A couple of weeks ago I was finally able to get 195 lbs up on the bench press. I did three sets of four and then on the last two sets I could only do it twice.

Hoping in the next month or two I'll be able to do three sets of 205 lbs (4 reps each). Would be huge for me. I'm officially as strong as I was in high school (which as you can see is not saying much).

History:

Age 14: Bench press max: 85 lbs.
Age 18: after four years of lifting weights in high school classes, I finally benched 195 lbs (one or two times). This was my senior year.
Ages 18 - 32: Did not lift weights. Mostly jogging.
Age 32: Decided to lift weights again. Four rep bench press max 135 lbs.
Age 35: Four rep bench press max 195 lbs. My wife likes the new look. 🙂 Most people probably still just view me as tall and skinny though.

My dream is to have two 45 lb weights on each side (225lbs) and just crush that four times. I know that's a modest dream to some, but for me it would be insane. Probably going to take me a long time because I have a stressful job that sometimes slows down my gains (i.e., I start eating poorly, skipping days, and not sleeping enough).

Thanks to the cougarboarders who gave me tips on how to break through that 185 plateau!