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

I did

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.

[removed]

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.

He can't bench himself.

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.

“50 is crazy, do 24-48 reps” 😜

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.

Or use dumbbells.

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.

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

50 reps for benchpress is crazy

US Healthcare enters chat

Jokes aside, your comment is good advice.

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

Something to laugh about when you’re older. I had a similar with a cousin of mine, but grandma was with me and gave him a whupping was hilarious. Still tease him now about it

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.

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

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.

damn bro you really got him with that 🤓

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

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 :)

Better causing a scene than quietly dying, no?

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.

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