How Strong Should You Be? (Noob To Freak)

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▪️ Build muscle AND strength for intermediate-advanced trainees
▪️ Uses full body and push/pull/legs splits
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In this video I'm covering strength standards on the squat, bench press and deadlift for male and female natural lifters (men and women). I break this up into six categories of training experience: noob, beginner, intermediate, advanced, elite and freak. I have based these strength standards on what I believe are average abilities from my decade plus of coaching experience, data from competitive powerlifting events (including powerlifting records) and existing strength scales from high level strength training coaches.

0:00 What makes someone strong?
2:45 My current squat, bench and deadlift
3:25 NOOB (~3-6 months)
4:10 BEGINNER (~0.5-2 years)
5:46 Powerbuilding Phase 2.0 info
6:02 INTERMEDIATE (~2+ years)
7:37 ADVANCED (~2-5+ years)
9:37 ELITE (~5-10+ years)
10:42 FREAK (~5-10+ years)
13:08 Powerbuilding 2.0 info

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Helpful resources:

Music:
Bankrupt Beats:

Written by: Jeff Nippard
Produced by: Jeff Nippard
Edited by: Jeff Nippard

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About me: I'm a Canadian natural pro bodybuilder and internationally-qualified powerlifter with a BSc in biochemistry/chemistry and a passion for science. I've been training for 12 years drug-free. I'm 5'5 and fluctuate between 160 lbs (lean) and 180 lbs (bulked).

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Disclaimers: Jeff Nippard is not a doctor or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jeff Nippard will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death.

[TheStrUp]

I thought I was a beginner, but it turns out I am an early/mid intermediate by these standards. Speaks to how much social media makes it seem like everyone and their mother is out there moving crazy weights all over the place.

[enigmatic]

I’m probably in the beginner stages still, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made and that’s all that matters to me. I think people need to be more positive about their progress.

[xaviersanchez]

When this video first came out I was an intermediate lifter. Now 2 years later I'm advanced. It takes years but if you work hard and stay consistent you can do it too.

[therealest]

Man, thanks for the confidence boost. I’m on the low end of advanced with my squat and bench, and mid advanced on my deadlift. Don’t consider myself a powerlifter but I still enjoy lifting heavy.

[EthanChlebowski]

I can only imagine how much time you spent key framing all the movements in this. Top-notch work as always, Jeff!

[manub]

This really made me feel better about my lifts. On social media you almost exclusively see elite/freak athletes and it almost seems like that stuff is normal, nice to be reminded that it‘s not.

[jooot_]

11:10 Taylor’s little joyous hop right there says everything that needs to be said.. Being able to jump that high with NO need to bend shows us how ludicrously strong his fast twitch fibers and tendons are.

[rosalinao]

This is insane my view of my strength was way skewed I’m starting off in the advanced stage for women with less than 7 months of training, on every powerlifting lift. And that’s all self taught so far, this is so intriguing to me

[AlexLeonidas]

Wow these standards are spot-on!! Definitely the best video I've seen on on this subject since you addressed bodyweight, absolute numbers that set the bar high, programming tips for different categories, and legitimate timeframes for real naturals. Truly well presented Jeff, I couldn't have put it better myself 💯🔥 🔥🔥

[StephenCarlockVO]

Solid video! By your standards I reached "Advanced" on Squat (low-bar, below parallel 360x1 @ 190 BW) and deadlift (convention 450x1 @ 190 BW) and a middle-of-the-road "Intermediate" on bench (255x1 paused @ 190 BW) in just over a year. Felt great to make fast progress in the first 12 months, but boy do the gains take a lot more to squeeze out now, especially bench. Some of the programming literature out there makes my head spin and caused me to run in place with my approach for a little while. I appreciate the many videos you've rolled out simplifying a lot of the science.

[MySqueezingArm]

This gives me hope, thank you. I recently got back into lifting after nearly a decade off I had 4 good years of lifting under me previously. A month in and I'm in beginner or intermediate depending on the lift. I'm glad to know that although I've obviously lost some strength, not all hope is lost.

[smirbelbirbel]

I cannot thank you enough for acknowledging the existence of women in all of your work. It is so rare. I understand the research is done primarily on men (which is it's own issue), so finding reliable information as a female in science based fitness can be very hard. All the more appreciated!
As a 50 kg woman it's also nice to know that I've entered intermediate territory. The numbers can feel so low compared to the big guys and gals, I forget how much stronger I got already. :)

[ststst]

Im forever intermediate and I'm fine with that, as my goal is just to look good and feel healthy. It was never a dedicated intensive hobby for me

[charlestannehill]

I don't do bench, squat or deadlift due to previous injuries. But this is what I do. I genuinely don't know what category I'd be considered. I'm 6'1 and and weigh 195lbs.


Preacher curl - 120lbs 6rx5s
French press - 120lbs 6rx5s
Hammer curls - 55lbs 6rx5s
Rope cable triceps extension - 195lbs 6rx5s
Seated leg press - 395lbs 6rx5s
Seated Quad extension - 250lbs per leg 6rx5s
Hamstring curls - 170lbs 6rx5s
Standing calf raises - 600lbs 16rx5s
Standing ab rollouts - 10rx4s
Back extensions - 55° with 110lbs dumbell 6rx5s
Free weight abdominal leg raises 20rx4s
Decline straight backed sit-ups - 10rx5s while holding 55lbs dumbell over head
Straight armed muscle ups - 10rx5s
Dual cable chest press - 360lbs 6rx5s
Seated compound row - 200lbs per arm at 6rx5s
Chest fly - 265lbs 6rx5s

This is a normal workout week for me currently.

[hamburgler]

i thought i sucked as im quite small but as a 135 pound man at 5'11 i was able to put up 135 on my first time benching, wanting to gain some weight in general so I hope I can keep improving along with it!

[JeffNippard]

Clearing up a common critique of my standards: "The standards for women seem a bit low, especially for the bench press."

There could be a few things going on here. First, keep in mind that I ultimately set up these categories (advanced, elite, “freak”, etc.) for the masses, i.e., a general lifting population. While I did lean on data from powerlifting competitions, I did this mainly to extrapolate those competitive results into general recommendations for the broadest array of lifters possible.

One of the difficulties I had in setting up the standards was accounting for the fact that the ratios start to run away at the highest levels of competition, especially for lighter weight classes. For example: the current world bench press record in the women’s 52 kg (114 lb) weight class is 113 kg (248 lbs). That’s a 2.1x bodyweight bench!! “Ok – so maybe the Freak tier should be somewhere closer to 2x, right? Surely it shouldn’t be as low as 1.25x if the record is 2.1x?”

Well, consider that in the 76 kg (167 lb) weight class – which is a middle to light-heavy weight type of weight class -- 26% competitors (4/15) at Worlds this year DID NOT EXCEED a 1.25x bodyweight bench press. When 4 of the top 15 strength athletes ON EARTH do not exceed a 1.25x bodyweight bench, that doesn’t make it seem “too low” for a “freak” categorization to me. I can see how it may seem generous to those who are truly elite (and humble about it), but I don’t think it’s too low overall.

Okay, but what about lower weight classes? Well, this year in the lightest female weight class at IPF Worlds (47 kg/103.4 lbs), the highest bench:bodyweight ratio was 1.77x and the lowest was 1.17x. In the lightest weight class there is (at Worlds!) there were still competitors who didn’t reach freak status. This doesn’t sound like I’ve set the standards too low to me.

To play Devil’s advocate – maybe I could have gone as high as 1.5x? But then the majority of world-level lifters would not be considered freaks. That doesn’t seem right to me.

Maybe I could have gone somewhere in the middle (let’s say, 1.35x for the freak tier). Maybe. But one thing I should mention is that I really wanted to give standards as reasonably “round” figures. For me, this meant that they would be delivered in increments of 0.25. I had two reasons for this:

1. Presenting the standards in more precise increments (ex: 1.30x or 1.37x) would give the impression that the standards are less arbitrary than they actually are. To set the tiers at 1.37x or 3.14159x makes it seem like there is more algorithmic back-end math going on than there actually is. My standards are ultimately arbitrary. As I said in the video, they are based on my coaching experience, existing scales from high-level strength coaches and powerlift event results and records. For what it’s worth, I did have the strength scales peer-reviewed by some people with closer ties to strength sports than me. Still, they aren’t objectively calculable enough to warrant a level of precision beyond quarter increments in my eyes.

2. Chunking the standards like this was a bit of a stylistic preference for communication purposes. People are able to remember nice round numbers more easily and often find them easier to follow. If I had gone with more precise/less round figures, I worry that the people I am ultimately trying to reach would get bogged down in a level of meticulousness that wasn’t built into the scales to begin with.

I said in the video that the numbers do break down a bit at high bodyweights (skew against you) and they also break down a bit at low bodyweights (skew in your favor) but knowing this wouldn’t make me adjust the numbers. Besides, I did factor this in on the front end by making the ranges as broad as I reasonably could. Of course, it’s impossible to capture every single lifter accurately, since the scales are inherently general, but I think they do a very good job overall.

One thing that I think is going on with all the levels, is that people are exposed to a lot of insane, outlier lifters on social media. The most impressive lifts get the most traction and these are the ones we see the most. This doesn’t mean they are the most common, or even common at all. This may be skewing your perception of my scales to some extent.

If you ranked highly, be proud! You’re doing awesome! If you ranked lower than you expected, use that as motivation to keep improving and becoming your best, strongest version of yourself that you can be!

Hopefully this helps clear up some of that confusion! Also, I do think that this criticism is totally understandable, and I had anticipated it coming before uploading, so rest easy knowing I had considered this beforehand and still stand with the numbers as they are. Appreciate the feedback as always guys!!

-Jeff

[dmonk]

Been seriously at bench press for 4 years and still improving every other workout. Started with 100lbs, Currently 360 for 8 reps at 200lbs, and 90 pushups in a row

[trophymaster]

I've been lifting for 2 years and had to take a long break for a back surgery at the age of 16. I am still 16 and have only been back for about 4 months and have a 1.6x bench, 2.3x deadlift and a 2.2x squat all at 145lbs body weight. I love the faces I get at the gym for bench, I am doing 220 for 3 reps

[PAKIGLORIOUS]

This video changed my view around my genetics and how strong I am. I always thought I am at an intermediate level, considering what we see all over social media. But I am actually at advanced level, in my first year of lifting, which makes me want to push harder to see what I am capable of in the years to come. I always thought I had shit genetics, and I always felt bad about it, this video motivated me a lot. I don’t think I will ever get to freak level, I don’t think I have the genetics for that, (especially after the dude he showed as an example, dude is an alien) but I really wanna hit elite level in next 2-3 years.

[JeffNippard]

Hey guys! I'm curious -- which category does your current strength level land you in? Noob? Beginner? Intermediate? Advanced? Elite? Or Freak? It's Advanced-Elite for me. Time to keep pushing!