Standards of Strength

Standards of Strength

This is a culmination of being around strength sports for 15 years. In that time, I’ve seen what the best in the world in a variety of strength sports do and the habits they share in common. Whether bodybuilding, olympic lifting, strongman, or powerlifting those at the top all seem to have a deep foundation of strength before they dive into the specialty of their chosen sport.

This list is very basic, but often overlooked by those looking to specialize in their sport leaving much on the table to benefit from.

If the things on this list aren’t achievable then you don’t need to worry about special exercises, recovery methods, or performance enhancing drugs. These are essentially a barrier to entry. If you can’t achieve these, then a basic strength training model focused on progressive overload will likely do wonders for you. Time, consistency, and effort go a long way.

Standards
10 Pull Ups - I can hear everyone already saying “It’s different when you’re bigger”. I’ve seen 300+lb guys do clapping pull ups for sets of 10 or more reps. 10 bodyweight pull ups isn’t a huge task, especially in comparison to the extreme levels of strength sports. Get to this and you’ll have healthier shoulders and a more solid foundation for all movements.

20 Push Ups - Full body strength and control is important in all strength sports and the push up is a great example. For bench presses and overhead presses, it will teach you to move your body away, which is a great leverage advantage. Again, bodyweight is irrelevant as many athletes 300lb+ can do this with ease.

1 Minute Plank - A 1 minute plank is used with most beginning athletes and people in rehab settings. If you can’t do this (or struggle), it’s a sign that core is a weakness.

Walk 30 Minutes - If you can’t walk 30 minutes without low back tightness, calf pain, hands going numb, this is a sign you have a horribly low level of General Physical Preparedness (GPP). How can you expect to pull a third deadlift in powerlifting meet or finish a stone medley in strongman when you can’t handle a walk? (I realized this through personal experience sadly)

10 Dips - Those with shoulder injuries get a slight pass on this one (you can likely work around it) but dips like the push up are a great upper body exercise that teach you to push the body away.

Notable Mentions

Men - 2X Bodyweight Squat

Women- 1.5X Bodyweight Squat

Men- 1.5X Bodyweight Bench Press

Women- 1X Bodyweight Bench Press

Men- 2X Bodyweight Deadlift

Women- 1.5X Bodyweight Deadlift

If these are beyond your current level, train to get there ASAP. The best already have. This list won’t guarantee you to break world records, but will get you on the path to train at a higher level. The bigger your foundation, the higher window of opportunity you’ll have. When you ask the best how they started, there’s a lot of common ground