Lifting Goals

megalin9

I have searched the forums and the interwebz, and I have found very little information about what kind of goals I should be aiming for with my lifting. I just don't know enough about it yet to know if what I have found is legit, achievable, or too far-fetched, so I figured I would post here to get some advice so that I may set some reasonable, challenging yet achievable goals for myself.

I currently do a full body routine 3X/week that involves compound lifts (squats, bench press, dead lifts, and bent over rows), along with some body weight movements and accessory work, which I will not be asking about here. I see strength gains almost every week with the compound movements, and I'm very excited about progressing, but I'm scurred of how far I can go (crazy, irrational insecurities from being overweight all my life).

Stats:
Bench press: Started at 45#. Currently up to 75# for 8 reps. Will be testing my 1RM next week.
Squat: Started at 85#. Currently up to 110# for 8 reps. My 1RM as of yesterday was 135#.
Dead lift: Started with just the 35# bar because I have a bad back. I've been concentrating on my form, and I am now up to 85# for 6 to 8 reps.
Bent Over Rows: Started at 25#. Currently up to 65# for 8 reps.
OHP: Haven't attempted these with any significant weight yet. So I guess I am at 45#.
Assisted Pull-Ups: Started at 10. Now up to 15 for 3 sets.
Push-Ups (real ones, on my toes): Started at zero or about 15 on my knees. Now up to 5-10 for 3 sets.

What I have found online as far as goals for women (1RM):
Bench press: bodyweight
Squat: bodyweight
Deadlift: bodyweight
OHP: bodyweight
Pull-Up: 1 rep
http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2012/07/10-bodyweight-strength-goals-for-women/

Bench press: 50-75% bodyweight
Squat: 125-150% bodyweight
Deadlift: 150-200% bodyweight
OHP: 33-50% bodyweight
Pull-Up: 1 rep (dead hang)
Push-Ups: 15 reps
http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2008/12/strength-standards-for-women/

Questions:
1) The goals between these two articles vary quite a bit. Which one is legit?
2) What would be a reasonable goal based on bodyweight for all of these movements?
3) Should these goals be based on my GOAL weight (170-175#) or my current weight (199#)?
4) Am I making too big a deal of this?

Thanks for your help! Again!

Megan

ETA: another observation/question.

ArroganceInStep

Tagging

Sarauk2sf

Tagging to respond to with my thoughts a bit later

jlapey

I have no idea what I'm talking about, (new to lifting) but it would seem that if you are working up to lifting your body weight that by the time you got there, your body weight could be significantly lower than what it is right now. Just a theory.

SideSteel

I'd reply to this but I'm going to guess that Sara will have a more concrete answer than I will.

My goals when lifting are "more than I was lifting last month" so to speak. As long as it keeps going up over time, I'm good.

mq68

tag

megalin9

I have no idea what I'm talking about, (new to lifting) but it would seem that if you are working up to lifting your body weight that by the time you got there, your body weight could be significantly lower than what it is right now. Just a theory.

I've thought about that. So if my body weight is consistently decreasing, eventually my lifting weight is going to catch up. Then what? Stop progressing? Deload? Change goals to lifting 2X bodyweight? ?????? :grumble:

megalin9

I'd reply to this but I'm going to guess that Sara will have a more concrete answer than I will.

My goals when lifting are "more than I was lifting last month" so to speak. As long as it keeps going up over time, I'm good.

I have this mindset as well, but my personality is very goal-driven. I like a list, and I like checking things off. It's important for my success, personally. If I don't know what I'm working towards, I feel blind. :ohwell:

_SABOTEUR_

I'd reply to this but I'm going to guess that Sara will have a more concrete answer than I will.

My goals when lifting are "more than I was lifting last month" so to speak. As long as it keeps going up over time, I'm good.

^I agree. It's about progression. When you reach bodyweight, then look to 1.25xbodyweight. When you reach 1.25xbodyweight look to 1.5xbodyweight.

There is no perfect end goal IMHO.

jlapey

I have no idea what I'm talking about, (new to lifting) but it would seem that if you are working up to lifting your body weight that by the time you got there, your body weight could be significantly lower than what it is right now. Just a theory.

I've thought about that. So if my body weight is consistently decreasing, eventually my lifting weight is going to catch up. Then what? Stop progressing? Deload? Change goals to lifting 2X bodyweight? ?????? :grumble:

I guess you'd just keep upping it a little more until you simply can't go any higher. But body weight sounds like a good goal to start with.

vjohn04

I'd reply to this but I'm going to guess that Sara will have a more concrete answer than I will.

My goals when lifting are "more than I was lifting last month" so to speak. As long as it keeps going up over time, I'm good.

^^this. this is what I aim for.

DopeItUp

I always liked Martin's standards on leangains.com (can't post link, it's censored)

Progress and Goals


For someone interested in aesthetics, which I assume most my readers are, relative strength is the single best measure of progress and the quality of your physique. Before seeing a picture of a client, I can easily get a very good idea of his or hers body composition by simply knowing three stats: weight, height and strength. Relative strength is therefore the parameter that will be used to determine reasonable rates of progress, which will then tell you whether you might be suffering of ****arounditis or not.

Within two years of consistent training on a decent routine, the average male should be able to progress to the following levels of strength (1RM):


Strength Goals: Intermediate

Bench press: body weight x 1.2

Chin-ups or pull-ups: body weight x 1.2 or 8 reps with body weight.

Squat: body weight x 1.6

Deadlift: body weight x 2

These numbers are for a raw (no straps, belt or knee wraps) single repetition.

The progress towards the intermediate strength goals should be fairly linear, meaning that there should be no plateaus that cannot be solved in an uncomplicated manner. By "consistent" training I do not mean never missing a training day, nor do I consider taking 2-3 months off from training consistent.

By "decent training routine", I mean "not doing blatantly stupid ****" (training 5-6 days/week, 20-25 sets for chest and arms, etc.). I do not mean optimal and flawless.


Strength Goals: Advanced

Under the exact same conditions as the previous example, 3 out of 4 of the following goals should be reached within five years, along with all of the strength goals listed under "intermediate":

Bench press: body weight x 1.5

Chin-ups or pull-ups: body weight x 1.5 or 15 reps with body weight.

Squat: body weight x 2

Deadlift: body weight x 2.5


Strength Goals: Highly Advanced

Under the exact same conditions, all of the following goals should be reached within ten years. Alternatively, 3 out of 4 should be reached, and one should be "Elite":

Bench press: body weight x 1.5, or x 1.8 (elite)

Chin-ups or pull-ups: body weight x 1.5 or 15 reps with body weight, or x 1.8 / 20 reps (elite)

Squat: body weight x 2, or x 2.4 (elite)

Deadlift: body weight x 2.5, or x 3 (elite)

"Elite" denotes one lift that is often ahead of the others. For example, people who are natural pullers (long arms) may very well hit a 3 x body weight deadlift before a 1.5 x body weight bench, and vice versa for the presser (short arms, stocky and barrel-chested) benching 1.8 x body weight but not being able to pull 2.5 x body weight in the deadlift.

The highly advanced strength goals falls in line with what could be considered the pinnacle of physique and strength development for most average and natural trainers. At this point, progress is very slow.

A 185-lb male that has been training consistently for 5-10 years should therefore be expected to:

Bench press 275-280 lbs.
Do a chin-up with 90-95 lbs hanging from his waist.
Squat 370 lbs.
Deadlift 460-465 lbs.

Respective goals for women:

For women in the 115-155-lb range, the corresponding advanced strength goals are 0.9 x body weight bench, 1.1 x body weight chin-up, 1.5 x body weight squat and 1.8 x body weight deadlift. Relative to men, women have much less muscle mass around the chest area and shoulder girdle (men have much higher androgen-receptor density in this particular area), but the lower body is comparativly strong to the upper body.

A 135-lb woman that has been training consistently for 5-10 years should then be expected to:

Bench press 120-125 lbs.
Do 4-5 chin-ups with body weight or do one with an extra 10-15 lbs hanging from her waist.
Squat 200-205 lbs.
Deadlift 225-230 lbs.

So where do you fall in regards to these goals? If you've met them, you've received a reasonable return on the time you've invested in your training and it's safe to say that you do not suffer from ****arounditis - even if you have some of the symptoms, remember that it's not ****ing around if what you're doing is working for you.

If you have not met them, then something is amiss. And if you can't do 8 good chin-ups or struggle with being able to bench press your body weight after a decade of working out....something is horribly amiss.

This is no laughing matter. I've had clients that spent 10-15 years working out with little or nothing to show for it and some made very basic mistakes that could have been fixed at an early stage. But as ****arounditis took root, they seemed to only have succumbed deeper, eventually losing that last shred of training sense.

Taking early preventative measures is key. Where this is not possible, rapid intervention can save the situation. Enter The ****arounditis Test.

tameko2

here.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.htm

That gives you some tiered goals to work on.

But like Sidesteel said (and others?) - your only goal needs to be to continuously lift more than you used to. So pick some numbers that are more than you lift now, make those your goals, rinse, repeat. Just use these articles so you know what would be an outrageous number (like don't think you're gonna bench 200 this year, because, you aren't.)

ArroganceInStep

In line with sidesteel's comments, I think the shortterm goals are far more important than long term ones. If your goal is a BW bench (which I think is pretty darn beastly for a woman) by the time you get there you should already be looking for the next challenge. It's like getting in shape, it doesn't stop when you hit a goal weight.

For myself, and I think this can apply across genders and skill levels with lifting, my goal is to successfully plan and execute a lifting cycle. I'm currently in week 6 of an 8 week program. In week 8 I will run an assessment and attempt to hit 105% of the target weights I selected for Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift, and Clean and Press. I programmed my weight targets conservatively, so I have little doubt that I'll hit 105%; if I"m able to hit those reps strong and feel good about the past two months, I'll consider my goal met.

My point is, since I can never say anything concisely, that consistency should be a goal more than the weight you're putting on the bar. If you constantly, month after month and year after year, program cycles well and hit your mini goals, all of a sudden weights that you couldn't even begin to pretend moving will be your warm-up.

Sarauk2sf

I'd reply to this but I'm going to guess that Sara will have a more concrete answer than I will.

My goals when lifting are "more than I was lifting last month" so to speak. As long as it keeps going up over time, I'm good.

You been reading my mind again?

I will expand a bit more with something more concrete when I get to a computer, but basically ^^this.

xidia

The untrained weights for women look remarkably high in @tameko's link. Or am I just a wuss?

tameko2

The untrained weights for women look remarkably high in @tameko's link. Or am I just a wuss?

That's a 1 rep max which technically an untrained person can't realistically perform (it takes training to learn to push a genuine 1 rep max) so its kind of not useful at that level other than maybe as a raw idea of where to start someone with work weights.

Davina_JH

tag

Sarauk2sf

The problem with these types of goals, is that they are fluid. While something like a 2 x BW deadlift is a great objective, it’s a fixed point. What do you do after? What do you measure in between now and then?

To me, and as has already been mentioned, you should have a goal of making progress, period. This goes for fitness goals other than lifting. For lifting, each session, try to up the reps or the weights so you are making progress (aka progressive loading).

That being said, I have mini goals and longer term goals as milestones. It makes that progress a little more like ‘victories’. My mini goals either relate to the number of ‘big boy’ plates, a nice round number, or an x times body weight and are the next step up from where I am.

For example, my next mini goal for squats is 1.5 x BW which happens to coincide with 2 ‘big boy’ plates, but for OHP as I am closer to 100lb (annoyingly close) than say 75% of BW, the 100lb is my next goal…after that it will be 75% of BW…after that it will be big boy plates. Within each workout though, I still make it a point (sometimes against common sense) of trying to get a PR or a PR for reps as that is progress.

For looking at yourself as to whether you are making ‘good’ progress against others, the strength standards link shown by tameko is a good one. However, remember that there are huge variances with peoples training routine, age, genetics, diets etc and I sometimes feel that these types of things are demotivating to people as they are comparing themselves to other folks’ levels while they should be focusing on their own progress. I suppose what I am trying to say that it is a tool, but should not be the focus. I use it at the moment as one of my goals this year is to get into the elite level for all my lifts (btw – the levels are too low imo as there is no way I am where it says I am) – but I have lots of other targets.

So, after that philosophical ramble, to address the ‘realism’ of the goals that you copied:

Bench press: bodyweight
Squat: bodyweight
Deadlift: bodyweight
OHP: bodyweight
Pull-Up: 1 rep
http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2012/07/10-bodyweight-strength-goals-for-women/

These ^^ make no sense. We can squat and deadlift way more than we can bench and OHP

Bench press: 50-75% bodyweight
Squat: 125-150% bodyweight
Deadlift: 150-200% bodyweight
OHP: 33-50% bodyweight
Pull-Up: 1 rep (dead hang)
Push-Ups: 15 reps
http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2008/12/strength-standards-for-women/

These^^ make more sense but are off to me for some also, although it could be that I am using myself as an example. Assuming they are for a ‘pretty damn strong’ level I would suggest that bench is a bit low and OHP is too low also to be comparable with squats and deads.

Re the BW - it should be the one you are at, at the time you do the lift.

ilovedeadlifts

Make your own goals instead of going by what you see as a standard.

If you bench 95 now, your goal should be 115, once you hit that, make it 135, etc.
There is no "end goal" that you'll hit and say to yourself that your satisfied. So just make short term goals that are 10-20 pounds away, smash them, and set new goals

George1567

I too am one who loves "data". I have 3-ring binders with workouts dating back to 2008 along with files of heart rate monitor downloads on my computer. For me any given routine I do gets stale after 4 months or so. At that point I rework what I am doing in the gym and it gives me a fresh start on new goals. The last half of 2012 I followed a 5x5 strong lift format. Each week doing the same number of sets and reps but raised the weight. To start this year I went to more of a split routine, the weight and set are the same each time, but most of the reps are to failure. The focus here is to get more reps than last time.

Sure some routines are better for building mass, strength, or leaning out. That is dandy as long as you keep motivated to do it. To me the only lifting workout that is a bad choice is "not lifting at all". This mindset allows me to mix it up and each new routine can give a fresh new set of goals and benchmarks to shoot for. There can be 1RM goals, or endurance #rep goals, or even speed goals on how long it takes to complete a fixed routine. Broaden your "goals" and you will always be able to have something to shoot for.

__RANDY__

For me its not just the weight but the reps too. So if last week I squatted xxxlbs for 4 reps, then this week I'll go for 5.

_noob_

I'd like be "elite" in all the strength charts for bench, squat, press and deadlift. Close in all but deadlift...

megalin9

Thanks for all the advice, everybody! I think I just need to set some mini milestones, as Sara put it, based on where I am right now with my main goal being just to constantly progress.

Consider this post resolved and locked.

Sarauk2sf

Thanks for all the advice, everybody! I think I just need to set some mini milestones, as Sara put it, based on where I am right now with my main goal being just to constantly progress.

Consider this post resolved and locked.

Thanks and good luck!

Locking now.