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Barbell Averages for lifting

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footballer55

Level 4 Valued Member
Hi,
I am currently 13 years old (male) and weigh 150 lbs. My bench press 1RM is 145, barbell curl is 90, power clean is 150, and deadlift is 225 (all the weights I own haha). Without sounding too braggy, I know that that's obviously above average. I plan on playing football in high school and want to be great. Does anyone know of some other 13 year olds 1RM? Or maybe some tips to increase strength?



P.s.
I don't have a squat rack in my home gym. Does anybody know of any close alternatives to a back squat so I don't need to lift a barbell over my head every time I squat which is not only dangerous but also lowers my weight dramatically.
Thank you,
Mike.

Update: 3/20/16
Body weight: 154 lbs
Bench press: 155 lbs
Power clean: 160 lbs
Deadlift: still 225 (however I feel more confident with my form and power)
Barbell curl: still 95
 
Last edited:
Back squat alternatives:
Power clean+front squat
Zercher squat, deadlift bar onto quads and get arms under bar, and squat
Jefferson deadlift, focus on deep knee bend, not hinge

Read Power to the People and Relax into Stretch by Pavel. You will learn invaluable information. I wish I had those resources when I was 13. Don't over complicate your training, focus on the basics. You do not need a lot of stimulus to get strong, just eat and stretch as much as possible.
 
+1 to everything @Geoff Chafe said.

I have no idea what some good standards are for a 13 y/o male. Dan John has some standards for high school athletes (here's one example, he might have more Strength Standards...Sleepless in Seattle). I know there are also points of "diminishing returns" that have been established with some commonly used lifts and their carry over to athletics. These are just off the top of my head, so I apologize if they aren't quite on.

Deadlift=2-2.5 times bodyweight
Back squat=2 x BW
Front squat= 1.5-2 x BW
Bench press=1.5-2 x BW
Military press= 1-1.5 x BW

When I say point of diminishing returns, I refer to the point at which getting stronger at the lift won't help you get any more athletic. For instance, most people agree that you can increase athletic performance by improving your deadlift, until you can deadlift 2.5 times your bodyweight. Deadlifting more weight will only make you better at deadlifting, and will no longer have much carry over to running and jumping. Of course, these are generalizations, and they may change slightly based on body type or sport. A very strong guy with really long limbs and a short torso might have a heck of time getting his back squat up (so his point of diminishing returns might be below 2xbw), and a marathon runner doesn't need to be able to deadlift as much (relative to body weight) as a football player because he doesn't need to sprint into someone, so he might be able to get away with 2xbw, whereas the football player would be better off at 2.5xbw.

But I wouldn't worry too much about all the details, just focus on where you're at now and how to get the next step down the road. You're are, as you said "above average". Pick a program (ideally one made by someone else, Power to the People is fantastic and dirt cheap on kindle) and stick with it. I wish I had been smart/patient enough to do that when I was in my teens. Also, get lots of sleep. Most people between 12-22 need 9 or 10 hours of sleep per day (don't be afraid to take naps). More sleep if you train hard.

And to address something you said in another post, about pull ups, the deadlift will strengthen all the muscles you need to do pull ups. You can add curls or barbell rows (pick one) to augment the DL, but remember that the DL, squat, and press are the big players, everything else is just support.
 
+1 to everything @Geoff Chafe said.

I have no idea what some good standards are for a 13 y/o male. Dan John has some standards for high school athletes (here's one example, he might have more Strength Standards...Sleepless in Seattle). I know there are also points of "diminishing returns" that have been established with some commonly used lifts and their carry over to athletics. These are just off the top of my head, so I apologize if they aren't quite on.

Deadlift=2-2.5 times bodyweight
Back squat=2 x BW
Front squat= 1.5-2 x BW
Bench press=1.5-2 x BW
Military press= 1-1.5 x BW

When I say point of diminishing returns, I refer to the point at which getting stronger at the lift won't help you get any more athletic. For instance, most people agree that you can increase athletic performance by improving your deadlift, until you can deadlift 2.5 times your bodyweight. Deadlifting more weight will only make you better at deadlifting, and will no longer have much carry over to running and jumping. Of course, these are generalizations, and they may change slightly based on body type or sport. A very strong guy with really long limbs and a short torso might have a heck of time getting his back squat up (so his point of diminishing returns might be below 2xbw), and a marathon runner doesn't need to be able to deadlift as much (relative to body weight) as a football player because he doesn't need to sprint into someone, so he might be able to get away with 2xbw, whereas the football player would be better off at 2.5xbw.

But I wouldn't worry too much about all the details, just focus on where you're at now and how to get the next step down the road. You're are, as you said "above average". Pick a program (ideally one made by someone else, Power to the People is fantastic and dirt cheap on kindle) and stick with it. I wish I had been smart/patient enough to do that when I was in my teens. Also, get lots of sleep. Most people between 12-22 need 9 or 10 hours of sleep per day (don't be afraid to take naps). More sleep if you train hard.

And to address something you said in another post, about pull ups, the deadlift will strengthen all the muscles you need to do pull ups. You can add curls or barbell rows (pick one) to augment the DL, but remember that the DL, squat, and press are the big players, everything else is just support.

Thanks man, this helps a lot. Especially the pull up thing and the diminishing returns, I've never really thought about that til now but it makes a lot of since. I try to mix up a little of everything in my workouts, I workout every day for about an hour, it's intense but my results have been good so far
Thanks,
Mike
 
Back squat alternatives:
Power clean+front squat
Zercher squat, deadlift bar onto quads and get arms under bar, and squat
Jefferson deadlift, focus on deep knee bend, not hinge

Read Power to the People and Relax into Stretch by Pavel. You will learn invaluable information. I wish I had those resources when I was 13. Don't over complicate your training, focus on the basics. You do not need a lot of stimulus to get strong, just eat and stretch as much as possible.
Thanks man I'll have to try those squat alternatives, and I'll look at the thing you said to read, it sounds helpful
 
@Michael morrissey

Honestly man, at your age those are some pretty solid numbers. Obviously what you're doing is working so I would suggest making very minor tweaks in one area or two to see if it helps improve your numbers. @Snowman has already gone into great detail as far as giving you ideas, so +1 to him for that advice. Although one thing I will harp on is EAT! If you plan on playing football in HS be aware you need to add some size to be competitive for a shot at varsity. When I played, the lightest guy on our varsity team was 175ish and that was over a decade ago (dudes now in HS seem to be mass monsters). Get used to plowing down food (good food, not crap, trust me good food is less likely to come back up after an hour of "up downs" and "heads up"). And once you start summer camp/spring training and doing "3-a days" you'll realize how much food you need to keep up. Just my $.02.
Good luck and keep it up
-WF
 
Anothe tip: check your ego and be a sponge.. The guys here are generous with knowledge so soak up as much as you can and put what you learn into action and you'll make many here jealous of your progress
 
@Michael morrissey

Honestly man, at your age those are some pretty solid numbers. Obviously what you're doing is working so I would suggest making very minor tweaks in one area or two to see if it helps improve your numbers. @Snowman has already gone into great detail as far as giving you ideas, so +1 to him for that advice. Although one thing I will harp on is EAT! If you plan on playing football in HS be aware you need to add some size to be competitive for a shot at varsity. When I played, the lightest guy on our varsity team was 175ish and that was over a decade ago (dudes now in HS seem to be mass monsters). Get used to plowing down food (good food, not crap, trust me good food is less likely to come back up after an hour of "up downs" and "heads up"). And once you start summer camp/spring training and doing "3-a days" you'll realize how much food you need to keep up. Just my $.02.
Good luck and keep it up
-WF
@Michael morrissey

Honestly man, at your age those are some pretty solid numbers. Obviously what you're doing is working so I would suggest making very minor tweaks in one area or two to see if it helps improve your numbers. @Snowman has already gone into great detail as far as giving you ideas, so +1 to him for that advice. Although one thing I will harp on is EAT! If you plan on playing football in HS be aware you need to add some size to be competitive for a shot at varsity. When I played, the lightest guy on our varsity team was 175ish and that was over a decade ago (dudes now in HS seem to be mass monsters). Get used to plowing down food (good food, not crap, trust me good food is less likely to come back up after an hour of "up downs" and "heads up"). And once you start summer camp/spring training and doing "3-a days" you'll realize how much food you need to keep up. Just my $.02.
Good luck and keep it up
-WF
I know exactly what you're saying, I eat as much as I can, mostly meats and other protein high foods, although I don't exactly limit the other foods. I've been working on gaining weight, I have a glass of muscle milk in the morning, before and after workouts, and before bed. My doctor says I'll be around 6'3" to 6'5" when I'm done growing which is completely fine with me.

To the football thing
I'm only in 8th grade, and a freshman hasn't PLAYED varsity basically ever, which means I have a good two years to work on my weight and strength, so I feel I have time to prepare my self.

Thanks a lot though, you definitely gave me a lot of things to work on and think about!
 
if you're doing cleans, deadlifts, squats, presses and curls at 13 you're already ahead of the game - dont worry about other's numbers, you are competing against yourself and you should always be your own toughest critic. with that being said, i understand your interest in comparing your numbers - so pour over the powerlifting pages on the internet, pick up some copies of the old Powerlifting USA magazine and you will find great programming, and countless competition results to pour over - the magazine is no longer in print, but it's worth finding some old copies. start checking your numbers against those guys, the guys that powerlift and olympic lift in competition, those are the numbers you should be shooting for. and forget about the age comparison, it doesnt matter, start thinking big numbers now, without limits and your lifts will go through the roof. Above all else, be dedicated and maniacal in your focus when in the weight room, your weight room is sacred, not a place to talk about girls and other crap, just focus on lifting, resting and lifting. become a technique freak on all of the lifts, read everything you can and "think", watch others and see what you can learn from what they are doing wrong and right and help them improve where you can. the stronger your teammates are the stronger you will become. experiment with other lifts on the side, but cleans, deadlifts, squats and presses should be the foundation forever. without a squat rack you could do zerchers and jefferson lifts, as previously mentioned, both great choices, you could also grab the heaviest plate you have for goblets or hold it straight overhead and squat that way. the only thing i would add at this point is hill sprints, become great at short explosive hill sprints - when you put on the pads and get on the field you will feel like youre running downhill and that feeling will help you explode into your hits. on the field, no matter your position you need to be the aggressor, hit or be hit. Eat, Rest, Lift - repeat. oh yeah and one last thing ... when you put that helmet on ... UNLEASH THE BEAST!!!
 
as to your question about squatting with no rack, try doing a clean and then sets of either 3, 5, or 8 of the front squat. it is still less than what you could do with a rack, but you can get a good training effect from moderately heavy sets of 5 in the front squat.
 
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