Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Standards
 

For what it's worth, these are my personal standards for beginning, intermediate and advanced lifters.

Some beginners can hit progressional walls, and on paper be considered an intermediate, but in the gym they still need to work on form (or other things such as motivation, or fighting off the urge to tweak everything every week of the year). Outside of the gym they may need to work on diet. Etc.

Some intermediates may think they are advanced, when in fact they haven't hit true walls yet. They may have a horrible diet or poor training habits. These standards are based upon the assumption that the trainee is eating, resting and training properly.

Beginner: Smooth sailing with linear progression; weekly weight additions.
Intermediate: A lift becomes a grind, and adding weight each week isn't possible - but adding reps is.
Advanced: Adding reps becomes a grind, and isn't possible without a lot of program tweaking and testing. Even still, weight and reps come slow.

Simply stated:

Can add weight - Beginner.
Can add reps - Intermediate.
Grind - Advanced.

I am the eternal beginner. Every time I think I have something nailed, a light goes on and I push through in ways I had not seen before. The key, no matter your status, is the progression. One pound or one rep more each time will produce solid gains.

^ Far from it Bam. You know exactly what the rep grind tastes like.

Thanks Steve, but I feel that I always have more to learn and do. For instance. I am just beginning with the BHNP. I tried unsuccessfully a few times before. It has taken me some time but I have had to learn a bit about hand positioning, setting up, racking and un-racking. Essentially, I had to start at the beginning. I am not sure I want to be "intermediate or advanced." If I stop learning and starting new, if I stop the return to the basics, I will probably stop all together. That is just the way I work. I had a baseball coach once that always harped on playing the fundamentals, that has become my philosophy, focus on the fundamentals. If you get "too big" for the basics, you can quickly set yourself up for failure.

Thanks for a great site, and your great insights.

You guys make the site great. :mh:

I am still learning every day. I think we are all beginners on some level. I don't know anything about Olympic lifts. My standards are more lift-based. So there are some guys that can be advanced at curling in the squat rack, but beginners at squatting.

I would agree with this except I dont think you are ever at one stage forever. i dont think once you have progressed frm beginner then you will always be an intermediate. For instance most people would say i am an intermediate lifter (just), from knowledge, effort, form etc etc... But I am certainly a beginner on my current routine. Im not certain it is possible to pigeon hole yourself to one level when there is always so much to learn and a new way of trying things... Untill of course you get to what most would call the 'advanced stage' but then you could still be intermediate with some thing or some other areas of training. I think once you have tried all the different styles of training and hit a wall on all of them then id consider someone and an Advanced lifter.

I thought I was a good intermediate untill i came across this site and it opened my eyes a bit again, now i would put myself at later stage beginner (I think) ;)

carl.

Thats what i meant.... beat me too it again Steve :mad:

lol

:D

carl.

You are definitely an intermediate lifter. As I stated, we are all beginners when it comes to something. I am still a beginner when it comes to fullbody workouts and Olympic lifts.

There is a difference between being a beginner to a new technique, and being a beginner to weight training. A true beginner has never tasted the end of linear progression, or the weekly adding of weight, on any level.

The trick is to make yourself into a beginner over and over again by trying new stuff and learn, imo.

Theres nothing wrong with smashing on a routine years on without changing anything as long as one is progressing, but that would make me bored in notime.

I really like experimenting and learing all the time, trying new stuff to evolve.

And an intermediate lifter will know how to take a new technique and apply it for maximal results. You won't stagnate or stall (much), and your gains and progress will generally be rapid or maximal.