The fitness industry has changed enormously over the last several years. Initially it started out as a training methodology, and now it has become a popular strength and conditioning sport. As any athlete knows, it requires huge amounts of work, conditioning, and strength, but just how strong is the top level athlete, and how strong can they become? Keep reading to find out where the practical strength limits are for both top level athletes and for the above average athlete in the gym.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of these strength predictions, it should be said that these are only best guesses mixed with a little bit of math. There are numerous factors that affect the overall strength of the athlete both external and internal; however, there are physiological limits to strength.
Before we can predict how strong athletes can be, we need to understand where the limits lie currently, and where better to look than at raw world powerlifting records?
Physiological Strength Limits
I have used the raw records, as recorded by Power Lifting Watch, in my calculations. I averaged together the world records for the 181 lbs, and 198 lbs weight classes, as your average elite athlete falls between these two weight classes. I used the 123 lbs, and 132 lbs for female athletes for the same reasons. See charts below for these values.
As we can see these guys are ridiculously strong. This is the equivalent of a 190lb man squatting 4x bodyweight; however, this is not possible for a functional fitness athlete, no matter how gifted. I know, I know, what about optimism and all that other crap?
Now, check out the ladies number’s.
Honestly, no athlete is going to do what it takes to train purely for strength, as their conditioning would go to hell, and so would their chances of winning the games. So if these are true human maxes, what is possible for games athletes? Check this chart out for what the current averages are.
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Elite Level Strength
You can see that these numbers are quite a bit lower than our friends the powerlifters. In fact, these numbers are 60% of the true maxes, and about 70% for the ladies .
They represent what is currently required to compete at the top levels in functional fitness. They are the maxes that can be attained without sacrificing conditioning, but they are not the absolute max that a top level athlete can achieve.
Each year games athletes increase both their conditioning and strength. In terms of strength, they generally increase 3% year over year. This is due to a variety of factors including: programing bias in the open, regionals, and games, as well as an increase in athlete pool size.
We know from previous posts that strength has a big impact on WOD performance, but it is not the only factor. Depending on the WOD, other aspects of an athlete’s conditioning can take priority over their absolute strength. Sam Dancer is a great example of this.
The Future of Functional Strength
Sam is a hugely strong athlete that often does well in pure strength events, when competing with other top functional fitness athletes.
He killed the strength events, and finished very low on events requiring conditioning, but he does represent the future strength levels of the majority of elites.
This chart shows that while there is progress in strength levels, it does seem to be leveling out. By 2025 the average for squat and deadlift will climb to 485lbs, 555lbs respectively. I know, it’s not the massive jump that some people might think.
You have to keep in mind that functional fitness is the most endurance oriented strength sport. You can’t succeed by focusing on only one aspect or the other. Now that we’ve discussed the top folks, where does that leave us mere mortals?
According to my calculations the 90th percentile athlete is exactly half as strong as the world record holders. Some of you might wonder why I’m using the 90th percentile? Simply put, it represents a level of achievement that many performance oriented athletes can achieve with their given genetics, time, and equipment.
I’m assuming that the 90th percentile person is also increasing about the same rate as the top males which is generally 10lbs per 5 years for the deadlift, 10lbs per 4 years in the squat, and 10lbs per 6 years bench press. Women are almost exactly half those values.
Review and Limitations
While this has been an interesting little thought experiment, it does have some limitations. One, it’s based on self reported data from the crosfit games athlete profiles, and I know they are not reporting their true maxes. Two, the powerlifting maxes are based off of non drug tested records so that will also effect the data. Personally I feel that those two factors probably work to cancel each other out.
Greg Nuckols at Strength Theory has published some good pieces that demonstrate that doping gives you about a 10% strength boost. I would also guess that true 1 rep maxes for functional guys are probably about 10% higher than they are reporting.
Lastly these are only guesses based off of averages, and not the absolute limits that can be achieved. Games athletes have made huge improvements each year, and will most likely continue to defy our expectations. So take these with a grain of salt, and get back to training.
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