Eavesdrop on a conversation between a powerlifter and an average Joe talking about their lifting PR’s…and you’ll see disbelief on the face of the average guy, regarding the numbers that get moved around by the strength athlete.
1,000lb squats and 800lb bench presses aren’t uncommon to find on YouTube, in an era where men are seemingly trying to become a modern-day Hulk.
However, many of these people are taking anabolic steroids, giving them a superficial advantage. Thus this article is dedicated to the lifter who wants to know the benchmarks for natural strength (outside of the steroid realm).
What is strong?
We know what strong is in natural powerlifting, because we have charts for each weight class that define state/provincial/national standards, see such charts below:
Record-Breaking Strong
Squats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Raw Records for Men | |||||
| Weight Class | USAPL | 100% Raw | NASA | ADFPF | UPA-AD |
| 132 | 479.50 | 530.90 | 275.58 | 247.50 | None |
| 148 | 473.75 | 550.90 | 473.99 | 445.50 | 220 |
| 165 | 534.50 | 530 | 512.57 | 447.70 | 529 |
| 181 | 562 | 601.10 | 540.13 | 500.50 | 529 |
| 198 | 573 | 610 | 644.85 | 550 | 600 |
| 220 | 650.25 | 650.30 | 699.96 | 583 | 633 |
| 242 | 705.25 | 700.70 | 650.36 | 621.50 | 705 |
| 275 | 766 | 850 | 755.08 | 599.50 | 640 |
| 308 | 854.25 | 826.70 | 766.10 | 599.50 | 704 |
| Bench Press | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Raw Records for Men | |||||
| Weight Class | USAPL | 100% Raw | NASA | ADFPF | UPA-AD |
| 132 | 314 | 330.40 | 231.48 | 187 | None |
| 148 | 337.25 | 360.40 | 294.31 | 302.50 | 165 |
| 165 | 402.25 | 400 | 363.76 | 374 | 314 |
| 181 | 385.75 | 385 | 363.76 | 385 | 364 |
| 198 | 443 | 425 | 418.87 | 374 | 412 |
| 220 | 523.50 | 490 | 451.94 | 423.50 | 425 |
| 242 | 462.75 | 485.60 | 415.57 | 451 | 457 |
| 275 | 501.50 | 585 | 507.06 | 511.50 | 440 |
| 308 | 546.50 | 520 | 476.19 | 484 | 501 |
| Deadlifts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Raw Records for Men | |||||
| Weight Class | USAPL | 100% Raw | NASA | ADFPF | UPA-AD |
| 132 | 578.50 | 450 | 358.25 | 341 | None |
| 148 | 523.50 | 540 | 567.68 | 473 | 353 |
| 165 | 661.25 | 630 | 567.68 | 535.70 | 567 |
| 181 | 677.75 | 641.10 | 617.29 | 638 | 600 |
| 198 | 706.50 | 661.30 | 661.38 | 671 | 630 |
| 220 | 727.50 | 672.40 | 677.91 | 654.50 | 677 |
| 242 | 699.75 | 760.50 | 722.01 | 704 | 645 |
| 275 | 832.00 | 800 | 705.47 | 632.50 | 650 |
| 308 | 843.25 | 760.50 | 810.19 | 665.50 | 744 |
How Strong Are You?
Thus by taking the above records into consideration, we can work out what strong is by natural standards (via doing some quick maths):
- Elite strong = Raw record x 92.5%
- Extremely Strong = Raw record x 75%
- Very Strong = Raw record x 67.5%
- Strong = Raw record x 57.5%
Pro Natural Raw Strength Standards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men – By Weight | |||
| Weight | Squats | Bench | Deadlifts |
| 132 | 430 | 270 | 440 |
| 148 | 460 | 300 | 470 |
| 165 | 500 | 330 | 540 |
| 181 | 540 | 350 | 580 |
| 198 | 570 | 380 | 610 |
| 220 | 610 | 410 | 640 |
| 242 | 640 | 430 | 660 |
| 275 | 670 | 450 | 680 |
| 308 | 700 | 470 | 700 |
Elite Natural Raw Strength Standards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men – By Weight | |||
| Weight | Squats | Bench | Deadlifts |
| 132 | 400 | 250 | 410 |
| 148 | 425 | 280 | 435 |
| 165 | 465 | 305 | 500 |
| 181 | 500 | 325 | 535 |
| 198 | 530 | 350 | 565 |
| 220 | 565 | 380 | 595 |
| 242 | 595 | 400 | 610 |
| 275 | 620 | 420 | 630 |
| 308 | 650 | 435 | 650 |
Extremely Strong Natural Raw Strength Standards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men – By Weight | |||
| Weight | Squats | Bench | Deadlifts |
| 132 | 325 | 205 | 330 |
| 148 | 345 | 225 | 355 |
| 165 | 375 | 250 | 405 |
| 181 | 405 | 265 | 435 |
| 198 | 430 | 285 | 460 |
| 220 | 460 | 310 | 480 |
| 242 | 480 | 325 | 495 |
| 275 | 505 | 340 | 510 |
| 308 | 525 | 355 | 525 |
Very Strong Natural Raw Strength Standards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men – By Weight | |||
| Weight | Squats | Bench | Deadlifts |
| 132 | 290 | 185 | 300 |
| 148 | 310 | 210 | 320 |
| 165 | 340 | 225 | 365 |
| 181 | 365 | 240 | 395 |
| 198 | 385 | 260 | 415 |
| 220 | 415 | 280 | 435 |
| 242 | 435 | 290 | 445 |
| 275 | 455 | 305 | 460 |
| 308 | 475 | 320 | 475 |
Strong Natural Raw Strength Standards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men – By Weight | |||
| Weight | Squats | Bench | Deadlifts |
| 132 | 250 | 155 | 255 |
| 148 | 265 | 175 | 270 |
| 165 | 290 | 190 | 310 |
| 181 | 310 | 205 | 335 |
| 198 | 330 | 220 | 350 |
| 220 | 350 | 235 | 370 |
| 242 | 370 | 250 | 380 |
| 275 | 385 | 260 | 390 |
| 308 | 405 | 270 | 405 |
The average American man is natural and weighs 198lbs, thus as a general rule of thumb – being strong translates as having a 330lb squat, a 220lb bench press and 350lb deadlift.
Again this only applies to natty lifters, if you’re injecting anabolic steroids these numbers are going to be significantly inflated; especially when taking AAS like anadrol, tren, deca and dianabol.
One study found that in the first 10 weeks of taking steroids, participant’s strength increased by up to 20% (2). It’s also worth pointing out that in this study, the steroid-users only gained 5kg in weight (lean mass). This is a very small amount for taking roids, thus they may have been taking low doses. This means that a bodybuilder taking moderate doses can expect to increase their strength even more than this…especially after running cycles for several months.
These are some serious strength gains, thus if you’re natural and you can lift bigger poundages than a guy who you know is juicing – props to you.
References
The author
Ernst Peibst
