I’m 5’3.5" , 147 lbs right now. I’m 11% bodyfat so I could be 141 lbs if I got to 7%. Anyway, is that a good weight to be at if I want.to get pretty strong? If not, what would he a good weight (I’m talking lean, not just gaining a bunch of fat). I don’t feel like I’m super bulky now but I’m definitely not skinny.
OK, I don’t post in this forum often because I’m not much of a powerlifter. But powerlifters train to lift heavy, and their eating is unmatched. Many gain fat because the goal is strength, not looks. Gain 20-30 lbs and you’ll be reasonably “big” for your height, I suppose.
whats the next weight-class up from 141?
67.5kgs, which is 148.5lbs, that seems about right imo
I don’t really lift for looks either, but there’s a certain point where I don’t want to go past. I don’t particularly like having a bunch of fat on me, but there’s a certain amount I could tolerate for strength gains. Being 20 pounds overweight though isn’t really an option for me.
The guy that broke two world records in the APF raw nationals this year weighs 142 in the 148, is cut and squatted 520-something, dead 600 and bench 347. Obviously he’s the best of the best, but there are at least a few people that aren’t overweight that are big lifters.
The way I’ve been thinking about it now is just to keep lifting and eat well and see if functional mass piles on or not.
The weight classes are 132, 148, 165…
For Olympic lifting its 69 kg(152 lbs), 77 kg (169 lbs), which I’m also considering getting into while I’m in college ( college level competitions are the only ones I even have a chance in, the weight the guys up a class is like 30-40+ lbs more)
What I can do right now (I started back a couple months ago and am almost done with a “novice” workout):
Bench 3x5x190, squat 3x5x275, 1x4x340 deadlift (straps though; 365 single w/o after a 5rm a few weeks ago)
20 lbs “over weight” really isn’t a whole lot.
i’d say you’d d best in lower weigt classes, 165-181
My guy is 5’3" and lifts at 165. He doesn’t really carry much extra fat. He’s thick through the chest and shoulders. Part of that is age though. He used to lift at 148 when he was younger but time puts on muscle and you thicken up.
242 class? I wouldn’t worry about the weight and instead try being 5’3" wide.
I’d say a good weight is however big you wanna be. Do what you need to do to get where YOU want to be.
What I’d really like to be able to do eventually is get an “elite” total according to the ADAU Raw Powerlifting Classificatiions. My total is ~270 lbs. away from an elite total for 148 (1185) but nearly 400 lbs. away from the elite total for 165 (1298). Obviously the second number means you’re a good bit stronger, but I have a hard time believing it would be possible for me to get anywhere near the 1298 total regardless. That’s adding like 125+ lbs to each of my lifts! The 1185 total already seems REALLY far off (like 90 lbs. per lift).
How old are you?
21 years old.
My advice would be not to worry about your weight too much right now. Worry about getting stronger. Eat enough to keep making strength gains and let your weight do whatever it’s going to do. If you are truly at 11% BF right now, there’s no point in trying to drop to 7% at this stage of your development. If you have to gain some weight to get stronger, so be it. As long as you pay attention and don’t get excessively fat then don’t worry about weight classes right now.
My theory is that while you are still young (I’m even younger than you), to take advantage of your own natural ability to grow, bc you will never experience it again in your life. I agree with SRS, just lift and let your weight do it as it may; worry about fat reduction later on.
148/67.5 for now, when you reach a relatively lean training weight of 155-160 look at transitioning to the 165/75 class.
More important than how old OP is…how long have you been squatting [properly]?
The best male PLer I’ve seen at your height was 181.
[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
The best male PLer I’ve seen at your height was 181.[/quote]
damn look at those legs
[quote]wookieeassassin wrote:
I don’t really lift for looks either, but there’s a certain point where I don’t want to go past. I don’t particularly like having a bunch of fat on me, but there’s a certain amount I could tolerate for strength gains. Being 20 pounds overweight though isn’t really an option for me.
The guy that broke two world records in the APF raw nationals this year weighs 142 in the 148, is cut and squatted 520-something, dead 600 and bench 347. Obviously he’s the best of the best, but there are at least a few people that aren’t overweight that are big lifters.
The way I’ve been thinking about it now is just to keep lifting and eat well and see if functional mass piles on or not.
The weight classes are 132, 148, 165…
For Olympic lifting its 69 kg(152 lbs), 77 kg (169 lbs), which I’m also considering getting into while I’m in college ( college level competitions are the only ones I even have a chance in, the weight the guys up a class is like 30-40+ lbs more)
What I can do right now (I started back a couple months ago and am almost done with a “novice” workout):
Bench 3x5x190, squat 3x5x275, 1x4x340 deadlift (straps though; 365 single w/o after a 5rm a few weeks ago)[/quote]
I’m 5’6/7ish right now and 141 lbs. and really haven’t found it that difficult to work on strength. Like you stated, it’s possible to reach insane lifting numbers at our weight class. But what I think you need to take into account is the fact that those guys were “probably” a lot lighter years before their meet numbers when they started training which I’m assuming you’re just starting out now. I think it’s best just to follow the advice from what others have posted to just see where your natural gains and growth rate will take you, and then re-evaluate what you should be doing. But take my advice with a grain of salt since I’m 2 years younger than you
5’ 3.5" too tall to be elite at 148 for most. 165 or 181. There’s a really nice chart in Zatsorsky’s science and practice of strength training that plots elite status, weight, and height and it is very precise looking at the lifters over the years.
By 5’ 7", most lifters have found the most success in the 198 class. At 5’ 5", 181. So you could either slide in the 165 of 181 class.
Of course, this is discounting the extreme dehydration methods used with meets that have 24 hour weigh-ins, so i’m not saying it’s not within the realm of possibility possible to weigh 160 and dehydrate to 148 and hit elite… but at this point I would focus on extra mass.