As I’ve progressed from training for conditioning and endurance most of my life to working on becoming as strong as I possibly can, it got me to wondering…What does being strong really mean…to me…to others? How strong can somebody get…based on genetics/body type, training history, age, etc.?
Is strength just raw numbers in the core lifts? Is it in relation to your height/weight? How do we define it? I mean, if we say a 315 lb. 1RM bench press is above average strength for that lift, for who? Someone that’s of average height and weight, sure, but someone benching 315 at 5’9 and 180lbs. is far more impressive than someone doing it at 6’4 240lbs. I would consider the former, stronger, even though they are lifting the same amount of weight. Or, do we also have to factor in things like limb length for certain lifts and how that changes someone’s range of motion and mechanical advantage/disadvantage in a particular lift? Are there just too many factors to really, truly define it broadly for everyone? Is it simply a unique definition for every individual?
How can it truly be defined, when there are also different types of strength, like:
Relative Strength (what are you capable of doing with your own body weight).
(Gasp) Functional Strength (As applied to either a non stable or secured position or environment and/or real life application of relative and absolute strength combined).
Absolute Strength (How much external weight can you lift)
I’m interested to hear other’s take and opinions on this.
So, I guess what I want to know is, what do the people of T-Muscle think being Strong is? What does it mean to you, and how would you define it (not just a dictionary definition)?
Is strength just raw numbers in the core lifts? Is it in relation to your height/weight? How do we define it? I mean, if we say a 315 lb. 1RM bench press is above average strength for that lift, for who? Someone that’s of average height and weight, sure, but someone benching 315 at 5’9 and 180lbs. is far more impressive than someone doing it at 6’4 240lbs. I would consider the former, stronger, even though they are lifting the same amount of weight. Or, do we also have to factor in things like limb length for certain lifts and how that changes someone’s range of motion and mechanical advantage/disadvantage in a particular lift?[/quote]
I disagree. I think someone doing it at 6’4 is more impressive without question. Take a 5’5 400 pound bencher and a 6’5 400 pound bencher and have them throw the discus for example. The 5’5 person cannot throw nearly as far and that’s not because he can’t get his arm equally high but due to lack of leverage which his shorter arms cannot generate equally well. Of course the same applies to punching power etc.
Is strength just raw numbers in the core lifts? Is it in relation to your height/weight? How do we define it? I mean, if we say a 315 lb. 1RM bench press is above average strength for that lift, for who? Someone that’s of average height and weight, sure, but someone benching 315 at 5’9 and 180lbs. is far more impressive than someone doing it at 6’4 240lbs. I would consider the former, stronger, even though they are lifting the same amount of weight. Or, do we also have to factor in things like limb length for certain lifts and how that changes someone’s range of motion and mechanical advantage/disadvantage in a particular lift?[/quote]
I disagree. I think someone doing it at 6’4 is more impressive without question. Take a 5’5 400 pound bencher and a 6’5 400 pound bencher and have them throw the discus for example. The 5’5 person cannot throw nearly as far and that’s not because he can’t get his arm equally high but due to lack of leverage which his shorter arms cannot generate equally well. Of course the same applies to punching power etc.[/quote]
Some might say that more than just height come into play when throwing a discus…
[quote]baltgilb wrote:
As I’ve progressed from training for conditioning and endurance most of my life to working on becoming as strong as I possibly can, it got me to wondering…What does being strong really mean…to me…to others? How strong can somebody get…based on genetics/body type, training history, age, etc.?
Is strength just raw numbers in the core lifts? Is it in relation to your height/weight? How do we define it? I mean, if we say a 315 lb. 1RM bench press is above average strength for that lift, for who? Someone that’s of average height and weight, sure, but someone benching 315 at 5’9 and 180lbs. is far more impressive than someone doing it at 6’4 240lbs. I would consider the former, stronger, even though they are lifting the same amount of weight. Or, do we also have to factor in things like limb length for certain lifts and how that changes someone’s range of motion and mechanical advantage/disadvantage in a particular lift? Are there just too many factors to really, truly define it broadly for everyone? Is it simply a unique definition for every individual?
How can it truly be defined, when there are also different types of strength, like:
Relative Strength (what are you capable of doing with your own body weight).
(Gasp) Functional Strength (As applied to either a non stable or secured position or environment and/or real life application of relative and absolute strength combined).
Absolute Strength (How much external weight can you lift)
I’m interested to hear other’s take and opinions on this.
So, I guess what I want to know is, what do the people of T-Muscle think being Strong is? What does it mean to you, and how would you define it (not just a dictionary definition)?[/quote]
When someone walks into the gym and you’re scared of them, not because of bad hygiene, or frothing at the mouth, but because they lift ridiculous amounts of weight, and/or are disturbingly muscular, they are “strong”.
Is strength just raw numbers in the core lifts? Is it in relation to your height/weight? How do we define it? I mean, if we say a 315 lb. 1RM bench press is above average strength for that lift, for who? Someone that’s of average height and weight, sure, but someone benching 315 at 5’9 and 180lbs. is far more impressive than someone doing it at 6’4 240lbs. I would consider the former, stronger, even though they are lifting the same amount of weight. Or, do we also have to factor in things like limb length for certain lifts and how that changes someone’s range of motion and mechanical advantage/disadvantage in a particular lift?[/quote]
I disagree. I think someone doing it at 6’4 is more impressive without question. Take a 5’5 400 pound bencher and a 6’5 400 pound bencher and have them throw the discus for example. The 5’5 person cannot throw nearly as far and that’s not because he can’t get his arm equally high but due to lack of leverage which his shorter arms cannot generate equally well. Of course the same applies to punching power etc.[/quote]
Some might say that more than just height come into play when throwing a discus…[/quote]
Counter balance of cock weight? I knew my huge schlong gave me an advantage.
However, I think he was just talking about people that know the basics. Myself throwing 130’ first time out (after learning basics) being 74" tall with 74" wing span helped considerably. Then after I started becoming proficient on the individual parts I increased it leaps and bounds and so could a short person with longer arms, however most people at 5’5" do not have 74" wing spans.
Baltgilb, I would just like to congratulate you. You’ve been a member for less than one month and already attained Level 3 status. That’s showing commitment right off the bat, my man. Good job!
Baltgilb, I would just like to congratulate you. You’ve been a member for less than one month and already attained Level 3 status. That’s showing commitment right off the bat, my man. Good job![/quote]
For me strength is relative to body weight, similar to a vehicles power-to-weight ratio. If you weight lighter than me and lift more than me on a certain lift then I’ll say you’re stronger.
There was an article floating around here on the levels to be aiming for (relative to body weight). And for the life of me I can’t remember the author.
[quote]XanderBuilt wrote:
For me strength is relative to body weight, similar to a vehicles power-to-weight ratio. If you weight lighter than me and lift more than me on a certain lift then I’ll say you’re stronger.
There was an article floating around here on the levels to be aiming for (relative to body weight). And for the life of me I can’t remember the author.
Lofty goals, and I’m not one to stimmy progress and aiming high, but I will point out that a 2x/1.5x/2.5x (BW for Squat/Bench/DL) ratio will qualify you for ELITE in every weight class in most PL federations I have seen. This means you are among the best of the best of all your powerlifting peers (which makes you infinitely far ahead of the average person). You could go to 90% of PL competitions and take home the trophy.
Personally, I would consider someone strong a bit before that (like maybe Class I if we are speaking purely in terms of PL milestones).
EDIT: My math was bad. This will only qualify you for elite in the 275 and higher weight classes. The total is WAY off for lighter lifters, and gets more skewed the lighter your BW is. Therefore you can conclude that different standards apply as you increase weight, and its not a linear progression.