Strict shoulder press with full lock out is a very hard lift. (62.5kg I can do full lock out, @65kg I totally failed)
It takes alot of grinding and also full body effort, esp when you lift heavy shit above your head with no support.
If you're into Olifts, this is a good way to determined your base strength because these 3 lifts are the foundations of a C&J or Snatch.
Of course doesn't mean you can shoulder press alot or squat alot or even deadlift alot that you can C&J or Snatch alot.
That takes alot of practice and skill and you have to take into consideration balancing, correct timing and alot of precision.
Would be interesting to correlate C&J and snatch PRs with your total though..
My PR for C&J - half assed one is 85kg.
Added on January 5, 2010, 5:52 pmQUOTE(Desvaro @ Jan 5 2010, 05:26 PM)
Weib, first of all let me say I enjoy reading your blog, it's a wealth of good information.
As for strength standards, let me just lay out my opinions.
I believe it was Jim Wendler or Dave Tate who mentioned that if someone wants to reach an 'intermediate level', he should be:
Deadlifting 2x bodyweight
Squatting 1.5x bodyweight
Benching 1x bodyweight
These were minimum figures. In addition to that, I feel that you should also test your pullup or chinup strength (either through 1RM or no. of reps), since it's a test of relative strength.
I'm glad that you included the shoulder press, thought perhaps you should test BOTH bench press and shoulder press?
I also don't think it's a good idea to test all your lifts in one sesssion haha, perhaps split them up over 2 training days would give you the best indication of your progress. Are you on any particular program?
As for myself, the only lift I have tested recently was the deadlift, in which I went from never pulling more than 100kg to pulling 115kg as a 1RM in 3 weeks. I was on the Pavel's Russian Bear program, deadlifting 13 to 16 sets of 5 reps every training session (3 times a week). The best thing was that not only did it improve my deadlift, but today I noticed that front squats and bench were easier.
Thank you for the kind words.
I thought my ramblings were read by ghost lol..
Anyway why i choose the Total because of logistics feasibility.
All I need is a squat/power rack and a barbell with enough plates and I'm set which is quite common in community gyms here in singapore.
I'm looking into implementing it with my clients to test their growth, together with the cooper test for their cardiovascular conditioning.
So I'm really looking into simplicity - just a performance indicator for me.
If i had to use benchpress, then i would need a good bench rack where the J hooks allow the bar to slide out.
The bench press is actually more technical that it looks if you're doing the PL style.( or maybe I'm just making up an excuse for being weak!)
If i wanted to choose a horizontal push movement, then I'd just weighted dips as it is to me a more functional movement.
Also Total is an overall score which makes up for your weaker lifts - some people can't deadlift to save their life but squat like a monster.
So its more of a dynamic benchmark rather than static ones set by PL'ers like Jim or Dave; which is why I like it.
Currently now I'm dieting down, so i keep my gym routine short, sweet and simple - the last time I did a hardcore workout, i over trained and fell sick.
upper lower splits - 1 heavy lift for 5 x 5, I secondary lift for 3 x 5 , 1 accessory lift at 2 x 8 and 1 core for 3 x 5.
This post has been edited by weib: Jan 5 2010, 05:53 PM 
Jan 5 2010, 02:12 AM, updated 16y ago
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I cannot do heavy heavy wan. If I say I do heavy heavy wan, people will say I full of shit wan.
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