You’re staring at the bar. Two 45-pound plates on each side—the "two-plate club." It’s the universal badge of honor in every local gym from Brooklyn to Venice Beach. It’s the point where you stop looking like a beginner and start looking like you actually know your way around a power rack. But if you’re currently stuck grinding out sets with 185 pounds, you’re probably wondering how close you actually are to that 225-pound milestone.
Is there a magic number? Sorta.
If you can hit 185 pounds for 8 to 10 clean reps, you’re likely ready to touch 225 for a single. But honestly, it isn't always that simple. Muscle fiber composition, your central nervous system (CNS) readiness, and even how long your arms are can change the math. I've seen guys who can rep 185 for twelve but crumble under 225 because they aren't used to the "feel" of heavy weight. It’s a different beast.
The Raw Math: How Many Reps of 185 to Bench 225?
We use something called the Brzycki Formula to estimate one-rep maxes. It's named after Matt Brzycki, and while it's not perfect, it's the gold standard for gym math.
The formula generally suggests that your one-rep max is your weight lifted divided by (1.0278 minus (0.0278 times the number of reps)). Basically, if you want to know how many reps of 185 to bench 225, the math points toward 8 reps. At 8 reps of 185, your estimated max is roughly 224 pounds. Hit 9 reps? You're looking at a 230-pound max.
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But formulas don't lift the weight. You do.
The jump from 185 to 225 is a 40-pound gap. That’s a 21.6% increase in load. That is huge. If you’ve been living in the "hypertrophy" range of 10-12 reps, your body is conditioned for endurance and metabolic stress. Moving to a true max effort attempt requires high-threshold motor unit recruitment. Your brain literally has to learn how to fire every available muscle fiber at once. If you haven't touched anything over 200 pounds lately, 225 will feel like a house falling on your chest, regardless of what the calculator says.
Why 185 for 10 Doesn't Always Equal 225
I remember a guy at my old gym—let's call him Mike. Mike could pump out 185 for 12 reps like it was nothing. He had the chest pump, the veins, the whole deal. But every time he loaded 225, he’d get stuck an inch off his chest.
Why? Because Mike was a "rep specialist."
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Some lifters have a higher percentage of slow-twitch (Type I) muscle fibers. These fibers are great at grinding out reps but suck at explosive power. Then there’s the "mental " factor. 185 pounds is a 45 and a 25. It looks manageable. 225 is two big wheels. It’s loud. It’s intimidating. If you don't have the "bracing" skills—tightening your lats, digging your shoulders into the bench, and using leg drive—the extra weight will fold you.
- CNS Fatigue: Doing 10 reps takes a lot of energy. If you try to test your max after a high-rep set, you'll fail.
- Bar Path: At 185, you can get away with a sloppy bar path. At 225, if that bar drifts too far toward your chin or your stomach, the leverage shift will kill the lift.
- The "Bounce": If you’re bouncing 185 off your sternum to get those 10 reps, you don't actually have the strength for 225. A true 225 bench requires control.
Training Strategies to Close the Gap
Stop chasing the 10-rep sets for a while. If you want to bench two plates, you need to get comfortable with heavy triples.
Try a "Top Set" method. Warm up, then do a single set of 3 to 5 reps at 200 or 205 pounds. This acclimates your nervous system to a heavier load without burning you out. After that, drop back down to 185 for your volume work. You’re teaching your hands and wrists what "heavy" feels like.
Heavy negatives also help. Have a spotter—an actual person, not just the safety bars—help you lower 235 pounds slowly to your chest. Hold it for a second. Let them help you pull it back up. This builds the eccentric strength and tendon density needed to handle the 225-pound descent.
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Also, look at your triceps. The chest starts the lift, but the triceps finish it. If you’re failing halfway up, your 185-pound reps aren't the problem; your lockout strength is. Close-grip bench press and heavy weighted dips are the best carry-over exercises for this.
The Role of Body Weight and Leverage
Let's be real: your size matters. A 160-pound lifter repping 185 for 8 is doing something incredible. A 240-pound lifter doing it is just warming up.
If you're a lighter lifter, you'll likely need to hit the higher end of the rep range (9 or 10 reps of 185) to ensure you have the strength for 225. Taller lifters with long arms (long levers) also have a disadvantage here. The bar has to travel a greater distance. For these "long-limbed" benchers, building a massive base of upper back strength is the secret. You need a stable platform to push from. If your back is weak, your shoulders will round forward, and you’ll lose all your power.
Practical Next Steps for Your Next Chest Day
Instead of just wondering how many reps of 185 to bench 225, go out and test your current capacity safely.
- Test your 5-rep max: If you can do 185 for 5, don't try 225 yet. You’re likely around a 205-210 max.
- Move to 195: Once you can hit 185 for 8, don't jump straight to 225. Spend two weeks working with 195 or 205. Hit those for 3-5 reps.
- Check your form: Ensure your feet are planted, your glutes are squeezed, and you’re "pulling the bar apart" with your hands to engage the triceps.
- Find a "real" spotter: Someone who knows how to give a "lift-off" without taking 20 pounds of weight off the bar for you.
- Micro-load: Use 2.5-pound plates. Jumping from 185 to 225 is a psychological wall. Jumping to 190, then 195, then 200 makes the progression feel inevitable rather than impossible.
The journey from 185 to 225 is where most hobbyist lifters either quit or become serious. It requires more than just "trying hard." It requires a shift from "doing reps" to "training for strength." Focus on the 8-rep mark at 185, but don't ignore the heavy triples and technical refinements that actually bridge the gap.