T Nation

Decent Numbers to Shoot For

Beginners
#1

Hello guys and gals!

I’ve been lifting on and off for a while now, but have been really getting into it lately after recovering from a shoulder injury.
I’m currently gaining mass and strength (strength being my everlasting achillesheel).
I am wondering what would be decent numbers for someone weighing around 185 (and gaining to about 205 pounds) ?

I am wondering for the Bench, Deadlift, Squat and OHP - the Jim Wendler 5/3/1 set up :wink:

Regards,

Tom

#2

One way to look at it: http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/are_you_strong_find_out_right_now_with_these_strength_standards

#3

I’d shoot for a little more, each week/month.

#4

Thanks for that referral LoRez :slight_smile:
I do find myself over all the lifts in the ‘decent’ categorie which is somewhat nice to read though.
However pure strength wise I believe I’ll be in the ‘good’ categorie soon enough :wink:

#5

I am following the 5/3/1 cycle jjackkrash, which means I am going up in weight each week/month. So no worries in that department and I currently do not feel any stagnation on the program. I believe I’ll be able to become a lot stronger on this program, just wanted to know where I’m coming from and where I should be headed :wink:

#6

I would say a good long term goal would be 2 x bodyweight squat, 1.5 x bodyweight bench press, 2.5 x bodyweight deadlift and a 1 x bodyweight overhead press.

#7

Yeah, I was drawing a similar conclusion tredaway. Thanks for your contribution.

#8

There’s another good set of standards in an article entitled “What Is Strong? Real World Strength Standards For Raw, Natural Lifters”. You can google for that if you want to see it in its original form.

He divides things into a few categories.

Pro = best of the best
Elite = 92.5% of Pro
Extremely Strong = 75% of Pro
Very Strong = 67.5% of Pro
Strong = 57.5% of Pro

And the Pro numbers are, by weight class.

Weight Squats Bench Deadlifts
132 430 270 440
148 460 300 470
165 500 330 540
181 540 350 580
198 570 380 610
220 610 410 640
242 640 430 660
275 670 450 680
308 700 470 700

So… for your example of 185, I’ll use 181. These are copied from his charts, so they might not match on the math exactly. I haven’t checked, since it was easier to copy than calculate.

Squat:
Pro = 540
Elite = 500
Extremely Strong = 405
Very Strong = 365
Strong = 310

Bench:
Pro = 350
Elite = 325
Extremely Strong = 265
Very Strong = 240
Strong = 205

Dead:
Pro = 580
Elite = 535
Extremely Strong = 435
Very Strong = 395
Strong = 335

Since these are based on actual records, I think it’s a pretty fair way to break things down and see relative strengths and weaknesses. Because of that, I think it’s a good basis for setting goals. I personally like that it’s broken down by weight class, since while you can eat to get stronger, it balances out to keep you honest in that you’re actually getting stronger too.

#9

I found the exact same article after it was referred to me by a friend. I like it better than the one posted here on T nation, but both have their credit. The reason I like the second one more is for the same reason you said, the weight classes make it easier for me to get a decent measurement.
I’ll read them over and then see where I line up.

#10

Game changers…

#11

Nice article and contribution RampantBadger :slight_smile:
Provided me with some food for thought.