Differentiating the "Types" of Strength

Often when looking at our strength as a measurable metric, most of us default to focusing on one main goal - which is to increase the total weight that we can move at our highest effort. Also known as our “Max Strength”.

But did you know there are a few different ways to measure our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to lifting weights? It makes sense, and when you think about how different our bodies are you can probably start to imagine certain activities where you’ve felt naturally better at than other movements.

1.) When differentiating our strength, it’s important to start at the top. We’ll start by looking at the maximum weight we can move throughout a movement, regardless of other factors like weight and speed of the movement. This top number is called your Max Strength. We’ll take a look at an example below for the deadlift:

• Athlete A has a 1 Rep Max (1RM) of 200kgs in the deadlift while weighing 100kgs
• Athlete B has a 1RM of 190kgs in the deadlift while weighing 90kgs

In this example, Athlete A has a higher Max Strength than Athlete B in the deadlift

2.) The next metric we’ll incorporate to measure is the weight of the individual doing the movement. We’ll compare our Max Strength number to our body weight to get an idea of something called Relative Strength, or simply how strong are you relative to your body weight?

Using the same 2 athletes above, let’s compare their relative strength in the deadlift now:

• Athlete A has a 1 Rep Max (1RM) of 200kgs in the deadlift while weighing 100kgs, lifting 2x their bodyweight in this movement
• Athlete B has a 1RM of 190kgs in the deadlift while weighing 90kgs, lifting 2.1x their bodyweight in this movement

In this example, Athlete B has a higher Relative Strength than Athlete A in the deadlift

3.) The final number that we’ll incorporate for consideration is our speed. Simply, how fast is the movement occurring relative to the athlete? Once we find our Max and Relative strength numbers, this final incorporation of speed will give us our final metric of Explosive Strength. The easiest way to compare this between athletes is to standardize the relative strength of the movement we’re testing, and see which athlete completes the movement fastest

We’ll take our same two athletes from the previous example, and standardize their weight to 2x bodyweight for the deadlift:

• Athlete A is lifting 200kgs while weighing 100kgs (2x relative strength factor), and completes their movements in an average of 2.1 seconds per lift
• Athlete B is lifting 180kgs while weighing 90kgs (still 2x relative strength factor, albeit a lower weight than athlete A) and completes their movements in an average of 2.4 seconds per lift

In this example, Athlete A shows us that their Max Strength and Explosive Strength are higher than Athlete B, while Athlete B excels in the Relative Strength compared to Athlete A

Now, with these data and metrics, the athlete and their coach/trainer can make a more intentional program that focuses on developing some areas of weakness while still capitalizing and building our areas of strength.

Remember, just because the person next to you has more weight on the bar doesn’t always mean they’re stronger across the board! Be proud of your strengths and compete to push yourself.

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