Weightlifters chime in!

[hannahb]

How much, on average, percentage wise per body weight, is a good weight someone should be able to squat?
Just curious. I've been lifting more and I want to have some idea if I'm doing enough. Note: I do about 3-4 sets of 10 reps. Today I bumped up my weight and did sets of 8 reps

[theoriginalbean]

We reference the Mark Rippetoe standards at home, and that's what I use for goalsetting. It's based on one rep max effort.

docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf

[itsme]

If I can lose 12 more lbs I'll be in the advanced for all of these. I like this chart.  Sometimes I need a little kick in the butt to get me to stop thinking I am not as strong as I think I should be at this point.

[hannahb]

Thanks! Looks like I've got some work to do! Weakling here!

[pixy0stix]

That chart is fairly standard.

hrmmmmm... I haven't done one rep max in a good long while. I wonder where I fall now.

[wambam]

I can't think in anything but a 1RM. It just doesn't resonate lol.

Right now, I have just shy of 2x BW dead lift, 1.5x BW back squat. No idea what bench is, just because I don't do it much. I am super happy about my DL, and okay-ish with my back squat.

[theoriginalbean]

I love my deadlift, squat, and press, but my shoulder press is constantly WTF?! I was able to press more weight when I was pregnant. I hit a PR at 41 weeks and haven't been able to match it, since. Maybe different center of gravity?

[newgirl412]

That link makes me a little sad....lol. I'm not even to the "untrained" level for deadlift. Here I thought deadlifting 55lbs last night during training was awesome. Granted, I've just recently started lifting, so I guess I gotta work my way up.

[gummybear]

I have questions. I think my problem might be mental but I have no idea how to approach the whole "do one at max effort". So do you load up and try? Then add more? Right now I am dead;lifting just over my body weight for 3-4 set of 8 or so. But I could prob go higher if my goal was just one, right?

But when I add more weight, obv. my muscles are tired from my previous sets so maximum effort is a bit of a misnomer. Also, I have "legs day" so depending on the order of my exercises/what is available, my muscles might be more fatigued. I usually squat/deadlift/hip thrust/hip/leg press.

[wambam]

Jan 29, 2015 9:00:47 GMT -5 gummybear said:

I have questions. I think my problem might be mental but I have no idea how to approach the whole "do one at max effort". So do you load up and try? Then add more? Right now I am dead;lifting just over my body weight for 3-4 set of 8 or so. But I could prob go higher if my goal was just one, right?

But when I add more weight, obv. my muscles are tired from my previous sets so maximum effort is a bit of a misnomer. Also, I have "legs day" so depending on the order of my exercises/what is available, my muscles might be more fatigued. I usually squat/deadlift/hip thrust/hip/leg press.

First of all, if you're going for a 1RM, you don't train and THEN try to do a 1RM. You simply warm up at light weight and then perform 1 rep at a tough but doable weight. Then rest a couple minutes. Then add some. Perform another rep. Repeat until you cannot complete the rep. 

[gummybear]

Jan 29, 2015 9:15:50 GMT -5 wambam said:

Jan 29, 2015 9:00:47 GMT -5 gummybear said:

I have questions. I think my problem might be mental but I have no idea how to approach the whole "do one at max effort". So do you load up and try? Then add more? Right now I am dead;lifting just over my body weight for 3-4 set of 8 or so. But I could prob go higher if my goal was just one, right?

But when I add more weight, obv. my muscles are tired from my previous sets so maximum effort is a bit of a misnomer. Also, I have "legs day" so depending on the order of my exercises/what is available, my muscles might be more fatigued. I usually squat/deadlift/hip thrust/hip/leg press.

First of all, if you're going for a 1RM, you don't train and THEN try to do a 1RM. You simply warm up at light weight and then perform 1 rep at a tough but doable weight. Then rest a couple minutes. Then add some. Perform another rep. Repeat until you cannot complete the rep. 

OK. I think I get it. So you lift/train with the goal of trying this on a different day. 

[wambam]

Jan 29, 2015 9:17:27 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Jan 29, 2015 9:15:50 GMT -5 wambam said:

First of all, if you're going for a 1RM, you don't train and THEN try to do a 1RM. You simply warm up at light weight and then perform 1 rep at a tough but doable weight. Then rest a couple minutes. Then add some. Perform another rep. Repeat until you cannot complete the rep. 

OK. I think I get it. So you lift/train with the goal of trying this on a different day. 

Absolutely. It's not something you should do very often, either. Once every few months is sufficient.

[itsme]

Jan 28, 2015 15:40:25 GMT -5 hannahb said:

Thanks! Looks like I've got some work to do! Weakling here!

Not a weakling!  Everyone is at a different level and has been lifting for different lengths of time.

[itsme]

Jan 28, 2015 15:42:39 GMT -5 wambam said:

I can't think in anything but a 1RM. It just doesn't resonate lol.

Yea, 1RM is all I think about.  That's my max period.  I don't count anything else, like what I can do in mutliples. 

[emilyinchile]

Jan 29, 2015 9:15:50 GMT -5 wambam said:

First of all, if you're going for a 1RM, you don't train and THEN try to do a 1RM. You simply warm up at light weight and then perform 1 rep at a tough but doable weight. Then rest a couple minutes. Then add some. Perform another rep. Repeat until you cannot complete the rep. 

I wanted to highlight this, gummybear. I feel like a lot of people skip this part or rest for what they think feels like "a couple minutes" but is really only maybe a minute. Rest fully 2-3 minutes before trying again.

[wambam]

Jan 29, 2015 11:44:43 GMT -5 emilyinchile said:

Jan 29, 2015 9:15:50 GMT -5 wambam said:

First of all, if you're going for a 1RM, you don't train and THEN try to do a 1RM. You simply warm up at light weight and then perform 1 rep at a tough but doable weight. Then rest a couple minutes. Then add some. Perform another rep. Repeat until you cannot complete the rep. 

I wanted to highlight this, gummybear. I feel like a lot of people skip this part or rest for what they think feels like "a couple minutes" but is really only maybe a minute. Rest fully 2-3 minutes before trying again.

Agreed. Sit down and actually rest. Make sure you are fully ready for the next rep.

[pixy0stix]

Annnnd thanks to this thread I asked our trainer if we could do 1RM next class, and he lit up like a Christmas tree. I'd asked the other girls if they were ok with it before asking him, and they were all pumped for it. BOOM! It'll be nice to get a baseline.

[ghostmonkey]

Jan 29, 2015 11:09:06 GMT -5 itsme said:

Jan 28, 2015 15:42:39 GMT -5 wambam said:

I can't think in anything but a 1RM. It just doesn't resonate lol.

Yea, 1RM is all I think about.  That's my max period.  I don't count anything else, like what I can do in mutliples. 

There's nothing wrong with rep maxes. Since 1RM is only tested a few times a year, these are much easier goals/PRs to hit consistently, and will lead to 1RP PR's. 

Honestly- those standards are absurdly low. And don't worry about that. Lift what you lift. If it's your max, then that's where your max is. 

[wambam]

I don't think there's anything wrong with rep maxes, I just don't think in those terms.

[shauni27]

Jan 28, 2015 14:34:42 GMT -5 theoriginalbean said:

We reference the Mark Rippetoe standards at home, and that's what I use for goalsetting. It's based on one rep max effort.

docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.crossfit.com/cf-journal/WLSTANDARDS.pdf

This just made me feel very poorly about myself :/

[shauni27]

Jan 29, 2015 8:55:58 GMT -5 newgirl412 said:

That link makes me a little sad....lol. I'm not even to the "untrained" level for deadlift. Here I thought deadlifting 55lbs last night during training was awesome. Granted, I've just recently started lifting, so I guess I gotta work my way up.

It seriously burst my bubble.  I have been training for almost a year and I am barely at novice for my weight.  I literally feel defeated and depressed now :/

[2doxies]

Jan 30, 2015 8:08:57 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Jan 29, 2015 8:55:58 GMT -5 newgirl412 said:

That link makes me a little sad....lol. I'm not even to the "untrained" level for deadlift. Here I thought deadlifting 55lbs last night during training was awesome. Granted, I've just recently started lifting, so I guess I gotta work my way up.

It seriously burst my bubble.  I have been training for almost a year and I am barely at novice for my weight.  I literally feel defeated and depressed now :/

Do you feel like you've been making progress? I think that's a good measurement, constant improvements and more PRs regardless of the total weights. I'm relatively new to heavy lifting/CF (8 months?) and so much of my time is still spent working on form. Unless your dream is to go to the CF games don't beat yourself up over it!

[shauni27]

Jan 30, 2015 8:44:29 GMT -5 2doxies said:

Jan 30, 2015 8:08:57 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

It seriously burst my bubble.  I have been training for almost a year and I am barely at novice for my weight.  I literally feel defeated and depressed now :/

Do you feel like you've been making progress? I think that's a good measurement, constant improvements and more PRs regardless of the total weights. I'm relatively new to heavy lifting/CF (8 months?) and so much of my time is still spent working on form. Unless your dream is to go to the CF games don't beat yourself up over it!

Yes, there are definitely improvements: My deadlift started at 65# and now I am at 165.  My jerk started at 45 and now it is at 80.  I see improvements in my squats and my pull-ups as well (started with a 140# band assist, now I am at 65# assist).  But I just feel like I am not making improvements as fast as I should, you know?

[emilyinchile]

I love/hate standards like that. I mean, we have people in here working hard and feeling sad that they're barely at novice level, and ghostmonkey saying the chart is weaksauce anyway. That sucks, and I've been there (and my bench press that I never practice is definitely still way down there). But at the same time, even though I tell myself in those moments that the charts don't matter as long as I'm making progress, it makes me happy when I can say that I'm intermediate or almost advanced - based on a guideline I have just told myself is unimportant.

shauni27, I totally go through phases where I feel like I'm never going to get better fast enough. It truly comes easier to some people, and some people work harder, and some people have better coaches or more time or whatever...in summary, much as I totally understand that feeling, the fact is that all you can do is your best, without comparing yourself to other people. If you feel like you're truly not advancing as fast as YOU should, then talk to a coach and change up your routine to hit specific goals, but otherwise just keep pushing forward.

[wambam]

Jan 29, 2015 22:44:06 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

Jan 29, 2015 11:09:06 GMT -5 itsme said:

Yea, 1RM is all I think about.  That's my max period.  I don't count anything else, like what I can do in mutliples. 

There's nothing wrong with rep maxes. Since 1RM is only tested a few times a year, these are much easier goals/PRs to hit consistently, and will lead to 1RP PR's. 

Honestly- those standards are absurdly low. And don't worry about that. Lift what you lift. If it's your max, then that's where your max is. 

I am deeply uncomfortable with this statement.

[theoriginalbean]

Jan 30, 2015 9:23:41 GMT -5 shauni27 said:

Jan 30, 2015 8:44:29 GMT -5 2doxies said:

Do you feel like you've been making progress? I think that's a good measurement, constant improvements and more PRs regardless of the total weights. I'm relatively new to heavy lifting/CF (8 months?) and so much of my time is still spent working on form. Unless your dream is to go to the CF games don't beat yourself up over it!

Yes, there are definitely improvements: My deadlift started at 65# and now I am at 165.  My jerk started at 45 and now it is at 80.  I see improvements in my squats and my pull-ups as well (started with a 140# band assist, now I am at 65# assist).  But I just feel like I am not making improvements as fast as I should, you know?

Those sound like incredible improvements. I'm never going to be anywhere near advanced in the upper body lifts because that's not where my focus is, and I'm totally fine with that, as long as I keep improving compared to my own baseline. You do YOU, and don't worry about the charts or what anyone else is doing!

[ghostmonkey]

Jan 30, 2015 9:50:14 GMT -5 wambam said:

Jan 29, 2015 22:44:06 GMT -5 ghostmonkey said:

There's nothing wrong with rep maxes. Since 1RM is only tested a few times a year, these are much easier goals/PRs to hit consistently, and will lead to 1RP PR's. 

Honestly- those standards are absurdly low. And don't worry about that. Lift what you lift. If it's your max, then that's where your max is. 

I am deeply uncomfortable with this statement.

For the elite numbers, it's low. I'm not an elite level squatter, and I open higher than what they deem elite for my weight class.

The others might be realistic, but really those categories don't mean anything. If you are putting in effort and improving, that's what matters. Comparing yourself to others or some arbitrary chart isn't a good indicator of much. If nothing else maybe use it as a guideline to set goals to get to the next "level".

shauni27- It looks like you have made some really good progress.

[shauni27]

Thanks, guys. In general, I have serious self image issues in regards to ALL that I do, and I am always comparing myself to others in everything. Weightlifting is new to me (this year) and is a big focus of my life right now, so I am of course, over critical of myself. But I am proud of the improvements I have made and will hopefully continue to make, for the most part.