re: How strong is strong enough.

Honestly, you should have a pretty good idea of what that number is for you by now.

By the time I was 35, I knew where my limits were.

I knew I could squat 400 as a fatass and 315 lean and fast.

I knew I could DL over 400 and probably be like the rest of the injured meathead 40yr old lifters I know.

So, now I focus on lifting speed and stay in the 8-rep range, and I feel a lot better. I've also come to aspire more to an explosive, fast lift than a grinding slow lift - even if there's less on the bar.

I think you have to know what you're training for at each point in life. It can't simply be "everything."

I'm training so that I can workout with my boys when they are teens and I'm in my 40's, and give them something to aspire to.

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I understand that you want different goals but saying things like this scares people off even if they could lift heavy weights safely.

Proper technique and smart training can help sustain relatively heavy weights when you get older.

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This. Look as a human and a male you should always be strving to improve. No matter your goals, strength or aesthitics, the path to getting there is progressive overload. This doesn't mean adding weight to the bar every session/every week or even every month. It means getting better is some way that is tangible.

By improving I mean it could be one of the following

Improving technique and thus time under tension(i.e. the eccentric portion of the lift)

Improving the number of reps per set

Improving the intensity/density (number of reps in a given time period)

Improving a weakness in the main lifts by focusing on a supplemental lift(i.e. focusing on rack pulls if your fail point on deadlifts is the lockout, deficit deads if its breaking the floor, etc)

could be improving endurance on bodyweight exercises while maintaining strength in barbell exercises

could be maintaining strength while lowering your body weight significantly

could be changing out the main lifts for variants and getting as strong as possible on them

Somebody brought up gymnast, they use leveredge to cause progressive overload by having a plan to achieve certain high level exercises by reducing the leveradge advantage and thus increasing the amount of weight lifted. Again this is a form of progressive overload.


no matter the age one should never give up on improving. Hell even to maintain you will have to strive to get better. The key is consistancy, doing everything possible to maintain health and to understand that as we age, we must up the rehab and cut the volume.


So to answer the question...you are never strong enough in my opinion and should always be striving to get better. Happy Lifting

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work ALL of your body parts equally. dont ignore genetically superior areas. say between 8 and 12 reps per set. You want your last couple of reps to be a bitter struggle while maintaining good from.

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The main lifts target every muscle. And you do not have to lift to failure to make progress at all. And you do not have to lift in the 8-12 rep range.

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3,4,5
3 plates bench
4 plates squat
5 plates deadlift

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this.

Im old enough now that this is where I max out and am just adding reps at this point.

However i would add a "2" in there - for OHP

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400 lb deadlift.

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405 lbs. That would be weird to have a 35,5 and 2.5 on there when you are so close. Lol

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405 lbs. That would be weird to have a 35,5 and 2.5 on there when you are so close. Lol

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So true! Ok, for visual effect lets change it to add another 30 lbs to a 405 deadlift.

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When have you needed to pick up more than 225 pounds?

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The jack on the trailer was fricked up, and I had to pick up the front of it to get it off the job site. It was a solid 300 lbs.

Also, strength is not only about the need to lift heavy shite, though that's a good thing to be able to do. Being stronger makes you healthier and more useful in general. I weigh 200lbs. What if a guy who weighs 250 comes at me? Am I better or worse off if I can lift more than 225lbs?

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What if a guy who weighs 250 comes at me? Am I better or worse off if I can lift more than 225lbs?

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If its just me, I'm sure I can out run pretty much any 250 lb man that isn't at least capable of playing D1 football. Years ago I out ran one of those as well but that's another story for another time. If I actually need to defend someone other than myself then I refer to the words of Chris Rock....

"And everybody's talking about gun control, got to get rid of the guns. frick that. l like guns. You got a gun, you don't have to work out. l ain't working out. l ain't jogging. You got pecs, l got Tecs."

It's the journey not the finish is what some say haha

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3,4,5 3 plates bench 4 plates squat 5 plates deadlift

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I've always heard that the average male, with proper training and nutrition, can reach those numbers.

However, in 15+ years of gym membership, I've rarely seen anyone accomplish those lifts. The 315 bench is the most common, but I've only seen a couple guys deadlift 495.