Strength Ratings

Hi @Ellington_Darden,

I have in hand, The Nautilus Book, that I purchased in 1990. :slight_smile:

On p. 274, there’s a table, “Nautilus Strength Ratings (in pounds for 10 repetitions).” Followed by a simple formula to calculate ‘Superior’ ratings – add 20% to the ‘Excellent’ weight.

The ‘Superior’ strength level strikes me as a worthy and motivating goal.

I’m currently using the big 5 multi-joint machines:

  1. Pulldown
  2. Overhead Press
  3. Compound Row
  4. Bench Press
  5. Leg Press

Of those, your table only includes a rating for Pulldown.

However, on p. 271, there’s a table, “Starting Weights for Beginners (in pounds).” I noticed a pattern that one could take 3.5x the ‘Starting’ weight and it would often equal the ‘Superior’ weight. Using a 3.5x factor, one could guesstimate a Superior rating for Overhead Press to be 175 pounds and for [Duo] Leg Press to be 245 pounds – sounds right?

Since a Superior rating on Decline Press is 216 pounds, one could guesstimate Bench Press to be something like 10% lower; so, let’s say, 195 pounds – sounds right?

To fill in the final gap, do you happen to have an ‘Excellent’ (or ‘Superior’) strength rating for Compound Row?


You’ve done your homework. I like your guesstimates.

My Compound Row, which is a 25 year-old Nautilus Nitro, goes up to 240 pounds. My son uses 225 pounds for 12 reps and he’s my strongest trainee. I would rate him Superior.

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Thank you so much. Prior to reading your reply, I had pencilled into my goals a wild guess of 230. Your 225 makes sense to me and correlates quite well with my experience on this machine and I shall go with that.

No adjustment for size/body weight, age?

The relevant passage in the book (p. 273) says: “The routines apply best to people in the 18-35 age group” [italics added for emphasis]. Perhaps the weights in the table apply best to this age group as well. The weights are adjusted for gender.

Having said that, I suspect a healthy, (at least formerly) athletic person in his 50s could well strive for and realistically reach the same ‘Excellent’ and even ‘Superior’ strength levels as perhaps intended for the 18-35 age group.