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This is just a generic example of someone's bench routine. This average male of say 160lbs is not very strong at all, these are low numbers, but look at the total tonnage, one routine will have him moving 1825lbs in all, and this is just one routine out of two or three they are doing that day, in addition to some accessory items at the end.
This is why when someone states "I move 1500lbs of dirt today, it was a good workout", I think "really?". It is not much total weight at all, 1500lbs is many people's warm up weight before they start lifting heavy on their bench, let alone the much larger numbers that come with the deadlift and squat.
So here is the total tonnage for weightlifting I used to do at the gym till 1 week back everyday:
Bicep curls:
32.5*20
42.5*14
52.5*8
Leg presses:
320*15
340*15
360*10
400*6
Lat Pulldowns:
50*20
55*16
60*8
Bench press:
85*18
100*12
110*6
I will get back into this routine by next Monday for sure. It has helped me strengthen reasonably.
This is just a generic example of someone's bench routine. This average male of say 160lbs is not very strong at all, these are low numbers, but look at the total tonnage, one routine will have him moving 1825lbs in all, and this is just one routine out of two or three they are doing that day, in addition to some accessory items at the end.
This is why when someone states "I move 1500lbs of dirt today, it was a good workout", I think "really?". It is not much total weight at all, 1500lbs is many people's warm up weight before they start lifting heavy on their bench, let alone the much larger numbers that come with the deadlift and squat.
Those totals are pretty low. My typical weight session totals between 25,000 and 30,000 pounds.
Threads like this come up often and get pretty contentious so I've mostly been lurking to get the sense of this one. Here's what I've seen at a high level, which is pretty standard: A large majority saying, 'yes strength training is vital, I try to some make time for it, but it's not everything to me and I don't like gyms that much…' and then a much smaller, more vocal group of what I can only assume are gym rats saying basically, 'cardio is a waste of time! LIFT or you will always be weak and frail!'
About 15,000-16,000 of my total is on the bench press. I need to get my squats and deadlifts up quite a bit. I'm only at an intermediate level on those two versus advanced for the bench press.
About 15,000-16,000 of my total is on the bench press. I need to get my squats and deadlifts up quite a bit. I'm only at an intermediate level on those two versus advanced for the bench press.
If you are advanced, you must either weigh a lot, or do a ton of volume.
If you are advanced, you must either weigh a lot, or do a ton of volume.
I weigh 185 pounds. My current program consists of descending reps at 225 pounds starting at about 10 for a total of 50. I then do a couple of sets of 10 at 185 or 195 plus 2 sets of 20 at 135.
Threads like this come up often and get pretty contentious so I've mostly been lurking to get the sense of this one. Here's what I've seen at a high level, which is pretty standard: A large majority saying, 'yes strength training is vital, I try to some make time for it, but it's not everything to me and I don't like gyms that much…' and then a much smaller, more vocal group of what I can only assume are gym rats saying basically, 'cardio is a waste of time! LIFT or you will always be weak and frail!'
… So rather than trying to argue, I will just ask a general question… which approach seems more balanced and likely to still be considered effective 50 years from now?
Mixing both in. The biggest problem with fitness is people do everything they can to avoid weight training or it's something that's get thrown in if they feel like it. They'd rather do some cardio to burn more calories and get a good sweat on. And then they have knee pain, back pain, their stomach isn't going anywhere and they're worried about happy hour tonight because they already ate some cake for Fred's birthday yesterday and they're still trying to work those calories off.
Great example: look at everyone on the gyms cardio equipment tonight. You can probably count on one hand the number of people that look really fit; they certainly did not get there on cardio machines alone. Sad part is 90% of those people on the machines looked exactly the same as they did when they started a year ago, too.
People will say strength training is vital and then not do it. You don't need to squat 300lbs, but you should probably do goblet squats. You don't need to deadlift 400lbs but you should probably do kettlebell deadlifts. You don't need to bench 200lbs but you should probably be able to do 10 solid push-ups. But people never do those things and wonder why their weight is still climbing.
Beyond even looking good, beyond everything vain, a strong body is a healthy body. How many runners have fallen over and had a heart attack in the middle of a run. It happened right next to me at the cherry blossom race in DC. How many people throw out their back picking up a newspaper? How many elderly people need a walker because they'll fall and break a hip if they don't have something to stabilize themselves?
Frail is not an insult; it's a fact of life. If you don't plan for it, it will catch up to you. If you don't want to lift ridiculous weights, that's fine. However, eschewing weight training for whatever reason is only doing yourself a disservice. Tony Horton, for instance, is 56 years old. 56! The guy could run circles around people half his age. I doubt he does very heavy squats and deadlifts, but just about any guy would agree that he has an amazing body and it's undeniable how healthy he is.
Biggest point is however you want to weight train, it prevents a whole slew of problems. I don't feel sorry for the guy or girl grunting with 20lb dumbbells; I feel bad for the 50 year old mom on the treadmill who's knee is bugging her but she keeps on slogging away.
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