Strength Standards

[William MG]

Well thank you. I look at my numbers and question if I'm getting anything done.

The tremendous benefit of strength training at our age Oso, is that we can perform mundane tasks at our age (I'm 58), that would cause other men in our same demographic cause for concern. Something as simple as loading an 80lbs bag of fertilizer into the trunk.

I understand the desire to compare, its natural, but man if you are lifting at 60 and applying yourself with diligence as I'm sure you are, my guess is you are a pretty strong dude.

Good luck with your training.

[skid]

Some people want to know where they stand in comparison to other people. Is it wrong to be competitive? Competition is what drives progress in all things...

Years ago I printed off strength standard charts that included age brackets by Kilgore but they don't seem to be on the net anymore.

Another strength level site let's you punch in your age and numbers against their 1.7 mil participant data base to see where you rate.

[AndrewLewis]

Some people want to know where they stand in comparison to other people. Is it wrong to be competitive?

You're not competitive if you're not competing. If you are competing, the competition tells you where you stand. If you aren't competing, then you use yourself as the competition to beat.

[CommanderFun]

Well thank you. I look at my numbers and question if I'm getting anything done.

If you're making the numbers bigger at any pace, you're getting something done.

[Mark E. Hurling]

As it happens, skid does compete and keeps his log in the competitive lifter subforum. His point about Kilgore is correct and unfortunate for those who might like to see some metrics rather the relativistic "you're doing good just to be lifting at your your age" pat on the back.

If someone training wants that kind of information, taking a look at some of the more reputable powerlifting federations (the SPF is not among them) results for the raw lifter's age and weight class would be a good place to start. If they want to up the ante to get a look across all federations and internationally the place to look is here: Powerlifting Rankings

[AndrewLewis]

As it happens, skid does compete and keeps his log in the competitive lifter subforum.

My response was more general than to him specifically. "One is not competitive if one is not competing."

These standards are a useless pat on the back. Or they're going to cause unnecessary anxiety. I can't tell you how many clients I've had over the years who are legitimately stressed out because they think they're not doing enough. They see people on Reddit/Instagram lie about how much they lift or omit the fact they're on steroids, and instead of focusing on getting better they're comparing themselves to other people.

I think your recommendation of just using powerlifting rankings make more sense as a comparison, because at least there's (sort of) consistency and you know if it's tested or not.

[J. Killmond]

what are strength standards for young guys with bad to decent genetics in their 20s? I've watched a video where Rip said that every athlete should be able to pull 405 off the floor. Does he mean for 5 reps or 1 rep?

Some answers have been given on this thread, but two popular ones haven't been mentioned.

According to Coach Rippetoe, "Starr's rule of thumb for a 200-lb man was a 200 press, 300 bench press, 400 squat, 500 deadlift."

60's Pressing vs. Benching

You can buy the 200/300/400/500 club sticker on the Starting Strength website:

Club Sticker – Are you in the Club? – The Aasgaard Company

"As a masters lifter" . . . I'm not gonna get to the sticker.

(N.B. It is an important standing joke for Q&A on Starting Strength Radio to preface all numbers comments by reference to masters status, if applicable.)

For Oso Negro and other masters lifters, there is hope as a different, more nuanced standard has been promulgated by Coach Rippetoe.

It's been pointed out on this thread, there are many factors, so a definitive answer is not possible and may create unnecessary anxiety or otherwise become an obstacle to getting stronger.

I would, however, note that coaches very commonly assess a lifter's progress and strength levels. (Sometimes negatively, if Starting Strength Radio is any indication, which can be pretty funny.)

Here's a baseline:

"For a 200-pound male of average height, [a one rep max of] a 1.75x bodyweight squat, a 2x bodyweight deadlift, and a 0.75x bodyweight press constitute a well-developed strength base. Although this is not regarded as 'strong' by competitive lifters, it represents a level of strength that is attainable by 95% of male trainees in a few short months of reasonably efficient training on the lifts."

Strength and Conditioning - Conditioning and Strength | Mark Rippetoe

Approaching those numbers, some for 1RMs, some for reps, has been a journey and a challenge, mentally, logistically, etc. It's not the sticker, but it's not nothing!

[Steve Cox]

Some people want to know where they stand in comparison to other people. Is it wrong to be competitive? Competition is what drives progress in all things...

Years ago I printed off strength standard charts that included age brackets by Kilgore but they don't seem to be on the net anymore.

Another strength level site let's you punch in your age and numbers against their 1.7 mil participant data base to see where you rate.

Here's a link I believe to the scales you're referring [seb note: link to twaddle removed]. But, I look at those as BS. As a 60YO male, it puts me in novice on some lifts, intermediate or advanced on others; and in the case of chin ups or pull ups, it says I'm "physically inactive" because I still can't do one prone grip pull up unassisted, even though I can do three chin ups or neutral grips unassisted. I'm none of those listed, I'm an older lifter who's slowly and patiently working his way through LP. I might or might not ever move out of LP, or perhaps finish LP and move to sustainment or something else. The tables to me are meaningless, I don't care how much I lift or even how much Rip might say I should lift (not saying he has either). All that matters to me is how much or little does my arthritis and old injuries bother me, if they don't then I'm doing something right and any assigned weight based on age is irrelevant. I agree with Andrew, if you're actively competing then it's those you're competing against to compare to. If not, then it's only yourself and whether you can increase from what you did the session before.

[stef]

But, I look at those as BS.

There you go.

if you're actively competing then it's those you're competing against to compare to. If not, then it's only yourself and whether you can increase from what you did the session before.

Someone who's training is looking at the accumulation over time - per session for novices, longer timeframes over time. It's that simple.

[CommanderFun]

That's exactly my thinking. The guy to beat is the guy you saw in the mirror yesterday, or last week, or a few weeks ago, and so on, depending on what level of advancement you're at. You don't need to look at some chart or apply some kind of weird handicap multiplier to your numbers to assure yourself you're putting in the work. It's possible two people can put in the same level of work in and out of the gym, even at the same age, general proportions, weight, and of course the same sex, and still end up with very different results. Both will end up stronger than they started, though. Some guys can end up squatting 450 before their first year of training is through, others will have to spend quite some time fighting to get there. If you're the latter, you don't need to come up with some convoluted logic to explain why you're "essentially the same" as the other guy. Everyone who understands this stuff knows this disparity exists. People who don't are fucking idiots who don't train at all.