You Lift But Are you Strong?

As I get deeper into competing the inevitable question arises ' Am I progressing well...am I strong enough'. It's someone times hard to assess your strength in this game relative to your peers. While it would seem the simplicity of the bigger total provides an unequivocal assessment there are mitigating factors that confuse the issue somewhat.

Obviously anthropomorphic differences benefit some but that's the same in any sport. Rather it's the  pervasive spread of drugs that really confuses the issue. For example I am aiming to get to a triple bodyweight squat and deadlift in the next few years. If I check my peers locally that's ok but compared to some of the totals I see its not so good (note I am talking about the 75kg class that I lift in).

In these discussions it's important not to fall into the easy route of assuming everyone above you on the total list is on the gear. Perspective requires a more detailed examination of the bell curve to assess personal strength.

Locally there are some outstanding young lifters in the 75kg class and several are close to hitting the aforementioned 3x bodyweight goal (at least in the deadlift). I am comfortable these young bucks are natural (for the moment) and deserve their success. However this group is a pretty small sample of the gene pool and typically those that lift competitively already well above those that just lift in the gym. Therefore  my total is not so bad in relation to the population it's just in relative terms against the small pool of 75kg lifters its found wanting. Thats ok I am patient and if all goes well I think I have a solid 5 years to get this total up before I hit late forties.

The issue of drugs is a polarising one. I had a conversation recently with a lifter who had made fantastic gains over the last year and hit a great drug free total. Despite this I could sense his frustration as the 2-3 lifters above him are known to hit the gear and as a consequence the gap between his total and theirs has grown.

In this example it's easy to fall back into assessing yourself against those that choose a different route rather than accept how strong you have become. I remember reading Randal J Strossen's great extracts in Iron Man Magazine in the early eighties. He advocated very simplistic old school training and diet regimes and pushed heavily the following standards as the baseline strength goals for the average man:

Bench: 300 (136 kg)
Squat: 400 (180kg)
Deadlift 500: (225kg)

Now at the time as a 53kg teenage road cyclist these numbers seemed ridiculous however 25 years later and 1 year into my powerlifting career they are achievable. My mistake would be to look at the guys in my sport with 600+ totals in my weight class and assess myself against them. At this stage they are a bridge too far and I am comfortable they are either the best in the sport or as I know now some are on the gear. Either way they are to much for me at the moment.

On this topic here is a great article from Muscle and Brawn that explores great natural numbers and provides a more realistic perspective for those of us struggling away in the middle of the bell curve!

http://muscleandbrawn.com/strong-strength-standards-raw-natural-lifters/

Stay Strong

Thomo