300+ pounds!

I was at the gym on Saturday doing an arm workout. Afterwards I was farting around talking with one of the people I see there a lot and we decided to see how much weight we can put up on the bench press.

I haven’t “maxed” in years, so I had no idea what I could do. We started at 250 (bar, 2X45, 2x25, 1x10, 2x2.5), we both put that up no problem. Then we went to 275 (bar, 4X45, 2x25), we put that up with a bit more strain. Then we moved to 300.

Now, I’ve never put up 300 pounds in my life, I just haven’t ever tried it, so I was a bit psyched. We put the weight on (bar, 4X45, 2x25, 2x10, 2x2.5) and I got ready. After a moment to concentrate I strained and put it up 300 pounds!

I was surprised that I felt like I still had some strength left too. The guy I was with put it up with a bit more ease. We decided to go up a bit higher. We put on the weight for 315 (bar, 6x45) and I barely got it up. I called it quits on that one, since I knew I couldn’t go any higher. The other guy got up to 360, which was pretty cool.

I’m pretty proud of myself. I’ve worked hard this past year and although I don’t worry about my strength as much as how I look, it was nice to know I’ve got it if I need it. Now, if I could just get that jar of jelly open.

-Steve