An Interesting Experiment at the Gym Today

I don't know how machines compare, exactly, but I'm sure that you
would pass the regular test if you could do it on the Cybex. I expect
a machine would slow you down a bit, if anything. For me, 35 lbs. is
so light that I had to slow myself down on the first 20-30 reps or so
to stay within the 60 rpm window.

Chris
262/130s/130s-

If the Cybex is equal, I did 24 last night. The machines are set up
for a longer time though - 1.2 sec up and 1.2 sec down. I think
that's harder on your muscles than quick up and down because you have
to support the weight.

I think that I'm pretty typical of most women in that my upper body
strength is puny compared to lower body strength.

Susan B.

On Oct 23, 2:54 pm, sueb wrote:
I don't know how machines compare, exactly, but I'm sure that you
would pass the regular test if you could do it on the Cybex. I expect
a machine would slow you down a bit, if anything. For me, 35 lbs. is
so light that I had to slow myself down on the first 20-30 reps or so
to stay within the 60 rpm window.

Chris
262/130s/130s-

If the Cybex is equal, I did 24 last night. The machines are set up
for a longer time though - 1.2 sec up and 1.2 sec down. I think
that's harder on your muscles than quick up and down because you have
to support the weight.

I think that I'm pretty typical of most women in that my upper body
strength is puny compared to lower body strength.

Susan B.

At some point it is harder to go slower, for sure. There's an
approach to lifting called "super slow" -- very slow reps -- that is
quite tiring. In general, it's easier for people to go a bit faster,
but you can tire sooner than at a more moderate pace. And after you
start fatiguing there's a natural tendency. When I did the 80 reps I
had to consciously slow down at first, whereas toward the end I found
it hard to keep up the pace.

It is definitely harder to control the pace on a machine, but I expect
your number is pretty representative of what you'd do with free
weights. You're right -- women are less strong in the upper body in
general. But weight training can produce significant gains. I also
have relatively more lower body strength, but weight training has made
my upper body much stronger than most women my age.

Chris
262/130s/130s

On Oct 23, 1:39 pm, A Ross wrote:
In article .com,

Chris wrote:
The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it at
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

You rock, Chris--but did you show 'em your oly lifts?

Amy

--
Check it out!http://www.tcfitnesschallenge.com/index.html

Not yesterday, but I do that stuff at the gym too, so lots of people
have seen it :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

On 22 Oct 2007 15:59:13 -0700, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it at
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s


Hmmm. OK, well, I've been doing 15 pounds in each hand with dumbbells
so far, and with a modified style (would probably be similar to close
grip with a bar, because of some shoulder issues.)

So yeah, I think I could do at least a few reps at 35 pounds. Wouldn't
be easy for me though, as I found the modified style much harder than
doing it the regular way.

--
Cynthia
262/226/152

On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:22:44 -0700, honeybunch wrote:

On Oct 22, 8:07 pm, Chris wrote:
On Oct 22, 7:50 pm, honeybunch wrote:



On Oct 22, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it athttp://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

I'm just wondering how you put 35 pounds on a barbell. Are there 17.5
lb weights in most gyms. Im going to try it.

Well, before you try it, you need to realize that the weight of the
bar is counted in the total! The standard bar in most gyms is 45
lbs. Adding on another 35 to that would be 80 lbs -- no way could I
do that for 80 reps! (And I'd guess the average 59-year-old woman
couldn't do even one rep with 80 lbs.) {For the record, though, most
gyms have 10, 5, & 2.5 lb. plates. Haven't seen 17.5s.}

My gym has a bunch of shorter bars that are used for different sorts
of exercises -- curls, walking lunges, presses, etc. They range from
20 lbs. up to 120 or so. I used the 35 lb. one of those bars. You'll
have to see what they have at your gym. Ask an employee if you don't
see what you need.

Chris
262/130s/130s

Thanks you again Chris. You have been such an inspiration to me.
Especially that you fit wine into your diet. That was something I
hadnt thought about and it has made a big difference for me. Also
someone else wrote in to say my diet seemed healthy but the calories
could be checked a bit more closely. So I did that and I reached my
first goal of being under 150 on the balance scale. Id like to be
well under 150 so I never have to throw that big weight again. ha. A
student told me that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press was the same
thing as a Chest Press. I did only 35 with a 35 pound weight. Then
my muscles got very tight and I started thinking oh my i am going to
be sore tomorrow if I keep this up. I am going to try it again and
see if I can get to 80. Is it best to do it real slow I wonder? I
also wonder if there is a metronome that you can put on an ipod.

I don't actually buy that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press is the
same as a bench press... I can do 50+ on the NVCP and can only do 15
pound dumbbells (30 combined) doing regular bench. And that was true
even before I had to modify how I did the press.

--
Cynthia
262/226/152

On Oct 24, 6:10 pm, Cynthia P wrote:
On 22 Oct 2007 15:59:13 -0700, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it at
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

Hmmm. OK, well, I've been doing 15 pounds in each hand with dumbbells
so far, and with a modified style (would probably be similar to close
grip with a bar, because of some shoulder issues.)

So yeah, I think I could do at least a few reps at 35 pounds. Wouldn't
be easy for me though, as I found the modified style much harder than
doing it the regular way.

--
Cynthia
262/226/152

Close grip press works the triceps more than the chest, and one can
generally do less weight that way. So you'd be at a disadvantage in
that comparison. However, it sounds like you're doing fine strength-
wise.

Chris
262/130s/130s

On Oct 23, 2:22 pm, honeybunch wrote:
On Oct 22, 8:07 pm, Chris wrote:





On Oct 22, 7:50 pm, honeybunch wrote:

On Oct 22, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it athttp://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

I'm just wondering how you put 35 pounds on a barbell. Are there 17.5
lb weights in most gyms. Im going to try it.

Well, before you try it, you need to realize that the weight of the
bar is counted in the total! The standard bar in most gyms is 45
lbs. Adding on another 35 to that would be 80 lbs -- no way could I
do that for 80 reps! (And I'd guess the average 59-year-old woman
couldn't do even one rep with 80 lbs.) {For the record, though, most
gyms have 10, 5, & 2.5 lb. plates. Haven't seen 17.5s.}

My gym has a bunch of shorter bars that are used for different sorts
of exercises -- curls, walking lunges, presses, etc. They range from
20 lbs. up to 120 or so. I used the 35 lb. one of those bars. You'll
have to see what they have at your gym. Ask an employee if you don't
see what you need.

Chris
262/130s/130s

Thanks you again Chris. You have been such an inspiration to me.
Especially that you fit wine into your diet. That was something I
hadnt thought about and it has made a big difference for me. Also
someone else wrote in to say my diet seemed healthy but the calories
could be checked a bit more closely. So I did that and I reached my
first goal of being under 150 on the balance scale. Id like to be
well under 150 so I never have to throw that big weight again. ha. A
student told me that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press was the same
thing as a Chest Press. I did only 35 with a 35 pound weight. Then
my muscles got very tight and I started thinking oh my i am going to
be sore tomorrow if I keep this up. I am going to try it again and
see if I can get to 80. Is it best to do it real slow I wonder? I
also wonder if there is a metronome that you can put on an ipod.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It's kind of hard to compare a machine to a free weight exercise. At
best, you'll get a rough approximation. And every machine is
different. I might be able to press 100 lbs. on one machine and only
70 on another. But either way it's an interesting test.

You probably shouldn't set 80 as a goal just because I did it. It's
just an experiment, not a major goal for exercise. And besides, if
you're using a machine the exercises aren't really all that
comparable. In general I'd recommend doing way fewer reps with
heavier heavier weights as a way to build strength.

Do you have access to a free weight bench? In general, I'd recommend
that over machines, as machines can restrict the shoulder range of
motion undesirably. Why not step up to big girl weights? :-)

Re going very slowly: You'll find that if you go very slowly you will
tire sooner. (By this, I mean you're lowering and raising the bar
slowly. If you go slowly by just doing normal reps but resting at the
top in between, that will indeed be easier. The easiest thing is to
do it at the pace that seems comfortable to you.)

I haven't ever heard of an ipod metronome, but who knows. I don't
think this is a significant enough exercise to warrant worrying about
it. I doubt I'll repeat it any time soon.

And thanks for the compliments!

Chris
262/130s/130s

On Oct 24, 6:16 pm, Cynthia P wrote:
On Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:22:44 -0700, honeybunch wrote:
On Oct 22, 8:07 pm, Chris wrote:
On Oct 22, 7:50 pm, honeybunch wrote:

On Oct 22, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it athttp://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

I'm just wondering how you put 35 pounds on a barbell. Are there 17.5
lb weights in most gyms. Im going to try it.

Well, before you try it, you need to realize that the weight of the
bar is counted in the total! The standard bar in most gyms is 45
lbs. Adding on another 35 to that would be 80 lbs -- no way could I
do that for 80 reps! (And I'd guess the average 59-year-old woman
couldn't do even one rep with 80 lbs.) {For the record, though, most
gyms have 10, 5, & 2.5 lb. plates. Haven't seen 17.5s.}

My gym has a bunch of shorter bars that are used for different sorts
of exercises -- curls, walking lunges, presses, etc. They range from
20 lbs. up to 120 or so. I used the 35 lb. one of those bars. You'll
have to see what they have at your gym. Ask an employee if you don't
see what you need.

Chris
262/130s/130s

Thanks you again Chris. You have been such an inspiration to me.
Especially that you fit wine into your diet. That was something I
hadnt thought about and it has made a big difference for me. Also
someone else wrote in to say my diet seemed healthy but the calories
could be checked a bit more closely. So I did that and I reached my
first goal of being under 150 on the balance scale. Id like to be
well under 150 so I never have to throw that big weight again. ha. A
student told me that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press was the same
thing as a Chest Press. I did only 35 with a 35 pound weight. Then
my muscles got very tight and I started thinking oh my i am going to
be sore tomorrow if I keep this up. I am going to try it again and
see if I can get to 80. Is it best to do it real slow I wonder? I
also wonder if there is a metronome that you can put on an ipod.

I don't actually buy that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press is the
same as a bench press... I can do 50+ on the NVCP and can only do 15
pound dumbbells (30 combined) doing regular bench. And that was true
even before I had to modify how I did the press.

--
Cynthia
262/226/152- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

For what it's worth, you could probably do a bit more with the regular
barbell than with DBs (shoulder issues aside), at least once you got
used to it. But you're right; t's just a mistake to consider the
weight comparable on every type of chest press.

Chris
262/130s/130s

On Oct 24, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:
On Oct 23, 2:22 pm, honeybunch wrote:





On Oct 22, 8:07 pm, Chris wrote:

On Oct 22, 7:50 pm, honeybunch wrote:

On Oct 22, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it athttp://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

I'm just wondering how you put 35 pounds on a barbell. Are there 17.5
lb weights in most gyms. Im going to try it.

Well, before you try it, you need to realize that the weight of the
bar is counted in the total! The standard bar in most gyms is 45
lbs. Adding on another 35 to that would be 80 lbs -- no way could I
do that for 80 reps! (And I'd guess the average 59-year-old woman
couldn't do even one rep with 80 lbs.) {For the record, though, most
gyms have 10, 5, & 2.5 lb. plates. Haven't seen 17.5s.}

My gym has a bunch of shorter bars that are used for different sorts
of exercises -- curls, walking lunges, presses, etc. They range from
20 lbs. up to 120 or so. I used the 35 lb. one of those bars. You'll
have to see what they have at your gym. Ask an employee if you don't
see what you need.

Chris
262/130s/130s

Thanks you again Chris. You have been such an inspiration to me.
Especially that you fit wine into your diet. That was something I
hadnt thought about and it has made a big difference for me. Also
someone else wrote in to say my diet seemed healthy but the calories
could be checked a bit more closely. So I did that and I reached my
first goal of being under 150 on the balance scale. Id like to be
well under 150 so I never have to throw that big weight again. ha. A
student told me that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press was the same
thing as a Chest Press. I did only 35 with a 35 pound weight. Then
my muscles got very tight and I started thinking oh my i am going to
be sore tomorrow if I keep this up. I am going to try it again and
see if I can get to 80. Is it best to do it real slow I wonder? I
also wonder if there is a metronome that you can put on an ipod.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It's kind of hard to compare a machine to a free weight exercise. At
best, you'll get a rough approximation. And every machine is
different. I might be able to press 100 lbs. on one machine and only
70 on another. But either way it's an interesting test.

You probably shouldn't set 80 as a goal just because I did it. It's
just an experiment, not a major goal for exercise. And besides, if
you're using a machine the exercises aren't really all that
comparable. In general I'd recommend doing way fewer reps with
heavier heavier weights as a way to build strength.

Do you have access to a free weight bench? In general, I'd recommend
that over machines, as machines can restrict the shoulder range of
motion undesirably. Why not step up to big girl weights? :-)

Re going very slowly: You'll find that if you go very slowly you will
tire sooner. (By this, I mean you're lowering and raising the bar
slowly. If you go slowly by just doing normal reps but resting at the
top in between, that will indeed be easier. The easiest thing is to
do it at the pace that seems comfortable to you.)

I haven't ever heard of an ipod metronome, but who knows. I don't
think this is a significant enough exercise to warrant worrying about
it. I doubt I'll repeat it any time soon.

And thanks for the compliments!

Chris
262/130s/130s- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Today I could only do 25, worse than yesterday. They are definitely
beneficial because I can feel the results in my tricepts. There is a
free-standing chest press area over a bench kind of thing, but the
trainer isnt around when I get there around noon, so i dont know what
the bar weighs. I think its quite a lot. and then the bar is always
loaded up with many large weights. The students are always very
helpful and I know one would remove the weights for me. I just have
to get up early and get there at 7 am and ask the trainer how to do
it.

On Oct 24, 7:45 pm, honeybunch wrote:
On Oct 24, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:





On Oct 23, 2:22 pm, honeybunch wrote:

On Oct 22, 8:07 pm, Chris wrote:

On Oct 22, 7:50 pm, honeybunch wrote:

On Oct 22, 6:59 pm, Chris wrote:

The other day one of our local papers had an ad from a hospital
offering fitness assessments, which included something called the
"YMCA Standard Bench Press Test". So I looked this up (found it athttp://www.exrx.net/Calculators/YBenchPress.html). This test involves
seeing how many bench press reps you can do at a set weight -- 35 lbs.
for women and 80 for men. I was kind of shocked to see that the
average for women my age (59) was only 9 reps (though I'm sure most
women my age probably have never tried to do bench press before). So
I thought that when I went to the gym today I'd see how many I could
do. I did 80 :-).

Chris
262/130s/130s

I'm just wondering how you put 35 pounds on a barbell. Are there 17.5
lb weights in most gyms. Im going to try it.

Well, before you try it, you need to realize that the weight of the
bar is counted in the total! The standard bar in most gyms is 45
lbs. Adding on another 35 to that would be 80 lbs -- no way could I
do that for 80 reps! (And I'd guess the average 59-year-old woman
couldn't do even one rep with 80 lbs.) {For the record, though, most
gyms have 10, 5, & 2.5 lb. plates. Haven't seen 17.5s.}

My gym has a bunch of shorter bars that are used for different sorts
of exercises -- curls, walking lunges, presses, etc. They range from
20 lbs. up to 120 or so. I used the 35 lb. one of those bars. You'll
have to see what they have at your gym. Ask an employee if you don't
see what you need.

Chris
262/130s/130s

Thanks you again Chris. You have been such an inspiration to me.
Especially that you fit wine into your diet. That was something I
hadnt thought about and it has made a big difference for me. Also
someone else wrote in to say my diet seemed healthy but the calories
could be checked a bit more closely. So I did that and I reached my
first goal of being under 150 on the balance scale. Id like to be
well under 150 so I never have to throw that big weight again. ha. A
student told me that the Nautilus Vertical Chest Press was the same
thing as a Chest Press. I did only 35 with a 35 pound weight. Then
my muscles got very tight and I started thinking oh my i am going to
be sore tomorrow if I keep this up. I am going to try it again and
see if I can get to 80. Is it best to do it real slow I wonder? I
also wonder if there is a metronome that you can put on an ipod.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It's kind of hard to compare a machine to a free weight exercise. At
best, you'll get a rough approximation. And every machine is
different. I might be able to press 100 lbs. on one machine and only
70 on another. But either way it's an interesting test.

You probably shouldn't set 80 as a goal just because I did it. It's
just an experiment, not a major goal for exercise. And besides, if
you're using a machine the exercises aren't really all that
comparable. In general I'd recommend doing way fewer reps with
heavier heavier weights as a way to build strength.

Do you have access to a free weight bench? In general, I'd recommend
that over machines, as machines can restrict the shoulder range of
motion undesirably. Why not step up to big girl weights? :-)

Re going very slowly: You'll find that if you go very slowly you will
tire sooner. (By this, I mean you're lowering and raising the bar
slowly. If you go slowly by just doing normal reps but resting at the
top in between, that will indeed be easier. The easiest thing is to
do it at the pace that seems comfortable to you.)

I haven't ever heard of an ipod metronome, but who knows. I don't
think this is a significant enough exercise to warrant worrying about
it. I doubt I'll repeat it any time soon.

And thanks for the compliments!

Chris
262/130s/130s- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Today I could only do 25, worse than yesterday. They are definitely
beneficial because I can feel the results in my tricepts. There is a
free-standing chest press area over a bench kind of thing, but the
trainer isnt around when I get there around noon, so i dont know what
the bar weighs. I think its quite a lot. and then the bar is always
loaded up with many large weights. The students are always very
helpful and I know one would remove the weights for me. I just have
to get up early and get there at 7 am and ask the trainer how to do
it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

If it's a standard bar it weighs 45 lbs. That means it wouldn't be
useful for this particular experiment, but it's the normal way to do a
real bench press. If there are already plates on the bar, you're
probably strong enough to take them off yourself. It's no problem for
me, and I'm 59 years old. Generally the highest weight plates are 45
lbs -- something you should be able to manage.

In general, it's best not to exercise the same body part two days in a
row -- probably why you found you couldn't do as many reps today. Try
again some other time if you like. But as I said earlier, it's better
to just work on benching heavier weights for fewer reps as a way to
build strength. That's how I did it, not by doing 80 rep sets with
light weights.

Chris
262/130s/130s

Chris
262/130s/130s