That strength wise(lifting)to be considered in good shape you should be able to Bench 125% of your body weight and squat 200% for 3 easy controled/goodform reps. [:D]They also say,you should be able to sit down on the floor,legs outstreched in front of you w/1'between your feet,and you should be able to reach to 1" beyond your heels(flexiabilitytest).....Damn,and I thought I was in 1/2 decent shape!

I think that is probably realistic. Most reccomendations are ridiculous. I weigh 175 and bench 300, can squat 350 5 reps with good form and do 2 miles in 16 minutes or 3 in 25.

Muskle and Fiction sez that .........

Not a flame towards you, but remember that there is a lot of junk to be had in most of the "fitness" magazines. Almost all of them are owned by a supplement company or something like that. Muscle and Fitness and Flex are Weider owned. Muscle Media is owned by EAS if I remember correctly. So goes the list, almost all of them are pushing the interests of someone with a vested interest.

If you want to get some really good information try the newsletters and "magazines" of the various organizations such as ACE, NFPT, IFPA. They tend to be geared towards fact as their only interest is in their reputation for providing facts. They are out there to provide the best possible information to the trainers and other fitness professionals they serve, increacing their reputation through the reputation of their trainers.

Some of them do require you to be a member/graduate, but look around.

The numbers they quoted in the article you are referring to are pretty acurate, and a decent baseline. Just remember that there is a lot more to fitness than this.

Those percentages are nothing outrageous.  I don't like M&F though.


Try "Planet Muscle".  It is a steroid-honest magazine, and it's free.

What they are trying to do is get you to try doing the bench and squat at those percentages and get your ass kicked.  Then you are gonna look at yourself and say "damn, I am week.  Maybe I need to buy more of these magazines for weightlifting tips"  

Keving67

I had forgotten about them, they are pretty good as I recall. Gonna go check them out.

[url]www.planetmuscle.com[/url]

usp40c my friend,despite ALL the CRAP in the magazine,(I've never seen so much advertisment in any other magazine)there does seem to be a few interesting concepts.The streching part of the 5 point fitness evaluation is the one thats way BAD for me.Try touching the insides of your heels with your feet extended in front of you while sitting on the floor.[shock]Now if you can go 1" past your heels your average!More is better in this case. [bounce]

IMHO... you are in good shape if you can do the ol' in out for 2 hours straight.

The concepts are good, or at least most of them. I would be either a total fool or overwhelmingly arrogant to imply that Joe Weider doesn't know what he is talking about when it comes to bodybuilding/fitness, or that I know more than he.

I feel that you stand to gain far more insight as to why things work the way they do and thereby will be better able to design/adapt your own exercise and weightlifting programs using other resources. There is a great deal of opinion and "Ronnie Coleman says" in Muscle and Fitness and other similar publications. Sadly we are not all Ron Coleman, nor are we (most of us anyway) anywhere near the level training recommended by the him and the other pros.

These men typically (contrary to what you read) go into the gym knowing what bodyparts they intend to workout and roughly what exercises they intend to do, but determine the specifics basesd on how the workout feels. This is the best way to go, but requires an in depth knowledge of the physiological effects of exercise on the body, and a very intense focus on your body during the exercises. So I find that it is far more useful to most to take the time to educate themselves on the how and why, of exercise so that they can find the most effective routine based on facts and what works for them safely.

Incidentally the most interesting thing I ever saw Muscle and Fitness run was a "life sized" photo spread. Ronie Coleman's upperarm that almost completely covered a page top to bottom was just amazing.

I got a 'TOTAL BODY' strecthing routine out of a issue,it says you should do it after *every[whacko]workout,it has around 12/15 diffrent streches.I've been useing it _AS_ the main body of my work out on days I do cardio.DAMN its takes alot out of ya.3sets of streches ea.for a 25second hold,and I'm dripping sweat.I can touch my toes,even the bottom balls of my feet,reaching over my toes,[shock]but beyond that I think NOT!.......NOT at my age anyway!.....I like watching the womminz doing the full splits!mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....[;)]

Stretching is a very overlooked part of the total equation. It will obviously help with your flexability and reduce the liklihood of injury, and for those of you out there trying to bulk up, it will help you do that too.

I try to stretch twice a day with exception to Sunday, which is my total waste-a-day. Always in the morning, and usually will stretch various muscle groups throughout the day.

[:D] If ya got it, flaunt it. [:D]

yep....thats me...i can do all that[;D]

Oh dear!
A rifleman reading a pansy/faggot mag like Muscle and Fitness?
What's next? [V]

I don't know about a workout, but if you video tape it, I'll buy it for the laughs. I have got a very amuzing picture running through my mind.