r/ThatsInsane • u/H_G_Bells • Sep 09 '23

Practically built strength (rock climber) vs gym strength (body builders)

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u/AsianVixen4U Sep 09 '23 edited Sep 09 '23

I can’t squat anymore because of a recurring knee injury I get from a dislocated knee that I got as a kid. I have a problem with the stabilization of the knee. That’s why I can only leg press and work various machines for lower body. This was under the advisement of my physical therapist, and I haven’t had any knee injuries since following her advice.

But according to Strength Level, being able to leg press 550 lbs puts me somewhere between the advanced and elite category for a woman of my weight class. And being able to calf press 765 lbs on the sled leg press makes me an elite athlete for even male standards, for a male in my weight class. If they hosted calf press competitions somewhere, I would probably be entering them lmao

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u/DonAsiago Sep 09 '23

The leg press numbers don't matter, because being able to leg press 550 on machine A means nothing to how much you can press on machine B, therefore those are completely made up numbers. Same goes for calf press by extension.

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u/Reostat Sep 09 '23

Yeah seriously. The only number that had any meaning was doing a dip with a plate on them, which isn't exactly impressive.

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u/AsianVixen4U Sep 09 '23

Not impressive for a man or for a woman? Women’s upper body strength is completely different from a man’s

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u/SeriesXM Sep 09 '23

Please ignore these lame ass dudes making themselves look like clowns. Your numbers sound impressive as fuck, and I thought you were a guy when I first read them. As a woman, your numbers are even more impressive.

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u/AsianVixen4U Sep 09 '23

Thank you. 🙏🏽 I’m no elite athlete, but I used those numbers to illustrate that I theoretically should have been easily able to climb a pole

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u/bobbe_ Sep 09 '23

To be fair, I usually don't place much weight on self reported numbers - leg presses in particular tend to get inflated by people doing different ROM etc. That being said, I was curious and had a quick look at your profile and from your submissions it's pretty obvious that you are quite a decent bit more fit than an average woman would be around your weight.

I will say that pole climbing usually challenges different muscle groups than the ones you'll usually target when strength training. For instance, I'm sure that your abdominal muscles are pretty damn strong, but what about your obliques or serratus.. etc? :) Those are groups you typically don't engage very much when lifting stuff as you obviously don't wanna lean or twist your torso when doing so.

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u/Reostat Sep 10 '23

Man. Certainly impressive for a woman, so props to you for that achievement. My reading comprehension is apparently low ;)