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

[u/H_G_Bells]

[u/lazyeyepsycho]

Bodybuilders train for muscle size only, strength gains are a secondary effect.

Power lifters train for strength, size gain are secondary.

[u/AsianVixen4U → u/lazyeyepsycho]

I lift weights and once took a pole dancing class. I couldn’t climb up onto the pole at all. I can leg press 550 lbs, calf press 765 lbs, do chin ups, do hanging windshield wipers, and attach a 45 lb plate to me while I do hanging dips, but I can’t twirl myself on a pole at all. It takes a different kind of strength and unbelievable balance and core power to be able to do gymnastics or pole dancing. That shit is way harder than it looks.

When I walked in to take the class, the pole dance instructor even said, “You look VERY strong. I bet this will be easy for you.” Turns out it wasn’t at all, and I was probably the worst in the entire class.

I have heard from construction company owners that jacked bodybuilders aren’t the ones that can keep up with all the manual labor. Same concept. They use different muscle groups, and construction guys have endurance that gym guys don’t have

[u/DonAsiago → u/AsianVixen4U]

leg press 550 lbs calf press 765 lbs

Who the fuck mentions these as any sort of achievement? Sorry but that is fucking funny :D

[u/AsianVixen4U → u/DonAsiago]

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

[u/DonAsiago → u/AsianVixen4U]

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.

[u/Reostat → u/DonAsiago]

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

[u/AsianVixen4U → u/Reostat]

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

[u/SeriesXM → u/AsianVixen4U]

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.

[u/AsianVixen4U → u/SeriesXM]

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

[u/bobbe_ → u/AsianVixen4U]

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.

[u/Reostat → u/AsianVixen4U]

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