NFL's Fastest Man Competition

I think that doing the bench press for reps @ 1.50 times bodyweight would help much more than just a plain 1RM test and it could work pretty quickly as well. Take a players weight, calculate 1.50[BW] and rep out. 1RM testing would take much longer to do for each player. Using this formula, I’ve done 8 reps @ 270 pounds (bodyweight = 180). You can get a better indication of relative strength and not strength-endurance.

that would favour lighter guys though
1.5 would be around my 1RM :slight_smile:

why even bother with benching as a test anyway?
A standing medball chest throw with fairly heavy ball for distance would be a better IMO. That would better indicate who is explosive and who isn’t etc in the upper body. Strong core as well.

Why? Why You Say? Because the Bench is the King of Exercise (I’m laughing now)!! Are you picking up my sarcasm?

I agree. It is silly, and is kept around out of tradition more than any great correllation with NFL ability. The 40 test I could sort of understand, I suppose. But the fact is that I’d sign a 4.5 wide receiver with fantastic hands over a 4.2 guy with questionable hands in a heartbeat.

It’s the difference between Michael Irvin and Joey Galloway. Galloway is a fine receiver but Michael Irvin is future Hall of Fame.

20x225 at 155 is good man, I’ve seen you I thnk,at our gym at school a few times liftin’, are you gonna Powerlift after your done runnin, I compete at 148-165 weight classes and although I am not very good, some of the 148-165’s that have been lifting for years that I have trainied with, would love to hit that kind of bench at that weight…think you said you hit like 365 in an old post…Most dudes (I compete with/against),that train around that weigh can barely hit that shirted! Good job bro!

Actually, I recall reading a study where they found that the greatest correlation to football ability out of the big 4 tests (40, 225 bench, pro agility and vertical jump) was the vertical jump…<sarcasm on> So, if you want to be a good football player, go work on your vertical <sarcasm off> :wink:

But the fact is that I’d sign a 4.5 wide receiver with fantastic hands over a 4.2 guy with questionable hands in a heartbeat.

It’s the difference between Michael Irvin and Joey Galloway. Galloway is a fine receiver but Michael Irvin is future Hall of Fame.

Agreed. While it is nice to have the basic tools demonstrated through the tests, in the end it comes down to whether or not you can ball!

hey!
you go to school with me? Give me a holla.
Im planning on running track for many more years to come and next year I also am thinking about playing football again (semi pro).
My max bench on a bar that ive hit has been 325 although I have done 315 for 3 which is converted a little higher and 300 for 5.

That’s awesome. You just gonna keep training (for track) on your own and compete on your own?

yes. thats the plan as well as coaching at “shumans elite training center” in new jersey.

You beat me to the punchline! This test is mainly for the offensive and defensive lineman and most of these guys can bench press 450-500lbs or above! That being said, this is only 45-50% of their 1RM which falls into the category of muscular endurance.

According to Zatsiosrky, "In estimating the absolute endurance, individual differences in muscular strength are ignored. Everyone is asked to press the same weight, for instance. When relative endurance is measured, on the other hand, all are asked to press a weight that equals the same percentage of their maximum strength.

The absolute indices of endurance show considerable correlation with muscular strength; individuals of great strength can repeat a vigorous exercise more times than those of lesser strength (Figure 8.4). However, this correlation is observed only with resistance that is at least 25% of maximum strength. When the load is smaller, the number of possible repetitions quickly rises and is, in practical terms, independent of maximal strength (Figure 8.5). Relative indices of muscular endurance do not correlate positively with maximal strength. In fact, they often show negative correlations.

Let’s consider an example of what we have seen about the correlation between strength and endurance. Suppose two athletes can bench press weights of 100 and 60 kg, respectively. It is obvious that the first athlete can press a 50-kg weight more times than the second athlete and that absolute indices of endurance for the first athlete will be better. If both athletes are told to press a weight of 10kg (less than 25% of maximal strength for each), it is impossible to predict who will exhibit more endurance. In this case endurance (measured by the number of repetitions) does not depend on strength level. If both athletes press a weight equal to 50% of their maximal force production (50 and 30kg, respectively) it is again impossible to predict who will show greater endurance. Here, too, endurance does not correlate with strength.

Since athletes are not matched during a competition according to strength, practice should focus on absolute endurance. As we have noted, these indices are essentially dependent on the strength level; as the resistance an athlete must overcome increases, so does the dependence. Thus, when it is necessary to repeatedly overcome considerable resistance (more than 75-80% of the maximum muscular strength), there is no need for special endurance training." (Pg 210-212).

In addition to what Zatsiorsky states, I have noticed that in Figure 8.5 the biggest standard deviation in the F(% of Fmm) and Number of lifts occurs, in the 30-40 rep range at 37.5-47.5% of 1RM! Hey wait a minute this is the exact number of reps and percentage the NFL bench press contest of 225lbs is in! DUH there really testing to see who the strongest man in the NFL is! :rolleyes: Not! There are testing to see has the best muscular endurance with the heavier athletes gaining an approximate 10% advantage in their weight category! The lightest guys would way an average of 270lbs
while the heaviest guys would way an average of 300lbs! :eek:

Gotta love those tests! :rolleyes:

when i was doin defrancos westside for skinny bastards… my best was 28reps at 220lbs ie 100kg… did 23 a couple weeks ago… having not done it for a while…

Yeah I go to Cortland too! Do you play football here as well? If not I think they could have used the help…Do you do anything special for bench? I have only been powerlifting for a year and a half (mostly westside stuff) but I need all the help I can get! Thanks bro…where is Shuman’s in NJ? Is that near Parisi’s I think that is another well know training place in NJ that hires a lot of interns…they train football (nfl, college), UFC dudes, I think sprinters too! If you have never seen it, check it out www.parisischool.com! Good luck in Geneva this weekend! Peace

I played football freshman year. Now I only run track. Aside from a good strength training program I do not do anything really special for bench. Shumans is in Wycoff Nj. Were expanding and will be bigger than Parisis in the near future. Expanding bigtime. We pay better as well. www.shumanspeed.com. Check it out. Nothing great now but watch in about a year or 2. Holla at me on AOL IM if you have it.
We’ll be trying our best to defend our title this weekend. thanx!!

As previously mentioned Allen Rossum ran a 10 flat in high school and was #1 in the US. He could have kicked Vick’s ass in fastest man. Although the best time I’ve heard Bennet run was a 10.17 Tim Dwight ran a 10.1 and other then Rossum I think he’s the fastest in the NFL.

Also another Falcon named D’angelo Hall ran a 4.1 40yd in college.

I disagree! Nobody knows Vick’s true speed bc if he races he does so against other Falcons who would now his speed. 40y and 100m are two different events. I ran a 4.19 40y and a 12 flat 100 if that’s any indication! I would gather that Vick would be faster than 4.3!

:eek: WHAT HAPPENED??? Did you leg fall off? Seriously…

I have been at a few falcon games. Vick is only good for 50 yards then he just goes kaput. Vick is fast but the fastest i really doubt. I think moss would beat vick in a flat out 100. but rossum and bennet would be a great race.

allen rossum ran 10.02 at texas skyline highschool in 1993. same school that mike johnson went to.

michael bennett?
years ago!