My 8 reps has slowly improved as I changed my diet recently (not especially healthy, I still live in the US and am broke af so healthy food is a treat for me) and I’m up to 185 lbs (bar+ Plate and 25 each side), I very rarely do 1 Rep Max because it gets me exhausted for the rest of my exercise unless I drink a shitload of water. Last I checked I’m at 205 (bar+ Plate and 35 each side). Sorry if this is confusing to anyone because of the Lbs to Kilos dilemma. Around 84 kilos for 8 Reps, around 93 kilos for 1RM, what are yall at?
I could never really do a “proper” bench press without developing annoying rotator cuff tendonitis. At one point I slowly did 4 reps with 220 lbs, but stopping with the bar about 1 inch above “touching”. After not being able to work out for a month I could do 205 full ROM 1rm with someone spotting me. The first inch off the chest was uncomfortable and my shoulder was sore for a month afterwards, so I just kind of gave up on the bench press. I have mild scheuermann’s disease, so I can’t really arch my back or get my elbows way below my spine the way I see others doing. ROM issues are a big disadvantage. I started only benching 135, so it was good progress to get over 200 lbs (roughly my own body weight) in 6 months, but that exercise just wasn’t worth the pain. I had on-and-off calcification pain in my right shoulder for a couple years after. Ugh.