Power to Weight Ratio

To better understand how well your strength is increasing there is a simple, yet effective math formula to find out. This formula is the power to weight ratio.

As you train you will build muscle and lose fat, this will see your strength increase while your weight will lower or stay the same dependant on your physique and diet. By using the power to weight ratio fomula you will be able to tell whether yuor strength is increasing in two ways.

One that your weight has dropped due to fat lose but you can still lift the same weight increasing your power to weight ratio.

Two your weight stays the same or increases slightly through muscle but you are lifting heavier so your power to weight ratio increases.

So what is this mythical power to weight ratio formula?

Simple, the formula is to divide the weight you lift in an exercise by your body weight. If your lifting in kilograms divide this by your weight in kilograms, if your lifting in pounds then divide this by your weight in pounds.

Example:

A 90kg man lifts 160kg in the deadlift, this gives him a power to weight ratio of 1.77 in this exercise (160 divided by 90). If you do the same formula using pounds it comes out with the same ratio.

For those who are new to powerlifting and wish to compete I would say use a power ratio of 2 for each of the three lifts as your target. By using 2 as your benchmark you will put yourself in a good position to compete well in amateur tournaments.