Strength Standards: What is Considered Strong? Comparing Novice, Competitive and World Class Lifts 

😊90s a

I got a MW Am squat but a trained bench someone fix me

i know right? getting "big man" has made me appreciate myself a little more even though it took me 2 1/2 years of bodybuilding then almost 2 years of power-lifting to get here. fuck it being "big man" makes it all worth it

@@jasonhuang1940 you have 500+ squat & 225 bench?

@BARBAR BINKLE 🤣🤣 probably accurae

@@The11thDimension91 Doesn't even sound that unlikely. I can basically DL double my benchpress. Despite benching twice a week, and deadlifting only once. Deadlift is also my most skipped excercise, sometimes because it was friday, and i wasnt fully motivated yet, more often because i had injuries that prevent DL but nothing else.

Same 👋🏾

I found it encouraging! 🤔🤷🏼‍♂️

I do the same thing my friend xD

😂

I came here to motivate myself 😀

Same!

I wish...got a 500 lb squat and a 475 deadlift...but just managed to hit 300 on the bench...So my bench (and to a lessor degree my deadlift stink lol)

@@12Beastn assuming you're in the hobbyist category those are pretty damn good numbers and in the Bromley "big man" rank. I've always been amazed by people with higher squats than deadlift

@@thir7fhfnds303 same with the larger squat than deadlift. I blame my t-rex physique that makes deadlift so much harder. People tend to gravitate to the lifts they like more too and it happens when naturally more adept at squats.

@ good luck! Also a lot of respect to SWAT

I'm from the US and have gotten pretty used to kg since I watch a lot of Olympic Weightlifting lol

I’m new to this all I know is it’s something like 2.2 lbs per kg so instead of 45s it’s 44s or something like that

I can deal with kg but not the wierd measurements that Britain uses like stones

​@@mpforeverunlimited"an asteroid the size of 7.6 washing machines"

You're from the UK, where you use pounds, ounces, and stones. Why are you converting, exactly? Learn your own damn native measurements!

It's one of the most cringe worthy things to ever exist anytime u hear someone or u see someone or some show or movie, talking unrealistic numbers, saying shit like benching 400 lbs or whatever. My max is 435 at 181 lbs, and I've worked my ass off for where I am, and in also not ignorant my old man lifted his whole life so the weights ain't nothing new to me I know most ppl truly never lift 315 on the bench even the big guys who look like they could do 500,most honestly never hot that 315,/and 315 is a strong very nice be ch to have no matter the size but when you really lift in real life and u hear guys throwing around numbers that are completely unrealistic and usually u can tell they actually believe the shit their saying. Prolly the thing that single handily immediately makes my blood boil

@@jamesmounts4379 yeah like in pain and gain. Mark wahlbergs character says he can bench 400lbs.

Bs at that bench

@@jamesmounts4379only 5% of people who go to the gym can lift 315, let alone the general population.

@@DayZeroGaming lol its wayyyy less than 5%. probably closer to 0.005%

If you have great genetics and take steroids you will look stronger than you actually are

who cares? I got to a 400lb squat at 170lbs and that shits fukin useless. I'm never squatting again because I don't see value in it nor do I enjoy it. I didn't even have good looking quads.

@@devonreynolds6425 of course you have

@@him050 If you think a 400lb squat is unbelievable or something to brag about you're extremely weak. It takes consistent effort but unless you have a disease you should be able to accomplish that number in 2-3 years of natural lifting, unless you're a child. Any grown man should be able to do this. Most people weigh more than me, so it should be even easier since they allow themselves to be fat.

@@devonreynolds6425 Some people's standards are just too low lmao

Nah, got you way beat. At my best I had a MW AM Squat, a Big Man Deadlift...... and between a Novice and Trained Bench. No matter how I attacked training my arms and shoulders, couldn't gain much. Oh well, I'll settle for what I had long ago.

@@BIGJATPSU Same man, although i am far weaker than that. Literally double bench on DL. Adding weight to squat every 2 weeks approx, every week to DL, and my bench just didnt move in 1,5 month, despite doing it twice a week, and only squatting and deadlifting once.

@@BIGJATPSU I can't do less bench, i'm on nsuns 4 day programme. Results were spectacular, in all but bench honestly. It also does C.G. bench, which helps with the weakest part of my benchpress. It's just that max load goes very sluggish.

I can totally relate, I've got a novice squat and deadlift, while my bench falls between trained and big man.

@@cookiemazino3731 mw am squat and deadlift but a novice bench and trained OHP. Idk lol legs and back strong as hell, everything else is 👎🏻

Ask a woman to do that lol

​@@kuraido6370 Nope

@@qr8292 why

@@shafaatoo9328 because the original comment asked this guy to do it not a woman or a different man

I wonder why people don't watch women doing strength sports as much.

Isaac Cotherman Strongly depends on your height/weight in my less-than-professional opinion. If you're a 6'6" 350 pound guy, your genetics are probably behind the curve, or your training/recovery/etc. has been subpar, but this isn't necessarily indicative of your upper ceiling. If you're 5'8" and 150, your genetics are fantastic for being able to reach that number in only a year and most likely have been following a great training regime, but you might have a very low ceiling for strength, at least at only 150 pounds. To be truly sure of your upper ceiling there is only one way to find out: be the best you can be. Try different weight classes, see where your natural limit of lean muscle mass places you. Once you're very close to being there in five or so years, either focus continually on becoming the strongest you can possibly be at that weight, or lean very slowly into trying HRT if you deem that decision appropriate for you and yours, and reach the top of what you can do with that intelligently and safely. Assuming you're on the younger side of things, you have plenty of time to experiment and see where you can land in whatever strength goals you intend to chase, just don't rush things and focus on finding your ceiling(s). After five years of structured training and dieting, you'll have a pretty clear idea of where you're sitting and can plan for what you want to do/are capable of in your more advanced stages.

Going from 405 to 500 didn’t take me very long. Probably 6 months to a year. Then 520 came in a couple months. Then it was a crawl to 545 and I had to eat everything to get there. So at six feet with a good frame I’d say a year to hit 5, but with a very smooth physique

@@jacob74947 I'm 30yo, 5'8", 196lbs and sitting about 15% body fat after 16 months of training (started out at about 170 in Dec. 2018). I hit 405 last November, but caught a stomach illness in December and lost about 10 lbs. Haven't worked back to it since, but I could probably hit it again if I peaked for 3-4 weeks. I'm not necessarily interested in my upper ceiling so much as I am interested in gauging the effectiveness of my programming as I go and hearing what has worked well for other people (which I know doesn't guarantee it will work well for me). I'd like to see a channel like Bromley's, Thrall's, or Omar's do a series interviewing different people (competitors and also just recreational trainees) about their lifting journeys, especially how long it took them to hit certain milestones that they were really proud of and what the process was like to get them there. Anyway, thanks for the input!

You guys all have some insane times lol. Been lifting for a while and still not close to that.

Isaac Cotherman So from what I'm seeing, you hit a little over a 2x bodyweight squat in about 11 months from when you started formal training. I would say you're strongly holding your place in the pack in terms of advancement up to November. To give you a very small, but vaguely similar comparison of myself to you (I would have certainly fell into the "recreational trainee" category at this point), I squatted 315 back when I was 17 after a little over a year of formal training. I was about 150lbs. at the time, 20% body fat, and I am also 5'8". But I would agree with you in that I would also like to hear about the timelines of professional athletes to benchmark my own progress upon. I would say whatever template you followed up to November worked well for you, and you progressed about as quickly as you can for the average person in their first year (assuming your squat started significantly lower than 405). However, if you haven't seen much progress in the 5-6 months since then, I would take a second look at what you're doing and consider a change in programming. If I may ask, what did you follow in the initial times? Are you still following it now? I'll throw in my two cents and just say that the Juggernaut Method worked very well for my intermediate struggle. My squat very strongly responded to the large increase in volume and it exploded after just one cycle of the template. You also seem very much like a squat specialist, so I'd consider running a 20 rep squat template for a few weeks between large training blocks to really get some fresh stimulus after handling low volume, high intensity work for weeks at the end of blocks. But, again, this is only what worked for me, only you can find out what works with you too.

I don't think so man, maybe try moving body weight/fat around but trying to keep these standards. That's my plan at least.

Mewtwo mommy build

You won't be doing 5 plates at 60. The main problem is spinal disk compression with age, so don't do it. 3 plates max.

I mean kinda I think what tempers this is whether or not any pro's train at your gym as well. By pros I mean powerlifters and body builders, seeing people do working sets at your one rep max is always very humbling

@@jorgenoname6062 It is humbling but it’s more motivating then humbling, it shows you can achieve more and not be satisfied with your current level. But in my experience the strongest guys are usually the most humble

​@@maticsimonic9673I watched a dude bench my deadlift last week 😂 thought I was fairly hot shit up until then

@@maticsimonic9673 Some guys at my gym, the earth shakes as they walk. That big. Maybe 350 lbs body wt. Then they slam out 315 lb bench. So what. I have no intention of ever getting that big just to lift more. However, at 260 lb body wt, I can get to 225 bench, which is fine for me.

Certainly providing uniquely informative content.

Alphadestiny , Matt Wenning , Mike Rashid

Lluc Aristondo Alzina Just means you got to keep training! Keep at it man! Also....you’re weak

Bet you're stronger than you were last year.

@@sheadoherty7434 yeah jajqjqj thats true

@@BrettLong 😆😆😆😆😆

a person could weigh more and not have as much muscle on the body parts used in lifting like the chest and tris used for bench. than a person who weighs less

@@tunnelvision7906 yes but by nature, a person who weighs more with similar composition will have more muscle mass. Also even if you're fatter your muscles have to work harder to just move you around

P4p is important the only people who don't recognize efficiencie is none efficient people. Omg a 350 pound man can bench 415 omg lol not really impressive plus sloppy joe will be to slow to ever use the power if things got real.

@@loveoverhate7503 I love the 260lb guys that think they're hot shit cause they can outlift a 150lb man

Yeah man i average between 145 to 170 pounds but back when i was bodybuilding and probably 170 to 185 i could lift a ton more weight like my bench press was 80kg on incline bench a few months in now its probably 25kg maybe 40kg all cuz of an injury and my much lower body weight right now.

Mufin Makes Music that statement aged poorly

@@thorek55 I mean it he holds the deadlift record

@@jimmyneutron8052 no thor broke it

@@jimmyneutron8052 He's the record holder in BOOK Lifting😂. The deadlift king is Halfthor Björnsson.

It held up for 4 years and only one person has even been within 30kg

I actually have some of those typed up, but that would make a long video and most viewers arent strongman hopefuls. Go to the forum, theres a sticky called Strength Standards, they are posted there

That was exactly what I saw in my gym. Strongest guys were in the trained category at best. Then I moved gyms and there are now a few guys in the "big guy" category. And well they actually do look pretty big, compared to regular people. Also, at 48 years of age the "novice" is probably the same as a 20 year old in "trained" just because young people will naturally progress way faster at strenght sports.

you probably go to a commercial gym. Not in any way the same as a power-lifting, or weightlifting gym

@@sw-gz9ps What does the gym change anything ? This is a university gym, it has all the equipment necessary and I see people training every day. There are more now that are on an advanced level that I thought but still a small minority.

@@TheBenjil just go to a power-lifting gym and you'll see a room full of people hitting these numbers. Commercial gyms are full of people who do not take their training seriously, dont have enough time to dedicate to training (other priorities), people that constantly take time off, and don't understand strength training programming

​@@sw-gz9psthese are standards, it shouldn't matter what gym you're in

You at the trained level yet, bro?

You’re stronger than 90% of the world population so take pride in it and don’t demean yourself. Keep training and make that 90% of the world population to 90% of trained individuals

@@Jmack7861 DAMNNN THAT IS MOTIVATING thank you whoever you are im wishing u the best in lifting and life :D

@Cult of DECC i dont have competition or anything like that to measure myself with when i was boxing i had a friend and we sparred a lot butt since i left boxing and started strength training in my basment its just me myself and i XD thank you aswell and im wishing u the best

How long have you been training for?

you squat way more than me but i can do 20 reps with 120kg on deadlift, we all suck somewhere, 85kg 24 years old, started training at 22 tho

That is what big men are: tall and heavy. If you bulk up you can become bigger on one of the two dimensions.

I explained in another post here; that number is for world class OHP ability in general (namely barbell out of a rack), not specific to Strongman implements or even an event with a clean. While Z was one of the best pressers in the sport of strongman, there are plenty of Oly lifters who are capable of outperforming him. There isn't a premium in strongman on overhead ability (it's one event and it doesn't carry over to any other event) so I have an assumption that those numbers are artificially low.

There have been several Olympic lifters from the 60's and 70's who pressed 500

@@AlexanderBromley I can't for the life of me find a single overhead press online that even comes lose to 600lbs... The closest I've seen was a couple push presses around the 530lb mark, but those were far from strict. Big Z basically Strict Pressed a log that was a bit over 500lb, so I'd argue he was the best overhead presser of all time in his prime

@@AlexanderBromley Zydrunas also claims a 570 standing overhead press.

@@simondean5227 I think he is counting the jerk also as OHP. These are the two heaviest jerks in internet: 270 kg/ 600 lbs ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QFesjbNd-D4.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OhxAOm6kpM0.html

That seems more realistic for me. A natural lifter who stands a staggering 5’4” 145lbs (fairly lean) and 315 lbs and shit for genetics.

I think body weight should be included. If you're 150, that 315 is going to be damn near impossible. Hell 225 is pretty good for most men that weigh 200. I think the standard should be considered doing multiple sets with your body weight. Look at Thor - 440lbs and benches 550. I wonder if he does multiple sets of 440? So why wouldn't you consider a 180 guy who puts up 225 for reps super strong?

@@jamie49868 exactly dude plus the fact that all these big numbers of the strength athletes are peds enchanced based not purely naturally achievable

@@shoaibhaq8680 You are right. I don't care what anybody says, if your sole pursuit is to get big and push up big number, the juice will flow. Everybody plateaus if you lift long enough, and most of the "strong men" start juicing way before they plateau just to keep up. For the rest of us that just want to be a little stronger, look a little better, don't want or can't afford to get injured lifting, and our lives prevent us from living in a gym, body weight reps is pretty damn strong. Peace Brother.

@@jamie49868 yep true.. Peace out

I am 35 and in the "trained" categories. I gotta keep it up.

There are many components of strength, but your mention of endurance is one I go for on bench that most just don't care about. They want their max then they leave. I might do less, but I do up to 45 minutes of it.

Damn dude you got my exact numbers other than your ohp and squat beating me by 20 and 10 lbs. Also 160

What is your height if you don't mind my asking. Your numbers are excellent.

@@RamblinMoonchild I'm 5'5"

@@mrdune5479 good work. Great numbers keep it up.

@@RamblinMoonchild thanks king

No one cares bro

No one cares about PEDs. I'm not winning any points for being average but natty.

Shea Doherty Sure do your thing. Just saying when covering strength standards from recreational lifters to career lifters there are tested / non-tested records among the latter. There is a point in differentiating between the two. Otherwise especially recreational lifters get a distorted view.

Kendall thompson Try and google the IPF.

@@nineorders6626 in my best form(crossfit competitior, not gym powerlifting) i did all big man lifts, literally every single number was my max. No PEDs mate just few years of training. But I was never able to go over that numbers even when I swap to more bodybuilding workouts. Right now I cant do any of that numbers but I had a year of relaksing🤣

i have no idea, but that's actually cool

At 65 and over, realistic goals are probably about 65-70% of the numbers in the video. If you had been a competitive powerlifter in the past, that wouldn't apply (assuming no major injuries) but someone who just lifts to be and stay strong would be happy with your numbers at your bodyweight. Over double bodyweight deadlift is pretty decent. Remember that as you get older extra bodyweight (even if it is muscle) puts extra load on your heart.

270kg/600 lbs ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QFesjbNd-D4.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OhxAOm6kpM0.html

Hall did 216kg on axle and he was all shoulders even tho he didn't need to be.

@@andrewbrower9661 Hall got so thick at his peak that he couldn't coordinate his leg drive with his OH press movement. I saw a video of him "push pressing" (can't find it now) and it looked bad. So, the fact that he did the axle press strict wasn't a show of strength, it was the only way he could do it.

It was jerk done by a pro weightlifter. He should have done log instead of a jerk record since no strongman competition is gonna see how much you can lift on a barbell out of a rack

@@Traslatioimperi thanks never seen this before. Crazy.

About 10%

Only at the same bodyweight.@@zmb5501

If you’re not a professional athlete these numbers don’t mean anything, a good physique and healthy body is much more worthwhile

Might want to try varying how many times you train the same body part. In my 20's I was stuck at 6 reps at 80kg for a few years, I did what the magazines said and only trained a body part twice a week, so did bench press every 4 days. I needed a change, so did bench 3-4 days straight and in a month was doing better than 90kg at 8 reps, it was the boost I needed and got to 100kg soon after. Just be careful not to over train, but I was under training and getting no where.

I’m 5’6” and just had an absolute blast in my first strongman competition 👍 don’t let height hold you back

If you want to increase those numbers I'd quit running really far. All running isn't bad but long distance running and heavy weight lifting just don't mix well.

don't worry man you are not alone lol

Do pull ups,push ups and dips,a lot...and then slowly start bench pressing,dead and squat

Bulk

Genetics

That’s because your weight is very low. Bulk up to 170-180 and you will easily surpass novice numbers in around 6 months given a proper program and good nutrition is in place

Rijul Ranjan my numbers are finally at novice numbers but I still weigh the same

betoq_z28 oh ok that’s great! I mean in case you do want to increase your weight, just eat more and you can prob focus on hypertrophy stuff if your interested in that because your baseline strength will now allow you to go heavy with accessories

Mine too ... But u gotta start somewhere and work upto these numbers

Go look up the Chinese weightlifting team, lu xiaojun and then get back to me

@@lexlavi He’s also literally in a weight division. That’s why he competed in the 77kg division. By default, heavier people are capable of putting more mass. It’s basic science. The taller you are, the more muscle your bones, and ligaments are able to hold. There are weight divisions in (natural) body building for a reason.

Women's standards would look like moving squat and deadlift down a level and bench press down two levels.

Yes. All competition records / scores are one rep max.

@Austin would that persons one rep max not be 140kg?

You're right about that; 80% of men (or more) are sedentary and do zero physical activity. But using them to base performance standards off of is setting the bar really low. Losing weight was surely a better move health wise, but you probably winged your diet and training, as so many do, and your strength suffered. That doesn't mean it was so unreasonably difficult to maintain your strength that standards need to be changed to reflect it, it just means it wasn't a priority for you so you didn't. That's why we have these standards in the first place, to set fixed goal posts about what reasonable achievements are for those eager to meet them.

@@AlexanderBromley Thank you for responding. You have some valid points. However I feel it's unreasonable to expect the lift range from a 180lb man to be the same as a 270lb man. Even more so if they are both avid lifters. After all that is why they have weight divisions. Thanks again, and you have an inspiring channel.

same 😭 so much dicking around before these last 3-4 years

Some people need to work harder then others. Iv been working out for months, I feel like iv gotten weaker. Loosing weight is easy, though for some reason getting stronger is much harder for me then I remember back when younger.

Also, bodyweight matters, no matter how you slice it. If you never allow yourself to become a bit chubby, it's difficult to put up big numbers

Please, PLEASE!! Fill us in on the experience you've picked up in between doll collecting

@@AlexanderBromley Ohh... Sic burn! Sounds like I hurt someone's feelings. Sorry guy, just find it funny how you chose to deny reality with that statement.

You got me. Yet it still stands, no one cares about your strength body weight ratio

@@AlexanderBromley Lol, of course they do. People lose their minds watching a 165 pound guy bench 405. Nobody bats an eye when a big chubby guy does it. I mean strong is strong, (and thanks for labeling me a "big guy" with your chart) but pound for pound matters to most people, in looks, functionality, health (in most cases) and the smaller guy is winning more competitions and setting more records, especially when you take weight class into account. Also, also... If an individual's natural max power potential achievement is the goal, *body weight matters.* Adding a surplus of calories, and packing on some extra pounds, is going to help a guy lift more.

@@LastBastian nope.

Hell do more I bet. He said if he gets a more subs on RU-vid he’ll try more

It's based on what you can get overhead, not a strict OHP. Push press, some sort of jerk, etc. I'd say a 600lb bencher would probably be close to a 400lb strict press, unless they didn't train that movement.

Thor Asgarde It’s any way not strict. Like I can strict overhead 210 but push press 270. Leg drive is allowed in strongman