Shouldn't you be able to bench press at or near your weight?

swetooth9

swetooth9

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this is probably dumb logic that i pulled out of my ass 2 seconds ago, but if you can do a push-up, shouldn't you technically be able to bench press your weight give or take a few pounds due to the feet holding you up when you do pushups?

probably a dumb question but what the heck

p.s. yea, i know it takes some time to get used to holding the bar steady, but it comes with practice, right?

oh yea, gravity too...pushing the weight on you when benchpressing rather than you pushing yourself up when doing pushups

idk though...just trying to get some ideas going
 
i used to think that until i actually tried it...and it does not work that way at all...i could (or used to) do push-ups all day long but when it came to benchpressing i was lucky to handle 100 lbs and i am 6'1 and weigh around 225
 
I'm 6'2 155lbs. and I rep at 155-160. I don't think anyone will be able to just jump on a bench and lift their own weight without building a bit of muscle first.
 
Your feet don't count for one or two pounds. You can probably bench your own weight when you can do a pushup without your feet. :lol:
 
yea, i'm a pretty lean kid (18) and can only handle about 120ish and weigh about 135, so i was wondering...sometimes i see people who are a lot more bigger than me that can't lift that much...i'm guessing they are new to it though
 
First stand on your hands... now do a pushup. If you can do that, you can bench your weight.

Think basic physics. In the up position most of the weight is being transfered to your feet. In the down position it's dispersed pretty evenly (depending if you're doing ghetto or military style pushups).

So in theory you can bench half your weight no problem if you can do a pushup.
 
I can bench press around my body weight now before a lot more than it , ask a 300 pound person how much they can bench press the fatter they are the weaker they are and i know some of those body builders can bench press twice and more of their bodyweight
 
[quote name='swetooth9']this is probably dumb logic that i pulled out of my ass 2 seconds ago, but if you can do a push-up, shouldn't you technically be able to bench press your weight give or take a few pounds due to the feet holding you up when you do pushups?

probably a dumb question but what the heck

p.s. yea, i know it takes some time to get used to holding the bar steady, but it comes with practice, right?

oh yea, gravity too...pushing the weight on you when benchpressing rather than you pushing yourself up when doing pushups

idk though...just trying to get some ideas going[/QUOTE]
I don't even think most of this could be considered logic.

Gravity pushes on everything equally at all times, doesn't matter if you are pushing a bar above you(Bench press) or lifting yourself off the ground(Push-up). Also, using your feet to stabalize you takes more weight off then you realize as it supports probably about half your weight.

This thread as a whole is crawling with stupid.
 
[quote name='Eviltude']This thread as a whole is crawling with stupid.[/quote]

Yep. Stupid is always entertaining. Plus it keeps Tylenol in business.
 
[quote name='Limegreen'] the fatter they are the weaker they are and i know some of those body builders can bench press twice and more of their bodyweight[/QUOTE]

I wonder what dictates this knowledge of yours? I weigh 230lbs and I max out at 225 lbs. My friend weighs 260lbs and he maxed out at 280lbs. I have a friend who weighs 280 and he maxed out at 315. We all started on the line for our football team and aren't considered to be the skinniest of ppl, put it straight we are fat.

In fact if you look at the world's strongest men competition those guys are all pretty much heavy set themselves.

Your logic sir is just wrong.
 
[quote name='Seventh']I wonder what dictates this knowledge of yours? I weigh 230lbs and I max out at 225 lbs. My friend weighs 260lbs and he maxed out at 280lbs. I have a friend who weighs 280 and he maxed out at 315. We all started on the line for our football team and aren't considered to be the skinniest of ppl, put it straight we are fat.

In fact if you look at the world's strongest men competition those guys are all pretty much heavy set themselves.

Your logic sir is just wrong.[/quote]

**high five** I too was on the line. It all depends on how long the person has been lifting weighs. And lifting weighs won't do much to help get rid of excess fat since you're not working those areas.
 
Fat people who do nothing are weaker, fat people who strength train are usuaally stronger. Want to know why? BEcause they're consuming proper amounts of protein, CHOs, and fats to produce muscle. The problem is that they're eating too much, which makes them fat. Bodybuilders have EXTREMELY strict diets, which is why they can be strong and still have 8% bodyfat.

As for the push-up thing, it's been mentioned twice already, but just to make it clear, it doesn't work like that. A pushup is using the weight of your upper torso with leverage by your leg position. A properly executed bench press uses only the power of your chest, shoulders, and triceps. You ever see a 225lb guy throw up 500lbs? I have, and it makes me sad that my bench is so low(relatively speaking). I can throw up my bodyweight for reps (I'm 206) so I'm ok, but it's not like it's as easy as doing a pushup.
 
The push up is a simple machine: fulcrum, lever

First, calculate your center of mass (fulcrum point).

Now, plug in the numbers:


L / l = R / E

L = Effort arm (fulcrum to head)
l (el) = Resistance arm (toes to fulcrum)
R = Resistance (weight)
E = Effort (solve for this)

E = (R * l) / L


Let's make an easy example:

Height: 5 feet (60 inches)
Weight: 100 pounds
Center of Mass (from toes): 33 inches

R = 100lbs
L = 33 inches (pushing up)
l = 27inches

E = (100lbs * 27inches) / 33inches
~ 82lbs


I think I did that right. I might have messed up since it's been years and I couldn't find something to write this down with before typing it.

To find center of mass, just break the body up into sections, example: upper body, lower body and approximate the weight and length of each.

Iirc:

length from toes = (x1*y1 + x2*y2) / (x1 + x2)

where x represents the weight (x1 = upper body, x2 = lower body)
and y represents length (y1 =upper body, y2 = lower body)

x1 + x2 = total weight
y1 + y2 = total height

Again I hope I did that right, I feel like I forgot something or messed up somewhere.
 
[quote name='b3b0p']The push up is a simple machine: fulcrum, lever

First, calculate your center of mass (fulcrum point).

Now, plug in the numbers:


L / l = R / E

L = Effort arm (fulcrum to head)
l (el) = Resistance arm (toes to fulcrum)
R = Resistance (weight)
E = Effort (solve for this)

E = (R * l) / L


Let's make an easy example:

Height: 5 feet (60 inches)
Weight: 100 pounds
Center of Mass (from toes): 33 inches

R = 100lbs
L = 33 inches (pushing up)
l = 27inches

E = (100lbs * 27inches) / 33inches
~ 82lbs


I think I did that right. I might have messed up since it's been years and I couldn't find something to write this down with before typing it.

To find center of mass, just break the body up into sections, example: upper body, lower body and approximate the weight and length of each.

Iirc:

= (x1*y1 + x2*y2) / (x1 + x2)

where x represents the weight (x1 = upper body, x2 = lower body)
and y represents length (y1 =upper body, y2 = lower body)

x1 + x2 = total weight
y1 + y2 = total height

Again I hope I did that right, I feel like I forgot something or messed up somewhere.[/QUOTE]

THAT'S AWESOME! now do PULLUPS :)
 
From what I hear, doing free weights is better. I usually do 65 pound dumbells 3 sets of 10. Then I'll do Incline Bench with 50's. I've heard it is better than doing the bar + weights but I'm not sure why (or if its even true). BTW I weigh 150 lbs.
 
Guess I joined the thread too late to toss in my own math, but yeah, the traditional pushup is not carrying your full weight, hand-stand pushups are.


One thing I haven't seen yet, is adivce on weightlifting, so here it is:

If you want to build muscle mass (increase your max), lift heavy and few (3 sets, 8 reps each)

If you want to tone and tighten up (increase your stamina), lift light and many (4 sets, 10-12 reps each)

~HotShotX
 
I prefer barbell. Doing it with dumbbells requires a lot more balance and unless you're really good you won't get as good a chest workout.

The reason powerlifters are fat is that a portion of the excess calories they take in goes to make just a liiiiiiiittle bit more muscle. That little bit more muscle is what allows them to beat the competition. They're fat but not lazy or stupid. A bodybuilder can't come close to maxing out against a fatty powerlifter.

I could 3-rep a little over 1.5x my body weight in high school when I actually did stuff. Couldn't do that now to save my life. I can barely do a 8-rep set at my body weight now due to massive obesity.
 
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