Czech bench press record - men and women

The bench press is one of the basic and very popular gym exercises, and it is often taken as a measure of overall strength, especially of the upper body. That is also why you have certainly come across the question “how much do you bench?". We were interested in this question on the scale of Czech records, and so we decided to look into how Czech competitors are doing in this discipline.

To determine the Czech record we worked from the record list of the Czech Powerlifting Federation (ČSST) in the categories:

• bench press - men raw (single discipline)
• bench press - men eq (single discipline)
• bench press - women eq (single discipline)
• bench press - women raw (single discipline)

There are two main competition categories in the bench press: raw and equipped. In the raw category, competitors use no special equipment apart from wrist support. In the equipped category, competitors use a belt and a special powerlifting shirt (bench shirt), which supports the shoulders and torso and helps increase the force of the lift.

• The reason we only take ČSST results into account is that the attempt is part of an official standardised competition with judges present to check correct bench press technique.
• For easier comparison, and out of interest, we also decided to include all weight categories so that you know how you stand against the record holders.

Czech record men - bench press

Since 2023 the Czech record in the raw category has been held by Marek Novák, who officially lifted 260 kg, beating his previous record and also becoming world champion in this discipline under powerlifting rules. The current Czech bench press record in the equipped category is held by Jaroslav Šoukal, who in Tokyo in 2019 lifted an impressive 360 kg.

Czech record women - bench press

Among women, the Czech record in the raw bench press has belonged since 2023 to Tereza Látalová, who lifted 106 kg. The women's bench press record in the equipped category has belonged since 2013 to Hana Takáčová, who lifted 145 kg.

For those who train regularly and bench press weights between 80 and 90 kg, this means they are slightly above average. Lifting 90 kg or more indicates above-average strength, at least in your local gym. Lifting more than 100 kg using correct technique, with the back on the bench throughout, is difficult and requires regular training. You always need to take your overall body weight into account, though, as it quite logically has a fundamental influence on how much you are able to lift.

References:

1. https://www.powerlifting-csst.cz/cze/records
2. https://www.youtube.com/@CzechPowerliftingIPF