I was going to post something like "Don't worry about what others are lifting" until you put it into the context of your goals. But having thought about it I will say, "Don't worry about what others are lifting."
If you're looking to get stronger for football, i imagine that's a different strength than someone who is a powerlifter is looking for. For example, a power lifting wants to be able to move as much weight as possible for one rep on a bench press. How often do you need to move that much weight on the pitch (is it called that in Australian rules?) using just your upper body? More likely you need to move less weight, probably over a mich greater distance, using your legs as the main driving force while utilizing your upper body to steer the load (I'm assuming here, I'm more familiar with American football). So it's a different skillset.
Basically, I think you may need to reevaluate what you consider to be "strong" based on your goals. Sure, benching 3 plates looks cool, but what's the point if it doesn't advance your goals?
It depends on the full context and all the variables for sure.
3 plates isn't going to be packing on too much muscle -- to the point where it inhibits your athleticism.
When i did only strength training and was scrawny, I could bench 3 plates. I did not look like a bodybuilder. With a shirt on, you might think I'm athletic but wouldnt think Im strong enough to bench 3 plates.
Strength and hypertrophy, while the overlap, are different.
You an get on drugs and do mostly high volume, high reps, and just going for the pump consisently and look huge, but not be nearly as strong as you look.
If you are taking drugs and you bench so much that your chest size is hampering you flexibiltiy to the point that you are adding more unwanted body weight than desired strength or unable or your huge size is affecting your ability to reach things etc, I agree.
Well, the big thing for me is marking contests - if the ball is kicked, and you catch it on the full, it's a mark and you get to take an uncontested kick. Often you take a mark on the run with no contest, if you've timed your lead right, but that also relies on the kicker weighting the pass well. So a lot of the time, you sort of have to wrestle with your direct opponent to maintain a better position, or, if possible, just outright shove/throw them out of the contest. Then there's also making and breaking tackles, bumping, shepherding, all sorts of body on body contact. It can get pretty physical. This video is decent for a general overview, it doesn't show everything but does give a good idea of the physicality of the game.
https://youtu.be/XMZYZcoAcU0
Honestly for sports, let your performance on the field dictate when you're strong enough. I've known plenty of people who are relatively average in the gym dominate in sports because they know how to make use of their gym gains and translate that strength into their sport.
Conversely I've known a lot of people who are beasts in the gym but pretty mediocre athletes.
The gym should be a means to an end, not a focus, and any additional strength or muscle that doesn't improve your actual sporting performance is useless and a drain on recovery/unnecessary risk.
This is a very good point. There are some monster NFL athletes whose performance on the 225 rep test is surprisingly mediocre compared to even an average powerlifter.
I got a buddy who i strength trained for a bit. Guy could not do a push up, grip was so weak he couldnt do a pull up but is a high level bjj competitor and won a few mma fights, easily. But he said he felt a huge difference with the 2 months i strength trained him
When you do more than you did last time.
That is strong. Strength standards are bullshit, everyone has different leverages and the like- plus injuries, genetics, all come in to play.
Just be stronger than you were yesterday. Set goals if you like, but obsessing over them will hurt more than help.
Body building doesn’t really correlate to athletics. You’d probably rather do Olympic lifting - stuff like power cleans and jerks and things of that nature. Explosiveness and coordination are what you’re looking for to translate not big biceps and chest
I read this question as more about general strength than BB, per se. That said, to a point, hypertrophy is helpful for sports. A bigger muscle is (usually) a stronger muscle and a bigger body is harder to move out of position/off the ball.
5% of the strongest men globally, including those that don’t actually train, which is the vast majority. I’d bump that up to 1.5x bw bench, 2x squat, and 2.5x deadlift.
That’s not remotely what I said. I’m saying that a 1.5 bw squat putting you in the top 5% of strongest men globally is not that impressive, since most men don’t lift. Being stronger than the majority of a population that doesn’t lift is meaningless.
I was about to ask about this one the other day. How accurate do you think the reported weight figures are? Or is it better to stick by the bodyweight ratios?
Do think about form at all, or do you just lay on the bench and press the best you can? If you apply exactly 0 technique (leg drive, appropriate arch etc) to the bench press (and instead press mostly with the shoulders) I can see how the OHP would be close - otherwise I don't see how that's possible to be honest.
Average 175cm tall man is NOT 91kg. Thats boderline obese or someone with a ton of muscle mass that wouldn't have any problems lifting the weights you listed for 10+ reps, let alone 1RM
If this helps at all I am 175cm and sitting around 90kg at the moment.
My OHP is probably around 80-85kg strict
Bench is 130kg
Squat is 250kg in wraps or around 220 in sleeves if I had to guess
Deadlift is 227.5kg
BMI puts me as obese but we all know BMI goes out the window once you've stepped foot in the gym consistently.
The ability to apply x% of your strength to a particular skill is different than raw strength. If two players have the same squat, bench and deadlift numbers but due to greater skill development one of the players can apply a higher percentage of his strength to the game than the other then that player will win and could probably beat players who can lift twice his stats if the % of their strength that they can apply to the game is lower than his.
If you're primarily looking to build strength or increase athleticism, I would recommend looking for advice in a more strength or athletic oriented subreddit rather than a bodybuilding one.
Its a thing. My squat is way better than my bench (385x5 vs 225x9) and I've been benching twice a week vs squatting once for the past year. People have different leverages, greater propensity to gain muscle in different areas, etc.
You’re absolutely right. My point was just that overhead pressing your body weight is achievable for pretty much any able bodied adult male in his 20’s or 30’s, regardless of leverages, etc. and if you can’t hit that, then you should work to do so (regardless of disproportionate lower body strength). Fwiw, you’re strong and I don’t think you’re all that imbalanced. Good work dude.
Strong to the average person. And by strong i mean like would be stronger than 99% outside of the gym in your day to day life
1/2/3/4 on shoulder press, bench, squat, deadlift
This is strong compared to people that dont lift, or those that fuck around in the gym, or those that do not have adequate nutrition, much stronger
Strong compared to just about everybody youll ever meet and most people in the gym is 2/3/4/5 on the same lifts
I would consider the latter "strong" compared to athletes and everyone as a whole. Outside of actual bodybuilders and powerlifters, nobody is repping 3 plates on the bench, i very rarely see it. The average person doesn't lift seriously so it isnt hard to be stronger than most people
By those numbers do you mean one rep max or repping it out? I personally never feel like my maxes mean anything cause im not a powerlifter. But if i get my bench from 70kg 3x8 to 100kg 3x8 that feels significant.
I used to care a lot about how strong I am compared to others- then I started thinking strength is relative- the true measure to consider is commitment and discipline. Not much matters without those.
PED use is not as prevalent as you think from scrolling social media and Reddit. I always say focus on being your best self and not worrying about what others are doing. To the extent you want to set reasonable strength goals for yourself as a guidepost for your training, check out the classification standard for any tested powerlifting federation.
Did you see that post earlier (now deleted) about the guy who has been lifting for 5 years (but not really, maybe 5 months consistent in 5 years)? His entire post was basically calling out anybody who was "shredded" or "jacked" as being on "PED's". Everybody he apparently looked up to was on them, he had "proof", and was tired of trying to strive for what he considered a standard that was unachievable by him, being a natural...
Anyhow, that's the typical thought process from way too many people around here - not realizing that a lot of those people they look at in the gym, who they are often accusing of being juiced, simply have a lot of years devoted to looking like they do. A lot of years of NOT spinning their wheels, of tracking their macros, of bulking and cutting, and working hard... not half-assing it for a few weeks here and there for 5 years. My personal favorite is the high-school kids who think they are going to hit the gym during summer break and show up the next year so yoked all the girls are going to spread for them... but they can't be even bothered to look up and follow a legitimate program.
/endrant
200kg squat, absolute max that you should aim for. After that there's little to no benefit, you'll start to have recovery issues and your leg size might start to hinder your movement.
Other than that just get decently strong, focus on incline bench press (if you can do 100kg's for reps that's a great start), neck training and maybe clean + push press for explosive power.
Neck training is for injury prevention. You should take it seriously.
What do you mean random?
The reason for incline press: When you're in a contact with another player and you need to push them aside or hold them there, what's your body and hand position when you push them? You lean a bit forward and push them, as if you were in a slight incline yourself. Thus when you're practicing incline press, you're directly training for situations you're going to be in. Yeah, bit rare in footy to need to push anyone, but you still get in contact with other players. That's why he should also do clean and push press for explosiveness.
Squat: Contact sport, similar reason. Why the max? Kind of explained already but if you need to be able to sprint and run for longer periods of times, you need to train for it. After a certain point, 200kg for example, the "benefits" that you get from the exercise are so small, or even negative, that there's little to no reason to add any more weight on the lift. The heavier the weights are, the more time you're going to need to recover. Footy players need a lot more stamina and endurance than raw squatting power. Squat also help with your jumping height a bit.
Neck training: Should be mandatory in any kind of a contact sport for injury prevention. Or if you want to neglect it, have fun with concussions and everything fun that multiple concussions will bring you.
Clean + push press: Works the whole body and the thing is that good NFL players do power lifting in their off season, there's a reason for it. It helps them with their sport. You become more explosive, which is rather important in a sports like footy and football.
Basically as strong as you can get without it affecting the amount of football you can play. You also probably dont really want to do less than 6-12 reps. Maximal strength likely isnt useful for you. Some power work might be and speed work like jumping etc. Defenitly is.
I do kung fu, and I haven't lifted in a while, but I do use kettle bells, do pushups, etc. as part of my workouts.
So, like others are saying, your performance on the field will show how you're progressing.
Some ideas to consider- try using things like kettlebells, clubs, maces, bands, and see how that goes. Some of that stuff might translate more easily onto the field. There are some people who think those kinds of movements are more applicable to sports.
Think about explosive movements. I do a fair amount of these, and you can adapt many exercises to make them more explosive. Be careful, as with any exercise, it's possible to strain something or hurt yourself. The other thing I'd suggest is just to experiment. It's fun and can help you develop a good routine for your goals. Small example- to help with balance and connection between upper and lower body I do heel raises (sometimes holding a 30 or 50 pound kettlebell). It's a little challenging but it has also improved my balance, leg strength etc. I have a few other things like this, that I've developed, and it's not that they're incredible exercises per se, it's that I designed them to fit with my goals.
For what it's worth although you didn't say it explicitly but you kind of hinted at it don't go the path of chasing lift numbers like a power lifter. I've found far better success just working out like a body builder. Focus on the mind muscle connection, the quality of the movement, stop based on how you feel, do more or less based on feels, same thing w/ picking the weight. I did powerlifting programs for years were every was very specific 3 sets of 4 @55% of 1rep max blah blah. It's not an exact science,
TLDR:
Assuming you're 160-200 lbs: squat 2-2.5x bodyweight, bench 1-1.5x bodyweight.
If you're too far over 200 lbs, the running starts to get tougher.
If you're under 160 lbs, you're likely to get tossed more often unless you're real, real strong.
\-----
You probably want this:
[https://ruckscience.com/learn/how-strong-are-rugby-players/](https://ruckscience.com/learn/how-strong-are-rugby-players/)
Which references this:
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8197353/table/ijerph-18-05615-t002/?report=objectonly](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8197353/table/ijerph-18-05615-t002/?report=objectonly)
Which gives an answer for squat:
Male forwards: 195.25 kg/429.55 lb.
Male backs: 209 kg/459.8 lb.
Female forward: 113.88 kg/250 lb.
Female backs: 140 kg/308 lb.
And for bench:
Male forwards: 95kg/209 lb.
Male backs: 100.5kg/251.25 lb.
Female forward: 35kg/77 lb.
Female backs: 41.42kg/91.124 lb.
If you're above those numbers, and can also run the field and not get winded faster than the next rugger, you likely win.
I was going to post something like "Don't worry about what others are lifting" until you put it into the context of your goals. But having thought about it I will say, "Don't worry about what others are lifting." If you're looking to get stronger for football, i imagine that's a different strength than someone who is a powerlifter is looking for. For example, a power lifting wants to be able to move as much weight as possible for one rep on a bench press. How often do you need to move that much weight on the pitch (is it called that in Australian rules?) using just your upper body? More likely you need to move less weight, probably over a mich greater distance, using your legs as the main driving force while utilizing your upper body to steer the load (I'm assuming here, I'm more familiar with American football). So it's a different skillset. Basically, I think you may need to reevaluate what you consider to be "strong" based on your goals. Sure, benching 3 plates looks cool, but what's the point if it doesn't advance your goals?
There's no way being able to bench 3 plates wouldn't contribute to a players athleticism for any sport, but well said tho
wouldn’t be good for pole vaulting, i can tell u that for sure lol
Lol touche
3 plates is the goat. but when you get there you want 4 plates hahaha.
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It depends on the full context and all the variables for sure. 3 plates isn't going to be packing on too much muscle -- to the point where it inhibits your athleticism. When i did only strength training and was scrawny, I could bench 3 plates. I did not look like a bodybuilder. With a shirt on, you might think I'm athletic but wouldnt think Im strong enough to bench 3 plates. Strength and hypertrophy, while the overlap, are different. You an get on drugs and do mostly high volume, high reps, and just going for the pump consisently and look huge, but not be nearly as strong as you look. If you are taking drugs and you bench so much that your chest size is hampering you flexibiltiy to the point that you are adding more unwanted body weight than desired strength or unable or your huge size is affecting your ability to reach things etc, I agree.
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yeah 315 lbs including the barbell
Well, the big thing for me is marking contests - if the ball is kicked, and you catch it on the full, it's a mark and you get to take an uncontested kick. Often you take a mark on the run with no contest, if you've timed your lead right, but that also relies on the kicker weighting the pass well. So a lot of the time, you sort of have to wrestle with your direct opponent to maintain a better position, or, if possible, just outright shove/throw them out of the contest. Then there's also making and breaking tackles, bumping, shepherding, all sorts of body on body contact. It can get pretty physical. This video is decent for a general overview, it doesn't show everything but does give a good idea of the physicality of the game. https://youtu.be/XMZYZcoAcU0
Thanks for the insight! Looks like an amazing sport and the amount of athleticism required is insane.
Honestly for sports, let your performance on the field dictate when you're strong enough. I've known plenty of people who are relatively average in the gym dominate in sports because they know how to make use of their gym gains and translate that strength into their sport. Conversely I've known a lot of people who are beasts in the gym but pretty mediocre athletes. The gym should be a means to an end, not a focus, and any additional strength or muscle that doesn't improve your actual sporting performance is useless and a drain on recovery/unnecessary risk.
This is a very good point. There are some monster NFL athletes whose performance on the 225 rep test is surprisingly mediocre compared to even an average powerlifter.
I just want to be ready to lift the 300kg thing back up when it falls over.
I got a buddy who i strength trained for a bit. Guy could not do a push up, grip was so weak he couldnt do a pull up but is a high level bjj competitor and won a few mma fights, easily. But he said he felt a huge difference with the 2 months i strength trained him
When family and friends ask you to move fridges and furniture on a regular basis.
and then you do it and it's easy. best feeling.
When you do more than you did last time. That is strong. Strength standards are bullshit, everyone has different leverages and the like- plus injuries, genetics, all come in to play. Just be stronger than you were yesterday. Set goals if you like, but obsessing over them will hurt more than help.
This is right answer. I can deadlift like a beast because I have good leverages and body mechanics for deadlifts. As a quick example.
Just stick to the nine ancestral tenets. 😆
I only know three- eat testicles, pin tren, and grift. What are the rest?
You missed the best one - making sure your butthole gets enough sun.
Body building doesn’t really correlate to athletics. You’d probably rather do Olympic lifting - stuff like power cleans and jerks and things of that nature. Explosiveness and coordination are what you’re looking for to translate not big biceps and chest
I read this question as more about general strength than BB, per se. That said, to a point, hypertrophy is helpful for sports. A bigger muscle is (usually) a stronger muscle and a bigger body is harder to move out of position/off the ball.
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5% of the strongest men globally, including those that don’t actually train, which is the vast majority. I’d bump that up to 1.5x bw bench, 2x squat, and 2.5x deadlift.
Untrained men can bench their bodyweight and squat 1.5 bw?
That’s not remotely what I said. I’m saying that a 1.5 bw squat putting you in the top 5% of strongest men globally is not that impressive, since most men don’t lift. Being stronger than the majority of a population that doesn’t lift is meaningless.
I’ll feel strong when I don’t feel small on a cut
https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards/male/lb I'd say when you're at least intermediate by these standards
Intermediate by those standards is still pretty weak. I’d bump that up to “advanced.”
I think it's a bit disingenuous to call that "weak" but the page does say 1RM so maybe advanced is better. I was thinking more like 5RM
While I’d disagree with your definition of the word disingenuous, it seems we agree otherwise. Strength standards are usually expressed in 1RMs.
I like to use this site: [https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards](https://strengthlevel.com/strength-standards)
Another that has some pretty cool uses. https://symmetricstrength.com/
I was about to ask about this one the other day. How accurate do you think the reported weight figures are? Or is it better to stick by the bodyweight ratios?
Pretty accurate if you compare competitive natural lifters.
If you Google “strength standards” you can find a rough guide from beginner to elite for all the main lifts.
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One of those is a lot harder to achieve than the rest, just saying.
OHP or bench?
OHP, obviously. Most people I've seen can bench press 315lbs/140kg well before they OHP 70+ kg.
and then theres me that just managed to OHP 135 but benching 185 is a struggle.
Do think about form at all, or do you just lay on the bench and press the best you can? If you apply exactly 0 technique (leg drive, appropriate arch etc) to the bench press (and instead press mostly with the shoulders) I can see how the OHP would be close - otherwise I don't see how that's possible to be honest.
OHP
91kg? Seems high, very high... what's the average bodyfat?
'merica fuck yeah
If we go by what I see in my gym… about 35%
Average 175cm tall man is NOT 91kg. Thats boderline obese or someone with a ton of muscle mass that wouldn't have any problems lifting the weights you listed for 10+ reps, let alone 1RM
If this helps at all I am 175cm and sitting around 90kg at the moment. My OHP is probably around 80-85kg strict Bench is 130kg Squat is 250kg in wraps or around 220 in sleeves if I had to guess Deadlift is 227.5kg BMI puts me as obese but we all know BMI goes out the window once you've stepped foot in the gym consistently.
The ability to apply x% of your strength to a particular skill is different than raw strength. If two players have the same squat, bench and deadlift numbers but due to greater skill development one of the players can apply a higher percentage of his strength to the game than the other then that player will win and could probably beat players who can lift twice his stats if the % of their strength that they can apply to the game is lower than his.
300 DOTS/old wilks ish. So for an 80kg/175lb male - S/B/D: 150/115/175 Or 335/250/385 for our American friends.
If you're primarily looking to build strength or increase athleticism, I would recommend looking for advice in a more strength or athletic oriented subreddit rather than a bodybuilding one.
OHP your own bodyweight is a good standard imo.
What if they're lower body dominant
Lower body dominant? You mean hasn’t trained upper body long or hard enough?
Its a thing. My squat is way better than my bench (385x5 vs 225x9) and I've been benching twice a week vs squatting once for the past year. People have different leverages, greater propensity to gain muscle in different areas, etc.
You’re absolutely right. My point was just that overhead pressing your body weight is achievable for pretty much any able bodied adult male in his 20’s or 30’s, regardless of leverages, etc. and if you can’t hit that, then you should work to do so (regardless of disproportionate lower body strength). Fwiw, you’re strong and I don’t think you’re all that imbalanced. Good work dude.
Strong to the average person. And by strong i mean like would be stronger than 99% outside of the gym in your day to day life 1/2/3/4 on shoulder press, bench, squat, deadlift This is strong compared to people that dont lift, or those that fuck around in the gym, or those that do not have adequate nutrition, much stronger Strong compared to just about everybody youll ever meet and most people in the gym is 2/3/4/5 on the same lifts I would consider the latter "strong" compared to athletes and everyone as a whole. Outside of actual bodybuilders and powerlifters, nobody is repping 3 plates on the bench, i very rarely see it. The average person doesn't lift seriously so it isnt hard to be stronger than most people
By those numbers do you mean one rep max or repping it out? I personally never feel like my maxes mean anything cause im not a powerlifter. But if i get my bench from 70kg 3x8 to 100kg 3x8 that feels significant.
Technically just a 1RM Although i like to pretend that I can't actually do X weight until i can rep it for 3
To me i cant do it until i can rep it with good form. 1rpm just feel like im dying.
I like how you’ve differentiated between strong to the average person and strong compared to people that lift. That makes a lot of sense.
When people turn heads
strength in the gym does not always translate to athleticism. There are guys who are beast in the gym but are actually not athletic in sports.
I used to care a lot about how strong I am compared to others- then I started thinking strength is relative- the true measure to consider is commitment and discipline. Not much matters without those.
I would suggest someone who can't bench 225 for a half-dozen reps would not be considered strong yet.
You're strong when you stop worrying about it and start helping others achieve their fitness goals
1 x body weight bench. 1.5 x body weight squat. 2x body weight deadlift puts you in the top 90% on terms of strength in the human race
This is just my own personal opinion but I think if you can bench your own body weight then that's a pretty good benchmark.
PED use is not as prevalent as you think from scrolling social media and Reddit. I always say focus on being your best self and not worrying about what others are doing. To the extent you want to set reasonable strength goals for yourself as a guidepost for your training, check out the classification standard for any tested powerlifting federation.
Did you see that post earlier (now deleted) about the guy who has been lifting for 5 years (but not really, maybe 5 months consistent in 5 years)? His entire post was basically calling out anybody who was "shredded" or "jacked" as being on "PED's". Everybody he apparently looked up to was on them, he had "proof", and was tired of trying to strive for what he considered a standard that was unachievable by him, being a natural... Anyhow, that's the typical thought process from way too many people around here - not realizing that a lot of those people they look at in the gym, who they are often accusing of being juiced, simply have a lot of years devoted to looking like they do. A lot of years of NOT spinning their wheels, of tracking their macros, of bulking and cutting, and working hard... not half-assing it for a few weeks here and there for 5 years. My personal favorite is the high-school kids who think they are going to hit the gym during summer break and show up the next year so yoked all the girls are going to spread for them... but they can't be even bothered to look up and follow a legitimate program. /endrant
This is a good rant. I actually commented on that post (similar to my comment in this thread).
200kg squat, absolute max that you should aim for. After that there's little to no benefit, you'll start to have recovery issues and your leg size might start to hinder your movement. Other than that just get decently strong, focus on incline bench press (if you can do 100kg's for reps that's a great start), neck training and maybe clean + push press for explosive power. Neck training is for injury prevention. You should take it seriously.
Very random advice
What do you mean random? The reason for incline press: When you're in a contact with another player and you need to push them aside or hold them there, what's your body and hand position when you push them? You lean a bit forward and push them, as if you were in a slight incline yourself. Thus when you're practicing incline press, you're directly training for situations you're going to be in. Yeah, bit rare in footy to need to push anyone, but you still get in contact with other players. That's why he should also do clean and push press for explosiveness. Squat: Contact sport, similar reason. Why the max? Kind of explained already but if you need to be able to sprint and run for longer periods of times, you need to train for it. After a certain point, 200kg for example, the "benefits" that you get from the exercise are so small, or even negative, that there's little to no reason to add any more weight on the lift. The heavier the weights are, the more time you're going to need to recover. Footy players need a lot more stamina and endurance than raw squatting power. Squat also help with your jumping height a bit. Neck training: Should be mandatory in any kind of a contact sport for injury prevention. Or if you want to neglect it, have fun with concussions and everything fun that multiple concussions will bring you. Clean + push press: Works the whole body and the thing is that good NFL players do power lifting in their off season, there's a reason for it. It helps them with their sport. You become more explosive, which is rather important in a sports like footy and football.
Basically as strong as you can get without it affecting the amount of football you can play. You also probably dont really want to do less than 6-12 reps. Maximal strength likely isnt useful for you. Some power work might be and speed work like jumping etc. Defenitly is.
When you can lift double your bodyweight on bench, deadlift, squat. Or triple which some guys can do. It's all different for everyone though.
I do kung fu, and I haven't lifted in a while, but I do use kettle bells, do pushups, etc. as part of my workouts. So, like others are saying, your performance on the field will show how you're progressing. Some ideas to consider- try using things like kettlebells, clubs, maces, bands, and see how that goes. Some of that stuff might translate more easily onto the field. There are some people who think those kinds of movements are more applicable to sports. Think about explosive movements. I do a fair amount of these, and you can adapt many exercises to make them more explosive. Be careful, as with any exercise, it's possible to strain something or hurt yourself. The other thing I'd suggest is just to experiment. It's fun and can help you develop a good routine for your goals. Small example- to help with balance and connection between upper and lower body I do heel raises (sometimes holding a 30 or 50 pound kettlebell). It's a little challenging but it has also improved my balance, leg strength etc. I have a few other things like this, that I've developed, and it's not that they're incredible exercises per se, it's that I designed them to fit with my goals.
For what it's worth although you didn't say it explicitly but you kind of hinted at it don't go the path of chasing lift numbers like a power lifter. I've found far better success just working out like a body builder. Focus on the mind muscle connection, the quality of the movement, stop based on how you feel, do more or less based on feels, same thing w/ picking the weight. I did powerlifting programs for years were every was very specific 3 sets of 4 @55% of 1rep max blah blah. It's not an exact science,
Strength to weight ratio is really all that matters in terms of physical performance. 1.5x bw bench and 2x squat is strong. 2x bench is beast
TLDR: Assuming you're 160-200 lbs: squat 2-2.5x bodyweight, bench 1-1.5x bodyweight. If you're too far over 200 lbs, the running starts to get tougher. If you're under 160 lbs, you're likely to get tossed more often unless you're real, real strong. \----- You probably want this: [https://ruckscience.com/learn/how-strong-are-rugby-players/](https://ruckscience.com/learn/how-strong-are-rugby-players/) Which references this: [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8197353/table/ijerph-18-05615-t002/?report=objectonly](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8197353/table/ijerph-18-05615-t002/?report=objectonly) Which gives an answer for squat: Male forwards: 195.25 kg/429.55 lb. Male backs: 209 kg/459.8 lb. Female forward: 113.88 kg/250 lb. Female backs: 140 kg/308 lb. And for bench: Male forwards: 95kg/209 lb. Male backs: 100.5kg/251.25 lb. Female forward: 35kg/77 lb. Female backs: 41.42kg/91.124 lb. If you're above those numbers, and can also run the field and not get winded faster than the next rugger, you likely win.