How strong is strong enough?

[Santa_Claus]

I'd like to increase my strength as a base to a more power/ballistic oriented training style.

Right now my 1 max rep is...~
Deep Squat:220
Bench:230
Dead:250

Im 6'3 200lbs @ ~11-12% bodyfat and I want to know what would be a good target in the 3 main lifts for someone that trains naturally. I don't want to be stronger for strenght's sake but to allow me to exert more power when I go running,climbing...etc

So how far should my 1 max reps go so I can stop worrying about them and train with more velocity and higher reps.

Thanks

[Guinness5.0]

That's pretty much impossible to answer. However, the fact that your squat is higher than your bench means you have some strength imbalances that need to be addressed. Could be core, could be legs, could be that you're new to squatting, etc. There's no magic formulara/ratio, but I would say that as long as you are making progress on a solid program, just let the strength take care of itself.

I'm partial to madcow's 5x5, and I'd suggest checking out the single factor training that's linked in the TOC of the monster 5x5 thread on here.

[gjohnson5]

There is no such thing as having too much strength...

[Silvertide]

Well, in a little less than three months, you can complete a 5x5 cycle. I'm just finishing up one and seeing some great results in strength. Here are my increases in the main lifts:

Bench: 235x1 to 245x3
New 1RM is probably about 265x1 (+30).

Squat: 275x1 (didn't really squat much) to 315x3
I'm guessing the new 1RM is around 350 (+75).

Deadlift: 345x1 to 365x3
I feel like I'd have a decent chance of pulling 405x1 since I feel strong on these (+60).

Those numbers total 1020, which seems somewhat strong to me, but around here I don't think it's anything special. On the other hand I'm only 6' 190 at about 12%. I would consider someone who can total 6 times their bodyweight to extremely strong--that's always a goal I've shot for. Honestly though, if it's strength you're looking for, 5x5 is a great program.

[Guinness5.0]

Well, in a little less than three months, you can complete a 5x5 cycle. I'm just finishing up one and seeing some great results in strength. Here are my increases in the main lifts:

Bench: 235x1 to 245x3
New 1RM is probably about 265x1 (+30).

Squat: 275x1 (didn't really squat much) to 315x3
I'm guessing the new 1RM is around 350 (+75).

Deadlift: 345x1 to 365x3
I feel like I'd have a decent chance of pulling 405x1 since I feel strong on these (+60).

Those numbers total 1020, which seems somewhat strong to me, but around here I don't think it's anything special. On the other hand I'm only 6' 190 at about 12%. I would consider someone who can total 6 times their bodyweight to extremely strong--that's always a goal I've shot for. Honestly though, if it's strength you're looking for, 5x5 is a great program.

I agree but I advocated the single factor variant becasue I assume he is not as proficient as one should be in the big 3 before starting 5x5.

Great improvements BTW

[Silvertide]

Agreed, a few months of single factor 5x5 would probably be the best choice.

[Illuminati]

There is no such thing as having too much strength...

/\ /\ read the above quote...


i disagree with everyone else. if you want to get stronger, for the best results get into a powerlifting routine. westside barbell is where it is at for strength

[coolcolj]

Well once you have to gain too much bodyweight and train too much to gain the strength, which then interfers with your goals then your strong enough

Power benefits from pure strength gains stop helping after you reach a point where you can't generate the force in the time needed in the activity.
With sprinting, strength only helps at the start and to stop your legs and hips collaspsing each foot strike and absorbing force, plus basic form. After that you only have 0.1 of second to exert force each foot strike, so can see getting stronger after a point in time won't help you to run faster, since you can't use all your strength in that short period of time. It takes about 0.5 sec to generate max force. So you will be just wasting time and resources gaining more strength.

Most people will usually stop benefiting from pure leg strength when they reach double bodyweight on the squat, since by then you bodyweight will represent about 33% of your strength levels.
then you start to concentrate on other things like reactivity and rate of force developement. Ability to fire and relax quickly helps running greatly too, which heavy weight training tends to interfere with

so I would aim for 2xBW on squat, 2 to 2.5x on dead, and 1.25 to 1.5 on bench is enough. Off course this depends on your leverages.
Assuming your doing all of em raw, and a moderate stance fullsquat, strict flat back deadlift and a shoulder width grip bench
There is no reason why you can't train power and strength concurrently. Each will help the other

[harhar]

If you can squat skyscrapers, I'd say thats good enough.

[rbtrout]

"Your squat is higher than your bench means you have some strength imbalances that need to be addressed", I find an interesting statement. Your squat should always be higher than your bench or you do have some strength imbalances - weakass legs.
Being your build (or very similar) myself, I feel that the 5X5 would be a better routine, although power lifting will help for sure. Basically, you could keep the routine you're doing and just make sure to add weight each week. Your body will adapt to the extra poundages.
One other thing to try is to keep using the same weights you are now and increase the reps for several weeks. In 3 weeks (a guess) if you can bench 230 12-15 reps, then you can probably do 250 X 2 or 3.