1 rm increases

[Phillip Micah Gilmore]

Hey guys so at the beginning of this year I found my 1rm of many lifts and wanted to track my progress and see in 6 months, and a year what my results were. I happen to have these 3 lifts come up for a 1 rm in my wods recently. So here is how it's going.

Front squat 20# increase roughly 10 months, 9.7% increase
Back squat 15# increase roughly 10 months, 5.7% increase
Deadlift 10# increase roughly 10 months, 3.4% increase

Just so y'all know I workout completely on my own either at garage or church gym. Also I've been following crossfit mayhem programming since April. I typically get 4-5 days a week. A typical day is some kinda strength wod w a metcon after. Was wondering are these good gains? I haven't been on just a strength based program but am thinking of doing one over the winter to get strength up a bit more

[Eric Montgomery]

Depends what your starting numbers were as well as your size.

If you're a 180lb man who started off deadlifting 250lbs and squatting 225lbs then no, an increase of 10lbs on one and 15lbs on the other in 10 months is not good...in fact I would say it's a clear sign of either bad lifting form or a crappy program (or both). But if you're already squatting and pulling 500lbs, then gains are naturally going to come much slower.

[Shawn M Wilson]

I second that reply...

My soon to be 10 year old saw those gains on his same lifts in 9 months. Doesn't work out just plays baseball...

Again if your 500lbs + on stuff any increase is good (especially if not specifically focused on str).

[Josh Fiebig]

If my math is correct, your absolute numbers are:

Front squat - 205#
Back squat - 265#
Deadlift -295#

Those are good numbers for a beginner, and would be fair after 10 months of linear progression. However, only putting 10, 15, or 20 pounds onto those lifts in 10 months would not be real progress.

Just to put things into perspective, an intermediate lifter with a 315# back squat and 405# deadlift could expect to improve by 100# in each lift in 10 months by following Wendler 5/3/1.

[Phillip Micah Gilmore]

I have been doing cf for around 2 years. Just started actually doing consistent strength wods a little over a year ago w no focus just whatever the box posts. I only weigh 165# (always been a hard gainer this is heaviest I've ever been n strongest)

Sounds like I should get a strength program going though . . . .

[Shawn M Wilson]

Don't let your body weight be an "excuse" (not saying you are but hear me out).

At 160lbs I was squatting 400 and in college at 175 I was over 500.

But I squatted. I struggled in the bench because I focused lower body but I lifted heavy 2-3x a week. My freshmen year I thought I was tough stuff when I was doing 1k + in the leg press till my track coach taught me how to do a real squat. From there I was hooked after seeing a 40 year old man then squatting 500lb+

Crossfit is great for a lot of things but simply doing crossfit (not all programming but many) will not give you a great base of strength. A good 6-12 months of solid strength training with a few metcons tossed in and a good diet would result in some major gains.

[Phillip Micah Gilmore]

Like I said this is the strongest I've ever been but def not where I want to stay. I was thinking about focusing on strength this winter anyway. Prob will do Wendler 5/3/1 coupled w some metcons throughout week. Got get over a slight shoulder injury first tho.

Any got a better strength program for me to follow?

[Chris Mason]

Originally Posted by Phillip Micah Gilmore

Hey guys so at the beginning of this year I found my 1rm of many lifts and wanted to track my progress and see in 6 months, and a year what my results were. I happen to have these 3 lifts come up for a 1 rm in my wods recently. So here is how it's going.

Front squat 20# increase roughly 10 months, 9.7% increase
Back squat 15# increase roughly 10 months, 5.7% increase
Deadlift 10# increase roughly 10 months, 3.4% increase

Just so y'all know I workout completely on my own either at garage or church gym. Also I've been following crossfit mayhem programming since April. I typically get 4-5 days a week. A typical day is some kinda strength wod w a metcon after. Was wondering are these good gains? I haven't been on just a strength based program but am thinking of doing one over the winter to get strength up a bit more

Have you done any specific maximal strength work, or just standard CF WODs?

[William Miller]

Originally Posted by Josh Fiebig

Just to put things into perspective, an intermediate lifter with a 315# back squat and 405# deadlift could expect to improve by 100# in each lift in 10 months by following Wendler 5/3/1.

If this is right (and I am not saying it isn't because I have never tried 5/3/1), I need to get started yesterday. I am right at those numbers (just below on DL) and have never seen this much gain on any program I followed (after my initial gains). Are these really typical results from 5/3/1?

[Shawn M Wilson]

Originally Posted by William Miller

If this is right (and I am not saying it isn't because I have never tried 5/3/1), I need to get started yesterday. I am right at those numbers (just below on DL) and have never seen this much gain on any program I followed (after my initial gains). Are these really typical results from 5/3/1?

Yes and no.

If you are a beginner / intermediate lifter than yes very possible.

Just plan on no extra wod stuff for the most part and follow the plan. Lift right, eat right, sleep right, see results.

In 9 months of lifting I went from 205 bench to a 315 and only benched 2x a week while focusing mainly on squats and DL. I ate right and slept right and was 31 so age wasn't to much of a bad thing get.

I've put guys on 5/3/1 and seems great results in 6 months (60-80lb) increases with ease. Lots to be said about doing strength training right.

First fixing form helps a ton. Many of these guys had no clue how to really squat, bench or deadlift right. Their "maxes" were crushed when I taught them right form. But after 6 months of doing them weekly and right they saw huge gains because they knew how to do it right.

In 2 weeks I saw a guys deadlift go from 350 to 445. It was all form. He had strength but no form or technique. Taught him how to do it correctly and the weight flew off the ground. Amazing what a deadlift vs a hunchback lift is like.