Comments on: How Strong Are You Now?

By: Caleb_Lee

Caleb_Lee — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:57:37 +0000

I'd say they're both pretty anabolic … but yeah … most guys squat due to the high level of technical prowess needed for the Oly lifts.

By: Austin Duke

Austin Duke — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:59:02 +0000

Wrong, the squat is not king nor is it the most anabolic lift one can do. That title rests firmly with the olympic lifts, the clean & jerk and the snatch.

By: Caleb_Lee

Caleb_Lee — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:04:32 +0000

Squats are great … but … I'd say the deadlift (for me) is a more direct indicator of real, functional strength.

By: Big Jeff

Big Jeff — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:00:14 +0000

Instead of using the deadlift for those numbers, I believe that it would be more legit to use the barbell squat. Any very strong weightlifter should be ablet to squat 2x their own bodyweight for about 2-3 reps. Deadlifts are excellent, but the squat is king! The barbell squat is the most anabolic (muscle building) exercise that you can do for you entire body. Excellent article!

By: Caleb Lee

Caleb Lee — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:50:31 +0000

@ Yavor: haha, exactly! They must of got confused because EVERYONE who reads Men’s Fitness only bench presses anyways (well, that and curls!) — so now it ALL makes sense!

By: Yavor

Yavor — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:14:44 +0000

p.s. I’d say those numbers are correct, if instead of DL we substitute the bench press. Now it all makes sense.

By: Yavor

Yavor — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:38:51 +0000

Yeah, exactly – 2X BW deadlift is normal for average dudes that just follow ANY routine with consistency for several months.

By: Caleb Lee

Caleb Lee — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:43:34 +0000

@ Nick: Yea, that sounds about right in my experience… I agree with Deadlifts are king

@ Darrin: yea, every case is different — but you gotta do it a lot to get the form right. And like they say “only perfect practice makes perfect” — so that’s the other important point for beginners is to make sure they do it RIGHT…

@ Yavor: I agree with “These numbers are probably for people who DON’T squat or deadlift AT ALL.” — That sounds about right since I read the article in Men’s Fitness. Everyone is probably too busy doing barbell curls in the squat rack, a la my post: http://doubleyourgains.com/the-most-annoying-thing-you-can-do-in-the-gym

Anyways, seems everyone agrees with what I originally thought. Me and my friends are NOT abnormally strong — we’re just about normal (for people that actually do “hard” exercises like squats and deadlifts!)

Thanks for comments guys!
Caleb

By: Yavor

Yavor — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:53:18 +0000

I’ve done 2xBW (I was 175 lbs back then) deadlift after about a year of consistent proper training. It felt kinda heavy but – come on!

These numbers are probably for people who DON’T squat or deadlift AT ALL.

By: Darrin

Darrin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:44:50 +0000

That’s funny. Yeah, I agree with you that those numbers are light. I almost never test my 1RM, but my typical 8-10 reps of deadlifts are in the 1.5x range (not quite to 2x yet!).

Your other advice, especially for beginners, is great Caleb. I might argue slightly about squatting 3x a week, unless one of those is a full-body, low-set day, but you are right that you have to do an exercise frequently to master the form. Keep it up!