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Common guys.....really? It shouldn't matter how much you can lift or how "strong" you are or how many supplements you pump yourself full of.......I've stressed how personal working out is, who are any of you to judge anyone on anything related to how they take care of their bodies?? Why do you care? We should be here to motivate, inspire and provide valuable information......grow up guys.
Whenever someone suggests that something should be different than what it actually is, or that it shouldn't be, I just laugh it off because I know it is only wishful thinking on the part of the person doing the shoulding. Physical strength has been an important value to me for most of my life, and I don't see that changing any time in the near future.
Whenever someone suggests that something should be different than what it actually is, or that it shouldn't be, I just laugh it off because I know it is only wishful thinking on the part of the person doing the shoulding. Physical strength has been an important value to me for most of my life, and I don't see that changing any time in the near future.
Well i think that just about all of us men want physical power and strength (except Bill Gates ..lol..) as we idolized Hercules and all those muscled comic book characters when i was a kid (thor, hulk, superman, captain america etc..) and i got into powerlifting/bodybuilding back in the 1980's/1990's in my teens and 20's but now in my 40's i just want to be cut up and in shape and carry no fat on my stomach as my age group the 40's is when we men start to die from heart attacks and so i'm into longevity more now than if i can bench 400 lbs etc...
Look at 95 year old Jack Lalanne who can do 500 pushups today as that's what i call strength .
I might add that I have absolutely no interest in how much I can lift in ANY exercise for a single rep. Having the strength to do 40-50 reps with 2-45s on each side of the leg press machine is more valuable to me than being able to do 400-500 lbs for one rep. That hurts my back just thinking about it! But for guys who are into the heavy stuff...more power to you.
Why do so many people use the bench press as a measure of strength? I would think that the clean and jerk is at least a little more accurate in determining overall strength.
Why do so many people use the bench press as a measure of strength? I would think that the clean and jerk is at least a little more accurate in determining overall strength.
I agree. I never claimed or want to be a strongman nor do I go around asking "what you benchin'?". Heck, I bet most guys here can out bench press me. Hell, I even know a woman who can overhead squat more than I can. But what I do have is overall functional fitness. And Im still working at getting better.
Why do so many people use the bench press as a measure of strength?
I can't say with certainty, but here's my theories. You get to lay flat on your back when you do bench press, and the weight used for that movement is considerably less than the weight that would be used for a squat or deadlift. Squats and deadlifts are hard exercises for most people whereas bench press is relatively enjoyable. Some of the BIG guys in my gym spend an inordainte amount of time on upper body exercise and avoid squats, leg press, and deadlift like the plague. Clean and jerk requires alot more co-ordination than bench press, and alot of guys are unwilling to been seen doing an exercise that would clearly reveal their lack of co-ordination. OK, so much for my theories!
I'm a 205lbs male with a PR bench press of 275lbs. What do you CD guys press?
Impressive. I maxed out at 1.5 times weight on bench and doing 50% my weight in each hand with dumbbell inclines. Of course I was also running 50 miles a week and biking two hours a day, so my strength never got beyond this.
Now...I am a wimp. My muscles are designed for carrying sleeping and naughty children!
Why do so many people use the bench press as a measure of strength?
I can't say with certainty, but here's my theories. You get to lay flat on your back when you do bench press, and the weight used for that movement is considerably less than the weight that would be used for a squat or deadlift. Squats and deadlifts are hard exercises for most people whereas bench press is relatively enjoyable. Some of the BIG guys in my gym spend an inordainte amount of time on upper body exercise and avoid squats, leg press, and deadlift like the plague. Clean and jerk requires alot more co-ordination than bench press, and alot of guys are unwilling to been seen doing an exercise that would clearly reveal their lack of co-ordination. OK, so much for my theories!
See, I'm the opposite. I enjoy the deadlift and clean and press much more than the bench press. I haven't tried the clean and jerk yet. I want to give it a go but my left knee is acting up on me now.
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