Women - how much do you squat?
sengalissa
Posts: 253 Member
Please give me your bodyweight, your reps and your weight for back squats.
I am 130lbs, and I do 5x5 130lbs. I am confused because after one year of lifting, mostly on a deficit, I seem to be doing pretty well given this: http://bretcontreras.com/impressive-strength-levels/ but as much as I trust Bret Contreras, I don't believe squatting 130lbs for me/bodyweight is a lot for a woman. I am looking for a reality check here.
I work out all by myself, and it is important for me to know which lifts I should be able to do more because I have no comparison whatsoever.*
*(I have to say that my pull-ups (1-2 unassisted) and my bench (50lbs 5x5) still suck, so maybe my lower body is just really good while my upper body is still weak? Also, I hip thrust 220lbs 5x5 and I have only done hip thrusts for 6 months, mostly on a deficit. So... there is still a lot of room for improvement, I feel.)
I am 130lbs, and I do 5x5 130lbs. I am confused because after one year of lifting, mostly on a deficit, I seem to be doing pretty well given this: http://bretcontreras.com/impressive-strength-levels/ but as much as I trust Bret Contreras, I don't believe squatting 130lbs for me/bodyweight is a lot for a woman. I am looking for a reality check here.
I work out all by myself, and it is important for me to know which lifts I should be able to do more because I have no comparison whatsoever.*
*(I have to say that my pull-ups (1-2 unassisted) and my bench (50lbs 5x5) still suck, so maybe my lower body is just really good while my upper body is still weak? Also, I hip thrust 220lbs 5x5 and I have only done hip thrusts for 6 months, mostly on a deficit. So... there is still a lot of room for improvement, I feel.)
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Replies
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Why not compare where you are now, to where you started? Unless your goal is to compete in powerlifting or Oly lifting competitions, YOU is a far, far better, more accurate, and *safer* comparison than people with totally different body shapes/weight loss experiences ('cause if you start off heavier and lose weight, you can retain muscle versus starting off skinny and having to build it) and athletic backgrounds.
If you're advancing through the ranks or at least numerically after a year, I'd say you're doing pretty darn well.
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"Comparison is the thief of joy."
It doesn't matter what anyone else squats. It doesn't matter what you read in a book. What matters is that you keep progressing.0 -
If you're following StrongLifts, the progression is built into the program -- that would be all you would need to worry about -- if you can increase then do so, if not, keep working at the level your are on.0
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I'm 5"8 135 lbs and also 5x5 130 lbs so we're very close to the same stats. I have squated a bit heavier but i didn't count it because my form was off.0
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_dracarys_ wrote: »"Comparison is the thief of joy."
It doesn't matter what anyone else squats. It doesn't matter what you read in a book. What matters is that you keep progressing.
+1
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He has a chart based on strength levels of women he has trained over the years. Remember that most women you see on YouTube or online forums who squat big numbers have been at it for quite awhile. Not just a year.
http://bretcontreras.com/female-strength-levels/
As far as what I squat, 75 is my heaviest and that's with 4 good reps and 1 omgihatefingsquats rep. And that's on a good day. Squatting is my most difficult exercise by far. I quit back squats entirely and just do front squats for heavy days now.
But yeah, just focus on yourself. I'm fine with my slower progress. I'm adding 5 lbs a month and working well below that most of the time since I do 5/3/1.
Oh, I'm 147 lbs.0 -
84kg body weight, platform proven at 120kg, recently hit 145kg for a single in training.0
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cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »Why not compare where you are now, to where you started? Unless your goal is to compete in powerlifting or Oly lifting competitions, YOU is a far, far better, more accurate, and *safer* comparison than people with totally different body shapes/weight loss experiences ('cause if you start off heavier and lose weight, you can retain muscle versus starting off skinny and having to build it) and athletic backgrounds.
If you're advancing through the ranks or at least numerically after a year, I'd say you're doing pretty darn well.
I don't get that she's comparing, more that she is trying to get a feel for what a reasonable goal is, so she doesn't try to progress to a weight where she could get hurt (since she doesn't have someone on hand to help if she needs to bail out).
I'm a beginning lifter, so my stats will be useless to you, OP. But I think you'll know when you are going too heavy because your form will start to break down or you won't be able to complete all your sets. At that point, you can just quit adding weight or add only when you get to the point where you can complete all lifts with excellent form.0 -
sengalissa wrote: »Please give me your bodyweight, your reps and your weight for back squats.
I am 130lbs, and I do 5x5 130lbs. I am confused because after one year of lifting, mostly on a deficit, I seem to be doing pretty well given this: http://bretcontreras.com/impressive-strength-levels/ but as much as I trust Bret Contreras, I don't believe squatting 130lbs for me/bodyweight is a lot for a woman. I am looking for a reality check here.
I work out all by myself, and it is important for me to know which lifts I should be able to do more because I have no comparison whatsoever.*
*(I have to say that my pull-ups (1-2 unassisted) and my bench (50lbs 5x5) still suck, so maybe my lower body is just really good while my upper body is still weak? Also, I hip thrust 220lbs 5x5 and I have only done hip thrusts for 6 months, mostly on a deficit. So... there is still a lot of room for improvement, I feel.)
I'm 5'8, 160lb and when pushed by PT I can squat 3 sets of 12 at 65Kg so that's 143lbs, I have no idea what my 1 rep maximum is .. but I haven't really worked to build it yet tbh
I'm only at jump into pull-up at the moment .. still looking to crack that0 -
Not that it matters because none of us are built the same- we have different bone engineering (the way the bones sit in the sockets) so some of us are more successful at certain lifts than others- and ultimately you should just continue to strive to get better at what you're doing.
There is ALWAYS room for improvement.
Right now my working weight is around 180-200- and I can single squat (one rep max about 240) - I would at some point like to hit 300 pounds on my squat- but it's all baby steps- one step at a time.
edit- I'm 5'8" and 160ish pounds.0 -
PeachyPlum wrote: »cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »Why not compare where you are now, to where you started? Unless your goal is to compete in powerlifting or Oly lifting competitions, YOU is a far, far better, more accurate, and *safer* comparison than people with totally different body shapes/weight loss experiences ('cause if you start off heavier and lose weight, you can retain muscle versus starting off skinny and having to build it) and athletic backgrounds.
If you're advancing through the ranks or at least numerically after a year, I'd say you're doing pretty darn well.
I don't get that she's comparing, more that she is trying to get a feel for what a reasonable goal is, so she doesn't try to progress to a weight where she could get hurt (since she doesn't have someone on hand to help if she needs to bail out).
I'm a beginning lifter, so my stats will be useless to you, OP. But I think you'll know when you are going too heavy because your form will start to break down or you won't be able to complete all your sets. At that point, you can just quit adding weight or add only when you get to the point where you can complete all lifts with excellent form.
Thank, exactly that.
I had not been pushing my bench because I had no idea it was a weakness of mine. Now I focus more on that.0 -
I'm 98lb and after almost 12 months of lifting I can squat 110lb for 5 reps with a 132lb 1 rep max. If those numbers look odd it's because I've converted them from kg as everything is kg here.
I don't find squatting easy, I really have to bully myself to do it. I LOVE all other lifts, especially dead lifting, but squats are my nemesis. Every time I get under the bar I have to give myself the "if it's hard it's because you need to do it - nothing easy is worth doing" talk!
My PT always does that "you are totally amazing" speech, but I have to confess to putting that 100% down to the usual PT nonsense to keep their clients coming back, however looking at those strength levels posted I might actually be sitting just above average.
Oh and the other thing is that I'm eating like a mad thing. I've not managed to actually put on any noticeable amount of scale weight, but I've literally been scoffing 3000 calories a day for the last 12 months. I personally think bodyweight x 5 reps after 12 months on a cut is pretty impressive.0 -
120-ish lbs, I did 135lb for 1 rep after about 8 months of training. Felt like I could have handled another 5, maybe 10 lbs but I was doing Wendler's 5/3/1 and didn't deviate from that to go for it.
I'm working lighter than that now - did a cut, deloaded for form fixes, etc. Right now, I'm at 105 lb, 8 reps. Definitely could do more, but want to increase slowly and steadily.0 -
cheshirecatastrophe wrote: »Why not compare where you are now, to where you started? Unless your goal is to compete in powerlifting or Oly lifting competitions, YOU is a far, far better, more accurate, and *safer* comparison than people with totally different body shapes/weight loss experiences ('cause if you start off heavier and lose weight, you can retain muscle versus starting off skinny and having to build it) and athletic backgrounds.
If you're advancing through the ranks or at least numerically after a year, I'd say you're doing pretty darn well.
This times a million.0 -
Not that it matters because none of us are built the same- we have different bone engineering (the way the bones sit in the sockets) so some of us are more successful at certain lifts than others- and ultimately you should just continue to strive to get better at what you're doing.
There is ALWAYS room for improvement.
Right now my working weight is around 180-200- and I can single squat (one rep max about 240) - I would at some point like to hit 300 pounds on my squat- but it's all baby steps- one step at a time.
edit- I'm 5'8" and 160ish pounds.
This.
I can hip thrust over 200 pounds for reps but my back squats are awful in comparison.
Plus, Bret's strength chart is a little different anyway. He looks at it more from the perspective of how you compare to the population as a whole rather than just seasoned lifters. I think it's purpose is to encourage us to look at the weight we lift as an accomplishment (it really is when you think about it since some many girls shy away from anything resembling strength).
ETA: I thought the link went to a different list he has. That one doesn't seem odd. The 130x5 example he had was just for front squats.0 -
225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
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Comparatively im short and fat and built for powerlifting... Thankfully I love it just started training again 5'4" 170lbs 200 1RM0
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brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!0 -
brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!
If you're just starting though, it's possible with beginner gains. I've seen it time and again with new lifters. What I also see is them drop out of the sport when the awesome gains slow to an incremental crawl or go backwards due to injuries or life.
I can't seem to get past 240. I'd like to hit 242.5 (110kg) at a meet in July. I just rely on deadlift to bring my total up
bw 125
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I would agree if she was a beginner- 225 back squat doesn't exactly sound like beginner though- unless i TOTALLY misread that whole post!!!juliewatkin wrote: »brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!
If you're just starting though, it's possible with beginner gains. I've seen it time and again with new lifters. What I also see is them drop out of the sport when the awesome gains slow to an incremental crawl or go backwards due to injuries or life.
I can't seem to get past 240. I'd like to hit 242.5 (110kg) at a meet in July. I just rely on deadlift to bring my total up
bw 125
LOL- yes ma'am that's the way to do it!!!!
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I am 5 ft 7 151 lbs and have been lifting for almost 2 years.
Did 9 months of SL 5x5, a summer of SL 3x5 and now 9th month of 5/3/1
My max squat atm is 210...based on a calc in my app...I know I have squatted 205x5 so that's not unreasonable.
As for that link http://bretcontreras.com/impressive-strength-levels/ eh not sure about this. Just because of where it puts me...0 -
It certainly wasn't my starting weight. However, I've seen some strong girls get on the platform for the first time and kill it. On Saturday I saw a 185lb woman pull 419 at her first meet. At the same meet I saw a 125lb woman squat 264 at her first meet. Mind you, I'm in the front row to see a ton of new lifters start competing so that type of thing starts to seem more commonplace.
I would agree if she was a beginner- 225 back squat doesn't exactly sound like beginner though- unless i TOTALLY misread that whole post!!!juliewatkin wrote: »brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!
If you're just starting though, it's possible with beginner gains. I've seen it time and again with new lifters. What I also see is them drop out of the sport when the awesome gains slow to an incremental crawl or go backwards due to injuries or life.
I can't seem to get past 240. I'd like to hit 242.5 (110kg) at a meet in July. I just rely on deadlift to bring my total up
bw 125
LOL- yes ma'am that's the way to do it!!!!
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juliewatkin wrote: »brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!
If you're just starting though, it's possible with beginner gains. I've seen it time and again with new lifters. What I also see is them drop out of the sport when the awesome gains slow to an incremental crawl or go backwards due to injuries or life.
I can't seem to get past 240. I'd like to hit 242.5 (110kg) at a meet in July. I just rely on deadlift to bring my total up
bw 125
<sadface>Oh how I wish I had better beginner gains with squats.</sadface> Lol. I'm one of the people who just aren't built great for squatting. That's okay. I just keep working at what I can do and even though they aren't as heavy as many can go, I like the results I am getting from them.0 -
I am 5ft 6 203lbs when working with my PT i have done 140lbs for three sets of 6. Of course that is with a lot of encouragement! 0
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I echo the sentiment that the only thing that really matters is your own progress. I took a peek at the Bret link and I’m not so sure about those numbers.
I confess I do like to track my progress based on performance standard measures though - I think it’s fun to track my gains. I like two websites for this. Here you can see 1 rep max standards for adult lifters (men and women) by exercise, and on here you plug in your information and it shows how you fare in each lift category.
For the sake of discussion, I’m 5’4”, 128lbs, got back to lifting for 3 months now (I had done it in the past but stopped for about a year), I’m eating in a deficit, and I squat 125lbs for 3x5. My upper body is incredibly weak in comparison, though.0 -
My 3 rep max at the beginning of March was 210# (I was trying to go for a 5 rep) I was a couple of pounds heavier in March so maybe 140-142# I'm 5'6.0
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I would agree if she was a beginner- 225 back squat doesn't exactly sound like beginner though- unless i TOTALLY misread that whole post!!!juliewatkin wrote: »brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!
If you're just starting though, it's possible with beginner gains. I've seen it time and again with new lifters. What I also see is them drop out of the sport when the awesome gains slow to an incremental crawl or go backwards due to injuries or life.
I can't seem to get past 240. I'd like to hit 242.5 (110kg) at a meet in July. I just rely on deadlift to bring my total up
bw 125
LOL- yes ma'am that's the way to do it!!!!
You didn't miss it, but yeah I've only been lifting about 6 months, so total newbie to the lifting game. I always had crazy strong legs...so I guess that's what I've got going for me, lol. I know 275 is a crazy goal...I'm okay if I don't hit it though. Like I said...fingers crossed, lol.
And no dropping out for me...I'm not looking to compete, I'm only looking to be awesomely me, whatever that means. 0 -
This does remind me I should come up with a new goal for squats once I'm in a program that works on them on a regular basis (some of the stages in NROLFW don't). I made it to 165 x 3 back when my weight was 162. Took a while as I've been on deficit since September and started lifting start of November. Hoping to work on increasing squat and deadlift over summer though. Slow and steady with some personal goals to boost my focus, that's what works for me.0
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I'm 5'6" 282lbs and my pt has me squatting 3x15 reps of 40 kg. But the week before tom I can only do 20 kg but even at my largest of 311lbs I was doing daily bodyweight squats.0
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brandi9172 wrote: »
I would agree if she was a beginner- 225 back squat doesn't exactly sound like beginner though- unless i TOTALLY misread that whole post!!!juliewatkin wrote: »brandi9172 wrote: »225 back and 205 front. I'm working on a squat progression program right now to increase my front and back squat...I hope that after two rounds I'll be maxing out close to 275 (back) at the end of the year. Fingers crossed.
that's quiet a bit of weight to put on in 7 months. not trying to disappoint you- but I've gone up by about 15 pounds in the last 14-16 months and I've been training regularly. I mean- all kudo's to you if you can!! I'd love to hit 250 this year- but even my 240 squat isn't very good (hence why it's a single rep and yeah- it was REALLY fugly).
But as we said- everyone is different- so hat tip to you if you can add 50 pounds in that time!!!
If you're just starting though, it's possible with beginner gains. I've seen it time and again with new lifters. What I also see is them drop out of the sport when the awesome gains slow to an incremental crawl or go backwards due to injuries or life.
I can't seem to get past 240. I'd like to hit 242.5 (110kg) at a meet in July. I just rely on deadlift to bring my total up
bw 125
LOL- yes ma'am that's the way to do it!!!!
You didn't miss it, but yeah I've only been lifting about 6 months, so total newbie to the lifting game. I always had crazy strong legs...so I guess that's what I've got going for me, lol. I know 275 is a crazy goal...I'm okay if I don't hit it though. Like I said...fingers crossed, lol.
And no dropping out for me...I'm not looking to compete, I'm only looking to be awesomely me, whatever that means.
275 isn't unrealistic. One of my team mates did the same thing when she was starting out. Good luck.
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