Let’s talk about fitness standards for a minute.
First off, I like standards, for at least three reasons:
1) Standards separate the civilized from the barbarian—in writing, speech, education, and my personal favorite, grooming. Standards are a good thing to have.
2) Standards can be set for general physical preparedness: that is, to help you work toward a broad spectrum of awesome abilities – strength, muscle, power, endurance, mobility, and flexibility – that are not only functionally useful for everyday life, but actively promote health.
3) Standards help you identify what your problem isn’t. They signal, “Hey, you’re probably good enough at this one thing, so why not focus on something else for a while?”
Important qualification: standards are always, to some extent, arbitrary. If a standard is to perform 100 snatches in 5 minutes with 24kg, are you totally out of shape if you only perform 99? Doubtful What if a standard is to deadlift 2x bodyweight and you can only pull 1.9x? Are you completely useless as a human being? Doubtful, because you can probably at least lift a mango.
Nevertheless, it’s surely a better display of overall power and conditioning to be able to hit 100 snatches in 5 minutes than just 2. So, while all standards have some degree of arbitrariness, that doesn’t mean they are unreasonable or unjustified.
In other words, don’t get hung up on the arbitrary aspect—try to appreciate the bigger picture of what the standard promotes.
OK, now onto standards I like a lot. Again, these are general standards, meant to signify sufficient—indeed, impressive—development across a range of abilities.
For those who like watching things, I actually have a full video on this. Check it out:
Standard 1: 100 Kettlebell Swings in 5 Minutes or Less with 24kg (men); 16kg (women). Tests power endurance and conditioning.
Standard 2: 5 Double Clean and Press with 2 x 20–24kg (men); 2 x 12–16kg (women). Tests explosive hip power and grinding upper body strength.
Standard 3: 10 Double Kettlebell Front Squats with 2 x 20–24kg (men); 2 x 12–16kg (women). Tests lower body strength and core stability.
Standard 4: 3–5 Pull-Ups + 30-Second Deadhang. Tests upper body pulling strength and (grip) endurance. Bonus: pull-ups force you to be honest about body composition (if you’re strong overall but can’t do pull-ups, perhaps it’s time to focus on nutrition a little more).
Standard 5: 20 Push-Ups + 60-Second Plank. Tests upper body muscle endurance and stability.
Standard 6: 45-Second Hollow Hold. Tests direct core strength and endurance.
Here’s the thing about these standards: they are “beginner-ish” in the sense that I don’t think people should expect to start out being able to do these; rather, I think those wanting to get strong and fit should strive to achieve all of these, since together they would signal somebody who is truly robust—strong, lean, functionally muscled, mobile, and able to go the proverbial distance.
These standards are tough, but they aren’t that tough. They are all quite reasonable and attainable with a good, effective training and eating regimen.
Finally, don’t worry if you can’t do all these. A set of standards isn’t worth much if everybody can just always do them with no problem. Let this set of standards help you identify gaps and inspire you to fill them.
So, which of these standards can you already hit, and which do you need to work on? Hit reply; I’m curious to hear.
Otherwise, if you want a plan to help you develop general physical preparedness in a hurry so you can blast through these standards with slickness and ease, let me encourage you to check out Strong ON!
Strong ON! is minimalist and generalist: time-crunched kettlebell workouts to maximize robust general fitness—blast fat while building strength, muscle, endurance, and mobility—all in the same routine, all with a single piece of equipment.
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If you decide to try Strong ON!, just let me know, and I’ll give you my 5-Day Kettlebell Fat Furnace, absolutely free ($97 value). Honestly, sometimes people fail to hit standards because they—well, you know—carry a little too much extra loving.
My 5-Day Fat Funeral will take care of that, QUICK. (Many people lose up to 5–10 lbs of fat and fluid in just that time!)
Join Strong ON! and it’s yours 100% free. Just email us at Help@ChroniclesOfStrength.com to let us know that you’re in Strong ON!
Here’s the link one more time.
–> Strongon.com/join-strong-on/
Strong ON!
– Pat
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