One of the most overlooked components of thriving in life and aging well is strength. Strength doesn’t just give us easier day to day function but also gives us confidence and a better shot at longevity. In fact, research increasingly shows that maintaining a baseline level of muscular strength is directly linked to greater longevity, reduced risk of chronic disease, and a higher quality of life. Why wouldn’t you want those things?
But how strong is strong enough? We’ll explore the minimum strength standards every adult should aim for—not to compete, but to live fully and functionally. Think of it as a roadmap to resilience: small, achievable strength goals that can help you move with confidence for years to come.
These are standards that we believe, after a decade of helping people with their fitness are appropriate and crucial to crushing life. These are not backed by research – yet 😉 We will keep it simple with 4 movements, push, pull, hinge and squat.
Upper body pushing strength is critical to be able to do anything from getting off the floor to throwing your grandkids in the air! We will use the push up as our measuring stick here:
Males: 10-15 push-ups from the ground
Females: 3-5 push-ups from the ground
Next up is upper body pulling strength. Upper body pulling muscles help us have better posture, less risk of injury and do things like carrying suitcases, groceries and more. We will use another body weight standard here, the pull up.
Males: 5 unassisted pull ups
Females: 1 unassisted eccentric pull up (starting with chin above bar and controlled lower down)
Now we will look at the hinge movement pattern. This involves muscles like your glutes, hamstrings, back and core. Strength through this movement is critical to help you pick things up, prevent back injuries and more. We are going to use a barbell deadlift as the standard.
Males: 1.25 x their bodyweight for 1 rep
Females: 1x their bodyweight for 1 rep
Lastly, we have the squat to look at. The squat uses muscles like the quads, glutes and core. The squat is essential to help you do a multitude of things! I know we said that these standards are based off our own (professional) opinion and experience but there is science behind this one! There is new research coming out that is showing quad (thigh) muscle mass and strength is inversely correlated with mortality. Aka – the stronger your legs are, the more likely you are to live a longer life. Our component here will be the barbell back squat.
Males: 1x their body weight for 1 rep
Females: .75 of their body weight for 1 rep
To conclude, let’s use a 150lb female to see what this would look like – she should be able to perform 3-5 push-ups from the ground, 1 unassisted eccentric pull-up, deadlift 150 pounds, and back squat 113 pounds.
Are you able to meet these minimum strength standards? If so – that is great! If not, we could help you work up to these awesome milestones and get you on the path to thriving with confidence.