What is a good weight to be able to do sets of 10 with ? And what is a good max weight to shoot for ?

I've seen guys say that 2 times your weight is good. I think that is way too much. I'm not talking about being a muscle head just I just want to be in shape.

Everyone is different.  I've worked for years to build up to about 75% of my body weight for five reps.  I've seen some people can lift their body weight the first time out.  In my opinion, a more realistic long-term goal is to double your starting weight.z

Hello.

If you can bench more than 125% of your weight at least 1 rep, you will be likely be in the top 5-10% of the U.S. population.

HTH,
James

James4, that is what I thought. I'm 6'1" 185 pounds. I don't think I will ever be able to bench 370 lbs. I think my goal is gonna be to do sets of 10 with my body weight.

Sets of ten with your body weight would be a pretty good goal for the average guy trying to get in shape.  

Just remember, Bench press is not the only test of a person's strength.  Squats and pullups are two other important core, compound excercises.

Good luck

I don't know what the current mantra is, but in my days as a "gym rat", a good rule of thumb was 75% of body weight for a set of ten and 150% of body weight for max (minimum three reps).

A good rule of thumb is to be able to do 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps of 80% of your max.  Do a one rep max then take 80% of that.  For example I am weighing in at 205 right now at 5'10" with very little body fat and I work out with between 190 and 200 pounds doing three sets of 6 to 10.

That is just my two cents, as a after note I have been working out for many years now.

It's going to vary for you based on your body configuration and so on.  I'm 6'4" with some loooong arms so i have a hard time putting up a lot of weight on the bench (175 lbs for me at present).  on a hammer pec deck though, i can do 220lbs ten reps easy, so really it just depends on how you are built.

What is your goal? Size, or more of an all-around build=respectable size, but have endurance?

For size, you should always do one or two warmup sets to get some blood into the muscle and not to hurt yourself. 4-6 reps. If you get 7, add weight. If you get 3, take some off. 3 sets to failure or near failure. Slow eccentric motion. Some people go faster as they tire and barely do a half rep. 10 sorry reps is not as good as 3-4 great ones. If you don't have DOMS the second day after lifing, you did not create the microtears that it takes to cause repair and growth.

If you want an some gain in size and still have good stamina, do 8-12 reps and add cardio. Most people do the "prison workout"--do bench press and bicep curls. They have large pecs and large biceps. Small lateral and posterior delts, smaller triceps, no legs, cannot do pullups with their palms facing away which requires back strength.  Do the things that you see few doing--because they are hard, but give good results-like wide grip pullups, pushups with your hands under your sternum and your feet wide for stability. Dips for your chest and triceps. Close grip and reverse grip bench press that will increase your tricep strength and thus increase your bench. Wide grip upright rows for your lateral delts. Shrugs for your traps.  Don't get into conversations that distract you for periods of time. Fatigue more muscle fibers with each set and before all can recover, hit them again and recruit more that did not contribute before. Change your routine every few weeks. The body compensates and you will plateau. To increase your best lift or increase size, you have to add weight or reps. It is good to do both high and low rep workouts to hit all muscle fiber types-fast and slow twitch.

Having said that, and hopefully, you don't have a headache. I do two hours of cardio every other day and one hour after lifing free weights. Do your anaerobic work first. Always stretch. I am 6'1", 205,and start out with 225 on bench for warmup and currently max at 340 for 3-4 reps. I do sets of 20 for dips with 25 pounds hanging from a belt, and 10-12 pullups the same. People who read magazines will tell you to get bigger or be stronger, you cannot do cardio. Those people are lazy and get dizzy after squats because they are cardio insufficient. They cannot swim or run, bike or play multiple sports. They are bulky slugs with high body fat content and are smooth, not ripped. They are not all-around athletes. You will see them do a set of 4 heavy reps and walk around 10 minutes talking and trying to catch their breath. They may be on steroids and about to have a coronary. Don't get caught too close, cause whent they fall out, someone may want you to do mouth to mouth.  

You need to see what you want to look like and what you want you body to be able to do. You also need to be realistic about your genetics. A short guy isn't gonna stretch, and a tall thin guy will have more trouble adding large amoount of bulk. I always liked decathletes and pentathletes as they can compete in many sports and do well. Finally, if you go to a gym, do your thing. Don't let someone tell what you should be doing. Meaning go slow and don't get hurt trying to prove something to someone that doesn't matter.

Philadelphia_GunMan


There are some good reply's to your question here..  Everyone is different...

You should be doing a weight that you burn out at around the 8th reps of your sets..  

Burn is the key word..  a weight training partner is also key here for negatives.. that "Extra" burn after you think your done...

Whoo hoo.. I'm getting pumped just talking about it..!  [:)]

You really have to be a sadistic MO FO... [;)]

Most of the population cant bench their own bodyweight even once.

Man, I've been working out too damn hard.  I think I'm gonna cut back a little.  Looks to me as if you need to be a mathmatician to lift weights, after reading this post.

Best Advice:  Listen to what your body tells you!

223REM

IMHO, a good weight to shoot for is one that challenges you but is still realistic. It sounds like you already have a pretty good idea of what you want to shoot for. Go for it and have fun!