How much should I Rep for Bench Press next time

1. 74

   David 470posted 13 years ago

   In my last workout, I was able to Bench 131 lbs 15x, which was till failure, maybe had 16...not sure...
   
   According to rep max calculators I can max rep 195-215 depending on what formula is used.There are 2 formulas though.
   
   weight / ( 1.0278 - ( 0.0278 * reps )) &  and weight * ( reps * 0.033 + 1 )
   
   I want to get reps between 5-10 for 4 sets. (For hypertrophy)

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   1. 59

      swellinmamelonposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      David I would recommend that you do between 75- 85% of your max. As a football player we we go bye by the percentage. So when we are lifting 5-8 reps usually fo 75-85%

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2. 63

   rcrm89posted 13 years ago

   Keep in mind the 1RM calculator are less accurate the further you extrapolate i.e. 2 reps = very accurate, 15+ reps = not very accurate.
   
   I would only recommend using it for translating 5RM or less to 1RM.

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3. 68

   MosLadderposted 13 years ago

   David,
   
   I agree with swellinmamelon, and using 75-85 percent. This is going to vary from workout to workout though, depending on how you feel that day. You can always just adjust the weight as you go. So if you are doing 15-16 reps with 131, bring it up to 155 and try to knock out 10-12. Add more or less as needed. If you really want to identify your 1 rep max and extrapolate a percentage to work from, devote a day to working up to your max and use that as a benchmark. Then check it again a few months later.
   
   Cheers
   
   Chris Mo

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4. 61

   optimus grimlockposted 13 years ago

   best thing to do is experement with different poundages. If i were  you i would do 135 for 10 to warm up then go 155 for 6-8 then 175 for 5-6 then 185 3-4.I would do this for a few weeks then add 5lbs per set and slow work your way up. If you work on form the weight will come. The % is good but isnt always the answer. You have to have your nutrition/supplementation right to go along with your workouts and most of all listen to your body.

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   1. 61

      Bronson_Hubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I recently completed NASM certification (December 2010) and they recommend 8 to 12 reps at 70% to 85% of your 1 repetition maximum.
      
      I suggest choosing a weight where you never compensate form.  Any compensations in form will result in incorrect muscle recruitment which will make you explode and die a terrible death.  OK, maybe not, but bad things do happen.
      
      For the range you provided of 195-215, here's some suggestions for you to consider.  Perhaps try all the weights once or twice, or try the one that feels the most comfortable.  Ultimately you will want the weight that you can do 8 to 12 repetitions with while never compromising form. 
      
      To give you an idea of how much form can change our 1 rep maximum, I patted myself on the back for benching 8 reps of 225 lbs.  When I shifted attention away from being an idiot and more on intelligently exercising, I ability to do 8 to 12 repetitions with perfect form and tempo dropped to 135 lbs.  Ironically, I hypertrophied MORE when I shifted away from going heavy and focused more on form.
      
      Hypertrophy results start to show after 4 weeks for some people, 8 weeks for others.  Your results will vary because of factors such as age, genetics, testosterone, recovery, attention to form, supplementation, caloric intake, and nutrition.  I would say at least you can control most of those except for genes and age.  But with epigenetic studies suggesting we can influence which genetic traits appear to some degree, it seems that age is the only thing we can't adjust.
      
      Now to your question:
      
      70% of 195 = 136.5 lbs. 
      Put one 45 lb. plate on each end of the bar. The total weight you bench press will be: left plate 45 lbs. + right plate 45 lbs. + bar 45 lbs.
      
      = 135 lbs.
      
      85% of 195 = 165.75 lbs. 
      On each end of the bar put a 45 lb. plate, a10 lb. plate, and a 5 lb. plate. The total weight you bench press will be  left plates (45 lbs. + 10 lbs. + 5 lbs.) + right plates (45 lbs. + 10 lbs. + 5 lbs.) + bar 45 lbs.
      
      = 165 lbs.
      
      70% of 215 = 150.5 lbs.
      On each end of the bar put a 45 lb. plate and a 5 lb. plate.  Total weight including the bar will equal 145 lbs.  If you have 2.5 lb. plates available, add one to each side to make it a perfect 150 lbs.
      
      85 % of 215 = 182.75
      On each end of the bar put a 45 lb. plate and a 25. lb. plate.  Total weight including the bar will equal 185 lbs.
      
      Average of the minimum and maximum weights:  195 + 215 = 410.
      410/2 = 205
      70% of 205 = 143.5 lbs.  Put a 45 lb. plate and a 5 lb. plate on each end of the bar.  Left end (45 lbs. + 5 lbs.) + Right end (45 lbs. + 5 lbs.) + bar 45 lbs.
      
      = 145 lbs.
      
      85% of 205 = 174.25 lbs.  Put a 45 lb. plate and a 2 lb. plates on each end of the bar. Left end (45 lbs. + 10 lbs. + 10 lbs.) + Right end (45 lbs. + 10 lbs. + 10 lbs.) + bar 45 lbs. 
      
      = 175 lbs.
      
      Remember to stretch and foam roll before and after!  More mobility  = more form = more prime mover muscle fiber recruitment = more pump.
      
      Also if I didn't spell something correctly or added something incorrectly, that's probably because I just ate a ton of turkey and the tryptophan is making me go ZZZzzzzzz.

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5. 40

   Dale Nelsonposted 13 years ago

   Some good science there in the calculations.
   
   I cant really answer your question, because I have a different approach. The muscles need to oxygenate to grow.ie. breathing and heart rate. This will build lean muscle.
   
   So instead of max weight and few reps, Im busy cutting muscle for endurance. My whole workout is supersets.
   currently at 72 reps for 50 pounds benchpress and on lat pull down alternate 12 front of neck, 12 back for 6 sets at 65 pounds.
   
   Done wonders for my paddling in the surf.

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   1. 61

      optimus grimlockposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      supersets are good for forcing blood and nutriants into the muscle so if you use that in your routine along with 12-15-10 reps sets it will benifit you while cutting also add a couple low rep set with heavy weight so you dont loose strength!!!

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