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aqlu t1_jbi70ai wrote

Like the other guy said, use a lower weight. By doing more reps at less weight, you can fatigue the muscles more. As you get stronger you can load on more weight, but for testing the upper ends of your strength you really should use a spotter.

If spotters arent available, use a bench with some sort of safety mechanism or sturdy boxes as a failsafe. Even with safety failsafes, if you cant knock out clean reps with good control, it's time to rack it until you have a spotter. I bench in an empty gym and the bench setup doesnt have anything to catch the bar if I miss a rep, so I leave the clamps off if I should ever need to dump the weight.

Strength is a habit, not a moment

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GuntherTime t1_jbiml5s wrote

As an extra safety measure practice the bailout method for benching. I’ve never had to use it because my gym only has power racks so it has catches, but I still practiced it just in case.

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asilverthread t1_jbj7kau wrote

Also, start off by lifting slow and light while you’re relatively new. You get good results putting your muscles under tension for a longer time (slow reps) and get to practice good form which becomes more and more important as you increase weight over time.

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Sargash t1_jbj23nd wrote

This, OP. Find your upper limit with easy weights. Add weight if it doesn't tire you after 50 reps. Reps are repetition.

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Sicco1234 t1_jbj2zkd wrote

50 reps for benchpress is crazy

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DurableDiction t1_jbj3jba wrote

It would be done over sets. With lighter weights, if you can do 5x10 no sweat, it's too little.

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Sargash t1_jbjjwe9 wrote

This, probably could have explained that but unfortunately It was just an automatic thought, you do a set of 50 one day, if you don't get tired or exhausted, add a tiny bit of weight. That's your baseline. That is where you start your regime. You don't do that every day from then on. You know you can do this thing, you make a small improvement each week, or month after that, hell you don't even need to ever do more weight than that. If you can do that, just hit the bar a few times a week, in between some other light workouts, you're already in a better spot than 99% of people.

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Sargash t1_jbjkhpu wrote

Its not all in one go, it's something you do, say, you go to the gym. 5 reps of something easy. Hit the bike for 5 minutes. More reps. Treadmill, reps, yoga, reps, bike, reps, treadmill, reps, yoga. If you cant do 50 (arbitrary number) then you have a goal, do the same thing each time you go in. You'll hit it before long. If you find that it's not really hard. Fantastic, you've got a baseline. Next month, maybe add 5 pounds to your routine.

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dedriuslol t1_jbj3u3q wrote

If you are doing 50 reps of something in a set, you might as well just be doing cardio. It would be very inefficient to do that many reps in a set.

3 or 4 sets of 8-12 reps per set is a normal range for a beginner.

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dracomalfoy85 t1_jbj4630 wrote

“50 is crazy, do 24-48 reps” 😜

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dedriuslol t1_jbj4q2h wrote

When someone says "If something doesn't tire you out after 50 reps..." They typically mean in a set. Otherwise, how would anyone know if you mean 1 set of 50 reps or 10 sets of 5 reps?

Also, 24 total reps per exercise is still very different than 50 lol.

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dracomalfoy85 t1_jbj9yhp wrote

I was joking, thus the face. Get the difference homie.

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