As a young lifter I thought my 485 DL was the conclusive proof that I was finally strong.
In my mid-20’s I once trained my back with a pal who was on the GB Ironman team, he just repped-out with weights which were not only heavier than mine, he wasn’t wearing straps either.
His work-rate was absolutely relentless.
It completely changed my perspective on what strength actually meant to me. He wasn’t on gear, he was pretty clueless about that sort of thing. He still looks awesome today at 41.
A prolific work-rate, functional utility and recovery ability is my idea of strong these days. I’ve long accepted that my peaks/limits are going to be much lower than if I specialised in increasing my 1RM. At least this allows me to run and to also enjoy my martial arts.
Now that I’ve got my lifting mojo back, I’m also working towards the NFL bench test. I love the thought of banging out rep after rep with 100k like I’m some kind of hydrolic press.
I also keep getting offers of cash in hand work because word’s got out that I’m not only strong, I can work flat-out pretty much all day, even though I’m almost 40.
[quote]Troglo wrote:
As a young lifter I thought my 485 DL was the conclusive proof that I was finally strong.
In my mid-20’s I once trained my back with a pal who was on the GB Ironman team, he just repped-out with weights which were not only heavier than mine, he wasn’t wearing straps either.
His work-rate was absolutely relentless.
It completely changed my perspective on what strength actually meant to me. He wasn’t on gear, he was pretty clueless about that sort of thing. He still looks awesome today at 41.
A prolific work-rate, functional utility and recovery ability is my idea of strong these days. I’ve long accepted that my peaks/limits are going to be much lower than if I specialised in increasing my 1RM. At least this allows me to run and to also enjoy my martial arts.
Now that I’ve got my lifting mojo back, I’m also working towards the NFL bench test. I love the thought of banging out rep after rep with 100k like I’m some kind of hydrolic press.
I also keep getting offers of cash in hand work because word’s got out that I’m not only strong, I can work flat-out pretty much all day, even though I’m almost 40.
[/quote]
Yea man it is a good feeling. I am working towards 25 reps at 225 which I think is the same weight you are talking about… this morning I did 4 sets of 15 with 185 and that felt great!!
315x1 - Incline Bench
365x1 - Flat Bench (paused)
405x10 - Back Squat (deep)
365x1 - Clean
225x1 - Standing OHP (no leg drive at all)
20 Dead hang chins
[quote]krummdiddy wrote:
For me one of my goals is to be able to rep 225 on the bench 25+ times…[/quote]
Lot of pro football players at the combine over the years haven’t even done that.
[/quote]
true, I am at about 14 right now… I work with 225 for my sets of 10 right now… I play ball with a guy that did 43 reps about a month ago… that is strong!![/quote]
43 is insane.[/quote]
That’s fucking strong. 43 reps on 225 bench. 43? Shit…
[quote]krummdiddy wrote:
For me one of my goals is to be able to rep 225 on the bench 25+ times…[/quote]
Lot of pro football players at the combine over the years haven’t even done that.
[/quote]
true, I am at about 14 right now… I work with 225 for my sets of 10 right now… I play ball with a guy that did 43 reps about a month ago… that is strong!![/quote]
43 is insane.[/quote]
That’s fucking strong. 43 reps on 225 bench. 43? Shit…
[/quote]
to be honest I hit 185x20 on my 5th set today and I was so krunk I thought I was going to turn green… if I hit 225x43 times I’d lose it LOL
My understanding of whats strong is a reflection of how weak I am. Anyway I think I am strong for me when I hit this weights.
( I understand that I might feel different when I reach this level )
The thing about strength is that it is a completely subjective concept.
The reality is that if you lift semi-consistently with half a thought of putting more weight on the bar every now and then… you will wind up stronger than most of the untrained population even if you suck.
That said… I think if you can fit in or you are even close to the ‘advanced’ powerlifting category for your weight class you are ‘strong’ even among other gym rats. If you can put up the elite total you are not ‘just’ strong… you are among a very very small amount of people who can put up those kind of numbers. I believe most people who weight train will never reach that. You are freak strong if you can.
I used to think a 315 bench was the king kahuna for bench strength, but now that I’ve attained that, it actually seems pretty minor. If I had to pick a number for the power lifts for a male, regardless of bodyweight, I’d say a 405 raw bench is strong and 500 for squat and dl is strong.
For the often-overlooked but extremely important rowing strength, I think a db row 225 x 5 and a chin up with 200 lbs added is strong. Also, after reading an article on elitefts about dipping strength, I think 225 lbs added for dips is pretty strong and a reasonable goal.
[quote]elliottcorum wrote:
I used to think a 315 bench was the king kahuna for bench strength, but now that I’ve attained that, it actually seems pretty minor. If I had to pick a number for the power lifts for a male, regardless of bodyweight, I’d say a 405 raw bench is strong and 500 for squat and dl is strong.
For the often-overlooked but extremely important rowing strength, I think a db row 225 x 5 and a chin up with 200 lbs added is strong. Also, after reading an article on elitefts about dipping strength, I think 225 lbs added for dips is pretty strong and a reasonable goal.[/quote]
I can do a dip with 225 added LOL but that 225 is under my shirt!! I agree about the 315 bench, in high school I worked hard to hit that, same with 225 my freshman year… I think its the adding of another plate that does it… When that 4th plate goes on it gets real!
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
200 pounds ADDED for pull ups and 225 pounds ADDED for dips?
Not sure if serious.[/quote]
Well that is strong but jeez!! I’m a big dude… If I am doing dips with 200 plus my bw I’m lifting 550 lbs LOL
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
200 pounds ADDED for pull ups and 225 pounds ADDED for dips?
Not sure if serious.[/quote]
Afaik the world record for dips is +400 pounds (marvin eder) about the pullup im not sure but i read somewhere there was someone who could do a single for triple bodyweight (i think it was jasper benincasa). those guys are definately freaks but i think 200 pounds for dips and pullups is doable
I have done a set of 3 with 180 added on dips in the past, shoulders would break now, but I could see some stronger lean guys hitting that mark. Pullups would be beastly but I suck at pullups.
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
200 pounds ADDED for pull ups and 225 pounds ADDED for dips?
Not sure if serious.[/quote]
Afaik the world record for dips is +400 pounds (marvin eder) about the pullup im not sure but i read somewhere there was someone who could do a single for triple bodyweight (i think it was jasper benincasa). those guys are definately freaks but i think 200 pounds for dips and pullups is doable[/quote]
How close are you to doing it? Your definition of doable is pretty ambitious lol.
Eric Spoto, recent world record holder in the raw bench press with 722lbs paused, doesn’t go above 225 added weight on dips. He does that for sets of like 10-15, but still. It is a HUGE amount of weight for that exercise.
I’ve never gone above 90lbs added for sets of 10. No idea how close that would put me.
