Strength Standards: Are You Strong Enough?
- Brad
- May 4, 2015
- 3 min read
A question rarely asked or examined in the world of athletic performance is: When are you strong enough? Granted, the answer to this question may vary between sports (i.e. a powerlifter doesn’t even have the phrase “strong enough” in their vocabulary. While a marathon runner may care little about strength). I believe there are definitely standards that should be met in the weight room to ensure you have reached your highest potential from strength training. In other words when you meet the standards I outline below, you have reached a point where you can simply maintain your strength and focus your energy on other goals. I should point out these standards don’t only work for athletes, but also for the general population of folks looking to have a solid amount of balanced fitness.
ENDURANCE SPECIFIC ATHLETES
According to Joe Friel (who literally wrote the book on triathlon and cycling training), Triathletes and cyclists (not sure if runners fall into this category but I would assume so) are strong enough when they can:
Squat their bodweight x 1.3-1.7 (i.e. a 150lb triathlete would squat 255lb for 1 rep)
Leg press (sled): bodweight x 2.5-2-9
Step-up: bodweight x 0.7-0.9
Seated row: bodweight x 0.5-0.8
Standing, bent-arm lat pull-down: bodweight 0.3 0.5
I don’t think these standards are necessarily bad or wrong. But, after several years of testing these standards on myself (in addition to my personal training experience), I’ve found problems with most of these exercises. For example, the standing bent-arm pull down and seated row are both cable exercises. Having been in well over 100 different gyms with cable machines it’s rare to find two cable machines with matching weight stacks. Not to mention the mechanical advantage cables and pulleys provide when moving weight. These variables between machines and machines themselves make it difficult to ensure you are truly meeting these standards. My solution would be to use good old fashion barbell movements for a pure test of strength. I would replace the straight arm pulldown with a military press and the seated row with a barbell bent over row. While on the subject, I’m not a fan of the leg press either. People with poor squat technique and weak core stability tend to favor the leg press as they can load up with the leg press with weight plates giving them the impress their legs are strong. Doing this over time builds isolated leg strength but poor overall squat strength. Basically you will have strong quads that can handle heavy weight but the rest of your body will be weaker and out of balance. Hence why I train guys all the time that can leg press 600lb but struggle to barbell squat 135lb. It’s like having a huge engine with a weak transmission… My point is stick with the basics to truly understand your strength and avoid the machines.
Even for endurance athletes I think the strength standards below are much better gauge of strength. As with anything, try out what works best for you and let me know your results.
OTHER SPORT ATHLETES (Although endurance athletes should follow these as well)
Many coaches have created their own version of strength standards for athletes. I personally like the tried and true method created by Dan John. I first read about Dan John’s strength standards in his book Intervention but you can also access them on his blog here (notice he is working on some new ones as well!).
As Dan John explains there is an expected standard for athletes and a “game changer” standard. Once you’ve reach the “game changer” level, you are as strong as you need to be for sports and can direct your attention to other areas besides getting more weight on the bar.
THE STANDARDS
“For Men:
Push
Expected = Bodyweight bench press
Game-changer = Bodyweight bench press for 15 reps
Pull
Expected = 5 pullups
Game-changer = 15 pullups
Hinge
Expected = Body weight to 150% bodyweight deadlift
Game-changer = Double-bodyweight deadlift
Squat
Expected = Bodyweight squat
Game-changer = Bodyweight squat for 15 reps
Loaded Carry
Expected = Farmer walk with total body weight (half per hand)
Game-changer =Bodyweight per hand
Getup
One left and right, done with a half-filled cup of water” (DanJohn.net)
Having tested these standards out myself. I think these standards are an awesome measurement and goal for overall strength. I highly recommend any athlete in any sport that requires strength aim to meet the the “game changer” standard. The results might be shocking as to how you compare to these standards. Personal I hit the squat, bench, pull-ups, and get-up, but had to work on the deadlift and weight carry for a weeks to meet the standard.
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