Shadowing Practice: How Strong Should a Woman Actually Be? 6 Strength Standards That Matter - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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What's up, y'all?
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Welcome back to my YouTube channel.
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I'm Kelly Matthews, and it's no secret that I care a lot about getting women to strength train, not only for your health right now,
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but also in the long term.
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And a question I get really often is, well, what should I be pushing toward?
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What's my goal and how do I start?
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So what I thought it would be fun to do today
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is take kind of the general strength training standards for women
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and what your goals should be to be you know a healthy strong woman
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and put them to the test for myself
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and also kind of teach you
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and coach you along the way there's going to be six different standards
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and i'm going to start off with the barbell back squat
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so let's do it first thing
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that we're going to do is the barbell back squat
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and the standard that we're going to set is one time your body weight.
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So exactly how much you weigh, your goal is to be able to squat that much weight.
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Now I'm going to do a more advanced version for more advanced lifters
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and that goal is going to be one and a half times my body weight, which is going to be a little bit more of a stretch for me, but I want it to be a challenge.
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I also want to preface all of these standards with if you are not there right now, That doesn't mean that you're doing something wrong.
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It's a goal.
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It's a benchmark that we're setting that you can push toward.
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And the best way for you to get there is by using progressive overload.
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So if you are consistently doing these strength movements and you're adding weight and you're adding reps, you're going to get there.
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Okay.
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So we're going to get started.
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I'm going I'm gonna get warmed up and I'm gonna do my best on a squat.
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Obviously, when you're getting into barbell back squatting, you wanna make sure that you're doing it correctly.
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If you have never barbell squatted before, a great place to start is with a goblet squat or a machine squat,
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just to make sure that you have the pattern down that you're getting stronger.
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Once you feel comfortable getting under the bar, a few things that you want to make sure that you're doing.
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Number one is we need to get our hips at least
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parallel with our knees in order for it to count as a squat.
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Everybody's built a little bit differently, so if you have long femurs, you may have to adjust your equipment or your stance,
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and I already have a full video on squatting if you need more information about that.
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You want to make sure you're getting to parallel.
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You want to be bracing so
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that you're really strong through your trunk underneath the bar and obviously you need to lock out at the top.
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All right y'all this is going to be the one.
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We have 245 pounds loaded onto the bar.
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If my math is correct I weigh about 160 pounds so one and a half times that is 240.
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We're going to go a little above that because that's how we do things around here.
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Our second movement is going to be the barbell bench press.
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And this is one that I know many, many women avoid.
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And I totally understand why.
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I don't think it's a movement that girls are taught to do.
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When I think of bench press, I think of like every 16 year old boy learning from their dad how to bench press
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and women just don't have that same treatment.
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And it really does us a disservice because benching, if anything is really freaking fun.
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I love it.
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If you learn how to do it well, it's an awesome exercise.
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So I would encourage you guys to expand your horizons a little bit
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if you haven't dipped your toe into barbell bench pressing.
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So the standard for bench press is going to be 75% percent of your body weight
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which is significant i'm gonna try for my body weight
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so i'm gonna try for 160 pounds today that's gonna be the more advanced standard
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okay this is the one we have 160 pounds on the bar this is not light for me
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so i have a spot For my boy Zach here, just in case, always have a spotter if you're going close to your max.
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All right.
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All right, one, two, three.
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Nice.
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That was easier than I thought.
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A few cues that you want to make sure
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that you're hitting on your bench press to do it correctly is number one, the bar has to touch your chest.
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Unfortunately, you want to feel that bar make contact with your chest.
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You also want your feet to stay nice and flat on the floor.
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What people tend to do is come up on their tiptoes, but you're actually going to generate more force with your whole foot on the floor.
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And if you ever decided you want to do a powerlifting meet, you have to have those feet flat.
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Okay, movement number three is going to be the deadlift.
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Everybody's favorite.
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I typically would barbell deadlift, but I think for this, your best option is going to be a trap bar deadlift.
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It is the most user-friendly.
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It's the easiest to learn.
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People that are concerned about low back anything, the trap bar deadlift is going to be your girl.
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Now, the standard for this is one and a half times your body weight.
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That's the baseline.
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And then the top end is two times your body weight, which is what I'm going to try for today.
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That's pretty significant for me.
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I'm going to work my way up and see how it goes, but you know, as always, we're going to do our best.
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Okay.
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Okay, we have 310 on the bar.
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This is the heaviest I've deadlifted in quite some time.
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So we're going to experience this together.
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But 305 felt pretty smooth.
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It moved quickly. So I'm optimistic.
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Hey!
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Okay!
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Some cues to think about with your deadlift.
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The beauty of a deadlift is you just have to pick it up and put it down.
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There's not as much to it as a lot of the other lifts.
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You can get really technical as you get further and further into it.
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But the biggest things you want to focus on, hinging at your hips is pretty important and not turning it into a full squat.
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You also want to make sure that you're bracing any of your compound lifts.
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You want to be bracing through your trunk.
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You can always use a lifting belt if you need a little bit more assistance there.
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and you want to think about pushing the floor away, getting full extension at the top and your Gucci.
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We're making our way through.
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Next up, we have a barbell strict press or overhead press.
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This one obviously is going to be a little bit on the lighter side because it's more difficult.
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The standard is going to be 50% of your body weight on the slightly lower end.
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I'm going to shoot for 75% of my body weight.
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The higher standard listed was about 60%, but I think I can go heavier than that.
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This one's 65% of my body weight, so this is technically the standard.
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So if I get this,
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I still pass, but we're still going to shoot for 120. That was really hard.
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This is 115, right?
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Nope.
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Okay.
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We didn't get 75%, but we got 65%.
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The strict press is probably the most difficult exercise in this list.
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Maybe outside of the pull-up.
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Everybody hates a pull-up.
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But the strict press is going to be something
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that is difficult to start on because the entry level is a 45 pound bar
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and that's fairly heavy for an overhead press.
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So what I would suggest getting into it is dumbbell overhead presses working with the preloaded straight bars
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that are a little bit lighter and then eventually you can work your way up.
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But what distinguishes a strict press from a push press is that you are only using your upper body.
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So you cannot use your legs.
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You can't bounce through your lower body to generate any momentum.
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So it's purely strength from your upper body.
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Our fifth movement is the pull-up.
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The dreaded pull-up, I know we hate them, but they are genuinely such a good measure of not only your upper body strength, your core strength, but also your grip strength,
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which is heavily tied to longevity, and the standard is one.
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Guys, all you have to do is get your one pull-up.
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We're going to set the bar a little bit higher than that, and five is where I would love for you guys to push toward.
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I'm just going to do as many as I can get in a row.
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I will do first the overhand strict pull-up because that's technically what we're talking about here, but my suggestion would be to work primarily on a neutral grip pull-up.
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It's going to be a little more shoulder-friendly, and you're going to find it easier to work your way up to your first one, and that's the goal at the end of the day.
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So I'm going to do as many pull-ups as I can do.
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I'll start with my one strict overhand pull-up, and then we'll just let it rip.
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Let's see if I can reach.
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Here we go.
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Okay.
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One overhand.
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Let's go.
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Done.
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I'm sorry.
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Nine and three quarters, we'll call it.
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When you're trying to get your first pull up, all bets are off.
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So I'm going to give you some form cues, but at the end of the day, just get your ass up to that bar.
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And you can always clean it up after that.
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But some things that you want to keep in mind are, number one, our traps really like to take over.
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and if you end up with your shoulders up by your ears, what you want to try to do is just push them down, create some space between your earlobs and your shoulders.
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Finding a nice hollow body position to start is great as well.
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It will be hard to maintain, but for the long term, having a strong hollow body for all of your pull-ups is going to be really important.
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And what that looks like is when you're hanging from the bar, you should almost look like a banana.
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So your legs are out straight, your feet are squeezing together, your feet are slightly out in front of you, and that means that your ribs are stacked right over your hips, and that's a really good, strong pulling position.
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We have arrived at our final exercise and our final test of the day, and it's push-ups.
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We saved the best for last.
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Push-ups are fun.
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The standard is 10, and I'm going to push to get as many as I can.
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This is another one I haven't done in a really long time.
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I would love to think that I can get 20 reps.
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Let's find out. so so
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26 right 26 that's a good way to end this There you have it.
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Those are our six strength standards for women.
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And if you're somebody that's just getting started in the gym, these are great places for you to start.
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And you always want to meet yourself where you're at.
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You don't have to be at these standards right now.
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These are goals.
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These are things that you can work toward to make sure that you're taking good care of yourself, not only right now, but your future self as well.
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We all want to look good.
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We all want to build the body that we love, but we also want to keep in mind how important it is to maintain muscle mass,
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to maintain bone density, so that we can be really strong and capable now and later in life.
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So thank you guys so much for joining me.
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I'll see you next time.
About This Lesson
In this engaging lesson, learners will practice English listening and speaking skills by diving into a conversation about women's strength training, specifically focusing on setting personal strength goals. The content revolves around important strength standards for women and offers practical advice on exercises like the barbell back squat and bench press. As you watch the video, you'll be introduced to terms related to fitness and strength training, which will not only enhance your vocabulary but also improve your ability to discuss health topics in English. This exercise encourages learners to learn English with YouTube while grasping the nuances of conversational English in the fitness context.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Strength training - a type of exercise that involves using weights to increase muscle strength.
- Barbell back squat - a strength exercise performed with a barbell resting on the upper back.
- Progressive overload - a fitness principle that involves gradually increasing the weight, frequency, or number of repetitions in your strength training routine.
- Bracing - engaging your core muscles to stabilize your body during an exercise.
- Lock out - the action of fully extending your joints at the top of the lift.
- Benchmark - a standard or point of reference against which things may be compared or assessed.
- Goblet squat - a type of squat where you hold a weight close to your chest.
Practice Tips
To maximize your learning experience, try to incorporate shadow speech techniques while watching the video. Use the following tips to enhance your practice:
- Pause the video after each key point and attempt to repeat the phrases you hear. Focus on mimicking the speaker's intonation and rhythm.
- Pay attention to the speed of the speech. If you find it challenging to keep up, consider lowering the playback speed. Gradually increase it as you become more comfortable with the vocabulary.
- Record yourself shadowing the speaker. This will help you notice any areas where you can improve your pronunciation or fluency.
- Engage with the terminology introduced in the video. Create your own sentences using the key vocabulary phrases to reinforce your learning.
- Practice in front of a mirror to observe your mouth movements and expressions as you speak, which can help build confidence.
By applying these shadow speak techniques, you'll enhance your ability to communicate about strength training and other related topics in English, setting a solid foundation for more advanced conversations in the future.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.