315 lb (3 plates per side) squat (to full depth)
405 lb (4 plates per side) deadlift (conventional or sumo)
If you are a healthy male who has never performed these lifts, you have some serious work to do.
Take a hiatus from Season 6 of the Big Corporation Original Series Tortured Souls Do/Sell Drugs and go to the gym in the evening instead.
"But, Eric, these numbers are arbitrary. Do you have a peer-reviewed journal article to support these numbers as standards to strive for?"
No. But see some peer-reviewed articles linked down below, related to strength and its connection to health. I do know that if you can perform the above barbell lifts with form that is not cringe-worthy, you will receive a precursory level of respect from other men in the gym. If you cannot, your strength is sub-par at best, and should be improved.
Being light is not an excuse.
I surpassed these numbers at the age of 18, weighing less than 155 pounds. I am quite confident that every healthy adult male can achieve these numbers with a few years of focused work.
"But I've been working hard in the gym for years, and haven't hit these numbers yet!"
No you haven't.
If this is you, your consistency, effort, and/or self-belief needs to be improved.
These should be your absolute minimum standards. You should be striving to move well past these numbers.
Note that older men will likely have a harder time reaching these numbers, and probably don't quite need to, but even then, it can be done.
Likewise:
50 push-ups without rest (full range-of motion)
15 pull-ups without rest (full range-of-motion, from dead hang to chest/chin to bar)
25 dips without rest (full range-of motion)
<8 minute mile
If you are a healthy male who cannot exert the requisite control over his own body to perform these feats, you have some serious work to do.
Again, these should be absolute minimum standards that you impose upon yourself.
Lunges, various bridges, and other bodyweight exercises are great too. So is simply walking.
Just as you should be able to exert control over external weights, you should have control of your own bodyweight as well. If you can hit the barbell strength numbers above but can't perform these bodyweight exercises competently, you know what you need to work on.
"But, I'm a big man and can't do pull-up--"
RIP to this 275 lb., 939-beltless-deadlifting, monster of a man. These may not be the strictest pull-ups,
but I'd like to see any naysayer replicate this feat.
But, why?
Pressing competently requires:
-Strong, stable shoulders and scapular control.
-Strong arms. Looks good. Is functional.
-A thick chest. Don't be chest-less, man.
Squatting competently requires:
-Strong legs, which correlate with decreased mortality in elder years.
-Strong glutes - part of what makes us human.
-A strong core musculature, which stabilizes the spine to prevent all-too-common back injuries.
Deadlifting competently requires:
-A strong back - the foundation of whole-body strength.
-A strong grip - also associated with decreased mortality.
-Strong glutes and hamstrings, which not only protect the spine but also the knees.
-A strong core musculature.
In general:
-Upper and lower body strength is strongly associated with lower all-cause mortality in healthy men and women.
-The ability to move your own body through space = mobility = strength = important.
-Cardiovascular fitness decreases all-cause mortality, big time.
But, how?
Achieve a healthy and athletic bodyweight through control of diet, focusing on primarily whole foods such as meat and vegetables in appropriate quantities. Note that root vegetables are tremendously underrated.
Strength train. The barbell lifts discussed above are some of the most efficient uses of one's time when it comes to building strength. Strength can also be built in other ways, such as with dumbbells, machines, manual labor, bodyweight exercise, etc. Strength is strength.
One way to build strength is to perform each of the barbell lifts once per week on separate days, for 2-6 sets (after warm-ups) of 3-10 reps. Then, bodyweight and supplemental exercises can be performed after. One could also perform bodyweight exercises every day. Example: wake up, immediately do 100 push-ups and run a mile.
Train endurance. Personally, I prefer trail running to all other modalities, but there are many ways to achieve cardiovascular competence.
Modern life may not require much physical strength or fitness to survive, but that doesn't mean you should allow yourself to become soft and feeble. Awaken your dormant musculature, and your body and mind will thank you for it.
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