How Much Can A Gorilla Bench Press?

Gorillas, specifically fully grown silverback gorillas, are stronger than many adult humans combined. Their strength is roughly 10 times their body weight.

They can bench press roughly 1,800 pounds (or 815 kilograms). Obviously, that’s an enormous amount of weight, but for more context, the world record bench press for a human is 885 pounds (or 401.5 kilograms).

Their bite force of 1,300 pounds per square inch is roughly double that of a lion’s. So… they’re very strong! Let’s take a look at their strength compared to that of humans, as well as to other species of gorillas. 

How Much Can Gorillas Bench?

The world record (recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records) for a silverback gorilla benching is 1,800 pounds (or 815 kilograms). Silverbacks can lift over four times their own body weight. 

So why are they so strong? It’s all down to their huge muscles, their height, their skeletal structure, and their eating habits. Another reason their upper body strength is so enormous is that they walk and climb using their arms.

Does this mean that if humans started walking everywhere with their arms they’d get progressively jacked? Probably! But you should probably just take up rock climbing. Ultimately, we humans have nothing on the strength of a gorilla. Speaking of which…

Gorilla Strength Versus Human Strength 

The upper body strength of a fully grown gorilla is six times that of the average adult human. This means that if a human can bench press, say, 300 pounds, a fully grown gorilla can bench press roughly 1,800 pounds.

Gorillas can throw with roughly 900 pounds (or 450 kilograms) of force, while humans can throw with just 220 pounds (or 100 kilograms) of force. We’re… weaklings, really. 

There are several differences in the skeletal and muscular structure of gorillas compared to humans (obviously). Firstly, the vertebral column of the human body is shaped like an S, while the vertebral column of a gorilla is bow-shaped.

While the five toes of humans are aligned, the toes of the gorilla are all large and opposable. Their rib cages are far bigger than those of humans, as are their arm muscles. 

It should be noted that, as far as we know, no gorilla has ever gotten in the ring with a human. But they’re welcome any time!

The Strength Of Each Gorilla 

There are multiple different species of gorilla, and their strengths vary. In order of strongest to weakest (which is a funny word when describing such enormous primates), it would probably go silverback gorillas, mountain gorillas, eastern gorillas, and then finally western lowland gorillas. 

How Strong Are Male Gorillas Versus Female Gorillas?

Male gorillas are larger than female gorillas, and their body weight is nearly double that of females. This means that male gorillas are nearly twice as strong as female gorillas. 

How Strong Are Baby Gorillas?

Gorillas are born with a weight of roughly 4.5 pounds (or 2.5 kilograms), and just like humans, they’re vulnerable and weak compared to the behemoths they grow into.

They’re born with a powerful grip, though, which allows them to cling onto their mother’s body even when the mother is moving quickly. And that’s pretty quick! The biggest gorillas can run as fast as 25 miles per hour, or 40 kilometers per hour. 

How Strong Are Silverback Gorillas?

Adult silverback gorillas weigh an average of 300 to 430 pounds (or 136 to 195 kilograms). The heaviest gorilla ever recorded, found in the Amban town of Cameroon, weighed a whopping 589 pounds (or 267 kilograms), and was six feet tall (or 1.83 meters). 

How Strong Are Western Lowland Gorillas?

The western lowland gorilla is the smallest subspecies, but it’s still almost as strong as other species of gorilla, and they’re still a very large primate. 

How Strong Are Eastern Gorillas?

Fully grown adult male eastern gorillas average between 309 to 453 pounds (or 140 to 205 kilograms). Female eastern gorillas, on the other hand, tend to weigh closer to between 200 to 220 pounds (or 90 to 100 kilograms). Eastern gorillas are usually slightly stronger than the aforementioned western lowland gorilla. 

How Strong Are Mountain Gorillas?

The strength of a mountain gorilla is remarkable, and they could crush crocodiles with ease. They’re just slightly bigger than other gorillas. The average weight of the adult male is 430 pounds (or 195 kilograms), and the average weight of the adult female is closer to 200 pounds (or 100 kilograms). 

The Strength Of A Gorilla Versus The Strength Of A Grizzly Bear

In a fight between a gorilla and a grizzly bear, another animal known for its size, they'd both be quite evenly matched. The average weight of a grizzly bear is between 400 to 790 pounds (or 180 to 360 kilograms), versus the average weight of an eastern gorilla, which is 430 pounds (or 195 kilograms).

While eastern gorillas tend to be about 5 foot 6 (or 168 centimeters), grizzly bears are usually closer to 6 foot 6 (or 198 centimeters). The force of an eastern gorilla’s bite is 1,300 pounds per square inch, while the force of a grizzly bear’s bite is 1,250 pounds per square inch.

Grizzly bears can run up to 35 miles per hour (or 56 kilometers per hour), versus the eastern gorilla’s 25 miles per hour (or 40 kilometers an hour). 

It’s hard to say who’d win in a fight between an eastern gorilla and a grizzly bear. It mostly would depend on who struck first. Both of the animals could probably take out the other with just one attack. We recommend not getting between these two (just in case you were considering it). 

Conclusion: How Much Can A Gorilla Bench?

Silverback gorillas, the strongest gorillas, have the potential to bench press as much as 1,800 pounds. There are various subspecies of the gorilla, but silverbacks could bench the most weight.

That’s not to say other gorillas wouldn’t impress down at the gym- every subspecies is far stronger than any human.