We all love having a specific number to aim for...

 

 

...and so on.

 

For most people, the answer is more than your current ability.

 

Of course, there is a point where gaining more strength doesn't necessarily equal better health (e.g. squatting 2x bodyweight vs 2.5x bodyweight). However, there is a case to be made for continuing to pursue progress nonetheless, for reasons that are both practical and psychological.

 

When we want to get fitter/stronger/bigger, we focus on ensuring our nutrition is of high quality, getting enough sleep, managing stress, showing up to the gym regularly, and so on. These specific goals and the general desire to progress leads to an overall improvement in one's lifestyle, at least most of the time.

 

For some people, there can certainly be unhealthful aspects, such as withdrawal from normal social life, disordered eating in some cases, injury risk due to overtraining, and so on. But, for the most part, having the desire to improve your fitness is probably a net benefit for health for most people.

 

With that said, I do think there are some sound standards that I personally find appropriate for most clients who are interested in being "generalists" from a strength and fitness perspective. These are not hard rules, but here are some loose targets to aim for:

Again, these are just some general standards based on our client population. They may be too ambitious for some of you, and maybe not ambitious enough for others.

 

 

 

If you want to check out more of our recommended resources, visit the link below, where we have archived all recommendations from previous newsletters.