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Relative Strength
- Thread starter samee
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BiggT
New member
At 16, and 130lbs with a 240 deadlift, you have A LOT of room to grow. How tall are you?
Functional strength is the name of the game as far as I am concerned, as one gains weight, the potential for pound for pound strength decreases expoentially, however, total strength increases. A 150lb guy deadlifting 3x bodyweight is at 450 (impressive for a small guy, but thats where I will leave it). A 250lb guy deadlifting 3x bodyweight is at 750 (impressive, but nothing that will be remembered in history). A 300lb guy deadlifting 3x bodyweight is at 900 (and you can count on one hand the number of people who have ever breathed who can pull 900lbs)......so you see where I am going, as you gain weight, you get stronger, period. Your strength to bodyweight ratio may not be the same as your potential to gain 'pound for pound' strength decreases exponentially, but you still get significantly stronger.
Not that it counts for much, but you're gonna get my personal opinion anyway, lol. I think the term 'pound for pound' strength is kind of a silly thing to shoot for. At 16, you're NOWHERE near done developing, and your best years of strength and growth are staring you right in the face. Some people are strong at light bodyweights (compared to others in a similar weight class) and aren't as proportionately strong heavier, although they most certainly are STRONGER heavier......on the other hand, some guys are just plain weak at light bodyweights, but as they gain they get stronger and stronger proportionately, and some of the best and strongest heavy weights would make some of the worst and weakest lightweights.
Please don't take this as me making fun of you, because I'm not. I say this because I want it to fuel you and to set a higher standard for yourself that I feel at your age and level you are MORE than capable of. Look at it this way. 240lbs is not a good deadlift in the grand scheme of things. I know a female triathlete, who at 5' 6" and 130lbs can deadlift 225 for a double without even really training with weights. For you, At some gyms, in some high school weight rooms, a 240 DL may garner respect, but I am telling you,240lbs for an adult male is not a strong deadlift by any stretch of the imagination. Don't set limits like "Well, I weigh 130, so whats the strongest I can get being small".....just get strong, think of things like 300....400.....425....450.....500....550.....set up a long-term plan with long-term goals......and EAT....your body will find a comfortable natural weight that you are strongest at, don't sweat thing like bodyweight ratio lifts right now, you're too young, have too much natural testosterone in your body, and have TOO much potential to set limits like that on yourself.
All that said, you're are on the right track, take what I said as encouragement, If you were 63 years old with 3 herniated disks and had undergone triple bypass, I'd say a 240lb DL is inspirational, but when I hear "16 years old and 130lbs" all I see is endless POTENTIAL....don't set limits on yourself, you're entirely too young and inexperienced to build a ceiling over your head.
Functional strength is the name of the game as far as I am concerned, as one gains weight, the potential for pound for pound strength decreases expoentially, however, total strength increases. A 150lb guy deadlifting 3x bodyweight is at 450 (impressive for a small guy, but thats where I will leave it). A 250lb guy deadlifting 3x bodyweight is at 750 (impressive, but nothing that will be remembered in history). A 300lb guy deadlifting 3x bodyweight is at 900 (and you can count on one hand the number of people who have ever breathed who can pull 900lbs)......so you see where I am going, as you gain weight, you get stronger, period. Your strength to bodyweight ratio may not be the same as your potential to gain 'pound for pound' strength decreases exponentially, but you still get significantly stronger.
Not that it counts for much, but you're gonna get my personal opinion anyway, lol. I think the term 'pound for pound' strength is kind of a silly thing to shoot for. At 16, you're NOWHERE near done developing, and your best years of strength and growth are staring you right in the face. Some people are strong at light bodyweights (compared to others in a similar weight class) and aren't as proportionately strong heavier, although they most certainly are STRONGER heavier......on the other hand, some guys are just plain weak at light bodyweights, but as they gain they get stronger and stronger proportionately, and some of the best and strongest heavy weights would make some of the worst and weakest lightweights.
Please don't take this as me making fun of you, because I'm not. I say this because I want it to fuel you and to set a higher standard for yourself that I feel at your age and level you are MORE than capable of. Look at it this way. 240lbs is not a good deadlift in the grand scheme of things. I know a female triathlete, who at 5' 6" and 130lbs can deadlift 225 for a double without even really training with weights. For you, At some gyms, in some high school weight rooms, a 240 DL may garner respect, but I am telling you,240lbs for an adult male is not a strong deadlift by any stretch of the imagination. Don't set limits like "Well, I weigh 130, so whats the strongest I can get being small".....just get strong, think of things like 300....400.....425....450.....500....550.....set up a long-term plan with long-term goals......and EAT....your body will find a comfortable natural weight that you are strongest at, don't sweat thing like bodyweight ratio lifts right now, you're too young, have too much natural testosterone in your body, and have TOO much potential to set limits like that on yourself.
All that said, you're are on the right track, take what I said as encouragement, If you were 63 years old with 3 herniated disks and had undergone triple bypass, I'd say a 240lb DL is inspirational, but when I hear "16 years old and 130lbs" all I see is endless POTENTIAL....don't set limits on yourself, you're entirely too young and inexperienced to build a ceiling over your head.
Thanks for the replies. I'm about 5 foot 8. You probably think I'm built like a twig, but not really. I asked my dad how much he thought I weighed the other day, and he said 150lbs. My sister said 170! Not sure why my real weight is so low, maybe because I have 8% bodyfat and don't eat a hell of a lot. Anyway as I said, I'm not too fussed about size.
Back on topic, I think you do need some sort of "handicap" when determining strength levels.
For instance if I saw someone of my size bench pressing 250lbs, I'd be very impressed. But if some massive guy did 250lbs straight afterwards, I would not be impressed even if it is the exact same weight.
As far as my deadlift goes, I know it's going to increase in time (I want 315lbs by this time next year), and in the overall scheme of things, it doesn't even compare to some of you guys and the folk on bodybuilding.com (that's if you're E-stats are accurate!), but I've only been training 10 months and started deadlifting in August - 45kg for 8 reps lol, but I was fairly happy with 240 for my first ever max. Judging by the replies, I think it would fall into average relative strength though. This time next year hopefully it will be much better.
Back on topic, I think you do need some sort of "handicap" when determining strength levels.
For instance if I saw someone of my size bench pressing 250lbs, I'd be very impressed. But if some massive guy did 250lbs straight afterwards, I would not be impressed even if it is the exact same weight.
As far as my deadlift goes, I know it's going to increase in time (I want 315lbs by this time next year), and in the overall scheme of things, it doesn't even compare to some of you guys and the folk on bodybuilding.com (that's if you're E-stats are accurate!), but I've only been training 10 months and started deadlifting in August - 45kg for 8 reps lol, but I was fairly happy with 240 for my first ever max. Judging by the replies, I think it would fall into average relative strength though. This time next year hopefully it will be much better.
wakefib
New member
when i was your age i thought the same thing... i was around 170lb with out any dieting or anything like that. i just lifted alot and played basketball like 3-5 hours a day.. at that time i was deadlifting over 400lbs at that weight... (reason i am telling you is because you have alot of room to grow and i know if you train hard you can have an even more impressive lift.) after a couple of years i realized that being bigger and still having good relative strength is even better!! like everyone was saying don't hold yourself back and experiment to see what works best for you.
A
Anthrax Invasion
Guest
Team Sport Athletes Strength Athletes Bodybuilders
Back Squat 1.6 - 2.0 2.0 - 2.2 1.5 - 1.9
2.1 - 2.5 2.3 - 2.8 2.0 - 2.4
2.6 + 2.9 + 2.5 +
Front Squat 1.3 - 1.6 1.6 - 1.9 1.1 - 1.4
1.7 - 2.0 2.0 - 2.2 1.5 - 1.8
2.1 + 2.3 + 1.9 +
Deadlift 1.6 - 2.0 2.0 - 2.2 1.5 - 1.9
2.1 - 2.5 2.3 - 2.8 2.0 - 2.4
2.6 + 2.9 + 2.5 +
Power Clean 1.0 - 1.25 1.2 - 1.4 0.8 - 1.1
1.3 - 1.5 1.5 - 1.8 1.2 - 1.3
1.6 + 1.9 + 1.4 +
Snatch 0.7 - 0.9 1.0 - 1.2 0.6 - 0.8
1.0 - 1.2 1.3 - 1.4 0.9 - 1.1
1.3 + 1.5 + 1.2 +
Bench Press 1.25 - 1.5 1.5 - 1.7 1.3 - 1.6
1.6 - 2.0 1.8 - 2.2 1.7 - 2.1
2.1 + 2.3 + 2.2 +
Push Press 1.0 - 1.25 1.2 - 1.4 0.8 - 1.1
1.3 - 1.5 1.5 - 1.8 1.2 - 1.3
1.6 + 1.9 + 1.4 +
Top row is average, middle is above average, last row is elite. Something to that effect. All numbers are multiplied by bodyweight, and tested for 1 RMs.
Back Squat 1.6 - 2.0 2.0 - 2.2 1.5 - 1.9
2.1 - 2.5 2.3 - 2.8 2.0 - 2.4
2.6 + 2.9 + 2.5 +
Front Squat 1.3 - 1.6 1.6 - 1.9 1.1 - 1.4
1.7 - 2.0 2.0 - 2.2 1.5 - 1.8
2.1 + 2.3 + 1.9 +
Deadlift 1.6 - 2.0 2.0 - 2.2 1.5 - 1.9
2.1 - 2.5 2.3 - 2.8 2.0 - 2.4
2.6 + 2.9 + 2.5 +
Power Clean 1.0 - 1.25 1.2 - 1.4 0.8 - 1.1
1.3 - 1.5 1.5 - 1.8 1.2 - 1.3
1.6 + 1.9 + 1.4 +
Snatch 0.7 - 0.9 1.0 - 1.2 0.6 - 0.8
1.0 - 1.2 1.3 - 1.4 0.9 - 1.1
1.3 + 1.5 + 1.2 +
Bench Press 1.25 - 1.5 1.5 - 1.7 1.3 - 1.6
1.6 - 2.0 1.8 - 2.2 1.7 - 2.1
2.1 + 2.3 + 2.2 +
Push Press 1.0 - 1.25 1.2 - 1.4 0.8 - 1.1
1.3 - 1.5 1.5 - 1.8 1.2 - 1.3
1.6 + 1.9 + 1.4 +
Top row is average, middle is above average, last row is elite. Something to that effect. All numbers are multiplied by bodyweight, and tested for 1 RMs.
silver_shadow
New member
samee said:
i'll try to sum it up... i personally think (like a few others do) that where ur at right now is good. but i think what biggt is saying is - don't get bogged down by comparisons and body weight to lift ratio because you have not yet reached ur true potential. 3 things that will help you get there:
1) EAT
2) some good solid years of working out taking advantage of your natural testosterone
3) a solid workout plan
so right now don't bother about comparisons and don't use body weight as an excuse... lets see you get down to the grind and u'll be kicking some ass later. best of luck.... remember ur stepping onto a very long road. it's up to - u have to decide whether u want to keep on at it and get to that distant point where the ground meets the sky.
blut wump
New member
There is only one person you should be comparing yourself with and that's yourself. It's nice to look around and see whom you're stronger than or whom you've gained faster than or whom you're slower than for motivation but the only real comparison of worth is with yourself at some earlier time. Just keeping working to improve.
A
Anthrax Invasion
Guest
A wise man once said "All that matters is that I'm stronger than I was yesterday." How true, how true.
Yeah all good points.
For the record, I'm actually 140 pounds now, not 130 (that was my weight around late December). That's what creatine will do to you!
The thing is though guys, 10 months ago i weighed 130 and could barely bench the olympic bar, squatted 100lbs and used 6kg dumbbells for shoulder pressing. As you might have gathered, I was incredibly weak! Hence why I started going to the gym in the first place.
10 months on, I can put up 150lbs on the bench for 5 reps, squat 260 and deadlift 240. Of course, I'm not bragging about these weights because they are nothing special, but my point is, I have progressed pretty well strength wise without gaining a single pound (until I started taking creatine)!
I guess this is in reply to silver_shadow, who suggested to eat in order to get stronger. I don't eat much now, but I'm still getting strength so I probably don't want to change much unless I'm after looks, which I'm not.
ps. creatine is amazing.
Cheers.
For the record, I'm actually 140 pounds now, not 130 (that was my weight around late December). That's what creatine will do to you!
The thing is though guys, 10 months ago i weighed 130 and could barely bench the olympic bar, squatted 100lbs and used 6kg dumbbells for shoulder pressing. As you might have gathered, I was incredibly weak! Hence why I started going to the gym in the first place.
10 months on, I can put up 150lbs on the bench for 5 reps, squat 260 and deadlift 240. Of course, I'm not bragging about these weights because they are nothing special, but my point is, I have progressed pretty well strength wise without gaining a single pound (until I started taking creatine)!
I guess this is in reply to silver_shadow, who suggested to eat in order to get stronger. I don't eat much now, but I'm still getting strength so I probably don't want to change much unless I'm after looks, which I'm not.
ps. creatine is amazing.
Cheers.
