I have learned a lot of my years of being a trainer. It’s like a puzzle just waiting to be solved, and I like puzzles. One of the most important things I’ve learned at pat’s Gym is the importance of efficiency. Efficiency not only applies to energy, but also to do. I learned early on I had to spend my time on things for which I have a passion; This realization changed my life and what I do for my profession.
When I realized the importance of efficiency, it came when I learned the importance of having a good power-to-weight ratio. You can calculate this in various ways…..for example; for deadlifts it can be an absolute of 1RM = #500lbs or relative 1RM – 3x’s bodyweight. When assessing yourself or another individual you should take both into consideration. Generally, the lighter you are the easier it is to have greater relative strength, and the heavier you are it’s easier to have greater absolute strength.
My personal ambition is to push the envelope in both aspects. I put more emphasis on power-to-weight ratio, or relative strength over absolute strength for many reasons. The better your power-to-weight ratio is, the better you are in avoiding injury. With fitness, the vast majority of athletes should be well rounded across all energy systems, with a bit of emphasis on particular aspects of workouts/sports depending on need.
When you look at arguably the toughest fitness and psychological endeavors/tests around, like top echelon military selections, there’s a reason that the typical candidate that makes it through, weighs approximately #185 and is roughly 5’10 tall. They are strong enough, and big enough to handle the demands placed upon them but small to be able to move great distances efficiently. Getting big and strong is an admirable goal and putting on weight can be practical and needed, but within reason. Don’t fall into the trap of putting on size just for the sake of putting on size. You can be strong as an ox but still obese.
BMI is made for the general masses, and doesn’t take into account muscle mass but the human body can only handle so much strain. Knees with a 250lbs load on them are likely not going to last as long, and will be more painful than those supporting 150lbs load. We should not attempt to define fitness for people, that too should be relative. If you want to be a “beast” by all means go for it and we’d even love to help. With that said training for relative strength is more practical for most people. If you are involved in a sport with weight classes, if you are a military asset that must cover distance, if you are just concerned for general health, general physical preparedness, and injury prevention Power-to-weight ratio should be the focus.
