Bench used to be my worst lift, and I am excited be I should hit my first official 400 at 165 on Sept 1.
Best of luck to you!
I got up to 385 at 175, before having problems with my shoulder-my goal was 435, which obviously never happened. Never got over 365 after that, regardless of body weight.
And I was ~20 yrs. old at the time...at 47 that's just plain awesome.
Now I'm 36, and am rarely going over 225(on much of anything), even when I'm into it regular, and just do sets of 15+. You're giving me quite a bit of inspiration, and yours are spectacular numbers all around:thumbup:
Phil, sixpack aside, ab and lower back work is high priority for fitness, and avoiding injury. I've been working out since I was 13, and if I have a regret it's the years spent focusing on numbers and "show muscle" vs. 100% proper form, and working for overall heatlh, fitness and longevity.
lifter didn't elaborate on weightlifting for "normal people", but I do believe he meant resistance training in general, not powerlifting specifically. There are positive effects on your general well-being, metabolism, bone strength, and of course, your appearance. There's really not a downside.