“Am I beginner, intermediate or advanced?” a question that any weight lifter would love to know the answer to –and always with desire for being in the more advanced group- and you better know it too; cause it affect how you look at your training and expect results from it.
Keep in mind that there is no fine line between each level; it’s not like climbing a stair, but rather a continuous incline toward your maximum genetic growth potential; and between the transition from beginner to intermediate to advanced; comes a wide range of physical and physiological improvements.
Novice Lifters
Those are persons who haven’t trained or developed muscles before, and surely know nothing about how to do exercises, when and how much, etc.
If you’re new/beginner to training and would like a new lifestyle and get new body start with designing a personal exercise program.
Beginners
Beginners usually have these traits in common:
- Have been training consistently and smartly for less than 6 months while producing results; if you lifted weights intermittently, lightly, or with no seen results for the past 10 years; it doesn’t matter, your still a beginner.
- Generally bench press less than 61 kg, squat less than 84 kg and deadlift less than 102 kg (it is worth to mention that these numbers are for relativity, not specificity).
- Still working on performing proper form of exercises.
- Follow high frequency, low volume training pattern, they train their whole body in each training session, usually 3 times per week (which is recommended for optimum results for them).
Are you a beginner who wants to move to intermediate level of training? Learn when and how to do it.
Intermediates
Intermediates fall in these descriptions:
- Have been training consistently and smartly for at least 6-12 months.
- Generally bench presses at least 102 kg, squats 125 kg and deadlifts 143 kg. Whereas experienced intermediate lifters would at least bench 143 kg, squat 188 kg and deadlift 227 kg and they see improvement slower and slower with time.
- Maintain good training rhythm.
- Results are seen and continuously improving; such as strength level, work capacity, volume and muscle gain.
- Mastered good form for all exercises they perform.
- Can distinguish any weakness points and adjust their training plan to fix them.
- They’re ready for more intense training; splitting their workouts such as upper and lower style, 3-4 strength training days per week.
Advanced
Advanced lifters are considered at the highest level of weight lifting experience; they are elite or almost elite level lifters and should have governed the next:
- Reached the majority of results they seek, and they’re extremely close to their maximum natural genetic potential (> 95% of it), without consideration for the time duration that took them to achieve that.
- Learned how to listen to their bodies and manipulate their training accordingly.
- They train each muscle group around every 3rd and 5th day.
Need help with your training or have questions? Go to Fitnessyard forums.