Can you?

climberpilot
climberpilot Posts: 19 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I read that a person in reasonable shape should be able to do each of the following:
- Bench press their body weight
- deadlift twice their body weight
- Hold a plank for 2 minutes

So, my question is, can you do all of these?

I don't know if I can or not, but I think it'll be a goal to do all three real soon!

Replies

  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    Yup. Hit 87.5kg/192.5lb on bench today. Finally over bodyweight!
    Haven't done it recently, but I've hit 2x bodyweight dead on the platform 4 times.
    Meh. I only do 30 second planks.
  • ROBOTFOOD
    ROBOTFOOD Posts: 5,527 Member
    My PR was 440lb deadlift, squat 365lb, and bench 270lb @ 180lb. Don't do planks, but I could get it for sure. You can do it! Just stay consistent.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,178 Member
    edited March 2016
    I have no idea for men, for women for sure these numbers are not realistic. Unless they refer to a moderately experienced lifter, not a person in decent shape in general.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    If u can get #2 on that list, you're very likely to easily do the two. Either way I don't think those are very relevant standards
  • HamsterManV2
    HamsterManV2 Posts: 449 Member
    The Bench and Deadlift are very doable for your strength trainee. Your average gym bro could probably hit the bench and plank as well (but they don't usually deadlift).

    If you're a runner, then it would be harder to hit those numbers, but you can still blow the strength trainee away with your running time and pace. Everyone specializes in what they do in the gym every day.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    "reasonable shape"?

    Since when are we basing power lifting numbers as the minimum for a "reasonable shape"?

    Can i hold a plank that long? Sure. Can i deadlift and squat atleast my body weight? Sure. But can i bench my body weight? No. Can i deadlift 2x my body weight? No. I don't think any of these things are relevant to my fitness level, physique, or otherwise.

    These seem like arbitrary and otherwise irrelevant goals.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    I can eat a 2lb burger though....
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
    Yes.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    Not sure how "reasonable" shape is dependent upon how strong someone is. As mentioned before, females would likely have a problem with number one as they have less upper body strength and I've seen some women do some massive deadlifts. It just all depends on what the person is training for. I could probably do all three (I don't deadlift super heavy because I'm too afraid of injuries) but that doesn't mean I'm in any better shape than someone else.
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    edited March 2016
    climberpilot wrote: »
    Bench press their body weight
    No.
    climberpilot wrote: »
    deadlift twice their body weight
    No.
    climberpilot wrote: »
    Hold a plank for 2 minutes
    Maybe.
    climberpilot wrote: »
    I read that a person in reasonable shape should be able to do each of the following:
    Where in the heck did you read this?

    I'm assuming these benchmarks are for the untrained schmoe off the street.
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
    @HamsterManV2 I take exception to your comment. There are lots of us that train everything...you don't have to be all or nothing. I can do all three and still run at a decent pace (sub 7min/mi for 5k, around 7:30-7:45 for 10k+)
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    I can do the third one but not the other two. Although it would be cool to be able to bench press/deadlift higher weights, I'm never going to commit to the time/effort it would take for me to reach that standard.
    'Reasonable shape' is a pretty vague term.
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,741 Member
    The first two? No.
    The third? Yes. I try to do 3 90 sec. - 2 min. planks every night.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    - Bench press their body weight[/i]
    - Bench has always been my best lift, only took 3 months to go from very out of shape to BW bench. Trying to get back to 1.5 x BW but a car driver using me as a speed bump delayed my progress.

    - deadlift twice their body weight
    - No idea and not going to try. Probably not without bits of my knees and lower back flying across the gym and taking someone's eye out. :neutral:

    - Hold a plank for 2 minutes
    - Easily. That's a strange choice for "reasonable shape targets", planks aren't much good apart from getting good at planks....

    No fitness goals? That seems a little sad, don't be the guy who is in reasonable shape but is out of breath climbing stairs!
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Bench, it would take some training to get there
    Dead lift, No way-my back hate them
    Plank, yes
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    Seems ridiculous to base "reasonable shape" on a weight lifting thing. Sure it can be a good indicator of some sort of fitness, but it really depends on what you are doing/training.

    I certainly can't bench press or dead lift that much. A 2-minute plank is laughably easy in comparison.

    However, I am an endurance athlete. I have qualified for the Boston Marathon and have a sub-10hr Ironman to my credit. But I can't bench press for s***. Nor do I want to be able to. It would be wasted muscle on me (I don't want that extra weight).
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    Probably...but then again, I don't care about a maximum lift...for me it is irrelevant. My goal is 3 sets of 8-12...once I hit 12 I move up weight.

    I do use the hammer strength bench press (so yes, you can add additional weight) and do 3 sets of 10 at 200lbs. Not a fan of the deadlift, but again using the hammer strength apparatus, I did 350 for a set of 8...don't do it now.

    Now weigh 212...on way to 190-195...from 250+
  • climberpilot
    climberpilot Posts: 19 Member
    Interesting replies. I think I can do the bench and deadlift, but I'm certain I couldn't do the plank.
  • aijagaile
    aijagaile Posts: 3 Member
    I can't. Maybe planks.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    This is the kind of stuff that makes newbies and the less-fit-but-working-hard-at-it doubt themselves.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
    edited March 2016
    lorrpb wrote: »
    This is the kind of stuff that makes newbies and the less-fit-but-working-hard-at-it doubt themselves.

    It's only really measuring one aspect of 'fitness' (strength, as opposed to speed, endurance, flexibility, or any other skills people may want to develop), and being 'fit' is such a subjective term - fit for what? Fit compared to whom?
    For someone in the process of getting 'fit', it's only worth worrying about whether you are more fit than you were before and whether you are moving closer to your own 'fitness' goal (whether that's swimming the Channel, squatting twice your bodyweight, or being able to walk your dog for an hour without becoming exhausted).
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    1) yes, I can bench 5x170 and I weigh 168
    2) theoretically, but no. I only have 300lb of weights at the moment and I did 290x6 the other night which is a predicted 1RM of 337 (1lb more than 2x my weight)
    3) probably, haven't tried

    For a guy, those weight ranges aren't all that unrealistic within a year of so of training if you cut the fat. In terms of strength standards (for weight lifters), the bench press falls between the novice and intermediate range, and the deadlift falls between the intermediate and advanced range, so deadlift may be a little too aggressive for reasonable shape.

    For women those multiples fall between advanced and elite so it would definitely take more dedication to reach those same multiples. A more realistic level for reasonable shape might be 0.7x bench and 1.4x deadlift.

    With that said, if someone puts up a chart that says I have to run a 5k in 29 minutes (average time for a 33.6 year old male) to be in reasonable shape then I fail as I only run ~6 miles/hr which would give me a time of ~31 minutes. While I'm working on it, it wasn't a priority in my training over the last year.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    What arbitrary rubbish!
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    yesimpson wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    This is the kind of stuff that makes newbies and the less-fit-but-working-hard-at-it doubt themselves.

    It's only really measuring one aspect of 'fitness' (strength, as opposed to speed, endurance, flexibility, or any other skills people may want to develop), and being 'fit' is such a subjective term - fit for what? Fit compared to whom?
    For someone in the process of getting 'fit', it's only worth worrying about whether you are more fit than you were before and whether you are moving closer to your own 'fitness' goal (whether that's swimming the Channel, squatting twice your bodyweight, or being able to walk your dog for an hour without becoming exhausted).

    Great answer.
  • ltworide
    ltworide Posts: 342 Member
    My overarching goal is to improve my functional fitness level to enjoy a high quality of life with emphasis on mind-body connection. I have 0 interest in comparing myself to someone else's standards or against other people as long as I continue to see measurable performance improvements for example by beating my own PRs I'm happy. I train for strength, agility, speed, balance/stability, acceleration/deceleration, quick change of direction, power, flexibility.

    To respond to the original 'fit' question I chest press using dumbbells on a stability ball at 0.75 BW for 3 reps with no idea of what weight I'd bench press using a barbell as I've never tried it. I deadlift @1.9 times BW for 3 reps & can very easily hold a 2 min. Plank. More importantly to me though is to possess the necessary level of fitness that allows me to recover quickly if I slip, run, stop & change direction, carry/lift/push/pull heavy loads &learn new skills.

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