what can u bench? whos the strongest here?

[wujekcity]

i know that most gymnasts are extremely strong, i am 22 years old now, but in highschool i had a level 10 gymnast as a girlfriend, and i swear to god that she could bench 225 pretty easily! Thank god i was a football player so iwas strong too! I cant go out with a girl that could bench more than me! lol!!!!!!!!! I know most of you dont lift weights but i am sure at some point maybe in gym class or maybe u do lift u have tried to see how much u could bench! So whos the strongest here?

[gracefulone]

I took a strength class this year...and was the only girl

I weigh 120, and benched 145x12 when we tested at the end of the semester.

I actually really really liked the class; I had never lifted before. Because of our block schedule, we would meet 3 times a week for 70 minutes, and every third week we met 4 times. Day 1 was a focus on upper body, Day 2 was a focus on lower, and Day 3 was even. Then on Day 4s, we'd usually do a cross fit workout example: run 1 lap in our gym(150m track), jump rope 50 times, do 10 air squats, 15 sit ups, and 10 pushups. Then you just keep repeating the cycle for 20 minutes. On the first day of class, we tested vertical jump, sit n reach, and 40 yard dash. On the second to last day, I found out that I had increased my vertical by 4 inches, sit n reach stayed the same (I was already reaching all the way to the wall), and took a tenth off my 40y dash time. We tested in squat, bench, and powerclean, so those were our main lifts.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

I honestly have no idea how much I can bench -- I've never done a bench press in my life.

Most conditioning done by gymnasts simply uses the athlete's own bodyweight for resistance.

[BlairBob]

I'd put good money that Geoffrey could bench 225-275, maybe 300. I'm guessing he is 145-160 but I don't know you're height.

This is what I was able to bench at 5'1 150 at my peak strength. Levers, perhaps passable cross with deductions, pike press HS on PB, straddle planche>momentary planche. Obviously pretty short which is optimal for levers except excess mass from squatting and slightly long arms. In fact, I'd put good money Geoffrey has the biggest bench here as he the only elite male gymnast on the board. None of the HS guys on the board are going to be stronger or more powerful.

My friend who was an optional gymnast in college was able to keep up with me as far as bench press and he was more about 135 besides probably being slightly leaner. Weaker squat but stronger per pound.

Right now, my upper body strength is poor so I'm probably between 200-225@165. Heavier than I should be but could be because of heavy WL as well, unknown BF which should be lower to be in comp shape. It really has diminished over the past few years but has been slowly regaining since last fall due to much injury in late 08.

There is no need for bench pressing when you can work planche and dips.

That bench press for a girl is decent, but too much into endurance/hypertrophy to really give a good clue on strength/power. I'd still it would be decent according to this:

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Originally Posted by BlairBob

I'd put good money that Geoffrey could bench 225-275, maybe 300. I'm guessing he is 145-160 but I don't know you're height.

This is what I was able to bench at 5'1 150 at my peak strength. Levers, perhaps passable cross with deductions, pike press HS on PB, straddle planche>momentary planche. Obviously pretty short which is optimal for levers except excess mass from squatting and slightly long arms. In fact, I'd put good money Geoffrey has the biggest bench here as he the only elite male gymnast on the board. None of the HS guys on the board are going to be stronger or more powerful.

Haha, wow, thanks. I might have to put that to the test now.

I should mention, though, that I don't currently train any of the major strength events; I currently only train floor and vault. I could, at my peak, hit a cross, maltese, and inverted cross on rings, but I no longer train rings due to a rotator cuff injury.

I do, however, continue to do some planche work including planche pushups, so I'd hazard a guess that I can bench a decent amount, though perhaps not quite what you'd expect from an elite all-arounder.

I'll see what I can bench next time I get the chance, and post the results here.

[lil_gymnast_alanna]

bench pressing....
well i have absolutly NO idea what i can bench press coz we've never tested it..

[BlairBob]

Since I rarely bench or overhead press, I have a few issues with balancing and stabilizing the bar but it's more of an issue of just pushing it up.

Planche pushups? Nice, open hips in straight body or straddle or tuck? ]

Oddball guess I would say 2xBW. Be careful with the BP on the shoulder. It doesn't irritate my shoulder anymore but it was irritating my left for the weirdest reason before I started rehabbing it.

Swinging on rings is moot for me anymore as well. Too many shoulder tears but I still like working rings strength. I never was able to do much besides compulsory elements but I still dream.

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Originally Posted by BlairBob

Planche pushups? Nice, open hips in straight body or straddle or tuck?

I can do a set of ten straddled, but still can't do a single one with legs together.

[GymVamp]

the most i ever tried was 145 and that was some what easy i bet i could go higher tho.