MyPlate Calorie Counter

LIVESTRONG.COM VIEW
FREE - Offers In-App Purchases

9 Essential Strength Benchmarks for Men

PATRICK STRIE T • UPDATED ON JANUARY 8, 2019

credit: Adobe Stock/WavebreakMediaMicro

Goals: The one thing that separates a training program from just an exercise program.
If you want to stay consistent with your workouts and get better results from your
efforts, you need something to shoot for.
To get the athletic and muscular body you've always envisioned (not to mention the
performance and fitness levels to go with it), pursuing and achieving the strength
benchmarks outlined here will allow you to achieve both. Take a look to see how you
measure up and where you can improve. Note: If you're over 45 or have less than two
years of consistent training, aim for 80 percent of all the goals listed.

1. HOLD A PLANK FOR TWO MINUTES

credit: g-stockstudio/iStock/Getty Images

Having a strong core is not only aesthetically pleasing, it’s also essential for lifting
heavy weights, performing better and staying injury-free. "Perform the standard plank
once a week for maximum time," says strength and conditioning specialist Jason
Placeway. "But performing more demanding versions, like ball saws and stir-the-pot
planks on a stability ball for shorter periods will develop strength faster and allow you
to perform better during the regressed exercise."

HOW TO DO IT: Set up in a push-up position, but instead of having your weight on your
hands, place it on your elbows. You should be in a perfectly straight line. Don't allow
the back to sag. Flexing your glutes and quads will create more stability while
performing this exercise.

Read more: How to Plank

2. BENCH PRESS 150 PERCENT OF YOUR BODY WEIGHT

credit: DreamsNavigator/iStock/Getty Images

A good goal is to bench press 1.5 times your body weight for one repetition, or 85
percent of that number for five repetitions. "Work in the lower rep ranges (one to six)
most often,” says Dan Trink, director of training at Peak Performance in New York City.
“But there is definitely benefit in doing some high-rep work occasionally, particularly
if you haven't been training for very long.”

HOW TO DO IT: Lie on your back, grasp a barbell at shoulder width or slightly wider,
lower the bar to the mid-chest and drive the bar back up to full extension.

3. COMPLETE A STANDING BARBELL PRESS AT YOUR BODY WEIGHT

credit: Adobe Stock/Tyler Olson

The standing barbell press is a strong indicator of your maximal pressing strength.
This move focuses on the front shoulders, triceps and core muscles. A good goal is to
press your body weight for one rep, or 85 percent of that number for five reps. Trainer
Dan Trink points out that the first goal is to include this exercise in your workouts.
Next, work the smaller stabilizer muscles (external shoulder rotators, rotator cuff, lats
and triceps). This will allow your body to express more strength and help prevent
injury.

HOW TO DO IT: Grasp a bar about shoulder width, starting with the bar on the upper
chest. Tense your whole body, and without using your lower back, drive the bar over
your head and slightly back.

Read more: 13 Exercises Every Man Should Do to Improve His Sex Life

Not interested
in thisFat
ad Removal Markham, 40% OFF

4. PERFORM 50 PUSH-UPS
credit: Adobe Stock/vadymvdrobot

The good, old-fashioned push-up is a fantastic indicator of your upper-body strength

endurance, specifically in your chest, front shoulders, triceps and core. A good goal for
most guys to shoot for is 50 full-range repetitions. To work yourself up to this, increase
your training volume so your chest can adapt, says Matt Kasee, owner of Matt Kasee
Training & Performance in Cincinnati. Do push-ups frequently, and test your repetition
max weekly.

HOW TO DO IT: Assume a standard push-up position, with your hands outside your
chest. Lower yourself down to the floor, keeping the elbows tucked in about 45
degrees. Drive back through the floor.

5. DO 15 CHIN-UPS
credit: Adobe Stock/WavebreakMediaMicro

Like the push-up, the chin-up is another great indicator of your upper-body strength
endurance and your strength relative to body weight. Chin-up tests the opposite
muscles (the upper back, lats, biceps, and gripping muscles). "In order to knock out 15
body-weight chin-ups, practice your chin-ups using various rep ranges at least three
times a week with a heavy day, moderate- and high-rep day," says trainer Matt Kasee.
To target grip strength, do timed and weighted hangs on the chin-up bar.

HOW TO DO IT: To perform, start from a dead hang from an overhead bar. Aggressively
drive your elbows down -- focusing on pulling your shoulder blades down -- and pull
yourself up over the bar until it hits your upper chest.
6. DEADLIFT 250 PERCENT OF YOUR BODY WEIGHT

credit: BartekSzewczyk/iStock/Getty Images

Perhaps no other exercise indicates your full-body strength better than the deadlift.
Shoot for pulling 2.5 times your body weight for a single rep or 85 percent of that
number for five reps. "One of the best ways to improve your deadlift numbers is to do
more sub-maximal work in the 70 to 75 percent range and focus on speed and
technique,” says Tony Gentilcore, co-owner of Cressey Performance in Massachusetts.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and perform one to two reps every minute, on the minute.

HOW TO DO IT: Align a loaded barbell with the middle of your feet (feet inside shoulder
width). Bend over and grasp the bar. Pull your hips down, flex your lats, brace your
core and grip the bar hard. Break the bar from the floor and pull up until standing.

7. BARBELL SQUAT TWICE YOUR BODY WEIGHT

credit: Steve Bonini/Uppercut/Getty Images

The barbell squat has long been heralded by gym rats as the “king of all exercises.” A
strong goal is two times body weight for a single rep or 85 percent of that number for
five reps. Jason Placeway, certified strength and conditioning specialist in Cincinnati,
recommends breathing in while expanding your belly and lower back muscles before
you descend in the squat to help you lift huge weights and protect your spine.

HOW TO DO IT: Place a barbell across your upper back, keeping the shoulder blades
pulled together. Un-rack the bar, step back, set your feet slightly wider than shoulder,
and then push the hips back and descend to point just below parallel. To finish the
rep, stand up aggressively to full extension.

Recipes

Fitness
Lonely in Toronto ? Try these Dating
Sites
Health Top Dating Sites Canada 2018

MyPlate

8. COMPLETE
Stronger Women 10 BARBELL HIP THRUSTS WITH 150 PERCENT OF YOUR BODY
WEIGHT
News

BMI Calculator

Food

Weight Management

Diseases & Conditions

Lifestyle
Lifestyle

Style & Beauty

Parenting

Relationships & Family

! Search Livestrong.com !

credit: Travis McCoy/LIVESTRONG.COM

The hip thrust has quickly become a staple in the programs of serious strength
trainees. It's a fantastic indicator of your posterior chain muscle strength: the glutes,
hamstrings and lower back. Shoot for 10 reps with 1.5 times your body weight. Bret
Contreras, Arizona-based strength coach and "glute guy," recommends to pyramid
your sets, performing a set of 10, 8, 6, and then a set of 15. Pause for one second
between each rep.

HOW TO DO IT: Roll a loaded barbell over your legs so it’s sitting across the front of
your hips. With the knees bent and your back elevated on a standard bench, hold the
bar just outside the hips and then thrust up until you are parallel to the floor.

Read more: 5 Important Muscles Your Workout Misses

9. HANG CLEAN 125 PERCENT OF YOUR BODY WEIGHT

credit: IPGGutenbergUKLtd/iStock/Getty Images

While strength -- the ability to produce force -- is important, power (how quickly you
can express your strength) is equally important. A good goal is to hang clean 1.25
times your body weight for one rep or 85 percent of that number for five reps. To
achieve this goal, Will Fleming, owner of Force Fitness and Performance in
Bloomington, IN, says, “Once you have the technique, use the hang clean one to two
times per week at the beginning of your workouts. Be careful not to do more than four
to five reps per set so that your technique does not begin to falter.”

HOW TO DO IT: Grasp a barbell at arm’s length and shoulder-width apart. Push the
hips back until the bar barely clears the knees. Explode and extend at the hip, knee
and ankle, shrugging and pulling the weight up towards the chin. Allow your elbows to
rotate underneath of the bar and catch it in a racked position.