It must just be my jawline
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I get asked all the time (including at lunch today by a stranger). And I don’t even have a jawline! #beardfordays
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Beards are often used as a masking agent so its a fair assumption. Right up there with psychopathy and some other stuff.
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I never get ask either… NOPE, dumb asses just ask me about if I can get them a hook up for them. What the hell !
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It would probably take me an hour to run the mile with an oxygen tank, but I would demolish the rest of it.
Since the numbers create so much arguing and puzzling hostility, let’s just boil it down to one standard to rule them all:
-Ability to fend off X number of goose sized (by height) polar bears. I’d say 3 or 4.
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Don’t want to get into an argument about strength standards, but I find this topic interesting as a 60-year old.
I see young guys (adults) come into my gym all the time who can’t BP 95 pounds more than a few times. I’m not making fun of them at all, it’s just that the typical adult male isn’t nearly as strong as in my day. Then again, there are some young dudes who’ve never climbed a tree or played outside much. Times have changed.
Selfishly, it makes me feel better about only being able to OHP 135 (about my max right now) at a bodyweight of 175. Started lifting January 1st as a New Year’s resolution & loving it.
Would it be fair to assume that the sheer number of people now days who are in the gym comparable to when you were their age 40odd years ago is much higher?
I would imagine that in the 60’s or 70’s, being in the gym wasn’t anywhere near as popular as what it is today, so like-aged people back then who were working out were at a lot less total number, but possibly the separation between lower total numbers, but the people who were there took it more seriously, or had already been working out for a lot longer then some young adults who are in the gym today?
That’s going to be a factor for sure but I think that children/teenagers are also less active and play fewer sports than in a pre-internet world which means that they haven’t built any strength or athleticism in childhood.
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I agree. I really believe the lifestyle of today is to blame for the lack of strength.
I’m not stating every male in his prime in my day could rep 135 on the bench, but the percentage is staggeringly higher than today.
Kids simply don’t play like they used to. I seriously think my grandson has never climbed a tree & likely never will. He’s blessed with good genetic athleticism, but lots of boys aren’t. When you combine average genetics (or worse) with an inactive lifestyle (as a kid), you don’t build the strength base kids in my day did.
All we had to do was play. From the time we got up until the time we went to bed. Huge difference.
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A few observations…
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more of a question, but what country are you in? This has absolutely not been my observation, at any gym I’ve ever lifted at, and I’ve lifted at a lot of gyms. Most guys I see at the gym can handle 135+ on the bench with no problem. Your observation just runs completely counter to what I’ve observed over the last 15 years. Since you’ve only been lifting since January, I think maybe you just haven’t seen that much.
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This also just seems like a ‘back in my day’ rant. Athletes are bigger, stronger and faster today than when you were a kid, all across the board. World records in strength sports are regularly getting broken. I’m lifting weights in competition today, in the Lightweight class, that you would have seen in the 80’s and 90’s at World’s Strongest Man.
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Something else to consider about gym observations. In ‘your day’, gym attendance was much, much lower than it is today. Gym memberships are so much more ubiquitous today than they were 30 years ago. In your day, the only people who would go to the gym were people who were really dedicated to their fitness. Now, a much higher percentage of the population goes to the gym. That will inevitably translate to more people having marginal to low strength levels.
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Damn, strength standards are sad as hell today.
There is nowhere a 225lbs squat should be considered “strong” anywhere. I don’t even think 275 qualifies for GP, that’s like “getting there”
I’d say:
Bench 225
Squat 315
Deadlift 405
OHP 135
For the average joe to be considered “strong”, also factor in size. These lifts are unimpressive if dude is 300lbs.
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Flip remember i started pressing july 12?I did 90lbs max.Now i do 135 for 4 so calculated max is 150-155.So in 3 months i went up 60 lbs.(My bench slowed down though as i started to do strict ohp before benching.)And i started doing crapton of rear delts.
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I think there are a couple of things to consider here. T-levels are lower on average now vs. 25 years ago. Labor is a lot different. Even more labor intensive jobs have a lot of tools/machines that lighten a work load that didn’t exist in the past. “Manpower” is more like man + machine power today. Couple those two things with the Netflix generation and it would’t surprise me at all if our general strength curve has shifted left.
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flipcollar,
I’m simply telling you what I see at a semi-commercial gym. While I picked up lifting again only in the past few months, I’ve lifted in the past & have a decent amount of experience (although, never have stuck with it for very long).
Specifically, I’m talking about the typical young guy I see come in there, not the hardcore regulars. Rarely do I see a non-hardcore young guy be able to BP 135. VERY rarely. I’m just telling you what I’ve seen without exaggeration.
Obviously, pro athletes are bigger & stronger today, but that’s not what we’re discussing. If you think this generation is even close to what mine was (the typical adult male in his prime), you’re sadly mistaken.
The reason is clear & it’s not rocket science.
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ok chief.
You asked. :shrug:
BTW, I’m in the US near a major city.
Again, I was interested in this thread because I noticed the very same thing after being away from lifting for 20 years or so.
It actually was rather shocking. To see so many 20 - 25 year-olds, who should be close to their prime, not be able to BP 135, much less their bodyweight, was a real eye-opener.
Most young men do not value strength as much compared to say 30 years ago… most just want too look good naked. FYI I get your point of view…since I am sorta have the old school mentality myself.
A good many of this current generation that you might not see in the gym have been preoccupied with kicking Isis’s ass.
So what was going on in '78?
I’m just saying its kind of hard to judge an entire generation by what you see in the gym a couple of nights a week.
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