ExRx strength standards - realistic for natural vegan?

[inteja]

I came across the strength standards at the ExRx website and was a bit disappointed as I don't even seem to reach the "untrained" category.

 

For example, for bench press an untrained guy of my weight (198 lb) should be able to do a 1RM of 135 lb, whereas my 10RM is 40kg (88 lb), giving a 1RM of about 114 lb.

 

I know I will improve gradually over time and I have no intention of giving up, but it was a minor blow to the old ego to discover I hadn't even made it to the bottom rung of the ladder yet.

 

Granted, I've only just got back into weight training after a very sedentary life, but after 4-5 months I feel I've made good progress and am certainly looking and feeling much fitter and stronger.

 

Are those standards typical of what consistent training can yield, even for natural (unjuiced) vegans? What has been your experience? Were you lifting above or below "untrained" when you first started?

[gogh_me]

I'm all over the place. Advanced on the squat, intermediate DL, novice bench press (shoulder injury), and intermediate press. I've been training for 1.5 years but at 4 or 5 months after taking a few years off I was where you are. Don't sweat it

[Guest]

All those numbers are realistic for "clean" people at those bodyweights and honestly I think the Elite numbers are quite low for Elite numbers. But you must also look at height as a factor, as is how sedintary that untrained person is. I think they expect the untrained person to have somewhat of an active life in terms of maybe some occasional physical labor and things like that. Every day activities make a huge difference for how strong a person is. I have a buddy that was welding with his father at a young age(tbuso safe I know) and I convinced him to join the track team. I figured he'd wind up running but he wound up being a thrower too. He weighed about 180lbs and benched 230 the second he got on the bench...and he squatted 315 right away. After a few weeks he was benching almost 300 and squatting over 400lbs all from things he was doing while working with his father...and this kid was 16. Then you've got those people that never did anything when they were younger and can't even half a push up. Its got a lot to do with genetics but when your looking at sedentary people it has more to do with how you've groomed yourself.

[inteja]

Well, I'm 6'4" (192cm) am 36 now and have been a computer nerd all my life, so I've had virtually no physical activity or natural light most of my adult life (not something I'm proud of). I have a lot of catching up to do.

[Guest]

6'2 is my cutoff for calling people not really tall. Once you're over that it seems people are drastically weaker in the weight room...lifters or not. It take a lot more power to move weight when your tall. A buddy of mine I threw against in HS is now inching his way into the worlds top 10 discus rankings. In high school I was benching 340 and squatting 550...he was only benching 240lbs and squatting little over 300lbs but he was 6'8" and kicked my ass at nearly every meet. His height hurt him in the gym but obviously he was able to put more power into a throw than I could thanks to the same levers that hurt him in the gym.

[chrisjs]

For what it's worth I've only been intensely training for about five months and I'm between novice and intermediate for most of those standards now. I was around untrained for some, but slightly above untrained for others. (So therefore I had a bit of a jump start.) I usually shoot for 3 rep maxes but 1 rep isn't too far off. The intermediate level is a realistic goal for most dedicated lifters, but novice isn't too shabby. So I do consider the intermediate level attainable.

 

But don't get discouraged! This table is specifically geared towards one-rep maxes and you might just have a different workout style. You mention 10 rep maxes. I'm 178 lbs and can just barely do five 165 lbs bench presses, but if I wanted to do ten reps without rest I'd have a damn hard time doing 125 lbs (untrained level).

 

So these standards may just not be applicable to the kind of work you do. I think it's a lot harder to adapt to doing higher weight than higher reps. In the end it's just a table, but if you seriously wanted help setting and achieving goals, this is the forum.

[inteja]

It take a lot more power to move weight when your tall.

 

That's reassuring to hear

 

But don't get discouraged! This table is specifically geared towards one-rep maxes and you might just have a different workout style. You mention 10 rep maxes. I'm 178 lbs and can just barely do five 165 lbs bench presses, but if I wanted to do ten reps without rest I'd have a damn hard time doing 125 lbs (untrained level).

 

Thanks. In terms of workout style, I have generally been doing 3 sets at the same weight for each exercise. Reps are usually around 12:10:8. If I exceed 12 reps on the first set, I increase the weight for my next workout. I have never done low reps, high intensity but maybe I should try this.

[DV]

I have never done low reps, high intensity but maybe I should try this.

 

If you are looking to increase strength and mass then definitely do this!

[VeganEssentials]

What Potter said is very much correct about this. Different people have different leverages, so some will specialize in some lifts vs. others that aren't as good, and depending on how you train will make a difference. If you're tall, most lifts will be more difficult. If you have long arms, a bench press will be more challenging than someone who has a naturally large torso and short arms. Things like this have to be taken with a grain of salt. Not to mention, like Potter said, the elite numbers are way low for a true elite athlete. Since I have either hit or come close to those numbers (except benching, which is always my weak point), I can safely say they're skewed far lower than they should be. 25-35 years ago, the elite levels were probably a lot more accurate, but I've trained with some guys who mid-to-high strength athletes and wouldn't be considered elite who would blow those numbers out of the water.

 

Everyone is different, so never let a chart of what someone else says rule what you see in your abilities and how far you've come. Even if you don't end up a bench specialist, there's always something else out there for you that you can excel at

[bronco]

Not to mention, like Potter said, the elite numbers are way low for a true elite athlete. Since I have either hit or come close to those numbers (except benching, which is always my weak point), I can safely say they're skewed far lower than they should be. 25-35 years ago, the elite levels were probably a lot more accurate, but I've trained with some guys who mid-to-high strength athletes and wouldn't be considered elite who would blow those numbers out of the water.

I think the elite numbers are ok taking into consideration what they consider elite

Elite

 

Refers specifically to athletes competing in strength sports. Less than 1% of the weight training population will attain this level.

 

It is not very often you see a 100kg guy powercleaning 155kg and benching 170kg raw. Of course you are right that this wouldn be world class elite, but definitely something less than 1% of all people training with weights would achieve .

[Guest]

I think the ELITE means people that are actually competitive in good competitions. Anyone can enter a competition...even if they shouldn't be there. I had a big wakeup call to lifting competitively. I maxed out my squat in HS at 550 at a competition for people under 18yrs old. I came in second to last. The person I beat was warming up and got hurt repping over 500lbs. The next person above me beat me by over 100lbs...the winner squatted over 800 without a squat suit...and these were kids.

 

As for the clean max I think those are pretty weak..actually really weak. I've got a buddy who's in the 63kg class...SHE cleans 118kg. Granted shes an American Record holder but she's also just 22. The lifters in the 100kg class lifting 155kg in contest I've entered would finish little over the middle of the pack(I finished way at the bottom in my class).

[bronco]

I think the ELITE means people that are actually competitive in good competitions.

I agree that is what it normally means, but appearantly in this context exrx interprets it differently.

 

As for the clean max I think those are pretty weak..actually really weak. I've got a buddy who's in the 63kg class...SHE cleans 118kg. Granted shes an American Record holder but she's also just 22. The lifters in the 100kg class lifting 155kg in contest I've entered would finish little over the middle of the pack(I finished way at the bottom in my class).

Comparing to an american record holder is a bit silly isnt it ? Besidedes the exrx numbers are for powerclean, I guess she would PC a bit less than she can clean.

A 155kg powerclean should give a squat clean of at least around 170kg. With a matching snatch and jerk that would probably be close to if not at the national top level in most countries outside of eastern europe. But of course if you want the elite number to mean weightlifting worldchampionships A-group quality or something like that, the exrx numbers would be too weak.

[Guest]

I think elite should mean the top 0.5% if everyone on the planet lifted weights so even less where everyone doesn't do that. Elite is elite and shouldn't be spoiled with low numbers. Being able to win a local weightlifting competition doesn't make you elite. I know I'm the best track cyclist in my county but guess what??? There are only 3 of us that live here. I'm not elite yet and honestly I'm still far from it. I was the second best shot putter in my state in high school but the person better than me was 3rd in the nation...we were both elite. The best shot putter in my state now isn't even in the top 200 in the nation...he is not elite.

[bronco]

I think elite should mean the top 0.5% if everyone on the planet lifted weights so even less where everyone doesn't do that. Elite is elite and shouldn't be spoiled with low numbers. Being able to win a local weightlifting competition doesn't make you elite. I know I'm the best track cyclist in my county but guess what??? There are only 3 of us that live here. I'm not elite yet and honestly I'm still far from it. I was the second best shot putter in my state in high school but the person better than me was 3rd in the nation...we were both elite. The best shot putter in my state now isn't even in the top 200 in the nation...he is not elite.

Ah, ok, so you only disagree about exrx using the word elite. For a while I thought you were saying that the strength levels doesnt match their (exrxs) definition of elite .

[Guest]

For sure...I think the term for them is what they can do. They can do a certain amount and want to think they are elite and make that number or a little less...elite. They don't want to simply be called really strong.

[Warlock]

I'm between intermediate and advanced on most exercises... Seems about right.

[Wobbly Lifter]

I'm between novice and intermediate for pressing and benching, power clean and squat are dead on intermediate and deadlift is half way to advanced. Seems about right, I've been consistently training for almost 2 years but I'm still light for my height, so almost about intermediate seems fair.

 

Definitely realistic for natural vegans. Just give yourself some time comrade.