Assume the "generic" FEmale crossfitter weighs....?

[Walker Fenz]

Saw this in the FAQs in the context of scaling:

....Assume the "generic" male crossfitter weighs 175 and the prescribed weight is 95 lbs. Thus, you'd pick a weight that's approximately 55% of your bodyweight...

Nifty. However, what does the "generic" Crossfit WOMAN weigh? That is, as a female, if I were to use this tip, what would I base the formula on?

(I am obviously going to scale the workout as approriate for me regardless, but it would be interesting to know.)

[Katherine Derbyshire]

Originally Posted by Walker Fenz

Saw this in the FAQs in the context of scaling:

....Assume the "generic" male crossfitter weighs 175 and the prescribed weight is 95 lbs. Thus, you'd pick a weight that's approximately 55% of your bodyweight...

Nifty. However, what does the "generic" Crossfit WOMAN weigh? That is, as a female, if I were to use this tip, what would I base the formula on?

(I am obviously going to scale the workout as approriate for me regardless, but it would be interesting to know.)

I'd guess 130ish, but that's just a guess.

Katherine

[Jared Ashley]

Well, generally BrandX will prescribe roughly 2/3 of the male weight for the women. 2/3 of 175 is about 117, but women are genetically ~10% higher bodyfat, so you really should add 10% to that weight to get the equivalent lean mass.

That put's katherine's number of 130 right about on the money.

[Ben Sparks]

Reverse-math it...

Rx'd male Diane is Deadlifts at 225; assuming BW of 175, that's 129%.

Rx'd female Diane is 185, which is 129% of 143 lb.

Rx'd male Fran is 95#, assuming its 55% of BW of 175,

Rx'd female Fran is 65# - which is 55% of 118.

Rx'd male FGB Push press & SDLHP are 75# - 43% of that 175 male BW.

Rx'd female FGB is 45#, which is 43% of 105.

Yikes, she's getting smaller & smaller.

IMO, averages and "Rx'd"are a waste of time. Just put a little more weight on the bar than you're comfortable with, and keep records so you can do better - either more weight or less time - next time.

[Charles Applin]

The confusion on scaling is what led me to just try % of 1rm for the major lifts. Your body weight is an indicator of what you can lift, not a rule of what you can lift.

For the benchmarks, you could use 50% of your 1rm. If you can deadlift 200#, then use 100# for Diane. If you can push press 130#, then use 65# for Fran. You can even apply that to Linda (3 bars) and use 50% your 1rm instead of bodyweight. Yeah, it's not as Rx'd but it will work.

If it helps, Rippetoe has a chart out for male and female lifts for various body weight and skill level. Should come up in a google search. You could use that to get a rough idea of what to scale for your lifts.

[Jacob Israel Briskin]

Originally Posted by Ben Sparks

Reverse-math it...

Rx'd male Diane is Deadlifts at 225; assuming BW of 175, that's 129%.

Rx'd female Diane is 185, which is 129% of 143 lb.

Rx'd male Fran is 95#, assuming its 55% of BW of 175,

Rx'd female Fran is 65# - which is 55% of 118.

Rx'd male FGB Push press & SDLHP are 75# - 43% of that 175 male BW.

Rx'd female FGB is 45#, which is 43% of 105.

Yikes, she's getting smaller & smaller.

IMO, averages and "Rx'd"are a waste of time. Just put a little more weight on the bar than you're comfortable with, and keep records so you can do better - either more weight or less time - next time.

Not to pick nits, but the most commonly used women's weights for Diane and FGB are actually 155 and 55, respectively.

[Drew Cloutier]

I think it would depend on height also no? I mean a 5'1 female vs 5'10 there better be a weight difference, otherwise one of them is eating to little/much.

[Jenna Dodge]

I've always gone with 125# for an average female crossfitter weight.

However, the average weight for females at the 2009 games was 140-145 (I can't remember). I think the male average weight was more than 175, as well.

[Drew Cloutier]

You mentioned the AVG crossfitter, its my understanding that the Games athletes are by far the more gifted ones in general, and therefore not the avg.

Like I said you also have to take into account the height. Greg Amundson weighs something like 195-205lbs but he's 6'1 I think and not a small framed man, Anthony B weighs 165-170 I think, but he's 5'8 I think reading somewhere on here...so you do have to take that into account.

Height and frame.
2 people could be 5'10, but one has a large mesomorphic frame whereas the other has a small ectomorph frame, this factor alone will play a big part in how "big" they get.

[Matt Payne]

Originally Posted by Drew Cloutier

You mentioned the AVG crossfitter, its my understanding that the Games athletes are by far the more gifted ones in general, and therefore not the avg.

Like I said you also have to take into account the height. Greg Amundson weighs something like 195-205lbs but he's 6'1 I think and not a small framed man, Anthony B weighs 165-170 I think, but he's 5'8 I think reading somewhere on here...so you do have to take that into account.

Height and frame.
2 people could be 5'10, but one has a large mesomorphic frame whereas the other has a small ectomorph frame, this factor alone will play a big part in how "big" they get.

I think 2 different things here. By average I think the reference was their body weight which really has little bearing on skill regarding the Games Athletes. Being "gifted" has no relation to weight.

I would say 175-180 seems about average weight for a male crossfitter from what I have seen and experienced.