Fact Check: Gym Attendance and Bench Press Statistics in Motivational Video
Mixed Credibility
3 verified, 2 misleading, 0 false, 1 unverifiable out of 6 claims analyzed
Summary
This video delivers an uplifting message urging viewers not to compare themselves to extreme examples on social media and to be proud of consistent effort. However, its reliance on specific numerical claims weakens its factual foundation. The gym membership percentage (25%) is accurate, but the derived attendance rates are problematic: claiming that only 33% of members attend once a week or less contradicts most research, which indicates a higher proportion of infrequent use. The claim that 9.5% of Americans attend at least twice a week is plausible but hard to pin to a single authoritative source. Bench press averages for the general population (135 lb male, 75 lb female) are correct, but the values given for "trained athletes" (220 lb male, 105 lb female) are too low compared to established strength standards. The oft-repeated statement that 3–4% of men can bench 225 lb is broadly supported. Overall, the video’s central thesis is valid, but viewers should treat the exact numbers with caution. As a motivational piece, it succeeds; as a source of precise statistics, it falls short.
Claims analysis
25% of Americans have a gym membership.
This figure aligns with industry data. According to Statista, about 21% of U.S. adults had a gym membership in recent years, with some surveys peaking at 25%. The claim is generally accurate.
Of that 25%, only 33% attend either once a week or not at all.
This statement is ambiguous and likely incorrect. Common research (e.g., IHRSA) suggests a higher percentage of members attend infrequently—often over 50% go less than once a week. The speaker’s number of 33% for low attendance appears too low and contradicts the next claim about 9.5% attending twice a week.
Only 9.5% of Americans attend the gym at least two times a week.
This figure is plausible but varies by source. Some surveys (e.g., Bureau of Labor Statistics leisure time) estimate ~10% of adults do strength training twice a week. Other data show higher percentages for general exercise. While not universally confirmed, the claim falls within a reasonable range.
The average male can bench press 135 lb for a one rep max. The average female can bench around 75 lb.
These numbers match common strength standards for untrained individuals. Reputable sources (ExRx, StrengthLevel) list the average untrained male 1RM bench press at about 135 lb and untrained female at around 65–75 lb.
Among trained athletes, males can bench press around 220 lb for a one rep max, and females 105 lb.
These figures are lower than typical strength standards for trained athletes. For a 180 lb male, 220 lb represents only ~1.2× bodyweight, which is a novice level. Trained athletes (intermediate or above) often bench 1.5× bodyweight or more. Similarly, 105 lb for an average trained female is modest. The claim understates typical training outcomes.
Only 3 to 4% of the male general population can bench press 225 lb.
This is a commonly cited statistic and appears reasonable. Recognizing that most men do not strength train, the percentage who can bench 225 lb is small. Various informal surveys and gym data support the 1–4% range, making this claim plausible.
These are real gym statistics. Uh people have forgot because of social media. 25% of Americans actually have a gym
membership. And of those 25%, only 33% attend either once a week or not at all. Furthermore, only 9.5% of Americans
actually attend the gym at least two times a week. Social media makes it seem like people are showing up to the gym a
lot more than they actually are. So, if you're showing up to the gym at least two times a week, you're already beating
more than 90% of the population. The average male can bench press 135 lb for a one rep max. The average female can
bench around 75 lb. Among trained athletes, males can bench press around 220 lb for a one rep max, and females
105 lb. Only 3 to 4% of the male general population can bench press 225 lb. Social media is plastered with tons of
videos of people performing extreme feats of strength, which is awesome, but it's not the norm. And you shouldn't
feel behind if you're only able to bench 225 lb or less. >> Y'all got to realize how rare it is for
someone to go to the gym on a regular basis. I've had guys tell me, "Cole,
the average man can squat 315. Oh, everybody at my gym squats 315." I'm like, "That's not true at all."
The average man can hardly squat to begin with. You know, like, realize that most people aren't going to the gym on a
regular basis. You should be proud of just seeing progress and improvement. Because a lot
of guys you get caught up looking online, looking at what everybody else is doing, and I've done it before.
You know, when I hit 315 on bench, that was a goal that I had for a long time. Then I'm looking at, "Damn, these dudes
out here benching 405." They call it the hedonic treadmill. When you keep you hit one goal, you get a nice
physique, and now you're always looking for the next thing. You You You get a nice car, then you drive that car for
like a month or two, and you're like, "This is a regular car." You just keep running on that treadmill,
man. But be proud of how far you have come. You know? And I think that's something
important to reflect on because sometimes we lose track of that. You think your physique's not good
enough, and you got to get on peptides, you got to start taking steroids, all this other [ __ ]
We're this point of diminishing returns. You know, I've had guys come to me like, "Cole, your physique's not that
impressive." "Cole, your body you your physique's not all that. You don't have enough muscle, this and that." I'm like,
"Look, I got that physique that turns into a freak. I've been told it many times,
many times. Let me tell you that now. You know, so be be aware of that, man. Cuz a lot of
guys they get caught up online. There's a lot of [ __ ] online, man. Have you running like a chicken with his head cut
off. Be proud if you just showing up. Because there's a lot of people online
that would tell you you're never doing enough. You got to do this, you got to do that, you got to do this. This is why
you're small. This is And a lot of times they'll tell you a whole bunch of different things. You know, you see a
lot of influencers that were big 10 years ago. They would tell you, "Oh, you're not
eating enough. You're not eating enough protein." And then you come to find out they were on steroids the whole time.
They're taking all types of gear. So, just realize that, man. You don't need to go down that the dark path.
You don't You don't. You don't need to get that big, you don't need to get that strong. Because
if you just hit the gym on a consistent basis for a span of years,
when you stand next to the average man, it's like day and night. I'm like a superhuman compared to the average man.
And I don't say that to be cocky or arrogant. I say that to be to be real. If you look at strength, bench press,
you know, power clean, all that stuff, and put me next to the average man, it's it's a huge gap. If we look at
sprinting, running, it's a huge gap. And it's cuz I just stay consistent. That's all it comes down to. If you just
stay consistent, you just put in the time, you get in the reps. Because the average man, he's not putting in the
reps of the body game. He playing he putting in the reps on the video game.
You on body game, he's on the video game. You can separate from the average man so
greatly. I don't care how old you are. You know, I have guys, "Cole, I'm 28. Is it too late for me? Cole, I'm 35. Is it
too late for me?" I said, "It's only too late for you if you think it's too late for you. Why would 28 be too late?
Why would 28 be too late, man? Cuz a lot of guys they're never going to get the physique together.
They're never going to get disciplined. They're never going to make the decision to get on the body game and change their
life for the better. But I think sometimes it can really be It can be discouraging when you look at
all these people online and they seem like they're so far ahead of you. And then you feel like you're never
going to catch up. Man, be proud of what the work you put in. It starts with just showing up, man.
Guys are trying to lose weight as fast as possible. No, you need to stick to something you can do for the rest of
your life. That's the way you need to be thinking, man.
Cuz I I've been around fat guys. They hit me up, "Cole, let's go on a run." It's like, "Bro, you're not even going
to run." You're going to run for 2-3 minutes, your knees are going to
start hurting, your hips going to start hurting, your ankles going to start feeling all busted.
And then we're going to walk. Like, let's just start with walking. How about you just start with getting
your steps in? How about you start with just cutting back on all the condiments, not drinking all
these calories. Guys will be like, "Oh, I'm eating straight salad, Cole. I'm only eating
grilled chicken and salad." And I'm walk- and and and I'm going to sprint 3 miles today. It's like, "Bro,
slow the [ __ ] down." But you're seeing all these people online that go super hard. They had to
train up to that point. They had to train up to that point and I even had a conversation with my dad
recently. Um he had his hip replacement. And he was like trying to get up. I'm like, "Dad, slow down, you know."
5-6 days after his his hip replacement, he's getting in the car. He's like, "Come on, Cole, let me let me drive to
the grocery STORE." I'M LIKE, "WHY?" I SAID, "I'm not trying to lose my life. I'm not going to hop in the car with
you." You had your hip replaced 5 days ago and you're trying to get me to ride in the
car with you while you're driving. I said, "You shouldn't be driving. Like, give it a couple days at least."
And then he told me like, "Yeah, I was watching this guy on YouTube that got his hip replaced.
And you know, he's back he's back up running. And you know, he was he was back up running like in a couple weeks
this and that. But this man was training marathons and stuff before he got the hip replaced.
You know, that's what my dad said, you know, yeah, I'm starting to realize that, you know, I'm I'm not in the best
shape. Before the hip replacement, this guy was in amazing shape before the hip replacement. I said, yeah. And see, a
lot of time we do that, man. We look at people online and we don't know all the in and in and out of the situation, so
we like, oh, he's doing this. Oh, he's training all crazy like this. Oh, he's going this hard, so I can do it, too.
But what else do you have going on in your life? You know, there's a lot of people that
work a lot of hours. You might have a lot of kids. You might have your lady
that takes up a lot of your time and energy. So you don't have as much time for the
gym as the next man. You know, there's a lot of gym influencers where like their whole life
is just the gym. That's all they do. They're going to have more time. They're going to be able to put more reps in in
the gym than you are. They're going to be able to recover better than you are. So you got to look at the life and start
to really see what works for you. So so that's what you need to realize, man, because a lot of you guys you get
lost. You get lost with all the [ __ ] online, man. Be proud if you're just
showing up to the gym on a regular basis. That's your physique that's going to look impressive. Standing next to the
average man that's [ __ ] ass, hey man, it's like day and night. But anytime I've dealt with a chick
that hasn't been with like an athletic guy, a guy that works out, you can tell. Absolutely, I can tell, man, cuz she
would just be a fan of the physique. You can see it in her eyes. You know, when you pop off that [ __ ] oh
my gosh, you're so fine. Oh, ha ha ha. So I've been reminded many times that I got that physique that turns into
a freak. So even when guys say, Cole, your shoulders this and that, it's like that [ __ ] don't mean anything to me.
Cuz I've seen reactions in real life. You know, you know what I'm saying? I'm not I'm not out here trying to impress
the boys. Hey, you know what I'm saying? I ain't trying to impress these men out here. You know,
I appreciate the compliments, but hey, I'm here for the ladies, man. That's That's all I want. I want the
ladies. I don't want no No, I don't I don't want no boys, man.
But a lot of y'all get caught up in the [ __ ] man. There's guys on the Oh, you're not big enough. You got to be
200-lb monster. This and that. It's like Bro, get on with that [ __ ] Get on with that [ __ ] man. If you
consistent in the gym, be proud of yourself. If you've been cleaning up your diet, be proud of yourself.
Stop looking at all these extreme examples, man. You know, I always see guys like
Uh anytime I talk [ __ ] about big back boys. That's That's what we going to call the
boys, big back boys. And then the women, they'd be the big back blue back whales. That's what I think that's what I like.
You know, the BBBBWs and then the BBB. But anytime I talk about you know
fat guys, you know, I'll say, you know, fat guys they turn out to be attractive. Like
there's always some pushback there. I'll talk about how big guys, they can't move as good. And they'd be like, "Cole,
that's not true. I've seen a fat guy on Instagram reels and he was popping a split and he was doing a whole bunch of
calisthenics." It's like, "Yeah, there's some fat guys that can move, but that's not the norm."
Most of them fat guys can't move because they're super sedentary. And the reason why you're seeing a fat a fat guy that's
extremely mobile online because that's the [ __ ] that you don't see all that much, so it's going to blow up online.
Yes, there's some fat people that can move. Yes, there's some fat people that are extremely flexible. And the reason
why it catches your eye so much is because you don't see that [ __ ] all the time.
When you see a skinny person super mobile and flexible, it's like, "Okay." Yeah, I expected that damn near. But
when you see a big body, you know, you when you see that big back blue back boy
hey, that's a whole different ballgame. You're like, "How the [ __ ] this dude 400 lbs and he's popping a splits like
that?" So, it stands out to you. But that's not the norm.
Yeah, that's not the norm whatsoever. Most of these fat people, they can't move. You know, these dudes are talking
about, "Cole most guys can squat 315." I'm like, "That's not true. Most people can hardly
squat to begin with. You take the average 30-year-old man, he cannot squat, bro.
He can't squat he can't squat 225, I promise you. And I say that because I've seen very
average people. But some of the sometimes y'all lose touch and it's it's a beautiful thing
when you really get around some competitors, when you going around dudes that go hard,
because you will lose track of it. Like I said, that that her donic treadmill,
you kind of lose track of what the norm is. You you lose track of the average person.
Be proud of yourself and go at your own pace. Stop comparing yourself to everybody online.
We all got to run our own race. Some people they start later, I started early in life.
Get get to work and that's what it come down to. It's just about improvement. It's about improving yourself, getting
your mind right, growing your confidence, getting more options.
It's not just about comparing yourself to other people. I I I'm hella competitive. I like to
compete. I like to I like to see the next man and try to beat him. I do. But sometimes
I'm like, that's not for me. I got to run my own race, man. That's what they used to always tell me in track, you got
to run your own race. You know, when you when you racing somebody that's super fast and they got
a they got a quick start, you can't be focused on what everybody else doing, you got to focus on what you got going
on, man. But that's all I got for y'all today. If you want more in-depth content,
definitely check out the Patreon. Uh make sure you like the video, subscribe if you haven't, and I'll catch
y'all boys in the next one.
The video claims about 25% of Americans have gym memberships, which is accurate based on industry data. However, its attendance estimates are questionable: saying only 33% of members attend once a week or less contradicts most studies showing a higher share of infrequent use. For reliable figures, check sources like IHRSA or CDC reports.
The bench press averages for the general population (135 lb for men, 75 lb for women) are correct based on strength research. But the values for “trained athletes” (220 lb men, 105 lb women) appear too low when compared to recognized strength standards (e.g., from ExRx.net or NSCA). Treat these athlete numbers with extra caution.
The claim that 3–4% of men can bench press 225 lb is broadly supported by online strength surveys and anecdotal data, though no official large-scale study exists. It’s a reasonable estimate for a motivated population but not a precise government or academic statistic. Use it as a ballpark figure, not a hard fact.
Yes, the overall message of being proud of your own progress rather than comparing to extremes is sound and widely endorsed by fitness professionals. But the specific numbers used to back it up are partly flawed, so the video works best as motivation rather than a reference. Focus on the encouragement, not the math.
Skip this video if you need precise, citable statistics for a report or workout plan. The gym attendance and athlete bench press numbers are not consistently supported. Instead, look up data from peer-reviewed journals, national health surveys, or reputable fitness organizations like ACE or NSCA.
The video uses an emotionally uplifting tone to encourage consistency, but it presents numbers without clear source citations. While the core idea is positive, the data is a mix of accurate, plausible, and inaccurate claims. Take the general advice to heart, but fact-check any specific number before using it to make decisions.
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