Minimum weight that every healthy adult male should be able to lift?

[sushiwarrior]

The magical few year workout is called lifting weights. Someone who is 200lbs should, with proper training, be able to easily lift 300 1RM.

If you start at 150lb 1RM, maintain your 200lb, and go up 5lbs a week, that is 30 weeks. Let's say an additional 50% to account for plateaus and rest weeks, that is 45 weeks. Less than a year. There is really no reason a dedicated person couldn't do that. Steroids not required.

Not everyone is capable of just continuously getting stronger, it gets harder and harder to get that 5lb progression, and there's a certain point where that "plateau" will take way more than just a few extra weeks to get past.

 

[Pantlegz]

At the very least, a healthy adult male should be able lift their bodyweight off the floor (deadlift, squat) for a workout set , or pull themselves off the floor 10 times (pullups).
They should also be able to make it through Army PFT

That's minimum.

I probably couldn't do 10 pullups but in every other aspect I'm considerably stronger than average.

 

[Zivic]

lulz 300 bench for a few years training? on steroids? what is this magical few year work out plan that you suggest someone is able to attain a 300 bench after? please do share.

when I first started training it took about 6-8 months and I could bench 315 (under 200 lb bodyweight) ->all natty (only recently have I started using) This is very generalized, and I did figure it based on percent of bodyweight.... and I understand everyone isn't into 1rm, but that's what this thread is discussing.

if you want specific workout I did:
high school's bigger, faster, stronger program
-http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/home/home.asp-

then I moved on to AST's MAX-OT program

when you post "lulz"... and "steroids" you are just making excuses for yourself on why you aren't making the gains you should. 300 is not a lot of weight. it isn't regardless how many here think it is. even less weight, relatively speaking, when you factor in you weight two bills.

If you are 200 lbs and have trained consistently for 2-3 yrs, 300 lb bench would be no issue. I guess the question that should be asked is what kind of workout do you do that you aren't making any legit progress?

 

[z1ggy]

I think it depends on if you mean the average male lifter who goes to the gym 3+ times a week for months/years on end.. Or just some average guy who maybe plays in a beer league sport once a week and otherwise isn't active.

For the first one, I think Zivic's post was pretty good. It's fairly impressive to be at the "active" level and "elite" is probably reserved for professional athletes or competitive body builders.

For average Joe, it's probably a crap shoot and more dependent on genetics.

 

[Zivic]

Not everyone is capable of just continuously getting stronger, it gets harder and harder to get that 5lb progression, and there's a certain point where that "plateau" will take way more than just a few extra weeks to get past.

no, they're not but we are talking 1.5x bw... not 2.5-3.

at my very strongest I could bench 2.185x my body weight. at a certain point the percentages start going the other way because you can only get so strong and handle so much weight at a given body weight.

and a plateau shouldn't take more than 2-4 weeks (what I consider a "few") to break through.

You want to know why people plateau for long periods of time? because they don't squat or dead. I have been asked so many times how I can bench so much... I tell them because I sqaut.

other reasons:
diet and consistency -> and not having a f^cking clue what they are doing, but think they do

 

[alkemyst]

Everyone and I mean everyone should be able to bench press 1.5x their own body weight from the start. I dont care if you're cripped, female, fat, whatever, if you cant do that give up and cry!

I kid ofc

In reality, these kinds of things should be based on lean muscle mass.

That said, many still would have trouble doing 1.5x that.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

you should be able to lift a small baby unless you're a paraplegic.

 

[deadken]

... Anyhow, I foresee this to be a "one-upper" kind of thread...

Pretty spot on!

you should be able to lift a small baby unless you're a paraplegic.

Ummm... Doesn't being a paraplegic mean: "Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs..."?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

This is just imo for someone to be considered a fit male. Not athlete just fit. Run 2 miles 18minutes, 6 pull ups, 20 pushups consecutive, bodyweight bench, couple hundred pound squat and deadlift. These are minimum for what I'd consider just an average healthy man.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Pretty spot on!


Ummm... Doesn't being a paraplegic mean: "Complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs..."?

i was thinking neck down. i think the penis still works though. i remember reading an ask me anything about it.

 

[z1ggy]

i was thinking neck down. i think the penis still works though. i remember reading an ask me anything about it.

Neck down is Quad.

Ask SC about the whole penis situation.. as a PT he will know a lot about it.

If you're a para you might get lucky and be able to rock a boner for a little bit, but it won't stay around for long..

That's why I told my gf (who's a PT like SC is) that if I wreck my spine, I'm offing myself. I hear about all the shit spine patients go through and that life style just isn't for me.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

Neck down is Quad.

Ask SC about the whole penis situation.. as a PT he will know a lot about it.

If you're a para you might get lucky and be able to rock a boner for a little bit, but it won't stay around for long..

That's why I told my gf (who's a PT like SC is) that if I wreck my spine, I'm offing myself. I hear about all the shit spine patients go through and that life style just isn't for me.

you're right. good catch lol.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

I'd have to say 1.0-1.5x your own body weight on the bench. 1.25-1.75x on dead lifts, and something around 2-2.5x on the leg press. All of this combined with being able to move that mass around in a sub 7 minute mile. This for 3-4 sets, 6-8 reps per set. None of this spotted 1-2 times lift "maxing" stuff. I've seen people do some ridiculous stuff, like back arched 2 feet off the bench trying to press 225 while spotted on the verge of injuring themselves badly. Then they claim they can bench 225...

That's just me, but it works. I always seem to hit a point where I just cannot go any further without consuming 4000+ calories a day, which is too expensive, and I'm not looking to get bulky anyway.

 

[Zivic]

I'd have to say 1.0-1.5x your own body weight on the bench. 1.25-1.75x on dead lifts, and something around 2-2.5x on the leg press. All of this combined with being able to move that mass around in a sub 7 minute mile. This for 3-4 sets, 6-8 reps per set. None of this spotted 1-2 times lift "maxing" stuff. I've seen people do some ridiculous stuff, like back arched 2 feet off the bench trying to press 225 while spotted on the verge of injuring themselves badly. Then they claim they can bench 225...

That's just me, but it works. I always seem to hit a point where I just cannot go any further without consuming 4000+ calories a day, which is too expensive, and I'm not looking to get bulky anyway.

leg presses don't count for sh!t... not in any way an indicator of anything.

I can leg press like 6 times my bodyweight for reps. why not more? because the sled only holds 24 plates.... again, not an indicator of anything

 

[shortylickens]

My gym teacher said that unless theres something wrong with you, every adult male should be able to bench one and a half times his body weight.
Women should be able to do one and a quarter.

I seriously doubt the average american is capable of that. I couldnt.
Even if I slimmed down to 100 (which is unlikely) I would have difficulty.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

My gym teacher said that unless theres something wrong with you, every adult male should be able to bench one and a half times his body weight.
Women should be able to do one and a quarter.

I seriously doubt the average american is capable of that. I couldnt.
Even if I slimmed down to 100 (which is unlikely) I would have difficulty.

You know how I know your gym teacher is full of crap? Research shows that women, at the same training level as males, will demonstrate roughly 60% of the upper body strength of a male. Using his definition, that puts women at being able to lift roughly 90% of their body weight.

To be honest, 1.5x BW bench is not unheard of, particularly if you lift with any regularity. However, it's not realistic for the lay person.

 

[Zivic]

You know how I know your gym teacher is full of crap? Research shows that women, at the same training level as males, will demonstrate roughly 60% of the upper body strength of a male. Using his definition, that puts women at being able to lift roughly 90% of their body weight.

Please show your work when calculating this...

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Please show your work when calculating this...

The assumptions are based on what his gym teacher said. If we assume guys can lift 1.5x body weight and if research shows women have roughly 60% the upper body strength as men... 0.6 x 1.5 = 0.9. 0.9 is a fraction equivalent to 90%. Is that literally what you wanted?

 

[classy]

This is really relative because over all numbers are absolutes. A 170 lb male who can bench 275 is beyond 1.5 times body weight, but he still weaker than the guy who weighs 200 who can bench 290 plus. The higher you go up in weight the lower the efficiency, but it still doesn't change the fact more weight is simply more weight. Most good size men and above, which I would say is 190 lbs plus won't bench 1.5 times or more their body weight, but their overall number will be decent. Yes there is the minority, but they represent I would guess less than 5%.

 

[Zivic]

The assumptions are based on what his gym teacher said. If we assume guys can lift 1.5x body weight and if research shows women have roughly 60% the upper body strength as men... 0.6 x 1.5 = 0.9. 0.9 is a fraction equivalent to 90%. Is that literally what you wanted?

I was reading into it a bit... what you kind of left out in your original post is that at the given training level of a male @ 1.5x bodyweight.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I was reading into it a bit... what you kind of left out in your original post is that at the given training level of a male @ 1.5x bodyweight.

Got it, no worries.

 

[Zivic]

This is really relative because over all numbers are absolutes. A 170 lb male who can bench 275 is beyond 1.5 times body weight, but he still weaker than the guy who weighs 200 who can bench 290 plus. The higher you go up in weight the lower the efficiency, but it still doesn't change the fact more weight is simply more weight. Most good size men and above, which I would say is 190 lbs plus won't bench 1.5 times or more their body weight, but their overall number will be decent. Yes there is the minority, but they represent I would guess less than 5%.

That is what I was getting at in previous post. at a certain point, the percentages go the other way. There isn't a constant direct relationship with gain in body weight and a gain in strength

 

[njdevilsfan87]

leg presses don't count for sh!t... not in any way an indicator of anything.

I can leg press like 6 times my bodyweight for reps. why not more? because the sled only holds 24 plates.... again, not an indicator of anything

Care to explain?

I'd have to say 1.0-1.5x your own body weight on the bench. 1.25-1.75x on dead lifts, and something around 2-2.5x on the leg press.

Or did you just miss the underlined/bold?

 

[alkemyst]

Care to explain?

I have no idea either. A leg press is not equal to a dead lift or squat, but still is an indicator of a pretty decent movement if one had to move a shit ton of weight.

Just not so practical in some senses.

 

[smackababy]

I have no idea either. A leg press is not equal to a dead lift or squat, but still is an indicator of a pretty decent movement if one had to move a shit ton of weight.

Just not so practical in some senses.

The point I think he was making was that the leg press is a terrible indicator of overall strength. You aren't supporting any weight and you aren't using multiple muscle groups or any kind of stabilizer muscles, such as with squat, deads or bench, and therefore, shouldn't be used as any indicator.