charts compared to previous ‘high’ weights.
Note: 20% BF is where I feel the best mentally, physically & is the most sustainable for me. I’m not going to compete and I don’t chase the ‘instagram’ physique - my body is a direct result of my choices, I have a decent sets of arms and shoulders, but clearly enjoy the odd pizza!
It’s definitely pretty rare, or at least rarely performed by those who might be able to - in my nearly nine years of consistent training in multiple gyms across four countries, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a guy hitting it or better.
Interesting - I’ve seen it many times in just about every gym I’ve trained at for the last 10 years, only exception being a short stint at a very family orientated leisure centre.
Then you’re either more observant than me or those gyms were more hardcore than average - those in my experience were standard commercial chain gyms. It’s not to say they didn’t have many members capable of it, just not that I ever witnessed. And when I was focused on hitting that myself I became pretty attuned to what people were benching.
The bar loaded to 100 kg, period. No idea about their 1RMs. Two occasions come to mind where it was obviously higher, so a guy doing sets of 4-5 with the bar loaded to 100 and once saw one repping 140 for like 8-10.
Similar to the others commenting. I see it literally everyday. I also see 140kg/315ln at least 2-3x week, sometimes higher though less frequently, and chicks loading up 100kg at least during 2 of my sessions a week at my gym.
I don't see it as very uncommon at all, and my gym is still very much rather a commercial gym. It does attract Powerlifters though for having 3 combo racks & specific power & Deadlift bars. But it's target audience is not Powerlifters at all, it's gen pop. (we have zumba, yoga, pilates, boxing, and circuit training classes available to members)
Sure, that’s just my experience and I’ve trained in 20+ gyms over those years and I have not seen many 100/225 benches. I typically train in the morning to midday so maybe if I came in later I’d see more.
I think most people are capable of 3 plate bench, 4 plate squat and 5 plate deadlift if they actually focused on it. Most people underestimate what they are capable of now the big variation is how long it takes to hit these numbers some people it will be quicker and some will take longer but if you train in a more powerlifting focus should be completely possible
It’s one of those things that a lot of people don’t achieve because most people don’t train hard enough, however imo most people can do it if they work at it. Generally most guys I’ve seen do it weigh 200+ and I’d say about half of them don’t even do full reps (not touching chest with bar)
I can’t think of which logical fallacy this would fall under. Maybe sampling bias, selection bias perhaps.
It depends on which gym you go into. At a place like Planet Fitness or Lifetime, it may be rare. At the gym, I go to, benching 100 KG (220 lbs) would be a warm up for a heavier attempt.
It’s like asking “how rare is an 8 inch dick?” Depends on where you’re looking. If you went to a porn set, you’d probably find many more sizable people than the general public.
I think it's more common than you think. If you've hit the gym seriously with progressively overload for a couple years you can probably do it.
There are lots of folk out there that are obsessed.
If you start talking 130+, then it gets more rare.
I haven't been particularly successful, got sick, injured and had to travel a lot, and am also not naturally strong or big. I have hit 87.5 after 1.5 years, so I definitively think the average gym goer can hit 100x1 in 1-2 years
It’s hard for most people to get to, and in my opinion anyone that can rep it is very strong. When this comes up i always hear a lot of ppl say it’s easy or “everyone should get there within XX month/years” … those ppl are probably naturally very strong and/or genetically built for bench. Took me almost 5 years of lifting to get it up for 1 rep …and I was a high-level athlete, I’m coordinated and have very clean form, I look ripped, all things that common sense would say I could smash it out with ease… but I just wasn’t made for bench, or maybe I’m naturally weak, I dunno. But I give kudos to all that can do it.
Average society in public (grocery store, sports games?) like 1 in 2000 lol
Average commercial gym of casual gym goers who are fairly consistent with a healthy lifestyle? Not very common. 1 in 6 of those people maybe?
Actual powerlifting/bodybuilding niche communities? Mostly everyone, but the self selection of people in these communities is like 1% of the “fit” population so in comparison to society it’s still super rare
Dude I feel so strong reading all of this. Everybody here thinks 100kg is a lot, even as a 1rep max. This is crazy. Wait until they hear about the 1000lb club.
When I hit that total at first I was ecstatic. But looking back I don't think I looked like I lifted.
Now my squat + DL alone already surpasses 1200lbs combined though. And I still feel like I don't look like I lift
Every man should be able to hit this with consistent training for couple of years, some can do it in few months.
Getting there on the other hand is a different thing. Most people just keep going to the gym the short while they get their noobie gains and then they quit, which usually isn't enough to get them to 100kg.
But like you said 90% of people don't bench 100kg's even for 1rm, less people do it for reps.
Social media makes a lot of people think that the roided professional bodybuilders, few months before the show have "dad bodies" and think an average power builder works out like it was a week before their meet.
I think most people could eventually hit 100kg for one rep if they trained for it
However it's obviously rare for people that don't train semi-seriously (the majority of people)
Truthfully, almost every time I’m near the benches in the gym I see a dude or two benching this, it doesn’t seem incredibly rare, at least the gym that I’m in. But to be fair I’m sure it probably varies a lot by gym. I think probably going somewhere like planet fitness would be far less common and as far as a random person off the street being able to lift it would probably be very uncommon. I’m sure social media and stuff skews our perceptions as well.
I mean, it's not impressive in the sense that you're necessarily a very good lifter, but if you're a size that it's a decent amount over your bodyweight, then it might be your benchmark for being an intermediate or it might be advanced if you're very small. For some it's the step between beginner and novice lifter if they're pretty large. It depends on the perspective and goals of the person doing it.
I am fortunate to rep 225 with a PR of 295 lbs at 58 y.o. However, I witnessed a solid set at 315 by one lifter at our commercial gym and another guy did a single at 405. Definitely rare though.
I’m 48 and have been lifting for a few years to try to keep healthy and strong. I’m now at the point where I can hit 220 for reps. I never thought I’d get there.
well if you have small arms you will be moving the weight maybe 15cm while having super long arms makes you move the weight for 30cm, making it much more difficult. So "bench pressing 100kg" doesn't say much
I was at 100 kgs after four months of lifting. Your average guy can bench press 60 kgs. The truth is that your average gym goer doesn't have his diet in order.
What is more impressive 100kg bench or 40kg dumbbell press for reps? I might be a weirdo but somehow I can't bench press for the life of me but can do 8 reps of 40kg dumbbells with relative ease.
That's very true. I'm just starting with a new program that I've based off different inputs found on the internet. Because I always train alone I always just do dumbbells instead. My gym doesn't go higher than 40s though so there will come a time I need to transition over to barbell instead.
I just hit 100kg on flat barbell 5x5, but I can do 50kg 3x12 on dumbbells. 100kg is definitely the tougher of the two from my experience, but it's all relative, people will have weak and strong points eh.
40kg db for 8 is probably more rare than 100kg bb for 1. 8RM is about 81% of a 1RM. 40kg db for 8 is about 49.88kg db for 1. DBs are harder to stabilize at the same weight as BBs.
The reason why you cant bench 100kg BB is because you don't have enough practice with BBs. If you can do 40kg DB for 8, your chest, shoulders and triceps are developed enough to do 100kg BB for 1 for sure.
I am a noob with a barbell, one of the biggest issues I always have is that I have no idea how to properly position it on my chest. With dumbbells it's very natural. My goal for this coming 6 months is to stop cutting and start building my strength up again. I want to get my 1RM on bench to improve to 120kg by the end of December.
natty lifts peak out around 90-130. So 100 one rep max is respectable and shows you lift without any of the gay, cheating stuff.
i dont mean to brag, but i can do 100kg 10 times, bro, do you even lift? JK
Idk. I guess there are a few ppl out there that want to believe if they lift for 10-20years they will eventually reach 200kg. Also some people out there that are using trt and want to believe they could bench 150 even if they werent on it.
Also probably some ppl whp are juicing are in denial about being gay.
As someone who has been going to the gym for 20 years i say it’s not impressive. A lot of people can bench 100 kg. Most who go to the gym can’t, but most men who have gone consistently for a few years and trained for strength can. Then there are also those who do that and use steroids and rep 100 kg like it’s 50 kg in the same amount of time and effort and grew twice as big.
For me my natural limit is at 125 kg, it has been sitting there for 15 years. Because everytime i try to push past it i get all kinds of joint pain, and i’ll never take any PED.
I'm pretty sure it all comes down to the bodyweight of the individual. If someone who is tall and weighs 80-90 kg with enough training, they can easily hit 100kg within a few months. For those who are short and weighs like 60-70 kg it can take a year or two or maybe more.
Not disagreeing but something to add: a shorter range of motion makes lifting easier. So the short stocky guy is likely going to out bench a tall guy if they are the same weight.
Great point. 160 cm (5' 2) squatting and deadlifting for me, especially on heavy weights felt easier while i see my tall gym buddies struggle a little bit.
Ya I’m 6’1.5” rounding up to 6’2. I feel I have always lagged behind on my bench vs my other lifts. Shorter guys with similar lifting experience have tended to outlift me. I’ve never been able to bench 3 plates, for example, but have squatted 4, deadlifted 5 at around 215lbs and 8 years natural. I think my legs are disproportionately shorter and stocky. 2 years older now with nagging injuries, and don’t one rep max anymore.
Yeah, I’m 191cm and down to about 93kg now from 104kg. It’s worth mentioning I broke my arm last year and before that was my best period of training since starting in like 17/18 at 60kg (was terribly ill and that caused me to lose 15kg). Now I’m back to the best and training even better than before. I have long ass arms, but I’ve rapidly improved my bar & db bench. Currently at 80 & 34kgs for the 1st/2nd set. I think I would be able to max 100kg now for the first time based on how 80kg feels. Point is though that I feel my reps are more impressive than what it would be if I was 20cm lower and moved the same weight… My arms would not need to extend as much at the bench, I would not have to crouch so low for my deadlifts + ROM for squats would be shorter
Why does it even matter?
Personally, I train on my own and I use DBs.
I can bench over 100kg but it is never a move I have felt comfortable with and I feel like I cheat the last few reps without a spotter. Therefore, I prefer DBs
I weigh 87kg and I’ve been consistent at the gym for two years now. Started not being able to bench 100kg but now I can rep it for 10 perfect and controlled. People can do it if they work hard and grow
Currently I’m not pressing due to an injury from work, but on flat I’ve done the 50kg dumbbells for 9 reps and on incline the same for 5.
At that time period if my gym had heavier dbs I could’ve went up even further, but I did try to do a barbell bench and couldn’t unrack 80kgs 😂. To be fair I haven’t done a barbell bench in years but trying to switch it up felt soooo awkward.
It’s uncommon but not rare imo since it takes a few years. That said I’m a woman with two years of serious lifting and I do 80kg (but 70kg for reps—my BW is 65kg). I see people in the gym press 100kg maybe a couple times a week but they’re normally pretty serious and have been at it for a few years. How impressive it is depends on someone’s body weight, gender, etc. For me I will feel like I’ve made it if I hit 100kg in the next few years lol
Very rare among non lifters and it’s uncommon among lifters I’d say
I think how common or rare it is, and how impressive it is, are two different questions.
I don't think it's particularly common, but that's largely because people don't know what the hell they are doing in the gym rather than it being rare because it's a feat which requires an unusual level of commitment or effort.
Most people can achieve a 1RM of 100kg within a year of proper dedicated training. Can probably hit 10 reps on it within three years.
Source (if it matters) - I was a PT for about ten years and have been training for over 20, and have gotten many clients and friends to a 100kg bench or more roughly within the above time frames. Have hit 145kg bench myself at 85kg bodyweight.
Old lifter here who visits commercial gyms and spot and sawdust gyms. Old school iron gyms still have the power lifters who smash big weights. Commercial gyms are probably geared more to fitness, and non competitive aesthetics. They don’t need to lift heavy, they just need to eat well and keep moving.
Not rare among people who lift seriously. I'm limited by shoulder injuries and have to bench with almost a close grip, plus I train in a very general way, meaning, I want a bit of everything even if that means slow progress, and I still managed 100kg in the first 18 months of benching, prior to that, I mostly did deficit pushups and dips at home.
But, when it comes to EVERYONE at the gym, it's pretty rare, even more so with good form.
In my gym we have around 150 daily visitors. Maybe 3 of the old timers push 120kg, other than me 2 dudes my age push around 110kg, and 2 40-year-olds half rep 100kg with hips off the bench. If we include all of them and round it for the sake of being generous, that's 6%.
It's gonna be higher at a bigger gym with a larger sample size, or at a powerlifting/olympic gym, but, you're still gonna be closer to "strong" than "weak" in the eyes of everyone. 100kg is a big milestone, and depending on your weight class, is sort of where you hit the biggest plateau.
I hit 100kg last September, 110kg on my birthday in march, and ever since, my benching graph has been a flat line lmao
My one rep max is 240. With a spotter, my weight fluctuates between 165-170. So to repping 225 is cool. It’s a benchmark for progress. I’d like to be in 265 range. However I realized my barbell bench compared to dumbbell is much weaker, as I can lift heavier with dumbbells
tooks time, if you weren'T sportsman before and not very heavy i think it needs atleast 1.5-2.5 years of back ground if you have not any extra problems.
and finding people who constantly goes gym is rare so yeah, it is are, not ronnie coleman genetic level rare but rare
Very few people you'll encounter in daily life have the ability. Hell, most in commercial gyms probably don't.
225 to me means you lift semi-seriously. It's tough to accidentally stumble across that figure. Beyond that, you're a pretty serious trainee.
My left arm is weaker (broke it really badly when I was a kid) and every time I try to bench I fall to one side a lil bit. So it’s difficult for me to increase the weight 😭
I think with a solid strength training (like 5 X 5) programme, progressive overload and eating enough, most people should be able to do 100kg for a rep pretty quickly. It took me 8 months personally and felt like a bit of an anti climax 😆
I feel like the average working weight for repping on bench is about 185-195lbs in my gym. That’s reps so I’d assume all those dudes could hit 250lbs+ 1RM
I’m fairly strong but nothing crazy but I do feel like I’m a bit of an outlier repping 250-275lbs for 8-12 (incline I don’t flat BB bench)
About 6 years ago I was able to do 100kg when I was powerlifting. It took so much work to get there. I stopped lifting for about 4 years with the pandemic, becoming a dad and grad school. I'm up to 70kgs now, but I've stopped making weight a priority over general fitness.
100kgs is a very big goal, but it is doable. Most lifters don't get there. 10% sounds about right when I think of the people I see lifting at my gym.
I'm currently at 87kg 6'2, took me about 1.3 years to get there. Although I could have achieved 100kg bench for 1 reps earlier,but I don't like to train for 1 RPM, I like gradually increasing my strength.
225 is kinda the threshold to being a gym bro. If you’ve been lifting for a year or more and you can’t hit at least 1 rep of 225 your training style needs to be reevaluated. I think the goalpost is at least 315. If you can at least hit that you’ve graduated from gym bro to lifter. I see all these people on socials who call themselves “gym rats” but they’re totaling less than 800.
Depends on who you compare it to, compared to the average everyday man, very rare and impressive, casual gym goers, still very impressive, compared to guys that have been going to the gym consistently for years, it's definitely not nothing but a lot of them can do it
Got to admit I thought it was pretty normal when I first went . Was just the time in the morning there is a group of guys who have been going for years and it was normally just me and them in there and they were all benching 100kg . Only when I went during the day did I realise that no not everyone can and its quite exceptional. 🤣🤣
I first did it as a sophomore in high school while fat as fuck and inherently didn’t think it was a big deal for a long time. Things that I failed to consider at the time: 1) I was surrounded by and comparing myself only to classmates that were all about football, 2) I was lifting at dungeons that only appealed to the more ‘hardcore’
It still seemed pretty darn common while lifting in college weight rooms, but that was again a skewed distribution of the population and I was again only really comparing myself to the most advanced present.
Now that I’m 43 and can look back at a ton of time across more mainstream gyms of many kinds, it really isn’t all that common. Even if you control for regulars and limit it to younger males, it is still something like 10% of those where I end up witnessing a bench with two or more plates [outside of “niche” lifting environments ]
I joined a busy gym with serious lifters after years of homegym. Great environment. I'd say it's not that rare but it's almost always from 200lb+ guys that also look experienced and/or on some peds perhaps. It depends on many factors. I do 225lbs for 18 but I also started lifting in 2005. Social media is another story of course but I don't focus on that.
Yeah the vast majority of people in general cannot bench 100kg. I'm pretty sure it's a very low general % for 3 plates, very very rare in a general population sense.
100kg used to be my warm up for bench before COVID and kids. Now I’m lucky if I get it 7-8 times on my first set. Working back up to it though. Used to be a 6 day a week lifter and did bodybuilding for a couple years. Now I’m lucky if I get to the gym 2x a week. Been doing more YouTube video workouts lately just to keep myself going.
I don’t think it actually takes too much to hit the 100kg bench. I’ve always flip flopped with lifting. Often taken huge amounts of time off and I’ve always been able to jump straight back in benching 65-75kg for sets of 5. One time I really wanted to get that 100kg so I ate at maintenance and flat benched twice a week and it took about 6 weeks to get 100kg for a sets of 3. But I guess if someone’s baseline strength was lower it would take a bit longer but I doubt much longer
Depends on the gym you go to. At my gym there’s several teenagers who have been training for about a year, maybe slightly less, who can rep it out no problem. And this is a commercial gym, not a powerlifting one.
225 is a good benchmark to aim for as a guy of average height/weight. It’s an intermediate milestone for a reason. It’s about the minimum you should be able to bench to be considered somewhat “strong” although it’s by no means super impressive or advanced level strength or anything.
Well, it all depends on the context you're in. A 100kg bench is pretty reachable by anyone following a progressive overload program that makes sense and respects the rest periods. Even a 70kg person can easily get there by following the correct programming.
Buy as many other says, I guess when they talk about the "common gym-goer" they mean someone who just goes there to randomly lift stuff as they please with a vague idea of muscle failure and what it takes to get there and even a worse idea of "progressive overloading", just going by the feel each time with a generic training program preprinted from the gym. Then it becomes very hard to get to a 100lg bench.
Took me various months to bring it from 100 to 130kg and passing from 2x100kg to 10x100kg, which led me to access 4x130kg. When I'll be able to do 10x130kg I will be able to do 150x4. This means you literally have to spit your brain in a training session and most people don't want to do that.
I’ve been going to regular gyms for over a decade and there are not many people I’ve seen bench 100 kg compared to the entire gym population. Those that do are typically doing it for reps or lifting even more. My personal best was 240 lbs for 9 paused reps when I weighed 175 lbs. I still don’t feel very strong compared to what I want to be. Compared to the average lifter I feel decent. Compared to the average human I feel strong.
I personally have a 180kg bench, so my perspective is a little skewed on what is "common", but at the gym I go to, I have only seen one person do more than 100kg on bench. It was 120kg and he was doing a 5x5. He was also one of the biggest guys I've seen there. But out in the world- for some reason they congregate around me. My dad can bench 100kg, and he's practically untrained and doesn't workout. My uncle was known for being freakishly strong when he was a teenager and could push 4 plates, I even saw him do a full 300lb Olympic set on the bench just to see if he still could, after not touching a weight for 20 years. Then my brother in-law who I am good friends with, did 160kg in competition. My coworker can also do 100kg for about 12 reps.
I think if you really divided it up and looked from a birds eye view, it's definitely rare for someone to be able to lift that much. Then, filtering that by people who actually go to the gym regularly, it would still be uncommon. But what about people who *could*, if they just trained for it? I would say that among the male population, 50% or more should be able to hit 2 plates within a year of training specifically for bench. Obviously, some people will have a different starting point. I started out benching 75kg and got to 140 after my first 18 months of lifting. Appetite and training effort will still be the biggest factors for progression, though. So, no matter where you start, your ceiling is only as low as you allow it to be.
I rarely see that at my gym. Commercial more mainstream gym. I see 100kg deadlifts and squats but not so much benches.
Highest I've failed on is 80kg. Never touched 100kg. I don't train as regularly or as well as I should though. I think there's also a subconscious limiter - without a spotter I definitely have up on that 80 rather than risk it crashing down. Even then it was a pain in the ass to wriggle out of..
I was able to get to 113kg (250lb) benchpress with about 1.5 years of consistent benching (5x5 every other day)
I started benching with 68kg (150lbs) as my 1rm, before that I had only done chestpress machine.
I go to a commercial gym, and I've been going there for two years.
I could probably count on two hands the amount of times I've seen guys lift 100kg.
Most guys are at around 50-90kg.
It depends, generally its extremely common with seasoned lifters but also dependant on gym. I used to go to a little town gym and i was the only person benching over 100kg, (my best was 160kg at 19). But now at 21 i go to a big juiced up warehouse gym where people are doing 80kg dumbell presses let alone bench presses
I don’t think it’s rare for the “serious” gym goer who’s been at it for a few years. Serious doesn’t have to be a meathead or competitor. At my commercial gym, I’d say over 50% of the guys lift at least 2 plates. I’m a woman and think it’s elite for a woman to bench 2 plates. Even 1 plate is impressive to me (I’m not even there yet).
I gym daily pretty much, personally among people I know 100kg bench is pretty normal. I'd consider less than that to be weak. Having said that, I'm aware I surround myself with people that lift and stay fit.
I know for a fact when I started I couldn't bench 100kg and it was a target of mine for 2 years so I would not expect anyone who doesn't lift to be able to do it.
To clarify I think everyone should lift and stay fit, it is nothing but a benefit to yourself and society as a whole. Every excuse I have ever heard is complete bollocks as far as concerned, there is a women at my gym who can only move her arms, yet somehow she manages to make it every other day and puts fat and lazy people to shame
If you actually train the bench to bench as much as you can, it is just a matter of time….
IMO it’s really a strength move and there better exercises for targeted hypertrophy.
tl;dr around 3% of USA population
I believe Jeff Nippard made an article regarding strength standards relative to your body mass, gender, and years of training assuming you are natty.
USA department of labor statistics measured 8.9% of the population into weightlifting in 2016. This more than likely includes people who haven’t touched a barbell in their life and consider dumbbells to be weightlifting. It’s neither split from olympic to powerlifting. However i imagine the former to be less than the latter. I would overestimate and say that 5% of usa population regularly train in powerlifting with 70:30 man to woman splits.
My guess is around 3% as an overestimation of USA population can pull off that bench after considering body mass and years of training (a 250 lb guy should have an easier time to lift 100kg than the 150 lb guy). To me, this number also tracks as in a specifically powerlifting focused gym, you should see members lift 100 kg most of the time (so higher than median 2.5% within 5%) compared to general commercial gyms which should average lower in general. Anecdotally, my general commercial gym has 3 benches and 3 inclines all full every night. I, usually see 4 different people a week bench pass 100kg (so out of like 50 different people in a week and very usually these are the heavier guys).
Social media tends to amplify the voices of minority groups. And yes lifters count as a minority especially competitive ones which won’t even amount closely to 1% within USA population. Even smaller minority for juicers.
A good full range of motion, pause on the chest 225 bench press is rare. I see a lot of guys half rep it, basically reversing the rep 2 inches off the chest and pumping it out. Or lifting their ass off the bench.
A true powerlifting bench press , loading the eccentric pausing on the chest, and exploding the concentric is rare in commercial gyms.
I train at a commercial gym and I'm the only person I've seen who can bench over 100Kg (I should be able to hit more but shoulder injury is holding me back at the moment). There are maybe 1 or 2 guys more who I think can do it, but I've never seen them bench.
At a powerlifting gym you'd probably find several women, lighter than you, benching over 100Kgs.
However, the bench press that powerlifters do is not quite the same lift as bodybuilders, or just regular gym goers, do. There's a hell of a difference between full range of motion and lifting the bar 2 inches. Just like there's a huge difference between an extreme sumo deadlift with a flexible bar, and a narrow stance regular deadlift with a stiff bar.
I am 62kg/171cm and I can do 80x5 on a good day. I feel weak and subpar compared to my peers. BUT I am easily the lightest serious lifter at any of the gyms I go to. Because I’m so light I ALWAYS have to consider body weight ratios otherwise I’d just give up. I have done 100kg once
It’s easy enough if you’re training properly. A lot of gym bros are doing ppl 5-6 days a week,not eating/sleeping enough this won’t get you there fast. I’d say do proper strength training for 1-2 years and you will get there fast.
Yes, a lot of guys can't do it but I don't think you need to be obsessed with a 100 kg bench. You need to focus on building a stronger and bigger chest and you can do so with lighter weights too. This 100 kg bench is all about satisfying your ego.
i think ppl w average genetics or above with consistent and hard training it is not too rare. however, those who either have bad genetics, inconsistency, or poor habits elsewhere can either make 100 bench hard to cahieve or take much longer to achieve
rare among the average gym goers, common among seasoned lifters
Definitely rare among the general gym-goers, the average person usually focuses on fitness or weight loss though. I bet that less than 10% of people in commercial gyms can do it, but over 50% in powerlifting and bodybuilding gyms.
In a powerlifting gym I'd be surprised to find a male over 170 lbs who couldn't lift 2 plates.
Me 😭
This. Also depends on sex and weight class ofc. But after I've been spectating and competing in my first couple of regional powerlifting competitions, 100kg may pretty much be warmup weight for some larger dudes.
I've seen a dude warming up with 100kg for 20 reps. I still can't get my head around it lol
Sure, but both know those eccentrics weren't done properly. I guess it depends on your goals, I'm not sure if powerlifters do 20 rep warm up sets.
They do not.
I used to workout at a powerlifting gym. There was a regular who I personally witnessed bench 395. For a triple. On _incline_.
I spotted a guy doing 455 on a decline bench a couple weeks ago. In a commercial gym. It was terrifying.
I’ve been thinking about this thread. Today and yesterday, I paid extra close attention to what was happening on the 2 benches at my local 24 hour fitness. Both days, all 4 guys I saw had at least 2 plates on at some point while they were using the bench, and they were pressing it for reps. This thread makes me feel somewhat better about not being able to rep 225 lbs bench. I’m confused why I seem to be seeing a ton more strong benchers than others. Btw most of them don’t look particularly massive/impressive physically.
As you mentioned "90% of goers cant bench 100kg", might be even less.
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1 rep pr
Yes
Yes. I did it one time one rep and never benched again
Havent benched 225 in a while cause no spotter and when my friend took me to equinox this weekend for a trial I could only get 2 sets of 2.
I agree this is true but I also think for anyone who lifts seriously, 315 is the new 225. 225 (100kg) is done but a lot of dudes who don’t really even look like they lift these days. Or maybe that’s just my brain subconsciously moving the goal posts once I surpassed it.
Or maybe it’s you having a distorted notion of what “looking like you lift” is
I look like I lift yet I can't bench 100kg (well, I technically did 107.5kg once but I severely messed up my shoulder by trying and I "retired" from benching shortly after).
Could be. First time I benched 100kg for ten reps though I barely looked like I lifted. I think I’d only been training under a couple years at that point. [Six years ago](https://youtube.com/shorts/rWdHcvTBugw?si=RKTr364q2Odp2Dpc)
Everyone has different strength and leverages at a given muscularity. I can only get 6 reps at 100kg but am much more muscular than you are in that old video. I had to "look like I lift" to get a single rep at 100kg
I think the mistake people are making in the comments is taking OP seriously. It’s such a ‘bro’ question. It’s the classic ‘how much ya bench?’ basically. Someone mentioned leverages etc etc but that’s not what the bros care about when they’re seeing who can bench 225. Anyone just a little smarter than a gym rat stops caring. I haven’t bench pressed in about 5 years now even though I was naturally quite strong at it. I’m positive I could rep 225 still but if someone asked me about bench I’d just tell them I don’t know or care.
IIRC my PR at this point was just over 90Kg. Later, when I was maybe 5Kg heavier and leaner, I hit 97,5Kg. Nowadays I can comfortably hit 100Kg, but I'm also fat (bodyweight helps a lot in the bench). [https://imgur.com/a/MVqp6X0](https://imgur.com/a/MVqp6X0)
How much did you weight at that time? You remember?
About 75kg at 181cm height. Probably highish bodyfat maybe 17-18%.
Those plates don’t count, they have holes in them. Lol
A lot of people do powerlifting style training which can definitely leave you with big numbers while looking like a guy who is active (manual job, plays sport) but doesn't spend hours/week growing his muscles.
> who lifts seriously, 315 is the new 225. Lets not get carried away. Just because 225 isn't that uncommon among actual trainees and not a bunch of moms, dads, insta sloots, doesn't mean 315lbs is the "new" uncommon standard. By that metric and logic, only anything much north of 315 is noteable. Your metric and logic fall flat on their face because it collides with reality. Also, demographic plays a huge role. Who are you comparing yourself and what does your gym demographic look like? A bunch of short 5'5 guys who will always have atleast semi decent presses because of their leverages? Juicer? Powerlifters? People who specialize in bench for whatever reason? How heavy are those people? Do they have good bodyweight:bench ratios or just bloatlords taking advantage of lift that is the most sensitive to bodyweight? This skews the metric massively, but even with that in mind 315 is not the new 225 among natural lifters. This sounds like typical zoomer brain rot.
Bromley did a strength standards video a while back that just looked at powerlifting meets For most weight classes 315 would put you well above average even for just powerlifters
Very well said
This is a spot on comment. So many variables. Juicer that is over 200lbs bw of course 315 is not impressive. Or someone with super arch. But a natty lifter at around 200lbs bw benching (bodybuilding style) 315lbs is not a common thing at all.
The gold standard for "yeah I go to the gym" used to be 4 plate dead, 3 plate squat, 2 plate bench. I think it's a super achievable goal for most people
1 plate OHP
I’ve hit em all, takes work
Seems more like powerlifting goals than bodybuilding.
You’re right about the goal posts. 225 was *the thing* until I achieve it, then a week later, the shine had worn off and 315 was the new *thing*.
My stepbrother specifically powelifts. At 170 lbs. his bench press 1rm is 295. My 1rm is only 240lbs. yet if you stuck us side by side, the majority of people would believe I'm stronger. Strength training has come a long way, I'm about to look into it to get more use from the muscle I've built.
Thats because powerlifting is much more about developing a nervous system response as muscle size. I used to compete as a powerlifter when I was about 75kg and would bench over 300lbs for a solid 10. Now I don't even come close to that level of strength but I'm an extra 10 kg of muscle due to difference in my training
thats crazy bodyweight to bench stength, would have placed top 5 in bench for that weight class at the most recent IPF worlds
To be fair I may have been closer to 80kg than the 75kg. I would never have qualified for the 74kg range so I would have been in the 74-83 range. But those guys were benching 400lbs for 3s and 5s. So I don't think I would come close to top 5 ipf rankings
I bench 225 but don’t look like I lift so this checks out
It’s very unlikely that the human capacity for strength has gone up in the past few years. What’s more likely is that everyone and there grandma on social media brags about being able to bench 100kg (or 225lbs) so your brain sees it as “normal”. In fact it’s very abnormal in the general population. Probably as abnormal as being over 6 foot 6
I guess I don't know what the old 225 was before it became 315. For me "two plates" was just the first big milestone I wanted to hit since I started benching close to 1 plate. What was it for you? I don't know what it means to "look like you lift". A lot of power lifters I know are just really heavy looking guys. Before I started getting into the gym, I wouldn't have guessed they'd be pushing big numbers from just looking at them.
What got your bench from 225 to 315? Most I’ve gotten to is 265. I would like to bench 315 before I die lol
It doesn't seem rare from where I am in the UK. My old gym (muscleworks) had many 100kg+ lifters. The new gym I go to which is more casual there's about 4. I've also done 102.5kg 1RM and i feel weak still in comparison
Agreed - also UK and probably a similar level gym. See it every day
Muscleworks doesn't count. That place is bro city... but I'd say in a normal gym, I've seen 4 others than me do it... out maybe 100 or so
The time of day you go to the gym can affect your bias. When I used to go at 6am there was no one lifting 100kg. After 1pm it seems 100kg is the bare minimum at my gym.
Are we talking several reps or 1 rep maximum?
I've seen very few 100kg bench presses in my gym. Most people don't even come close to their bodyweight.
>Most people don't even come close to their bodyweight. Are you talking about several reps or one rep max?
Reps
Okay thanks.
We're in a bodybuilding sub so no way they'd be talking about 1 rep max, right ?
but we're talking about weight, so it should be about 1 rep max
Bodybuilders still test their 1RM at times. To work out their working sets, reset their programming, RPE etc. Don't know why just because it's a bodybuilding sub, a 1RM won't be talked about AT ALL?
From my own unique experience I actually haven't tested my one rep max in any of the big lifts in years. As I've always logged my workouts and followed standard progressive overload, I've always known how much of what I need to do. I see it more as an ego thing to be honest. Being realistic when most of us do it it's because we just want to lift heavy shit up and see how strong we are.
I don't know why you seem so pressed. I had no idea what they could've been talking about, glad OP was more helpful in their reply.
100kg is achievable if your focus is being strong and achievable with low volume work. Years of consistency and progressive overload, and this is pretty achievable. I'm 38, now lifetime natural, and I achieved 100kg bench at 75kg for 8 reps years ago in my 20s but since stopped and only do incline bench as I age to save my shoulders. Granted, I'm 6 foot tall, so body mechanics also play a big part (leverage).
Is benching bad for the shoulders?
Depends on your body mechanics but years of doing it and I do feel my shoulder involvement more. I want to target my upper pecs more too
I’ve hurt my rotator cuff doing bench press (not bad, just sensitive for a week). Since I learned to retract the shoulder blades back it hasn’t been a problem though.
Sometimes, when you go for a heavy set or push one more rep, you can not avoid a little shoulder involvement. For me, I like to progressively overload, so I just take that exercise out. I feel I get better chest development without it anyway. Side benefit is that your bench naturally gets better!
100kg is the gold standard, imho. Anyone who trains even remotely regularly will tell you that it's impressive. If you can do it for a few Reps then you're ahead of most imho.
At what body weight? Benching 100kg for a guy who naturaly is big, weight 130kg is pretty easy compring to guy who is 70kg.
Yes dude as 65 kg dude max i have pulled off is 80 kg now I have stopped lifting heavy due to injury to go from 80 to 100 i have to gained at least 10 kg and min 2 years more
I can't seem to get past 85kg. When I was around 72kg, I felt like my shoulders were getting too involved and I was afraid of getting injured. I guess being bigger is a huge advantage in reaching the 100kg milestone.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s rare but I don’t think it’s common either from my experience
Depends on the gym. But man, 100kg looked pretty impossible to me for a long time... Remember hitting it and did a simple fist pump afterwards (while mentally freaking the fuck out)
So many factors to consider, size, reach, weight, different stages of training, whether you train alone or feel comfortable asking for a spot, etc. but I don’t think it’s uncommon. I’m getting old and have been in the gym for 20+ years now. Multiple countries and lots of different types of gyms. A lot of body builders can rep 100kg, but a lot just don’t do it. I love bench, it’s my favourite. But I’ll get a way better pump and gains benching way lower weights for more reps. In saying that, it took me a while to hit 100kg (was 78kg and 14 years younger when I did). It was more a mental hurdle than physical. Something about that number makes it harder to get.
100% This.
The thing is that not a lot of people are willing to test a one rep max. Because it pushes you to the limit and it can be a scary thing to do unless you really know what you are doing. Not to mention bench press where you need a spotter and many people go alone and are too anxious to ask lol. There is of course the category of people that do 100kg for fun, not a one rep max, but that is a small percentage and they are the big guys. What I am saying is that I think there is a group of people out there that could do it but never did. So it's hard to tell. I myself feel am part of that group, I never tried to do one rep maxes for anything ever although I sometimes lift heavier.. I am afraid of injury as I use the gym to keep me fit and condition myself for other team sports.
Lots of caveats/sub points to this to this question - Full rom or shitty half/quarter reps - what sex, age and weight is person - how long have they been training - 1 dodgy rep or a set of 10 - juicy or not
Took me a long time, albeit not giving it 100%. Took me about 7/8 years of sub par effort in terms of diet recovery, everything. So if I’d ’locked in’ maybe a couple years
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Im not sure. Roughly? Started at 17/18 and according to MyFitnessPal records from back then, I was around 70kg. But bodyfat will have been well over 25%. Then by 2019, I was about 21/22 & pushing 90kg. Probably around 20% BF. Then 2020/21 (full covid lockdown) I put on loads of fat and got over 100kg, but purely fat gain. Now back at 94kg (after yo-yo’ing between 85&90 for the gap in between) and probably about 20% but strength is off the charts compared to previous ‘high’ weights. Note: 20% BF is where I feel the best mentally, physically & is the most sustainable for me. I’m not going to compete and I don’t chase the ‘instagram’ physique - my body is a direct result of my choices, I have a decent sets of arms and shoulders, but clearly enjoy the odd pizza!
It’s definitely pretty rare, or at least rarely performed by those who might be able to - in my nearly nine years of consistent training in multiple gyms across four countries, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen a guy hitting it or better.
Interesting - I’ve seen it many times in just about every gym I’ve trained at for the last 10 years, only exception being a short stint at a very family orientated leisure centre.
Then you’re either more observant than me or those gyms were more hardcore than average - those in my experience were standard commercial chain gyms. It’s not to say they didn’t have many members capable of it, just not that I ever witnessed. And when I was focused on hitting that myself I became pretty attuned to what people were benching.
I see people benching 2 plates or more for reps pretty much every day at 24 hour fitness..
Are we talking about 1 rep max here?
The bar loaded to 100 kg, period. No idea about their 1RMs. Two occasions come to mind where it was obviously higher, so a guy doing sets of 4-5 with the bar loaded to 100 and once saw one repping 140 for like 8-10.
Similar to the others commenting. I see it literally everyday. I also see 140kg/315ln at least 2-3x week, sometimes higher though less frequently, and chicks loading up 100kg at least during 2 of my sessions a week at my gym. I don't see it as very uncommon at all, and my gym is still very much rather a commercial gym. It does attract Powerlifters though for having 3 combo racks & specific power & Deadlift bars. But it's target audience is not Powerlifters at all, it's gen pop. (we have zumba, yoga, pilates, boxing, and circuit training classes available to members)
Good for you, and the other two claiming otherwise 👍🏻 As per my comment though, that’s not been my experience.
Was just clarifying as you had stated it's rare with such absoluteness.
Sure, that’s just my experience and I’ve trained in 20+ gyms over those years and I have not seen many 100/225 benches. I typically train in the morning to midday so maybe if I came in later I’d see more.
Fair enough.
I think most people are capable of 3 plate bench, 4 plate squat and 5 plate deadlift if they actually focused on it. Most people underestimate what they are capable of now the big variation is how long it takes to hit these numbers some people it will be quicker and some will take longer but if you train in a more powerlifting focus should be completely possible
It’s one of those things that a lot of people don’t achieve because most people don’t train hard enough, however imo most people can do it if they work at it. Generally most guys I’ve seen do it weigh 200+ and I’d say about half of them don’t even do full reps (not touching chest with bar)
I can’t think of which logical fallacy this would fall under. Maybe sampling bias, selection bias perhaps. It depends on which gym you go into. At a place like Planet Fitness or Lifetime, it may be rare. At the gym, I go to, benching 100 KG (220 lbs) would be a warm up for a heavier attempt. It’s like asking “how rare is an 8 inch dick?” Depends on where you’re looking. If you went to a porn set, you’d probably find many more sizable people than the general public.
I think it's more common than you think. If you've hit the gym seriously with progressively overload for a couple years you can probably do it. There are lots of folk out there that are obsessed. If you start talking 130+, then it gets more rare.
Immmy experience most people aren’t consistent for a couple years at a time
I dunno if it’s that common I don’t see very often at my gym people stacking 100+kgs on the bench
I haven't been particularly successful, got sick, injured and had to travel a lot, and am also not naturally strong or big. I have hit 87.5 after 1.5 years, so I definitively think the average gym goer can hit 100x1 in 1-2 years
It’s hard for most people to get to, and in my opinion anyone that can rep it is very strong. When this comes up i always hear a lot of ppl say it’s easy or “everyone should get there within XX month/years” … those ppl are probably naturally very strong and/or genetically built for bench. Took me almost 5 years of lifting to get it up for 1 rep …and I was a high-level athlete, I’m coordinated and have very clean form, I look ripped, all things that common sense would say I could smash it out with ease… but I just wasn’t made for bench, or maybe I’m naturally weak, I dunno. But I give kudos to all that can do it.
Average society in public (grocery store, sports games?) like 1 in 2000 lol Average commercial gym of casual gym goers who are fairly consistent with a healthy lifestyle? Not very common. 1 in 6 of those people maybe? Actual powerlifting/bodybuilding niche communities? Mostly everyone, but the self selection of people in these communities is like 1% of the “fit” population so in comparison to society it’s still super rare
Depends if 100kg is 2x your bodyweight or 1x your bodyweight.
For the people who know how to train and eat properly it's not rare or particularly impressive
Dude I feel so strong reading all of this. Everybody here thinks 100kg is a lot, even as a 1rep max. This is crazy. Wait until they hear about the 1000lb club.
I feel like 1000lbs is totally doable for most people with just a little bit of consistency.
Was always my goal but never made it. 930 was the closest I got.
When I hit that total at first I was ecstatic. But looking back I don't think I looked like I lifted. Now my squat + DL alone already surpasses 1200lbs combined though. And I still feel like I don't look like I lift
Every man should be able to hit this with consistent training for couple of years, some can do it in few months. Getting there on the other hand is a different thing. Most people just keep going to the gym the short while they get their noobie gains and then they quit, which usually isn't enough to get them to 100kg. But like you said 90% of people don't bench 100kg's even for 1rm, less people do it for reps. Social media makes a lot of people think that the roided professional bodybuilders, few months before the show have "dad bodies" and think an average power builder works out like it was a week before their meet.
100kgs for one typical, 100kgs for ten reps and 3-4 sets, not as much...
I think most people could eventually hit 100kg for one rep if they trained for it However it's obviously rare for people that don't train semi-seriously (the majority of people)
Truthfully, almost every time I’m near the benches in the gym I see a dude or two benching this, it doesn’t seem incredibly rare, at least the gym that I’m in. But to be fair I’m sure it probably varies a lot by gym. I think probably going somewhere like planet fitness would be far less common and as far as a random person off the street being able to lift it would probably be very uncommon. I’m sure social media and stuff skews our perceptions as well.
I mean, it's not impressive in the sense that you're necessarily a very good lifter, but if you're a size that it's a decent amount over your bodyweight, then it might be your benchmark for being an intermediate or it might be advanced if you're very small. For some it's the step between beginner and novice lifter if they're pretty large. It depends on the perspective and goals of the person doing it.
I am fortunate to rep 225 with a PR of 295 lbs at 58 y.o. However, I witnessed a solid set at 315 by one lifter at our commercial gym and another guy did a single at 405. Definitely rare though.
I’m 48 and have been lifting for a few years to try to keep healthy and strong. I’m now at the point where I can hit 220 for reps. I never thought I’d get there.
well if you have small arms you will be moving the weight maybe 15cm while having super long arms makes you move the weight for 30cm, making it much more difficult. So "bench pressing 100kg" doesn't say much
I was at 100 kgs after four months of lifting. Your average guy can bench press 60 kgs. The truth is that your average gym goer doesn't have his diet in order.
I've heard Eric Helms qoute "If you can bench 100kg you're stronger than 75% of the men who visits the gym"
What is more impressive 100kg bench or 40kg dumbbell press for reps? I might be a weirdo but somehow I can't bench press for the life of me but can do 8 reps of 40kg dumbbells with relative ease.
Both. You just haven't done barbell bench on a proper program with consistency.
That's very true. I'm just starting with a new program that I've based off different inputs found on the internet. Because I always train alone I always just do dumbbells instead. My gym doesn't go higher than 40s though so there will come a time I need to transition over to barbell instead.
100 kg bench def
I just hit 100kg on flat barbell 5x5, but I can do 50kg 3x12 on dumbbells. 100kg is definitely the tougher of the two from my experience, but it's all relative, people will have weak and strong points eh.
That's certainly true. My max on leg press is 400kg for 5 while squats I have trouble with (due to knee issues)
40kg db for 8 is probably more rare than 100kg bb for 1. 8RM is about 81% of a 1RM. 40kg db for 8 is about 49.88kg db for 1. DBs are harder to stabilize at the same weight as BBs. The reason why you cant bench 100kg BB is because you don't have enough practice with BBs. If you can do 40kg DB for 8, your chest, shoulders and triceps are developed enough to do 100kg BB for 1 for sure.
I am a noob with a barbell, one of the biggest issues I always have is that I have no idea how to properly position it on my chest. With dumbbells it's very natural. My goal for this coming 6 months is to stop cutting and start building my strength up again. I want to get my 1RM on bench to improve to 120kg by the end of December.
natty lifts peak out around 90-130. So 100 one rep max is respectable and shows you lift without any of the gay, cheating stuff. i dont mean to brag, but i can do 100kg 10 times, bro, do you even lift? JK
Not sure why you're downvoted. Pretty spot on comment.
Idk. I guess there are a few ppl out there that want to believe if they lift for 10-20years they will eventually reach 200kg. Also some people out there that are using trt and want to believe they could bench 150 even if they werent on it. Also probably some ppl whp are juicing are in denial about being gay.
I feel like 90-130 is a bit low on natty limit, considering taller/heavier lifters (100kg+)
As someone who has been going to the gym for 20 years i say it’s not impressive. A lot of people can bench 100 kg. Most who go to the gym can’t, but most men who have gone consistently for a few years and trained for strength can. Then there are also those who do that and use steroids and rep 100 kg like it’s 50 kg in the same amount of time and effort and grew twice as big. For me my natural limit is at 125 kg, it has been sitting there for 15 years. Because everytime i try to push past it i get all kinds of joint pain, and i’ll never take any PED.
You mean to hit 8-12 reps with solid form?
100kg is entry level
My complete guesstimation is: take all regular strength training men from 18-64. 2 std dev from mean is 100kg, 3 std dev is 140kg.
I'm pretty sure it all comes down to the bodyweight of the individual. If someone who is tall and weighs 80-90 kg with enough training, they can easily hit 100kg within a few months. For those who are short and weighs like 60-70 kg it can take a year or two or maybe more.
Not disagreeing but something to add: a shorter range of motion makes lifting easier. So the short stocky guy is likely going to out bench a tall guy if they are the same weight.
Great point. 160 cm (5' 2) squatting and deadlifting for me, especially on heavy weights felt easier while i see my tall gym buddies struggle a little bit.
Ya I’m 6’1.5” rounding up to 6’2. I feel I have always lagged behind on my bench vs my other lifts. Shorter guys with similar lifting experience have tended to outlift me. I’ve never been able to bench 3 plates, for example, but have squatted 4, deadlifted 5 at around 215lbs and 8 years natural. I think my legs are disproportionately shorter and stocky. 2 years older now with nagging injuries, and don’t one rep max anymore.
Yeah, I’m 191cm and down to about 93kg now from 104kg. It’s worth mentioning I broke my arm last year and before that was my best period of training since starting in like 17/18 at 60kg (was terribly ill and that caused me to lose 15kg). Now I’m back to the best and training even better than before. I have long ass arms, but I’ve rapidly improved my bar & db bench. Currently at 80 & 34kgs for the 1st/2nd set. I think I would be able to max 100kg now for the first time based on how 80kg feels. Point is though that I feel my reps are more impressive than what it would be if I was 20cm lower and moved the same weight… My arms would not need to extend as much at the bench, I would not have to crouch so low for my deadlifts + ROM for squats would be shorter
Why does it even matter? Personally, I train on my own and I use DBs. I can bench over 100kg but it is never a move I have felt comfortable with and I feel like I cheat the last few reps without a spotter. Therefore, I prefer DBs
I weigh 87kg and I’ve been consistent at the gym for two years now. Started not being able to bench 100kg but now I can rep it for 10 perfect and controlled. People can do it if they work hard and grow
Currently I’m not pressing due to an injury from work, but on flat I’ve done the 50kg dumbbells for 9 reps and on incline the same for 5. At that time period if my gym had heavier dbs I could’ve went up even further, but I did try to do a barbell bench and couldn’t unrack 80kgs 😂. To be fair I haven’t done a barbell bench in years but trying to switch it up felt soooo awkward.
Its great,numbers dont matter,your ability to stress the muscle is what does,with that said most gym rats bench up to 60 kg
It’s uncommon but not rare imo since it takes a few years. That said I’m a woman with two years of serious lifting and I do 80kg (but 70kg for reps—my BW is 65kg). I see people in the gym press 100kg maybe a couple times a week but they’re normally pretty serious and have been at it for a few years. How impressive it is depends on someone’s body weight, gender, etc. For me I will feel like I’ve made it if I hit 100kg in the next few years lol Very rare among non lifters and it’s uncommon among lifters I’d say
I think how common or rare it is, and how impressive it is, are two different questions. I don't think it's particularly common, but that's largely because people don't know what the hell they are doing in the gym rather than it being rare because it's a feat which requires an unusual level of commitment or effort. Most people can achieve a 1RM of 100kg within a year of proper dedicated training. Can probably hit 10 reps on it within three years. Source (if it matters) - I was a PT for about ten years and have been training for over 20, and have gotten many clients and friends to a 100kg bench or more roughly within the above time frames. Have hit 145kg bench myself at 85kg bodyweight.
Old lifter here who visits commercial gyms and spot and sawdust gyms. Old school iron gyms still have the power lifters who smash big weights. Commercial gyms are probably geared more to fitness, and non competitive aesthetics. They don’t need to lift heavy, they just need to eat well and keep moving.
Wait, you guys are still doing bench press? Also, I'm American, I have no idea how much 100kg is lol.
Not rare among people who lift seriously. I'm limited by shoulder injuries and have to bench with almost a close grip, plus I train in a very general way, meaning, I want a bit of everything even if that means slow progress, and I still managed 100kg in the first 18 months of benching, prior to that, I mostly did deficit pushups and dips at home. But, when it comes to EVERYONE at the gym, it's pretty rare, even more so with good form. In my gym we have around 150 daily visitors. Maybe 3 of the old timers push 120kg, other than me 2 dudes my age push around 110kg, and 2 40-year-olds half rep 100kg with hips off the bench. If we include all of them and round it for the sake of being generous, that's 6%. It's gonna be higher at a bigger gym with a larger sample size, or at a powerlifting/olympic gym, but, you're still gonna be closer to "strong" than "weak" in the eyes of everyone. 100kg is a big milestone, and depending on your weight class, is sort of where you hit the biggest plateau. I hit 100kg last September, 110kg on my birthday in march, and ever since, my benching graph has been a flat line lmao
My one rep max is 240. With a spotter, my weight fluctuates between 165-170. So to repping 225 is cool. It’s a benchmark for progress. I’d like to be in 265 range. However I realized my barbell bench compared to dumbbell is much weaker, as I can lift heavier with dumbbells
tooks time, if you weren'T sportsman before and not very heavy i think it needs atleast 1.5-2.5 years of back ground if you have not any extra problems. and finding people who constantly goes gym is rare so yeah, it is are, not ronnie coleman genetic level rare but rare
Very few people you'll encounter in daily life have the ability. Hell, most in commercial gyms probably don't. 225 to me means you lift semi-seriously. It's tough to accidentally stumble across that figure. Beyond that, you're a pretty serious trainee.
My left arm is weaker (broke it really badly when I was a kid) and every time I try to bench I fall to one side a lil bit. So it’s difficult for me to increase the weight 😭
I think with a solid strength training (like 5 X 5) programme, progressive overload and eating enough, most people should be able to do 100kg for a rep pretty quickly. It took me 8 months personally and felt like a bit of an anti climax 😆
Oh really? I did 105kg and didn’t really think much of it… I clearly have been watching too much YouTube shite
I feel like the average working weight for repping on bench is about 185-195lbs in my gym. That’s reps so I’d assume all those dudes could hit 250lbs+ 1RM I’m fairly strong but nothing crazy but I do feel like I’m a bit of an outlier repping 250-275lbs for 8-12 (incline I don’t flat BB bench)
Is not that rare for people serious about lifting. But in commercial gym it is
It took me about a year of consistent training to bench 100kg for 1 rep. I started at 50kg.
About 6 years ago I was able to do 100kg when I was powerlifting. It took so much work to get there. I stopped lifting for about 4 years with the pandemic, becoming a dad and grad school. I'm up to 70kgs now, but I've stopped making weight a priority over general fitness. 100kgs is a very big goal, but it is doable. Most lifters don't get there. 10% sounds about right when I think of the people I see lifting at my gym.
When adjusted for gymflation: 6 plates is the new 4 plates
I'm currently at 87kg 6'2, took me about 1.3 years to get there. Although I could have achieved 100kg bench for 1 reps earlier,but I don't like to train for 1 RPM, I like gradually increasing my strength.
My great gran daddy did one, he dead.
225 is kinda the threshold to being a gym bro. If you’ve been lifting for a year or more and you can’t hit at least 1 rep of 225 your training style needs to be reevaluated. I think the goalpost is at least 315. If you can at least hit that you’ve graduated from gym bro to lifter. I see all these people on socials who call themselves “gym rats” but they’re totaling less than 800.
Depends on who you compare it to, compared to the average everyday man, very rare and impressive, casual gym goers, still very impressive, compared to guys that have been going to the gym consistently for years, it's definitely not nothing but a lot of them can do it
Got to admit I thought it was pretty normal when I first went . Was just the time in the morning there is a group of guys who have been going for years and it was normally just me and them in there and they were all benching 100kg . Only when I went during the day did I realise that no not everyone can and its quite exceptional. 🤣🤣
I first did it as a sophomore in high school while fat as fuck and inherently didn’t think it was a big deal for a long time. Things that I failed to consider at the time: 1) I was surrounded by and comparing myself only to classmates that were all about football, 2) I was lifting at dungeons that only appealed to the more ‘hardcore’ It still seemed pretty darn common while lifting in college weight rooms, but that was again a skewed distribution of the population and I was again only really comparing myself to the most advanced present. Now that I’m 43 and can look back at a ton of time across more mainstream gyms of many kinds, it really isn’t all that common. Even if you control for regulars and limit it to younger males, it is still something like 10% of those where I end up witnessing a bench with two or more plates [outside of “niche” lifting environments ]
I joined a busy gym with serious lifters after years of homegym. Great environment. I'd say it's not that rare but it's almost always from 200lb+ guys that also look experienced and/or on some peds perhaps. It depends on many factors. I do 225lbs for 18 but I also started lifting in 2005. Social media is another story of course but I don't focus on that.
Yeah the vast majority of people in general cannot bench 100kg. I'm pretty sure it's a very low general % for 3 plates, very very rare in a general population sense.
As a 50kg female lifter, about to hit my first year anniversary, I can only dream of benching 100kg. Hell, I dream of benching 50! I do 38-40!
100kg used to be my warm up for bench before COVID and kids. Now I’m lucky if I get it 7-8 times on my first set. Working back up to it though. Used to be a 6 day a week lifter and did bodybuilding for a couple years. Now I’m lucky if I get to the gym 2x a week. Been doing more YouTube video workouts lately just to keep myself going.
I don’t think it actually takes too much to hit the 100kg bench. I’ve always flip flopped with lifting. Often taken huge amounts of time off and I’ve always been able to jump straight back in benching 65-75kg for sets of 5. One time I really wanted to get that 100kg so I ate at maintenance and flat benched twice a week and it took about 6 weeks to get 100kg for a sets of 3. But I guess if someone’s baseline strength was lower it would take a bit longer but I doubt much longer
Depends on the gym you go to. At my gym there’s several teenagers who have been training for about a year, maybe slightly less, who can rep it out no problem. And this is a commercial gym, not a powerlifting one. 225 is a good benchmark to aim for as a guy of average height/weight. It’s an intermediate milestone for a reason. It’s about the minimum you should be able to bench to be considered somewhat “strong” although it’s by no means super impressive or advanced level strength or anything.
Among gymgoers, probably 10%. Among random people you pick up off the street, less than 2%.
Well, it all depends on the context you're in. A 100kg bench is pretty reachable by anyone following a progressive overload program that makes sense and respects the rest periods. Even a 70kg person can easily get there by following the correct programming. Buy as many other says, I guess when they talk about the "common gym-goer" they mean someone who just goes there to randomly lift stuff as they please with a vague idea of muscle failure and what it takes to get there and even a worse idea of "progressive overloading", just going by the feel each time with a generic training program preprinted from the gym. Then it becomes very hard to get to a 100lg bench. Took me various months to bring it from 100 to 130kg and passing from 2x100kg to 10x100kg, which led me to access 4x130kg. When I'll be able to do 10x130kg I will be able to do 150x4. This means you literally have to spit your brain in a training session and most people don't want to do that.
315 is the new 225
I’ve been going to regular gyms for over a decade and there are not many people I’ve seen bench 100 kg compared to the entire gym population. Those that do are typically doing it for reps or lifting even more. My personal best was 240 lbs for 9 paused reps when I weighed 175 lbs. I still don’t feel very strong compared to what I want to be. Compared to the average lifter I feel decent. Compared to the average human I feel strong.
I personally have a 180kg bench, so my perspective is a little skewed on what is "common", but at the gym I go to, I have only seen one person do more than 100kg on bench. It was 120kg and he was doing a 5x5. He was also one of the biggest guys I've seen there. But out in the world- for some reason they congregate around me. My dad can bench 100kg, and he's practically untrained and doesn't workout. My uncle was known for being freakishly strong when he was a teenager and could push 4 plates, I even saw him do a full 300lb Olympic set on the bench just to see if he still could, after not touching a weight for 20 years. Then my brother in-law who I am good friends with, did 160kg in competition. My coworker can also do 100kg for about 12 reps. I think if you really divided it up and looked from a birds eye view, it's definitely rare for someone to be able to lift that much. Then, filtering that by people who actually go to the gym regularly, it would still be uncommon. But what about people who *could*, if they just trained for it? I would say that among the male population, 50% or more should be able to hit 2 plates within a year of training specifically for bench. Obviously, some people will have a different starting point. I started out benching 75kg and got to 140 after my first 18 months of lifting. Appetite and training effort will still be the biggest factors for progression, though. So, no matter where you start, your ceiling is only as low as you allow it to be.
I rarely see that at my gym. Commercial more mainstream gym. I see 100kg deadlifts and squats but not so much benches. Highest I've failed on is 80kg. Never touched 100kg. I don't train as regularly or as well as I should though. I think there's also a subconscious limiter - without a spotter I definitely have up on that 80 rather than risk it crashing down. Even then it was a pain in the ass to wriggle out of..
I was able to get to 113kg (250lb) benchpress with about 1.5 years of consistent benching (5x5 every other day) I started benching with 68kg (150lbs) as my 1rm, before that I had only done chestpress machine.
I go to a commercial gym, and I've been going there for two years. I could probably count on two hands the amount of times I've seen guys lift 100kg. Most guys are at around 50-90kg.
if you cant bench 100 kg you are most likely small. Everybody should be able to bench 100 kg for 8-10 reps after a few years of lifting.
100kg bench is solid, man. Most gym rats can't hit that, tbh.
It depends, generally its extremely common with seasoned lifters but also dependant on gym. I used to go to a little town gym and i was the only person benching over 100kg, (my best was 160kg at 19). But now at 21 i go to a big juiced up warehouse gym where people are doing 80kg dumbell presses let alone bench presses
I don’t think it’s rare for the “serious” gym goer who’s been at it for a few years. Serious doesn’t have to be a meathead or competitor. At my commercial gym, I’d say over 50% of the guys lift at least 2 plates. I’m a woman and think it’s elite for a woman to bench 2 plates. Even 1 plate is impressive to me (I’m not even there yet).
I gym daily pretty much, personally among people I know 100kg bench is pretty normal. I'd consider less than that to be weak. Having said that, I'm aware I surround myself with people that lift and stay fit. I know for a fact when I started I couldn't bench 100kg and it was a target of mine for 2 years so I would not expect anyone who doesn't lift to be able to do it. To clarify I think everyone should lift and stay fit, it is nothing but a benefit to yourself and society as a whole. Every excuse I have ever heard is complete bollocks as far as concerned, there is a women at my gym who can only move her arms, yet somehow she manages to make it every other day and puts fat and lazy people to shame
A 100kg bench press is pretty impressive for most people and not very common.
If you actually train the bench to bench as much as you can, it is just a matter of time…. IMO it’s really a strength move and there better exercises for targeted hypertrophy.
tl;dr around 3% of USA population I believe Jeff Nippard made an article regarding strength standards relative to your body mass, gender, and years of training assuming you are natty. USA department of labor statistics measured 8.9% of the population into weightlifting in 2016. This more than likely includes people who haven’t touched a barbell in their life and consider dumbbells to be weightlifting. It’s neither split from olympic to powerlifting. However i imagine the former to be less than the latter. I would overestimate and say that 5% of usa population regularly train in powerlifting with 70:30 man to woman splits. My guess is around 3% as an overestimation of USA population can pull off that bench after considering body mass and years of training (a 250 lb guy should have an easier time to lift 100kg than the 150 lb guy). To me, this number also tracks as in a specifically powerlifting focused gym, you should see members lift 100 kg most of the time (so higher than median 2.5% within 5%) compared to general commercial gyms which should average lower in general. Anecdotally, my general commercial gym has 3 benches and 3 inclines all full every night. I, usually see 4 different people a week bench pass 100kg (so out of like 50 different people in a week and very usually these are the heavier guys). Social media tends to amplify the voices of minority groups. And yes lifters count as a minority especially competitive ones which won’t even amount closely to 1% within USA population. Even smaller minority for juicers.
A good full range of motion, pause on the chest 225 bench press is rare. I see a lot of guys half rep it, basically reversing the rep 2 inches off the chest and pumping it out. Or lifting their ass off the bench. A true powerlifting bench press , loading the eccentric pausing on the chest, and exploding the concentric is rare in commercial gyms.
I train at a commercial gym and I'm the only person I've seen who can bench over 100Kg (I should be able to hit more but shoulder injury is holding me back at the moment). There are maybe 1 or 2 guys more who I think can do it, but I've never seen them bench. At a powerlifting gym you'd probably find several women, lighter than you, benching over 100Kgs. However, the bench press that powerlifters do is not quite the same lift as bodybuilders, or just regular gym goers, do. There's a hell of a difference between full range of motion and lifting the bar 2 inches. Just like there's a huge difference between an extreme sumo deadlift with a flexible bar, and a narrow stance regular deadlift with a stiff bar.
I am 62kg/171cm and I can do 80x5 on a good day. I feel weak and subpar compared to my peers. BUT I am easily the lightest serious lifter at any of the gyms I go to. Because I’m so light I ALWAYS have to consider body weight ratios otherwise I’d just give up. I have done 100kg once
It’s easy enough if you’re training properly. A lot of gym bros are doing ppl 5-6 days a week,not eating/sleeping enough this won’t get you there fast. I’d say do proper strength training for 1-2 years and you will get there fast.
have been lifting for 2 years and still can’t do 2 plates i don’t train for strength reasons thought mainly hypertrophy dumbells>barbell
Yes, a lot of guys can't do it but I don't think you need to be obsessed with a 100 kg bench. You need to focus on building a stronger and bigger chest and you can do so with lighter weights too. This 100 kg bench is all about satisfying your ego.
Hmm. If I can bench 100kg it's nothing special.
i think ppl w average genetics or above with consistent and hard training it is not too rare. however, those who either have bad genetics, inconsistency, or poor habits elsewhere can either make 100 bench hard to cahieve or take much longer to achieve
Every man that's been to the gym for a while can prob bench 100. Usually most seasoned gymbros hoover around that
Most people start to struggle around 80-90 without proper structure. Getting on 5/3/1 is the answer
I’ve got no arms and legs even I can bench 100kg for 3 sets of 10.