How fit should a man be?

entropi

Rycn wrote: »

No, my brain.

That's part of my point....read on after the next quotes

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

if you can do that you're either a gymnast or weigh 60kg

what's that supposed to mean?

JayRoc wrote: »

Ah here, don't be dragging us into this! If someone came along and said he could do all of that I'd boot him off the site and back to ilovejustinbieber.com

General rule is: lots of bodyweight exercises = he must be a skinny bastard

JayRoc, fully agreed...sounds like a hell of alot of bodyweight stuff...it may be good for building a bit of strength, but lifting is always gonna help if they are capable of it. To yourself and L, I only named that forum as the more popular example of where someone will look for a training program/fitness evaluation and get so many answers from so many people, that you can't really believe what you hear too much...do what works for you. If it seemed like a bit of a pissy answer, I apologise.

IMO, general fitness for a man is not defined by a set standard of rules by any one person/group: it depends on previous fitness levels, potential, diet, sport or employment can influence what is deemed fit or not. Take for example sports...there could be a guy playing Sunday league soccer who is very fit by a regular guy's standards, but would pale in comparison to a professional. Same with stuff like powerlifting: if you are not committed to it, you certainly won't do as well as someone who trains for that purpose.

The average guy should have a base level of fitness, something that will allow him to carry out everyday tasks without a risk of injury. If he wants to aim higher, then so be it...just do it either a supervised or safe way.

amacachi

Sub 6 minute mile, bodyweight bench, 1.5x bodyweight squat, 2x bodyweight deadlift and 100 press-ups.
Someday.

G86

amacachi wrote: »

Sub 6 minute mile, bodyweight bench, 1.5x bodyweight squat, 2x bodyweight deadlift and 100 press-ups.
Someday.

+1

I'm a girl and I'd be aiming for the above too, so I'd generally expect a guy who considered himself 'fit' to be doing the same.

norrie rugger

G86 wrote: »

+1

I'm a girl and I'd be aiming for the above too, so I'd generally expect a guy who considered himself 'fit' to be doing the same.

Would struggle for that. Not by much mind, as I have not been in the gym in months but the fact that you are both "aiming" for that shows that this is not just standard fitness.
I am a fat mess and could only aim for that because we have been training for almost 7 months.
I will take your level of fitness and ask you to play a full match of rugby/soccer/hurling/football.
I echo what other people state, it depends on what you are trying to be fit for. Doing loads of weights etc does not make you fit in the cardio sense and doing cardio does not make you fit in the strength sense

G86

norrie rugger wrote: »

Would struggle for that. Not by much mind, as I have not been in the gym in months but the fact that you are both "aiming" for that shows that this is not just standard fitness.
I am a fat mess and could only aim for that because we have been training for almost 7 months.
I will take your level of fitness and ask you to play a full match of rugby/soccer/hurling/football.
I echo what other people state, it depends on what you are trying to be fit for. Doing loads of weights etc does not make you fit in the cardio sense and doing cardio does not make you fit in the strength sense

Hmmm, I get what you're saying, but I think it's good standard measure for anyone tbh; it's not just about 'lifting weights', it's about the strength that they also need for their sport.

Also, there was a sub 6min mile in that - so there's your cardio:)

Joeyjoejoe83

amacachi wrote: »

Sub 6 minute mile, bodyweight bench, 1.5x bodyweight squat, 2x bodyweight deadlift and 100 press-ups.
Someday.

Hmm to me this seems like a lot for normal fitness, this is what I would consider very fit. Maybe 7 minute mile, 80% bodyweight for both squats and bench and 100 press ups, but I'm 6'4" and weight 104kg so my levels seem a bit higher!

itsallaboutheL

Joeyjoejoe83 wrote: »

Hmm to me this seems like a lot for normal fitness, this is what I would consider very fit. Maybe 7 minute mile, 80% bodyweight for both squats and bench and 100 press ups, but I'm 6'4" and weight 104kg so my levels seem a bit higher!

100 press ups =/= 80% BW bench!

These people going on about 500 situps and 100 press ups are either very very light or delusional

Bottle_of_Smoke

amacachi wrote: »

Sub 6 minute mile, bodyweight bench, 1.5x bodyweight squat, 2x bodyweight deadlift and 100 press-ups.
Someday.

how many reps for the compound lifts?

Joeyjoejoe83

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

100 press ups =/= 80% BW bench!

These people going on about 500 situps and 100 press ups are either very very light or delusional

Sorry meant thats what I'd aspire to, but agree with the delusional part. Clearly not doing them right if 500 sit ups are a piece of piss.

G86

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

These people going on about 500 situps and 100 press ups are either very very light or delusional

Or very very hot...:D

amacachi

G86 wrote: »

+1

I'm a girl and I'd be aiming for the above too, so I'd generally expect a guy who considered himself 'fit' to be doing the same.

I'd be a long way off and haven't worked out in ages, and I'm very overweight and unfit but if my dad could do it...

norrie rugger wrote: »

Would struggle for that. Not by much mind, as I have not been in the gym in months but the fact that you are both "aiming" for that shows that this is not just standard fitness.
I am a fat mess and could only aim for that because we have been training for almost 7 months.
I will take your level of fitness and ask you to play a full match of rugby/soccer/hurling/football.
I echo what other people state, it depends on what you are trying to be fit for. Doing loads of weights etc does not make you fit in the cardio sense and doing cardio does not make you fit in the strength sense

Obviously cardio training doesn't make your lifts better or vice-versa, hence why I mentioned a few different areas.I'm a lardarse and am very week but 80% bodyweight squat

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

These people going on about 500 situps and 100 press ups are either very very light or delusional

Ya think? My dad used to do one-handed pressups til I got bored of counting, he would've been in his very late thirties at the time with a bad back and beer belly starting to form. :pac:

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

how many reps for the compound lifts?

Just the one.

itsallaboutheL

G86 wrote: »

Or very very hot...:D

amacachi wrote: »

Ya think? My dad used to do one-handed pressups til I got bored of counting, he would've been in his very late thirties at the time with a bad back and beer belly starting to form. :pac:

I don't want to doubt you. But..

amacachi

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

I don't want to doubt you. But..

Any particular reason I'd make it up?

mikom

Joeyjoejoe83 wrote: »

How fit should a man be?

I knew a lad who had a 6 days/per week workout regimen that included....

stretching up to 40 minutes before each session
core exercises
endurance runs of 7 miles
speed runs of 3 miles
along with weight training.

His wife and children did not think him much of a man.

Tiger woods

SugarHigh

amacachi wrote: »

Any particular reason I'd make it up?

I don't think you're making it up as I'm sure you genuinely believe it, just like some people genuinely believe they can do 50 pull ups and then they show you their form.:D

itsallaboutheL

amacachi wrote: »

Any particular reason I'd make it up?

SugarHigh wrote: »

I don't think you're making it up as I'm sure you genuinely believe it, just like some people genuinely believe they can do 50 pull ups and then they show you their form.:D

This.

And the fact that i thought my dad was the srtongest person in the world when i was a kid, i didn't do half the **** my 5 year old brain thought he did.

scientific1982

Fit enough to help the women folk and elderly in your family lift heavy things. After that, meh.

amacachi

SugarHigh wrote: »

I don't think you're making it up as I'm sure you genuinely believe it, just like some people genuinely believe they can do 50 pull ups and then they show you their form.:D

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

This.

And the fact that i thought my dad was the srtongest person in the world when i was a kid, i didn't do half the **** my 5 year old brain thought he did.

Well I was there when it happened. I'm not sure how bad someone's pressup form can be when their back is already done in. :pac: My dad was ridiculously strong for his size though and it's only since he hit 50 that the dad strength started to fade. I'm not going to bore yous with his height/weight coz if yous don't wanna believe it that's your prerogative.

L31mr0d

I don't think a man needs to necessarily be at a particular level of fitness. I do however think a man should always be striving to be fitter.

Laziness of mind or body or both are disdainful characteristics imho.

Bottle_of_Smoke

amacachi wrote: »

Just the one.

That's probably reasonable for bench/squats. but 2x your weight for deadlift seems excesive. I think you'd have to be training hard and eating well for a long time before achieving that.

G86

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

That's probably reasonable for bench/squats. but 2x your weight for deadlift seems excesive. I think you'd have to be training hard and eating well for a long time before achieving that.

You think? Most guys I know would be capable of a double BW deadlift(or near it at least), albeit with sh!te form.

Bottle_of_Smoke

G86 wrote: »

You think? Most guys I know would be capable of a double BW deadlift(or near it at least), albeit with sh!te form.

Well I assumed we were talking about perfect form here. Most I've ever managed on a deadlift was 90kg and I'm 72kg. Though if I was only doing it for one rep I'd say I could do 110kg

Surely deadlifting double your bodyweight with bad form is incredibley dangerous?

Also most guys you know . . . are most guys you know bodybuilders by any chance? Most guys I know have never set foot in a gym!

BigDuffman

Dunno if its ego stroking or just sillyness. But unless people on this forum represent the fit segment of society what I'm seeing as being the basic level of fitness on here is silly.

I work in the sports industry and can safely say that being able to do 1 armed pressups is not a necessity for the average male.

In my books. A measure of fitness is completely down to the age and profile of the person.

As posters have mentioned, I've had people in front of me who claim to be able to bang out 60 press ups who then start doing some bizzare "nose dive" or start dry humping the ground. When corrected most of them struggle to blast out 30! In general, if your getting into tripple figures when doing reps of LME your doing it wrong or you weigh less than your picture.

So it is hard to base someones fitness based on a standard measure applied to anonymous internet posters!

I know super fit athletes who could not do 3 pull ups. I also know super strong blokes who could not do 2 miles!

The OP asked for the average man. It appears we have some fitness freaks with us here on tGC:D

In my books what would be considered an average to fit scale is:

2 Miles 15 Mins
35 Push Ups in 60 Seconds
40 Sit ups in 60 Seconds
10K in 50 mins

Bearing in mind that majority of the male population over 28 are NOT fit. And are more than likely not to be involved in sports / general fitness.

G86

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Well I assumed we were talking about perfect form here. Most I've ever managed on a deadlift was 90kg and I'm 72kg. Though if I was only doing it for one rep I'd say I could do 110kg

Surely deadlifting double your bodyweight with bad form is incredibley dangerous?

If it's your 1rm then it's going to be bad form. Maxes are never pretty.

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Also most guys you know . . . are most guys you know bodybuilders by any chance?

Nope.

--Kaiser--

I like this definition:

"Every man should be able to save his own life. He should be able to swim far enough, run fast and long enough to save his life in case of emergency and necessity. He also should be able to chin himself up a reasonable number of times, as well as to dip a number of times, and he should be able to jump a reasonable height and distance."

Bottle_of_Smoke

G86 wrote: »

If it's your 1rm then it's going to be bad form. Maxes are never pretty.

Well I would only count your max at perfect form.

Nope.

Well they must be gym goers at the very least. If the average Irish man could even deadlift his bodyweight we wouldn't be such fat bastards

Logical Fallacy

G86 wrote: »

You think? Most guys I know would be capable of a double BW deadlift(or near it at least), albeit with sh!te form.

If the form is **** the lift doesn't count.

G86

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

If the form is **** the lift doesn't count.

That's bullsh!t, your form is never going to be brilliant on your max effort.

G86

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Well I would only count your max at perfect form.


Fair enough, but in that case it's not your true max.

Bottle_of_Smoke wrote: »

Well they must be gym goers at the very least. If the average Irish man could even deadlift his bodyweight we wouldn't be such fat bastards

I know alot of fat bastards who can deadlift 2x bodyweight:D

In all seriousness though, I get what you're saying about the 'average' guy, but I've a friend who never squatted before and she came in and squatted 90kg on her first effort 2 weeks ago.

SugarHigh

G86 wrote: »

That's bullsh!t, your form is never going to be brilliant on your max effort.

If you can't do a lift with good form then you clearly can't do the lift. What is the point in measuring how much you can lift with bad form?