4 Months In, 35+ "Lifter"

Training
1

So, I’ve been strength training for about 4 month…

Started out just wanting to lose weight, but got addicted to lbs numbers as I’ve moved forward…

So, yes…4 month in, I’m wondering about my numbers and how they stack up…

According to exrx, I’m supposedly in the Intermediate stage in some lifts, which I find a little hard to believe, being that it’s “supposedly” supposed to take a few years to get there, according to the site…or are the numbers on the site arbitrary, and the the amount of time, rather than the amount of weight, what matters, or counts?

Stats in lbs:

175 ohp
240 bench press
300 squat (after one month… did not focus on them to begin with…same with deadlift)
280 deadlift…

310 shin level rack pull…

Now…My question is…
Are these decent numbers for a fella who has been lifting, some exercises more than others, for 4 months…
And, how come they are so much higher than my training partners…(once a week I hang out/ train with a more seasoned lifter whose numbers are nowhere close to mine…ie. lower)

height 5.7
weight 250

Obviously I am overweight, and my reasoning for starting to lift was losing weight…
(I knew I wouldnt keep doing cardio…)I lost 30 lbs in 2 months, and from there, I got kind of hooked on seeing my numbers go up weekly…

So, yeah… It’s a long winded question…but are those numbers decent for somebody who has been training for 4 months (1 month focusing on squat and deadlift, as opposed to rack pulls)?

2

I’m not sure what you would do with the answer to your question. Will you train harder if we told you your results are poor (or great)? Would you give up?

The numbers are whatever they are, just look to get better each 3 month block and you’ll be doing well. So far, you’re on track :slight_smile:

2 Likes
3

^I agree. You omitted age and occupation.

4

Age, occupation, stress, time available to train… There’s a lot of factors that can affect your rate of progress @strongmangoals is right as long as you’re making progress ( and it appears that you are)
Then you’re doing fine.

5

There’s also the form/technique aspect. I’m not saying that you are doing a bad job but we don’t all do the exact same thing for each lift.

OHP can include leg drive for some people (I call that a push press). Some people lower the bar all the way and others might stop a bit higher. Again, it’s not a big deal how you do it but important to compare apples to apples.

The same goes for the other lifts. Squat depth, deadlift vs trap bar deadlift, and the variables go on.

There’s also two other things that came to mind. 1) doing difficult things in life such as a manual labor job can do as much or more as the weight room. If you’re in one of those fields then it’s no surprise that your numbers move quickly. 2) your seasoned lifter friends may not push themselves so their strength is less than what it could/should be.

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Started doing it at 36, 37 now. 4 months in…I work a manual job, nothing too heavy. Lots of walking and some light lifting.

I wouldn’t say I have good, or exceptionally bad form, I’m thinking it’s ok, but I havent been lifting very long, and form is still in progress.

Anyway, thanks for the replies.