If you want strength, start with lower weights and do more reps. That'll build actual muscle. Make sure you eat/drink plenty of protein and complex carbs.

Not a FU. Just didn't know any better!

Pro tip: if you cant get it back up to the rack, roll the bar down your body until it gets to your hips, then sit up and ask for help getting it back up to the rack and take a break.

I would have rolled it down. But I called my buddy over as that would have been quicker.

Thank you for your advice as well.

To add on, do not put clamps on the ends. If the bar is stuck on your chest, you could tilt it one direction and the weights will slide off. As soon as they slide off the bar WILL snap the opposite direction with massive amounts of force.

But thats better than ded.

Like the other guy said, use a lower weight. By doing more reps at less weight, you can fatigue the muscles more. As you get stronger you can load on more weight, but for testing the upper ends of your strength you really should use a spotter.

If spotters arent available, use a bench with some sort of safety mechanism or sturdy boxes as a failsafe. Even with safety failsafes, if you cant knock out clean reps with good control, it's time to rack it until you have a spotter. I bench in an empty gym and the bench setup doesnt have anything to catch the bar if I miss a rep, so I leave the clamps off if I should ever need to dump the weight.

Strength is a habit, not a moment

I put the clamps on only so I don’t cause a scene

I hope this is the moment that inspires you to be one of those gentle giant huge guys that's super nice to everyone all the time.

You'll get there with practice. Don't let anyone discourage you.

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Dude, if you don't have experience in the gym, you don't try testing your max weight.

Anything you do, you start light and slow, and progress gradually.

Pick a weight that you can do for 5-10 reps and train with that. Gradually increase the weight by little increments week by week as you get stronger, but never so much that you can't do at least 4-5 reps. That's called progressive overload, btw. Google it. It's the most important weight training concept.

Once you get comfortable with the exercise, know how to perform it, and know your limits, then you can start poking at your 1-rep-max. Though it's still pretty pointless if you don't compete. I've been training for 10 years and never attempted to lift anything heavier than what I can do for 3-4 reps.

Did you take into account that the bar itself commonly weighs about 45lbs? I don't know about the local gym but my high school gym bar weighed 45, dunno about other schools. Should take that into account too. Also if there's other workout machines and options that aren't bench pressing that don't need a partner, try those.

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So edgy. You know it's often the most insecure people who are the most vocal. Find something more productive to do rather than harassing strangers over your keyboard.

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You sound like such a bitter and twisted individual. I pity you.

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As an extra safety measure practice the bailout method for benching. I’ve never had to use it because my gym only has power racks so it has catches, but I still practiced it just in case.

> Dude, if you don’t have experience in the gym, you don’t try testing your max weight.

It’s crazy that even though this is so true, so many people try it out anyways regardless of if they have a spotter or not lol. I remember doing it as back in highschool but luckily I had a spotter.

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This.

Use this moment to drive you. Feel that and direct it towards getting very strong. Also learn how to fight - if possible find a jiujitsu gym and learn to grapple, couple that with some boxing or even better a muay thai gym if you can find one.

Become strong and capable. Then always be the nicest and most helpful person in the room.

I mean, you showed your bully you have the strength to try and fail. You showed your bully that you have friends that will help you when you struggle. I'm sure you showed him some more bad ass things as well. Don't let your insecurities talk you down like that!

I'm actually rolling, mans a HP fanfic loving, Elon stanning incel and he has the stones to mock someone for learning how to bench? 3 minutes with a therapist and his own reflection would fold this kid like soggy cardboard

Adding on to what everyone else has said so far, you very rarely need to test your max even as a pro athlete. If you're serious about strength find a linear program and familiarise yourself with the concept of RPE (rate of perceived exertion or how hard the lift feels). Optimal training for strength gains sits around the RPE 7-8 mark (around 70-80% of your body's maximum capability). Training at that level will let you operate in safe weight levels, without a spotter and then if you want, to test your maxes from time to time when you get a spotter

Lessons learnt! And better to learn it now when you're young and can recover, and had a friend nearby to grab the barbell. Now you now. And to add to everyone elses advice, when testing a max weight, go up in the smallest increments you can. So go up by 2.5kg increments if using kg, for example.

Also screw your bully, if he mocks you for it just agree with him! I took the wind out of someone's sails like that before. They were expecting me to protest and I just agreed with them I was an idiot and laughed too, and they just got quite confused and left lol.

Better causing a scene than quietly dying, no?

If you are alone in the gym never use (halter closures) ? This way you can lean towards a side and the weights will slide off. Pretty dangerous move since the barbell will be flying towards the other side but better than dying :)

Why don't school gym have the "safe" things with stops and guides?

damn bro you really got him with that 🤓

Benching, especially if going for max strength reps , even more if you are an idiot and use the suicide grip (named for a reason) is basically the move in the gym that has the highest chance to get yourself killed.

If you are alone don´t max, don`t use the clips for holding the weights on the bar ( for an easy roll of shame) and preferably have some safety bars, even if you will loose a bit of movement range.

I’ll agree with everything else but where in the fuck did Elon loving incel come from?

Make sure you know how to bail on a benchpress, roll down to hips. Alternatively as other posters have said dont put the clamps on so you can tilt to the side. If you're lifting around 100lbs you dont have to worry about destroying your ribs (unless you drop the bar on your ribs). You have some time, so learn how to bail before you go back to benchpressing solo.

This, OP. Find your upper limit with easy weights. Add weight if it doesn't tire you after 50 reps. Reps are repetition.

US Healthcare enters chat

Jokes aside, your comment is good advice.

50 reps for benchpress is crazy

It would be done over sets. With lighter weights, if you can do 5x10 no sweat, it's too little.

If you are doing 50 reps of something in a set, you might as well just be doing cardio. It would be very inefficient to do that many reps in a set.

3 or 4 sets of 8-12 reps per set is a normal range for a beginner.

Or use dumbbells.

Go to youtube, type jeff nippard. P.h.d in Fitnesseceonimics and does everything with the newest studies on the topic. Would highly recommend checking his videos about form, how to train properly and how often etc.

“50 is crazy, do 24-48 reps” 😜

When someone says "If something doesn't tire you out after 50 reps..." They typically mean in a set. Otherwise, how would anyone know if you mean 1 set of 50 reps or 10 sets of 5 reps?

Also, 24 total reps per exercise is still very different than 50 lol.

He can't bench himself.

I disagree with the people saying less weight and more reps. I would say more weight, more sets and less reps instead. Look at a program called Smolov Jr for bench.

Not saying volume training is bad in any way but you will gain less strength but of course you will get leaner and nicer looking muscles with high rep training.

Also, start off by lifting slow and light while you’re relatively new. You get good results putting your muscles under tension for a longer time (slow reps) and get to practice good form which becomes more and more important as you increase weight over time.

I did

Don’t worry, literally every one of us who has stepped in a gym has done this at some point. It’s a rite of passage of sorts.

If you managed 3 reps on 85 I’d say stick around the 80-85 range. You probably want to stick with a weight where you can do around 3-5 reps with. Once you can do 5/6, go up.

As others have said, get your diet right and don’t put the collars on when you’re lifting alone

First of all, are we talking kilos or lbs? Still, always ask for a spotter when trying PRs and if possible when alone use safeties in the rack in you have them, or switch to dumbbell chest pressing/dips/weighted pushup or other exercise when you can opt out in an easier way

Pounds

Because screaming in pain is cringe

Talk to your bully. Find something in common. "Do you like dogs? I like dogs, too."

So it looks like you are a beginner. By all means, do the exercises that you prefer and enjoy more, but at this stage just focus on becoming stronger in a moderate weight/moderate reps range, like a 6 to 10 per set. If you just want to be bigger and stronger and you don't intend to start doing powerlifting or other PR based competitions/sports, just do a well rounded routine consisting in chest presses, shoulder presses, rows, pullups, squats and hinges and focus on getting stronger all-around without stressing for records.
Also, do your humble pushups! They are an amazing exercise for beginners

I was joking, thus the face. Get the difference homie.

Man I tell you what. I'm 40. I've been lifting weights since I was 15. Until the last couple of years, I used to load a lot of weight and constantly try for more and more. However, injuries are catching up to me.

My body gets too sore and it takes too long to recover now if I misjudge something. I've learned it's far better to use lower weight and do more reps while ensuring proper form. I've stopped giving a shit if my weights look low or if other guys lift heavier weights. Everyone has their own goals. More importantly, who gives a shit what other people think.

Yes I realize in your situation, a bully saw you. Just keep doing your thing, keep going and keep getting stronger. Anyone who insults you for that is an asshole who isn't worth your time.

That is not great for benchpress, if you mean the easybar.

It does not follow the tilted path that you should be moving the bar in, for benchpressing.

For benchpress, you should at the top of the movement have straight vertical arms, but at the bottom the bar should be somewhere around the bottom of your pectorals. So it does not move just up and down, but also a slight bit forward and backward. There are multiple reasons for this, but must notably to avoid shoulder injury.

Thank you for your advice.

Nah fuck that

Don't worry, and enjoy the process!

And this kids, is why safety pins are a thing

Use them

Don’t use clips so you can tip the weight off one side then the bar flips the other way, or learn the roll of shame. I constantly do that, it sometime drags my shorts down with it though 😂

My school gym had platforms you could set to just above your chest height to catch the bar if you failed a set. Still a free bar, no guiding involved.

If the bully says anything, just tell him that you are at the start of a long battle that has the ultimate goal of getting strong enough to beat the shit out of people like him. Then thank him for keeping you motivated.

Work on having good form, and always have a spotter for free weights. Higher weight will come with time and building strength, don’t rush it. Just make sure you learn from this experience, and you’re lucky you didn’t get hurt.

I treat the gym like a treat the woodshop: humbly. Good lesson to learn early, glad you're ok.

Tbh never egolift. Safety is priority number 1, lower your weights, use all safeties, etc. Hurting yourself will lower your gains more than lifting less.

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You're right, fuck that.

My advice: pick out something that you're better than your bully. Maybe you're smarter. Maybe you're taller. Maybe you're a better musician. Maybe you're just a nicer person. Who knows? All I know is that there's definitely something you do better than him.

Now use that thing to gain confidence. You're letting your bully decide what's good (i.e. strength). Flip it around and focus on the things that you're good at. If he starts bullying you about the gym, just use some version of "yeah, I'd like to get stronger but it's not really my main focus. I'm focused on _____"

I get the sense you're still in high school, so I know this is easier said than done. But learning that everyone has things they're great at -- and things they're bad at -- is an important part of life and being your own person.

This is why you shouldn’t bench without spotter arms on the machine. Or better yet if you have access to one use the smith machine. That way if you get stuck you can at least lock it into place.

Also it’s not the best idea to go an ego lift, which is what you did here. You went higher than you needed to, better to do more reps at a lower weight and keep the muscle under tension than going for a 1 rep max. At least if your body building, lots of reps keeping the muscle under tension is key.

Wendler 531: Am I a joke to you?

I dropped 185lbs on my face and I bench with safety’s or a spotter now :)

Really if you don’t have a gym fail of some sort you don’t go often enough.

This, probably could have explained that but unfortunately It was just an automatic thought, you do a set of 50 one day, if you don't get tired or exhausted, add a tiny bit of weight. That's your baseline. That is where you start your regime. You don't do that every day from then on. You know you can do this thing, you make a small improvement each week, or month after that, hell you don't even need to ever do more weight than that. If you can do that, just hit the bar a few times a week, in between some other light workouts, you're already in a better spot than 99% of people.

Its not all in one go, it's something you do, say, you go to the gym. 5 reps of something easy. Hit the bike for 5 minutes. More reps. Treadmill, reps, yoga, reps, bike, reps, treadmill, reps, yoga. If you cant do 50 (arbitrary number) then you have a goal, do the same thing each time you go in. You'll hit it before long. If you find that it's not really hard. Fantastic, you've got a baseline. Next month, maybe add 5 pounds to your routine.

It takes 3-5 weeks to build new muscle. Early gains are from efficiency in movement that your nervous system picks up. When you start just be consistent not a killer. Make sure you get 1g of protein per lb of lean body weight and let those muscles grow.

Look up "RPE scale for weight lifting". Early lifting should be RPE 6-7

Having a weaker body does not Make you a weaker man. You have a goal that you’re working towards, and you’re putting hard work towards improving yourself. You are a strong man.

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Thankfully you will not be conscious when your bladder and bowels slowly release and drip through your shorts. Your eyes bulge and your heart beats its last; a final thought passes through your mind before the sweet mercy of a quiet death: thank the heavens, for truly I have avoided the cringe

Thank you

Lesson learned then

if this happens again, roll the bar down your abdomen towards your lap. it may crush your balls a little but it's better than suffocating

That’s what I was going to do but I called my friend over to help because that’s quicker

The next time the bully fucks with you, hit him square in the face. Comes up to you in the hall-BAM! Right in the nose. Comes up to you in the cafeteria-SLAM!- hit him right in the face with your whole lunch tray (or can of soda). Yes, you may get in trouble...but he will never fuck with you again.

He’s not that kind of bully. He acts all nice when you’re around him but then he shit talks people when they’re not around.

I never want to do it, but the “roll of shame” has come in handy a number of times for me when I fail a bench without a spotter/safety arms.

You effectively just brace your core and roll the bar down your stomach to your legs. Then you can gently keep rolling it and place it on the floor.

The other option (which I’m also not a fan of) is not using grips to hold the weight on. That way if you fail you can just tip the bar to one side and let the weight slide off.

Anyway, just a few tips for if you ever find yourself in this situation again!

I use this max rep calculator to decide when, and how much more weigh I can safely put on and I find it’s fairly accurate. Also a nice bailout method if you do find yourself in a similar position is to drop the weight gently on your chest, roll the bar towards your legs, and when the bar is at your thighs sit up. Much better than suffocating but best to just have a spotter if you want to try heavier stuff.

I see.....well hit him in the face anyway and tell him next time he talks shit about you, you will break his leg. I'm not a violent person, but sometimes it's all someone will understand.

Your use of “NEVER” makes it sound very absolute. If you can bench 200 lbs for 3 reps, I wouldn’t think going to 210 for 1 rep would be a bad idea.

But still should have a spotter for that.

Keep lifting bro and kick that guys ass by the end of the year.

Don’t do this.

The bully can then weaponize the school system by saying you’re uttering threats of violence.

If you want to gain strength go to /r/fitness and follow a program on their FAQ.... don't just try to wing it....that will lead to nothing but you wasting your time.

As for you almost killing yourself.... safety equipment was made for a reason.

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Anyone and everyone who has put in their time at the gym has gotten caught under a barbell once.

Your biggest problem is that you don't seem to have structure to your workout; your objective should be to fatigue your muscles through controlled repetition, not a game to see what your max is (and doubly so if you don't have a spotter).

Habit not a moment - gold.

There's the toxic masculinity there

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This. Happened a few times in my younger lifting days. Always roll the bar down, never up.

A beginner may be better off starting in the 8-12 rep range. Possibly even as light as 15 reps for deadlifts and squats.

I knew some woke person come around and say that

Fellas, is it woke to not die quietly?

I didn't bother to read past op was using barbell to bench press and know we're it's going..

Please don't use bar clips when bench pressing, if you get stuck you can just tip the plates off the bat.

I laughed, but I'm a bad person.

You know that toxic masculinity is used to shame guys for being themselves, right?

Thinking you have to suffer pain quietly is hella harmful

I feel like I deserve it kinda for not asking for a spotter

I’d recommend leaving the pins off of you don’t have a spotter. Then you can swivel off the weight if this happened again or just use a spotter.

Wendlers 531 is based off a training max, which is different (and lower) from your 1rm. You shouldnt be struggling through the vast majority of your sets and reps

Re-read your post and I realized you're probably younger than I thought you were 'cause I originally skimmed the end of it.

Yeah, that was a fuck-up but nobody deserves pain for making a mistake.

Also, absolutely fuck that kid

I agree. I’m so happy I won’t be seeing him anymore very soon.

As you work up that training max pushes up to your 1rm until you have to go back down. When you're near your 1rm on week 3 I find that the 2nd set of 3 reps is sometimes more difficult than the 3rd set of 1+ reps

Maybe my tm is too generous, but I havent experienced that yet

If you get pinned, roll it down your chest to your hips and sit up. Take a moment for embarrassment then move on

Superhero origin story right here. Keep lifting. You WILL gain muscle and overall weight and eventually you’ll be out lifting your bully and they’ll think twice about messing with you. No better way to defeat a bully than trigger their insecurities.

Putting your self in needless danger to not look cringe is cringe.

Stop caring what people think about you, things will change dramatically when you do.

Well. Something that happened to me as a kid: I completely ignored the existence of a bully. Like, I would cross my eyes through where he was and wouldn't even spot him. Absolutely just don't even hear what he says. After some time he stopped and incredibly, his friends became to bully him for not being able to bully me. Being adolescent is weird.

english is not my mother language, so, that's it.

My brother in Christ you just almost killed yourself on a bench and you think someone telling you to make smart decisions rather than risking injury to “not be cringe” is restricting you from being yourself? 💀

Yes. I’m tired of everyone pointing out toxic masculinity for acting like a man is supposed to.

Acting like a man has nothing to do with not screaming in pain. Watch some gym fail videos and you’ll see people who can bench 6x as much as you screaming in pain as they try to get a lift up or something.

“Man up” by not worrying about what other people are thinking of you and try your ass off to lift that heavy object. Even if it involves maybe making a fool out of yourself, or asking for a spot, or giving yourself a way to not die when you fail your 1rm

A gym that scared me as much as my table saw is a gym I would not enter. My saw is 2,500 pounds of sadistic malice.

Precisely, though! You can be in a woodshop with tools and machines you have no business/experience/training using the same way you could in a gym. Just use the ones you're familiar with and don't cause a scene. Though I would love to see your saw, furthermore flatter your use of vocabulary as I add "sadistic malice" to my own thank you.

Shit happens! We’ve all had stuff like that happen to us early on or even experienced lifters nowaday. Don’t be discouraged, and for the bully, go tell him to fk off.

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I love old massive tools, but mine needs a little refurbishment to be worth showing off. It works fine, but has some discoloration from superficial rust,it would be nice to replace the bearings on the sliding table, some paint wouldn't hurt, etc.

As unsafe as this is, I was quite shocked reading this, cause I did quite literally exactly these weights at my gym yesterday too, and conked out on my 3rd rep of 40 kg.
Regardless, good to be safe and alive, amirite?

The shop I go to (Makerspace if there's one near you) just adopted this industrial metal cutting bandsaw from the 1920's. It is at LEAST 1000 pounds, 10' tall has all the same charming characteristics you described of your own saw, and works well. It seems like a piece of machinery that was never supposed to be moved once it was placed, but it is a marvel just to be in its presence.

Hey my guy I get that you’re probably like 14 so I’m not gonna harp on you too hard but you gotta understand that worrying about “what a man is supposed to do” is doing the exact opposite of what you think it’s doing.

You’re letting other people tell you how to act, letting other people tell you who you should be. Does that sound positive to you? Does it sound “masculine” to let the fear of other people not thinking you’re “man enough” dictate how you act? Just be yourself and stop worrying so much about whether other people think

This is how I naturally am though

I'm too shy/awkward to ask for a spotter, plus I prefer working out when the gym is absolutely empty. My method for self preservation is to leave the clamps off of the ends so I can dump the weights if needed. I wouldn't do this if the gym was packed and I risked hurting other people, but this has legit saved my life multiple times (because there was no one around to help)