Target Bench and Squat weight

piperdude79

Hey All

I am 30, 5 9 and about 13.5 stone (83kg). I think i heard once that you should be able to bench your own body and squat twice your body weight. Is this correct? And does that mean just one rep at that weight?

Any informed opinion welcome!

thanks

Inspector Coptoor

as far as a i know.
the standards to be considered an advanced lifter would be to
bench x BW
Squat 1.5 x BW
deadlift 2 x BW

Moving on from there,
one would be looking for
Bench - 1.25 x BW
Squat - 2 x BW
Deadlift 2.5-3 x BW

piperdude79

thanks man. so this is just an indication of strenght and says nothing about fitness as such?

Inspector Coptoor

I'd answer yes to that question.

you can be very strong, ala powerlifting, without being very aerobically fit.

enfant terrible

http://www.criticalbench.com/benchpress-ratings.htm

squod

Pounds make me seem fat(ter), can't think in pounds.^

Barry.Oglesby

Liam Henners257 wrote: »

as far as a i know.
the standards to be considered an advanced lifter would be to
bench x BW
Squat 1.5 x BW
deadlift 2 x BW

Moving on from there,
one would be looking for
Bench - 1.25 x BW
Squat - 2 x BW
Deadlift 2.5-3 x BW

I'd agree with that though some would consider the bench low. Squatting twice your BW would be a big lift and wouldn't be in many standards, especially if you could squat 2xBW and bench BW!

Degsy

I reckon i could just about squat over bodyweight..have no real desire to push it too far it kinda scares me!

PeakOutput

there is apdf around here somewhere with the general guidelines but i cant find it here is something similar

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.htm

being able to bench press your bw is in between beginner and novice

intermediate squat is just under 1.5bw

for dealift its over 1.5 around 1.7 i think from quick glance

these are all very roughly taken from the website above and im only a beginner

The Guvnor

I prefer exrx.net!:D

The weights given on there are imo a little light where I rank elite very comfortably in both squat and bench.

In fact I once did 12 or 14 reps with the so called elite bench weight for 275lbs well 405 not 407.

To answer the original poster if you can squat, bench or deadlift 100kgs or more properly you are doing well, 140kg is getting much better and 180kg is not at all common!

Squatting twice your BW properly is not common and certainly less common IMO than benching your BW.

BrianD3

There's also Bryce Lane's take on this
http://www.ironsports.tv/hwgdami.htm

The "fit guy" category is a good one to aim for for those who train for recreation and want to get strong but don't have ambitions to compete in a strength sport.

I often wonder how those who do lifting and manual labour as part of their jobs would fare if tested according to these standards using barbells. I once watched a delivery truck driver lift appliances (fridges, washing machines etc.) with seemingly little effort out of a truck. The guy undoubtedly had a strong back and grip but how would he do if asked to deadlift a barbell.

rubadub

BrianD3 wrote: »

I often wonder how those who do lifting and manual labour as part of their jobs would fare if tested according to these standards using barbells.

Mate of mine does a lot of manual labour and I would consider him very strong, saw him attempting chinups and could only manage a few, I could do a lot more but I would still consider him a lot stronger. I have helped him moving furniture and moving stuff -"exercises" he would ordinarily do, he was throwing stuff around with complete ease.

I have seen it said that gymnasts who rarely trained with weights could have a decent bench & deadlift -but a weightlifter would probably not be able to do the gymnastic strength moves that they could.

I think it comes down to what you are used to, and your body/CNS might get used to it. I stopped ring dips for a while and numbers plummeted and flew up again when I got back into them.

I personally do not bother much with legwork, and people would probably say I have a disproportionately strong upper body. Fact is when working and doing tasks I don't think I have ever been limited by a lack of leg strength. The way I see it people are walking around on their legs all day and are already getting a lot of resistance training. If I walked around doing handstands all day then my legs might be flagging behind! -of course there is the hormonal release effect etc of doing deadlifts & squats, but for me I see far more benefit in a stronger upperbody than legs. I could deadlift maybe 140kg but nothing I lift in real life is that shape, I can barely pick up a 50kg box and put it on a shelf/table, legs are not an issue in doing this.