So I’d say on an bodybuilding forum, it makes sense for a lot of people to be advanced/elite. I mean if advanced means you have “definite goals in the higher levels of competitive athletics,” then a high school football player would be advanced, and the numbers make sense for that.
So again, in its context those numbers make sense.
Oh, and I just looked at that BFS link. BFS training is a little outdated isn’t it? I personally think it sucks and only works for beginners (the running is especially bad and is a waste of time), but that’s beside the point.
I don’t like the progression of those numbers. It starts out well: a freshman ‘heavy’ coming in benching 185 would be pretty good, and one coming in benching 300 would be a FREAK. But, the levels for 12th grade are way off. A 200 pound bench for a 12th grade ‘heavy’ is NOT good. That’s true for the squat and clean numbers too.
The dead numbers are comparatively high. A 600 pound DL is harder than a 300 pound clean; although I do believe there would be a small number of high school athletes that could achieve 600.
I think it depends on the circumstance. For healthy individuals, hitting 315 should be pretty easy to handle.
But, for individuals who have overcome sickness or injury and have had to work their way back up to that point, then 315 IS inspirational, as it’s a sign you’re getting back on track.
For me, after dealing with anxiety attacks, I had to basically re-start on a lot of lifts (I had stopped lifting and lost 20 pounds in 2-3 months) and I was real happy when I got back to 3 plates on each side for my DL. I’m now close to 400 and hope to get 450 here in the next few months.
[quote]Higher Game wrote:
Eric Cressey knows a lot about training and having the right attitude, and I don’t mean to be an obnoxious troll or anything, but in my opinion hitting a 315 deadlift is an amazing accomplishment, especially for those with average genetics.
I was so proud when I was first able to deadlift 225: that’s 2 plates on each side, a respectable amount of weight. I’m going to be so hyped to lift 315 (I’m at least a year away, maybe 18 months) if everything goes well. 3 plates on each side is a lot of weight by any standard, meatheads and genetic prodigies be damned. 99.9% can’t deadlift over 500, let alone 635.
I don’t want to lift a huge amount of weight just to show off. I simply want a physique that’s pleasant to look at, the whole point of bodybuilding! Lifting 315 at 5% body fat (another goal of mine) is plenty to look good naked, Brad Pitt style, and I think anything more than that is getting into the realm of obsession and potential injury. Deadlifting 315 is a huge goal and dismissing it as trivial simply isn’t true for the average lifter. I started out at 135, and am almost twice as strong as I used to be, and 315 is a big deal, period.
Overall, my standards for being “impressive” are 225 for benching (2 45’s on each side), 275 for squatting (2 45’s and 2 25’s on each side) and 315 for deadlifting (3 45’s on each side). With those numbers comes a good looking body, plus that number of plates simply looks good on the bar.
I respect others’ opinions on their ideal lifts and bodies, but I am very proud of my own goals, especially in the context of my mediocre genetics.[/quote]
275 bench
315 squat
and 405 deadlift would be my standard
I think they’re pretty lame. We’ve got two sub 200 pound raw lifters in out gym who pull over 500.
The only way you’re going to make even class I raw total with pulls like that is with a disproportionately strong bench.
I’m walking around between 240 and 250 and I don’t consider a 500 pound deadlift “advanced” at all. It’s only double bodyweight after all.
The only reason these numbers seem outlandish to people is because the average modern training climate is so mediocre.
Brooks Kubik, before he got all wierd, in Dino Training said any healthy man of no less than average size should be able to acheive a 300 bench, 400 squat and 500 pull with training. Seems about right to me.
But realize that EC does know what he’s talking about; and an average gym goers probably CAN hit 315 quite easily if they eat right and train right, probably within a few weeks.
[/quote]
In a few weeks?
Are you talking safely and effectively?
Sorry man, but this sounds like bull to me, especially for a beginner who is struggling with keeping good form and trying to strengthen as opposed to disabling themselves.
All i know is the better my form gets the less I can lift. But the stronger I get. I deadlift about 200 max right now, and I am damn sure I will not be up to 350 lbs in a FEW weeks while trying as hard as I can to push with only my heels and keep my back perfectly straight.
I am 34 years old , 6 foot oneish, 157 pounds (before the morning poop). Maybe 15% bodyfat, not really certain but I’m not ultra lean by any stretch but not quite “skinny-fat either”. I have weight trained sporadically in and after my time in the Army. A few years ago I deadlifted 330ish (cant find my old training notes) at around 175 pounds. In any event my body looks like I might have seen a picture of a weight once several years ago
Last year I went through a rather depressing divorce and separation, the wife was a lesbian and I wasn’t… Combined with a heavy work load and the emotional lows I didn’t tough a weight for about a year.
Anyway at the beginning of April the Olympic bar on my lanai seemed to be mocking me, so I did I set of deadlifts, and a few days later did some more and so on. On May 21st I did a one rep max with 335, no belts, no straps, though I did wear some harbinger gloves (sue me my callouses are getting callouses so I wear glove now and then).
I am nominally a white collar worker so it can be a bit disturbing to client to have their enviro geek consultant have hands that look like they belong to a mechanic.
In any event thats a 335 deadlift in approximately 7 weeks of training. I pulled frequently, and supplemented with jelly beans, Marlboro Reds, and pots of black coffee. I am far from a natural strength athlete but it dosent seem like an amazing feat.
When I hit a 3x bodyweight though I will probably do a happy dance, and flex in the mirror while asking myself “Do you have a license for those guns?”
I can bench 225, squat 275, and pull 315. I’m 6’2", 195lbs, probably around %15 bodyfat, and still look, imo, scrawny as hell. I would not consider my physical strength impressive, and I would find it pretty weird if anyone else over the age of 12 did.
I’m shooting for 315, 405, 495; then I’ll be satisfied.
My numbers for the three lifts average 275lbs @ 188lbs @ age 49. I dead 335lbs. I’m pleased with this. Although I’ll improve all my numbers, the character of my personal and professional life place these numbers in a favorable, if somewhat receding, light.
Consider: We can’t say whether a 225lb bench is impressive until we know something about the person pressing it: gender, weight, age, etc.
Similarly, we can enlarge the scope of our inquiry to include other aspects of someone’s life: academic achievements, musical accomplishments, professional successes, spiritual commitments, domestic pride and so on.
Therefore, I can agree with this thread’s author: 815lbs is a fine powerlifting total on balance.
Balance: If the other aspects of his lifestyle are similarly sound, then this guy surely cuts one outstanding figure of a man.
I started DLs 3 months ago at 115 lbs, now I’m at 260 for reps and I’ve been adding about 15-20 lbs a week to my DL.
My numbers are good for me because they show improvement and lead me to believe that I’ll continue to raise the numbers as long as I keep training hard, eating and sleeping.
Then again…I’m addicted. During the week when I’m in class or doing other things, I think about how far I am away from Thursday (my DL day) so that I can pull MORE!
PS Nothing has added more mass on my body than deads.
[quote]EdwinBoyette wrote:
For reference here is me (157 pounds) a few days after my 335 deadlift, standing next to a 315 pound man (girlfriends brother). Inspired yet? :)[/quote]
Inspired to grow a wax moustache after seeing that pic lol
Is that a barbershop quartet? Your gf’s brother can be the other 3 guys
[quote]EdwinBoyette wrote:
For reference here is me (157 pounds) a few days after my 335 deadlift, standing next to a 315 pound man (girlfriends brother). Inspired yet? :)[/quote]
Anything bigger than your current lifts is impressive. It is relative.
But a 315 pound deadlift is NOT an amazing accomplishment, unless you have one leg. Until a few months ago I never deadlifted properly, or followed a proper routine.
My current max of 353 pounds was reached almost as soon as I bought new plates (I train at home at the moment and previously didn’t have enough weight). It basically took a split routine and about a month.
If you want to get big/strong/aesthetic/whatever, you should be able to pull that much pretty quickly. By the end of the year I want to hit 400. That does not unachievable and it does not seem like an “amazing accomplishment”.
Stop worrying about the numbers. This stuff about the ‘average lifter’ is nonsense, unless by average lifter you mean ‘people who don’t train effectively’.
