Progression of the bench press world record
Okay, so you know how some people like to show how strong they are by lifting really heavy weights? Well, one of the exercises they use to do that is the bench press.
Over time, lots of different people have tried to see how much weight they can lift in the bench press. Each time someone lifts more weight than anyone else ever has before, that's a new "world record".
The very first time someone set a world record in the bench press was way back in 1898. Can you imagine that? That's older than your grandparents!
Anyway, back then, the strongest person in the world could lift 280 pounds on the bench press. That probably doesn't sound like a lot to you (heck, it doesn't sound like a lot to me!), but at the time it was really impressive.
Over the next few decades, lots of different people lifted heavier and heavier weights in the bench press. Some of them were really strong, some of them were using special equipment to help them lift more, and some of them were even cheating!
But by the 1950s, people were lifting more than 500 pounds on the bench press. That's like lifting three of your mom and dad's really heavy friends all at once! And by the 1970s, some crazy strong guys were benching nearly 700 pounds!
But the really amazing thing is that people just kept getting stronger and stronger. Today, the world record for the bench press is 1,102 pounds! Can you even imagine how heavy that is? It's like lifting a small car!
Of course, not everyone can lift that much weight. It takes years and years of practice, lots of hard work, and a really healthy body. But it's pretty cool to think about how strong humans can be if they really try.
Over time, lots of different people have tried to see how much weight they can lift in the bench press. Each time someone lifts more weight than anyone else ever has before, that's a new "world record".
The very first time someone set a world record in the bench press was way back in 1898. Can you imagine that? That's older than your grandparents!
Anyway, back then, the strongest person in the world could lift 280 pounds on the bench press. That probably doesn't sound like a lot to you (heck, it doesn't sound like a lot to me!), but at the time it was really impressive.
Over the next few decades, lots of different people lifted heavier and heavier weights in the bench press. Some of them were really strong, some of them were using special equipment to help them lift more, and some of them were even cheating!
But by the 1950s, people were lifting more than 500 pounds on the bench press. That's like lifting three of your mom and dad's really heavy friends all at once! And by the 1970s, some crazy strong guys were benching nearly 700 pounds!
But the really amazing thing is that people just kept getting stronger and stronger. Today, the world record for the bench press is 1,102 pounds! Can you even imagine how heavy that is? It's like lifting a small car!
Of course, not everyone can lift that much weight. It takes years and years of practice, lots of hard work, and a really healthy body. But it's pretty cool to think about how strong humans can be if they really try.
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