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Home / Exercising / Fitness tests / Strength tests / Upper body tests / Bench press maximum
Bench press maximum test
Introduction
Figuring out your bench press maximum is one of the best ways of assessing your upper body strength.
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What is the point?
Upper body strength is important for many athletes, such as rugby players, sprinters, and many field athletes. The bench press maximum test will measure the strength of your upper body, in particular your pectoral muscles - this is the test most commonly used in sports such as American Football to measure an athlete's strength.
What do you need?
- Olympic bench
- Range of free weights
- Spotter/assistant
How do you do the test?
- Warm-up thoroughly
- Begin by lifting a weight that you believe is close to your maximum.
- Each time you perform a successful lift, rest for 3-5 minutes, then increase the weight by 2 to 5 kg for the next lift.
- Continue until the maximum lift is achieved.
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What results you'll get :
Strength is typically measured as a ratio of strength over body weight. With appropriate training, you should be able to bench at least your own body weight. Anything above 1&1/2 times body weight is considered excellent. Performed regularly, this will allow you to measure the progress and effectiveness of your strength training. What is being measured again?
This is a standard measure of upper body strength.
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