[iamphilrae]

I 100% agree. You mention some pretty scary KG numbers there though (but we’ll done)! I just wanted to mention to readers that even squatting a ‘measly’ 50KG or deadlifting 30KG can immensely help with back pain and the physical challenges everyday life throws at you.

[nwiswell]

> You mention some pretty scary KG numbers there

> I just wanted to mention to readers that even squatting a ‘measly’ 50KG or deadlifting 30KG

Yes -- this is really important to contextualize.

Barbell resistance training is actually two things:

1) A method of exercise that has a variety of well-quantified health benefits including improvements in strength, bone density, and connective tissue. More muscle also means you can eat more without getting fat.

2) A competitive strength sport (generally called powerlifting; weightlifting usually refers to the explosive overhead lifts seen at the Olympics).

Your strength goals can, and should, depend entirely on your objectives. If you're aiming to compete, a 150KG squat and 200KG deadlift would put you around the median in the lowest male weight classes.

If you just want to get in shape, it's overkill.

[mise_en_place]

It's also relative to your body weight. A 150 kg squat for someone who weighs 118 kg (i.e. me) is not that impressive. Whereas an 80 kg squat if you weigh 80 kg is extremely impressive. You should be aiming to lift 1x-1.5x your body weight, over time.

[dmurray]

I don't get it, 1x bodyweight is impressive for a smaller person?

[omnimus]

Yeah i thought if you look at the top performers it actually gets harder if you are heavy to keep with lighter performers in terms of multiplier. The lighter performers win the multiplier game.

But maybe its different if you look at amateurs.

[adrianN]

Most males of normal weight should be able to achieve a bodyweight squat after a couple of months of training.

[pjc50]

As someone who came very late to this from an unfit childhood: annoyingly, they're right. I started lifting at _40_, and after a couple of years I can deadlift 100kg vs my own weight of 90kg. All the tables of "expected" lifting values are laughably high and clearly compiled on enthusiastic 20 year olds. But it's been very helpful for my energy levels and to balance against my sedentary job.

For me, bearing in mind all this injury discussion, I've focused on form 100%. When doing free weight exercises, this forces a whole bunch of other, secondary, "stabilization" muscles to some work. It's those, especially if they end up spending all day "locked" because of your posture, which can produce a lot of the minor pains of age, so give them a workout.

[Tenoke]

These numbers seem off? Everywhere I look online even the numbers for untrained men are higher than that. I just came back to the gym, am the weakest person there, slightly weaker than 'untrained' numbers on the internet and I can do more.

0. https://www.strengthlog.com/deadlift-strength-standards-kg/

[safety1st]

That link lists the averages among the 21,000 users of StrengthLog. I'm sure the average normal human who doesn't use a weight training logging app is way lower.

For example the beginner on there is 76kg. I think it'd be a bad idea for a guy who's 40 years old, untrained and out of shape to rock up and deadlift 50kg, even just for one rep. He wouldn't know what to expect, he'd get the form wrong, he'd probably hurt his back. People who aren't trained should start with the bar, sometimes they're better off starting with even less than the bar and that is fine!

[Tenoke]

I believe beginner here is not untrained. There were a few links with different categories (all above the 30kg deadlift, 50kg squat for the lowest one). I only shared the first one in my comment.

30kg DL is 5kg on each side of a 20kg bar which is less than I've lifted my very first time and I was pretty unfit and I'm sure the vast majority of untrained people can lift that. Hell, that's easier than bar-only bench press, which most people can also easily do on their first try.

[safety1st]

I am not clear on what conclusions we are discussing exactly.

* 20kg-30kg makes sense for an untrained person's first lift, it sounds like we agree. With DL you need some plates on the bar to get the right height so 5kg bumper plates or something is common.

* All of this is still way below the numbers even for beginners on the site you linked, which again I stress, is a self-selected group of people who were hardcore enough to opt into a performance tracking app of some kind, this is way different from the general population.

* I actually don't agree that the vast majority of people could just bust out, let's say, 10 reps at 30kg of any lift. Women and older men who have never lifted? I really doubt it. A year ago it was hard for me to do 10 body weight squats, no bar no nothing, and most of my middle aged friends who have never exercised are probably still in the same boat. 40% of the US is obese... I think this perspective is biased basically towards young men (lets say under 40).

[cnity]

Numbers are really personal. At 60kg I found it really easy to get strong enough to deadlift even 120kg, cited as between intermediate and advanced on that table, despite in no way being an even intermediate lifter. More like novice at best.

[mrob]

Relative difficulty of different lifts also varies. I found squats and deadlifts extremely difficult, to the point that I reached 1x bodyweight bench press before 1x bodyweight squat.