What bench press weight to start with

Less is more in weightlifting even though the ultimate goal is more. This article outlines the different options for beginners on how much weight to pick for the bench press and gives a recommendation for the best approach based on my personal experience.

Too ambitious, too soon?

It is the new year, summer break, parental leave or other occasions to start a new regime and develop some better habits. You are full of energy to start wanting to get stronger and more healthy by exercising more. The bench press is one of the first exercises you encounter which looks impressive and is also fairly easy to do. While you have a look around in the gym you do not want to be the one who does not put anything on the barbell. This would be embarrassing and make you feel like a wimp. Especially in the free weight section where testosterone levels are high. The advice you got from your local gym trainer to start slowly and get used to things is thrown overboard quickly, as this guy does not look impressive whatsoever. Let's just bench until your arms break to get them gains. Sounds familiar? Maybe you want to reconsider.

What is the right weight to start with on the bench press? How do you pick the number? Just out of thin air? Maybe half of your bodyweight is a good start? Maybe not? There is a lot of stuff to read out there and it gets especially hard to decide when you do not know your goals yet. Also when you just starting out, it is challenging to formulate what your goal is. Especially in meaningful, measurable terms. It is quite a paradox that when you are new to the game your goals are probably the most important thing to get straight while you are very poorly equipped to put them down due to lack of experience. So what weight should you start with as a beginner?

Options to pick as a beginner

A very heavy load can be an option as you might think "Well if I move a lot of weight, I will get stronger and grow. I might even save time in the gym and progress faster than the rest in here." As a beginner, this might be a false conclusion. Very high load leads to higher risk of injury, especially when you are not experienced. Big weights on the bench press also will lead to lesser repetitions being performed which is usually not the go-to option for the main goal of the general public. I personally find that most people are mainly interested in a better physique and just use health and strength as excuses to justify their vanity.

Mid range load can also be an option, but how do you determine what is mid range if you are a beginner. The risk of injury is still lower than for moving heavy stuff but you might ingrain poor form because the load you picked is just that little bit too heavy to perform the movements with correct form. It is also challenging to determine what "mid-range load" means for a beginner as there are little to no reference points to calculate from except bodyweight. Calculating from bodyweight does not take into account whether the movement pattern has been learned correctly.

Empty bar or no weight is, in my opinion, the best option to start with the bench press. If you want to do free weight training start on most movements with an empty bar or only very little load to progress from there. It will feel a bit silly in the beginning, especially if you are sporty and generally strong when you step the first time into the gym, but I guarantee you it will pay off in the long run. You can follow a beginners program like starting strength or Stronglifts 5x5 for the first half year to learn the movements with an empty bar and slowly use progressive overload to perfect your form. After six months you can decide whether you are more into the aesthetics or strength aspects of training and adjust from there. With this approach, I had the biggest bench after two years in my local gym at 150kg. Start slowly and progress for longer than the rest with perfect form rather than fucking up your elbows and shoulders by doing too much, too soon in the wrong way.

Conclusion

The best option to start with the bench press is with an empty barbell and a plan that works with progressive overload. This will ensure that you learn the movement correctly and progress for longer.