Fitness benchmarks for women: a 9-minute mile, bench press at 70% bodyweight, deadlift at 1.25x bodyweight, bodyweight squat, 1 pull-up, plus push-ups/plank/farmer's walk — sourced to NSCA/ACE/ACSM.

noli's read

Set aside the call to comment 'SUMMER' for a paid program, the question is: are these real baseline benchmarks? ACSM normative bench-press data for fit young women (Mays et al.) put average relative strength around 0.58x bodyweight — so targeting 0.70x sets the bar noticeably above average, closer to an intermediate-to-advanced level than a 'standard.' For deadlift, common reference tables (blending powerlifting and population data) place 0.70-1.10x bodyweight as 'beginner' and 1.10-1.60x as 'intermediate' for women — so 1.25x is a genuine intermediate goal, not a floor. On the other hand, 1 strict pull-up is a reasonable entry-level target consistent with documented calisthenics progression programs, where most beginner women reach 1-3 pull-ups within 12 weeks of structured work. The underlying principle (organizations like NSCA/ACSM/ACE do publish this kind of benchmark) is real, but several cited numbers, especially the bench press, sit above the true average and are better described as solid intermediate targets than standards achievable by 'most' people. Verdict: mixed.

the sources

No named source held this one up — that absence is part of the verdict.