18 Year Old Numbers

[quote]ConorM wrote:
Brucelee I would totally agree with you about the technique thing on a lot of forums, but on T-Nation and others the people are mostly knowledgable so i would assume good form. I worked real hard on my form and I now have pretty good form on all my lifts despite the crappy numbers.

I do think sometimes you see numbers being talked about on a forum and ppl with under a years experience are like benching 250, squatting 300. I just don’t believe it, unless they are pretty freakish genetically I doubt they could be doing it. The net seems to add so much as to be unrealistic, or maybe everyone here is really weak including two estonians that bodybuild and moved here to work. They are like 250 pounds each of muscle and bench like 250 and squat like 350. Not very impressive for two guys as huge as these.[/quote]

I think its mental. Again, when I started working out, the biggest guy I could find was about 5-11 210 and he would usually just work up to plates on the bench (135). He had gotten 315 sometime in the distant past, and had arms a little over 18 inches, and he even told me that he had used steroids in the past, but we all saw him as about the biggest and stongest you could get. As a result, rarely did anyone ever put more than 135 on the bar.

Then in college with my bench stuck at 170 for a couple years, a friend of mine, a SKINNY 6-5 185 pound small forward on the basketball team who came out of the ghetto in Kansas City (who was very lean and wirey strong) came in not having lifted in a long time and tripled 265 close grip. He did NOT work out. He did not take steroids. HE HAD LONG ASS ARMS!

Well, I benched 210 within 5 weeks. I still wasn’t training right, and stayed stuck around 225 for 7 years. Then one day I just realized, 225 is shit. When I had been in highschool it had been GREAT, but now as a teacher, I saw small kids doing 225. Again, within 6 months I got 285.

I’m not boasting either. I have now done 370 and done 315 for sets and reps, but I know that that is no big deal.

If you weigh a solid 180, and benching in the low 2’s, you should be able to hit 300 within a year. Just believe it.

Take a weight you can get for 5 sets of 3 with a strong effort in about a 10 minute time frame. Do it. Don’t bench for 2-3 days, come back and add 5 pounds and do it again. In five or six weeks you’ll be doing your current max for 5 x 3, and add 20-30 to your max.

[quote]BRUCELEEWANNABE wrote:
I just don’t see the point in putting up numbers on here. I just see way too much of bouncing the bar off ones chest during the bench, hell, I see some guys that don’t even touch their chest! I see no control on the negative on most exercises. Guys squatting high, not even close to getting low enough.

I’m sure some of you on here do the lifts in a correct manner, but not many is my guess. How about putting up some video of your best lifts instead of shooting hot air out of your asses.[/quote]

You may be right in some cases. I’ve seen highschool powerlifting competitions where squats get counted 2-3 inches high, and I’ve seen coaches write down squats that were maybe half way to parallel, but the truth is, a near 200 pound guy should be able to get up to 400 squat and 300 bench raw with a year or two of proper training. That’s when the real challenge begins.

[quote]mertdawg wrote:

I think its mental. Again, when I started working out, the biggest guy I could find was about 5-11 210 and he would usually just work up to plates on the bench (135). He had gotten 315 sometime in the distant past, and had arms a little over 18 inches, and he even told me that he had used steroids in the past, but we all saw him as about the biggest and stongest you could get. As a result, rarely did anyone ever put more than 135 on the bar.

Then in college with my bench stuck at 170 for a couple years, a friend of mine, a SKINNY 6-5 185 pound small forward on the basketball team who came out of the ghetto in Kansas City (who was very lean and wirey strong) came in not having lifted in a long time and tripled 265 close grip. He did NOT work out. He did not take steroids. HE HAD LONG ASS ARMS!

Well, I benched 210 within 5 weeks. I still wasn’t training right, and stayed stuck around 225 for 7 years. Then one day I just realized, 225 is shit. When I had been in highschool it had been GREAT, but now as a teacher, I saw small kids doing 225. Again, within 6 months I got 285.

I’m not boasting either. I have now done 370 and done 315 for sets and reps, but I know that that is no big deal.

If you weigh a solid 180, and benching in the low 2’s, you should be able to hit 300 within a year. Just believe it.

Take a weight you can get for 5 sets of 3 with a strong effort in about a 10 minute time frame. Do it. Don’t bench for 2-3 days, come back and add 5 pounds and do it again. In five or six weeks you’ll be doing your current max for 5 x 3, and add 20-30 to your max.

[/quote]

This is really inspirational Mertdawg.
Thanks.

At 17 as a senior, I did:

Bench - 425
Squat - 550
Power Clean - 310

Stopped DLing my sophmore year, when I hit 505.

I was c. 6’ and between 225-230.

im 15 years old,16 in sep… im 6’3 . 240 low bf not sure exact thow … last time i benched i was 315 (which was month ago). power cleaned 275 about 4 months ago. squat in the mid 4’s. my DL kind of sucks ive only dl’ed about 5/6 sessions now but i rep 405 for around 3-4

[quote]BRUCELEEWANNABE wrote:
I just don’t see the point in putting up numbers on here. I just see way too much of bouncing the bar off ones chest during the bench, hell, I see some guys that don’t even touch their chest! I see no control on the negative on most exercises. Guys squatting high, not even close to getting low enough.

I’m sure some of you on here do the lifts in a correct manner, but not many is my guess. How about putting up some video of your best lifts instead of shooting hot air out of your asses.[/quote]

The numbers I posted were from a long time ago. My form was pretty solid on all the lifts. I didn’t pause on the bench, but I didn’t bounce it either. It was a touch and go bench press. The squat was parallel. The hang clean was solid. I don’t think my numbers were or are very impressive, but I was 18 for my first year of college so perhaps I had access to some better training by then.

Regards,

Sensless

I have a hard time believing some of these numbers at certain ages but oh well… I’ve just always found it weird how “older” guys just want to be able to bench 300 pounds while at 18 I’ve already done it. My goal before I’m done college is 500 bench, 650 squat and 750 deadlift. That gives me four years and an overall increase of 690 pounds to my total. Oh yeah, I’m looking to compete in strongman when my hockey career is over.

im 17 , about to turn 18 in a month and i can dead lift in the mid 400’s, bench in lower 300’s and squat in mid-high 400’s

[quote]BigHog wrote:
Just curious what your guys numbers were at 18… if you were working out at the time… I’ve been lifting for 3 years… my numbers are 495 DL, 405 squat and 310 bench press… all done raw of course… how does that compare to the rest of you?[/quote]

In 1988 at age 19-I hit 500 squat, 310 bench and 560 deadlift at the ADFPA Teenage Nationals-I was drug free. My best lifts are now 810 534 750-and two fifth place finishes at the APF Senior Nationals.

Yeah I am also a little confused about the numbers being put up as high school students. I go to a town high school of about 700 or so students a large number of which are farm guys. I find that usually hockey players farm boys or other athletes can usually max around 135-145 bench as a start, and people that don’t play sports can usually not even bench 100. There is only two people that have good genetics for powerlifting in my school. one of them is 5’8 275 (he doesn’t look that heavy) and without working out benches 195 the other one works out a bit i don’t know how heavy he is and he can bench around 225. These numbers i find are very very phenominal for high school students that haven’t trained a long time. The highest deadlift i’ve seen for starters was 365(the guy was on steroids and he didn’t work out, kinda bad…) and the second closest 355 from one of the two genetic gifted guys. Squats are never done correctically ever. If they are, it’s with lower than 200 pounds. Personally i’ve been working out for two years(although I have just started eating well enough to gain weight) and can put up 245 bench 395 deadlift and 225 ass to grass squat(my legs wouldn’t grow because of poor nutrition and bad genetics for it, but they’re starting now) I am probably either the strongest or second strongest guy in my entire high school

I don’t understand these 350 benches and 490 deadlifts in high school. I’m sure it happens but it just seems that it’s happening very often when looking at this forum. Maybe the form is off, maybe they are wearing equipment, who knows. The bottom line is, something is fishy!

I know a few football players from my HS that could put up some serious numbers as seniors. But you have to consider, I lived in a small town in the south, where football was the primary event. If you wanted to get in touch with someone, all you had to do was wait until Friday night and go to the game, and they’d be there. We had several guys squatting 400-500+ my senior year.

When I was 18, I was 5’10’’ and 155 lbs, and I don’t think I had ever touched a barbell. I’m now 20 and have been training for 3 months. I’m 5’10’’ and 190 lbs.

Bench 195 (5x5)
Squat 300 (8x3)
DL 315 (8x3)

It isn’t some crazy food that some guys have been eating, or insane genetics (I don’t have amazing genetics, but I’d say I have above average genetics). It’s called I get in the gym and it’s just me and the bar and the bodily fluid du jour, whether it’s blood, vomit or just plain old sweat. It’s called I’ve been lifting for only three months but I’m already addicted to watching the numbers go up. It’s called when I know I’m going to attempt a big PR (for me), I focus on it the entire week. It’s called I love getting in there and busting my ass, not for any aesthetic reason (this is a side effect), but for knowing I got in there and did something I could never do before, and falling in love with that feeling.

Doesn’t hurt that my future brother-in-law was a PLer in college that could squat 675 raw and my fianc?e loves reminding me of it. LOL

[quote]BRUCELEEWANNABE wrote:
I just don’t see the point in putting up numbers on here. I just see way too much of bouncing the bar off ones chest during the bench, hell, I see some guys that don’t even touch their chest! I see no control on the negative on most exercises. Guys squatting high, not even close to getting low enough.

I’m sure some of you on here do the lifts in a correct manner, but not many is my guess. How about putting up some video of your best lifts instead of shooting hot air out of your asses.[/quote]

this thread isn’t for jealous fart-asses! Everyone can post whatever number they want. It’s true, that only few can prove their lifts (pic, video).

BRUCELEEWANNABE, are you too weak on this site?

when I was 17, 6’ 215lbs
bench:275
Squat:400
Deadlift:475

Actually I find this thread very motivating. I have worked out at 2 university gyms and 1 fitness centre and have never seen such numbers. So, I automatically limited myself to those numbers as being the highest it could be. Now that I know people deadlift 500,squat 400 and bench 300 regularly then maybe with a year or two of practice I too can put up similar numbers. I wouldnt mind to put up such numbers at 25, after all 25 aint that old. :stuck_out_tongue:

What I mean is, A couple months back I couldnt lift 135 for reps on the BP but I have worked to 185 for reps. For me its a great improvement. I also started squatting and deadlifting twice a week to improve my overall body strength and it has worked wonders.

Seriously! T-Nation rocks!

Can those people who have posted their impressive #s at 18 post videos. I like to see kids my age lift big weights cause it knocks me down a level and makes me realize that I need to work harder, it will also shut up those who doubt your ability. Thanks,

TR

In regard to the legitamacy of the numbers people are posting, I’d say it really depends on the school you went to. I started lifting in junior high at age 13. The high school I attended emphasized lifting weights, football & wrestling. We had a pretty good weight room, and a good strength coach. I recall him doing reps. with 405 on the bench (but I could always beat him in dips-heh).

We had bulletin boards up on the wall for 800, 900 and 1000 lb clubs (3 lift total - bench, squat, clean). Guys were always trying to improve to get their name up on the “wall of fame.”

My goal for my senior year was to make the 1000 pound club, and I just barely did it. There were several others in the school that did as well. I suppose living out in the sticks in a farming community probably had something to do with it. =)

LJ

[quote]LittleJohn wrote:
In regard to the legitamacy of the numbers people are posting, I’d say it really depends on the school you went to. I started lifting in junior high at age 13. The high school I attended emphasized lifting weights, football & wrestling. We had a pretty good weight room, and a good strength coach. I recall him doing reps. with 405 on the bench (but I could always beat him in dips-heh).

We had bulletin boards up on the wall for 800, 900 and 1000 lb clubs (3 lift total - bench, squat, clean). Guys were always trying to improve to get their name up on the “wall of fame.”

My goal for my senior year was to make the 1000 pound club, and I just barely did it. There were several others in the school that did as well. I suppose living out in the sticks in a farming community probably had something to do with it. =)

LJ[/quote]

Cool!

[quote]Marvelous_MaCaw wrote:

I don’t understand these 350 benches and 490 deadlifts in high school. I’m sure it happens but it just seems that it’s happening very often when looking at this forum. Maybe the form is off, maybe they are wearing equipment, who knows. The bottom line is, something is fishy![/quote]

Yes, maybe a little bit. Some could be lying or it could be the things you mentioned. But an observation-those who are exceptionally strong and big for their age are much more likely to find and join this site. It’s not necessarily a reflection on the average high school lifter and what most are lifting.

[quote]LittleJohn wrote:
In regard to the legitamacy of the numbers people are posting, I’d say it really depends on the school you went to. I started lifting in junior high at age 13. The high school I attended emphasized lifting weights, football & wrestling. We had a pretty good weight room, and a good strength coach. I recall him doing reps. with 405 on the bench (but I could always beat him in dips-heh).

We had bulletin boards up on the wall for 800, 900 and 1000 lb clubs (3 lift total - bench, squat, clean). Guys were always trying to improve to get their name up on the “wall of fame.”

My goal for my senior year was to make the 1000 pound club, and I just barely did it. There were several others in the school that did as well. I suppose living out in the sticks in a farming community probably had something to do with it. =)

LJ[/quote]

Yea, we have one of those walls. I finally made 1000 (1005) bench squat and clean at the end of last year, as a 33 year old teacher.

I think you guys are missing the point that members of T-Nation are a self-selected group of serious lifters. Therefore, the numbers should be expected to be well above average!

As a freshman at 18, I was 6’3 275 benched 400, squatted 525 and could clean 300.