A one-repetition max lift helps you determine your strength-to-weight ratio.
Image Credit: AmmentorpDK/iStock/Getty Images Your strength-to-weight ratio is simply your strength divided by your body weight. The ideal ratio depends on your gender and what lift you’re performing. Competitive athletes’ goals for the strength-to-weight ratio differ from those for the average gym-goer.
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Regardless of your experience level, think of strength-to-weight ratios in terms of progress; you want to see improvements in the ratio as you train to help you become more adept at your sport, not necessarily work toward a specific ideal.
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Like any measure of fitness, dedicated focus on exercise and quality nutrition helps you see improvements in the ratio.
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Read more: 9 Essential Strength Benchmarks for Men
Strength-to-Weight Ratios
Strength-to-weight ratio, or SWR, isn’t about how much total weight you can move — it’s about relative strength. It’s simply your strength — or the amount of weight you can lift — divided by your body weight, as explained by College Sports Scholarships.
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For example, a 150-pound man who can bench press 200 pounds has a strength-to-weight ratio for the chest of 1.3, expressed by: SWR = 200 / 150 = 1.3.
A 200-pound man who bench presses 210 pounds lifts more weight, but when you figure his strength-to-weight ratio, it’s lower: SWR = 210 / 200 = 1.05. Strength-to-weight ratios can be different for various lifts and muscle groups. For example, you may have a high SWR for the bench press, but a notably lower one for a squat or deadlift.
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This could indicate a relative imbalance between the strength and performance of the muscles of the upper and lower body, or it could be a reflection of your training emphasis.
Figuring Your Total-Body SWR
To get the most accurate, total-body strength-to-weight ratio assessment, perform five different exercises. For strength athletes, this is usually the bench press, squat, deadlift, power clean and power snatch.
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Lift the heaviest weight you can for one repetition, with proper form. Figure the SWR for each exercise and then add up the numbers. Divide the total by five — the number of exercises you performed — to get your strength-to-weight ratio profile.
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For example, if the ratios for the exercises were 1.3, 1, 1.5, 0.9 and 0.6, you'd add them up to get 5.3 total. Then, divide 5.3 by 5 for a SWR profile of 1.06.
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Consider All the Factors
In weightlifting or powerlifting, your strength-to-weight ratio is influenced by your gender. Men naturally carry more muscle mass and thus usually have a higher ratio than women. For example, according to ExRx.net, an intermediate, 165-pound male powerlifter performing the deadlift ideally lifts about 295 pounds for a SWR of 1.8. A woman of the same weight and class ideally deadlifts 190 pounds, for a SWR of 1.15.
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Of course, these numbers are based on competitive standards, and the average athlete might fall below these numbers.
The more trained you are in weight-training sports also determines your ideal strength-to-weight ratio. A novice lifter who has trained regularly for just a few months will usually have a lower SWR than an advanced lifter who has trained for multiple years.
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Read more: Your Guide to Strength Training for Women
Applying SWR to Other Athletes
While strength-to-weight ratio is often used when discussing weight-training sports, it’s important for any athlete. A high SWR usually means you can produce more power with every action — so you can run, swim and cycle faster. In gymnastics, an athlete with a higher strength-to-weight ratio can perform better in suspension exercises, such as on the rings or parallel bars. A cyclist with a higher SWR can power up hills more quickly and efficiently with less effort. According to a November 2017 article published by Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise, body composition goals vary by sport. While adding muscle mass helps increase your strength-to-weight ratio when you are a weight- or powerlifter, you don’t want to add too much excess muscle when you’re an endurance athlete or a gymnast. A heavier, more muscular body means you have that much more weight to carry or propel through space. Functional training with bodyweight exercises — such as pushups, pullups and core work — and reducing excess body fat with a healthy, portion-controlled diet, helps improve your strength-to-weight ratio. If you’re already lean, though, losing weight isn’t likely to help improve your strength-to-weight ratio. You risk losing valuable muscle, which contributes to your overall strength. According to the American Council on Exercise, the average female athlete has a body fat of between 14 and 20 percent; the average male athlete, between 6 and 13 percent. Women naturally carry more fat than men due to the needs of childbearing.
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references
College Sports Scholarships: "Exercise Efficiency. Measure Body Fat or Strength to Weight Ratio?"
ExRx.net: "Deadlift Standards"
American Council on Exercise: "Percent Body Fat Calculator: Skinfold Method"
Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise: "Weight Management for Athletes: Important Things to be Considered"
references
College Sports Scholarships: "Exercise Efficiency. Measure Body Fat or Strength to Weight Ratio?"
ExRx.net: "Deadlift Standards"
American Council on Exercise: "Percent Body Fat Calculator: Skinfold Method"
Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise: "Weight Management for Athletes: Important Things to be Considered"
A one-repetition max lift helps you determine your strength-to-weight ratio.
Image Credit: AmmentorpDK/iStock/Getty Images
Image Credit: AmmentorpDK/iStock/Getty Images
College Sports Scholarships: "Exercise Efficiency. Measure Body Fat or Strength to Weight Ratio?"
ExRx.net: "Deadlift Standards"
American Council on Exercise: "Percent Body Fat Calculator: Skinfold Method"
Arab Journal of Nutrition and Exercise: "Weight Management for Athletes: Important Things to be Considered"
