170619 The bench press endurance test

170619 The bench press endurance test

Although the one rep max is the gold marker for a bench press there are other ways to determine if the athlete is within the standards for their age and weight groups. The accepted test for gender and age comparison is the YMCA bench press test.

The test requires a male to lift 80 lbs and a female to lift 35 lbs as many times as possible with a metronome set at 60 beats/minute.

The test is terminated when the individual cannot completely extend the elbows during a lift or cannot keep pace with a metronome set at 60 beats/minute.

The standard norms of strength for the bench press are expressed in the following charts coming up next. If you are not within the healthy category then it’s time to start a more aggressive strength training program. A physically fit healthy range is above average up to excellent. Anything less is settling for mediocrity.

Female	Age  18-25	Age 26-35	Age 36-45	Age 46-55	Age 56-65	Age 66+
Excellent	50-36	48-33	46-28	46-26	34-22	26-18
Good	32-28	29-25	25-21	22-20	20-16	14-12
Above average	25-22	22-20	20-17	17-13	15-12	11-9
Average	21-18	18-16	14-12	12-10	10-8	8-5
Below average	16-13	14-12	11-9	9-6	7-4	4-2
Poor	12-8	9-5	8-4	5-2	3-1	2-0
Very poor	5-1	2-0	2-0	1-0	0	0

Male	Age  18-25	Age 26-35	Age 36-45	Age 46-55	Age 56-65	Age 66+
Excellent	45-39	43-34	40-30	35-24	32-22	30-18
Good	34-30	30-26	26-24	22-20	20-14	14-10
Above average	26-25	25-22	22-20	17-14	14-10	10-8
Average	22-21	21-18	18-16	13-10	10-8	8-6
Below average	20-16	17-13	14-12	10-8	6-4	4-4
Poor	13-9	12-9	10-8	6-4	4-2	2-2
Very poor	8-0	5-0	5-0	2-0	0	0

Similar tests compare age with the ability to correctly do the bent knee sit up.