Males are naturally physically stronger than their female counterparts, this is not news to anyone, but a good question is what is the average difference in strength?
Luckily we have the answer, given to us by an event at the 2018 Crossfit Games called the “Crossfit Total“. This event gave athletes 3 attempts at each lift in each 4 minute window to find a maximum load (1RM) in the back squat, strict press, and deadlift.
The results from this event are perfect for our comparison because all athletes, male and female, were tested under the exact same conditions. These athletes also have all trained for strength in similar styles as it is required in their sport, so there is not much variance in strength training lengths.
If we were to look at the non-athlete male and female we would likely see a vastly larger difference in strength as most women do not train specifically for strength as much as the common man.
Related: The Importance of Being Strong Enough
THE RESULTS
The results of the overall winner of the Crossfit Total on the men’s side Royce Dunne are below:
BACK SQUAT – 470 lbs
STRICT PRESS – 220 lbs
DEADLIFT – 565 lbs
OVERALL TOTAL – 1255 lbs
The results of the overall winner of the Crossfit Total on the women’s side Tia-Clair Toomey are below:
BACK SQUAT – 330 lbs
STRICT PRESS – 130 lbs
DEADLIFT – 415 lbs
OVERALL TOTAL – 875 lbs
DIFFERENCE
- Toomey’s BACK SQUAT of 330 lbs was exactly 70% of Dunne’s 470.
- Toomey’s STRICT PRESS of 130 lbs was exactly 59% of Dunne’s 220.
- Toomey’s DEADLIFT of 415 lbs was exactly 73% of Dunne’s 565.
- Toomey’s OVERALL TOTAL of 875 lbs was exactly 70% of Dunne’s 1255.
On average you could confidently state that if men and women follow the same or similar strength training program the difference in overall strength would be about 30%.
These results may be new to some but Crossfit has already had this figured out for years. When a barbell is included in a Crossfit workout (recreational or competition) the female load is almost always 70% of the male load.
Examples of common weight pairings in pounds:
- 135/95 – 70%
- 225/155 – 69%
- 315/225 – 71%
- 405/285 – 70.5%
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