1RM

[The_dog_mom]

How important is it to know your 1RM?

Doesn't this change as you get stronger, so do you have to retest?

[stuward]

It's not important during the beginner phase since you progress too fast. Once you start cycling your loads and reps, it's useful to have a benchmark to measure progress from. For now, just compare each workout to the previous one. If you're adding weight or increasing reps while maintaining form, you're progressing. There is a formula for working it out from your sub-maximal workouts that may or may not be accurate enough for whatever purpose you need it for, so it's not required that you retest very often.

[DavidMcF]

Can I add in my own question here;

would it be a good idea to try and max out at the end of every month? So this way youll try and hit your 1rm once a month or should be it be more infrequent than that?

[mark74]

I'd say it's only useful if you are going to compete or if you are using a program structured around percentages of your 1RM.

For those coming from SS/SL the work weight should be anywhere in the 80-88% of their 1RM. The exact number depends on a lot of different things (including the specific lift), so of course take this with a grain of salt, YMMV, etc.

@David, from what I've gathered while preparing for 5/3/1, testing on a monthly basis is generally not recommended.

[robertscott]

Can I add in my own question here;

would it be a good idea to try and max out at the end of every month? So this way youll try and hit your 1rm once a month or should be it be more infrequent than that?

nowt wrong with that at all. Just don't try and do it every week.

[stuward]

Pavel Tsatsouline thinks it's harder to recover from an attempt at a 1RM than doing a 5x5 workout and you've lost the opportunity to do a more productive workout. Wendler has a single+ once a month in the 5-3-1 plan but he follows it with a deload week. It depends on your stage of training and how you are progressing with higher reps.

[The_dog_mom]

So at this point would it be useful to determine my 1RM? If so what do I need for recovery after to begin my "normal" workout?

[nygmen]

If so what do I need for recovery after to begin my "normal" workout?

Completely individual.

No one can answer that but you. I would say, at your stage, not a whole lot. Just eat more and take a nap, you'll be fine.

If you were pulling 2 or 3 times body weight it would a different story.

[The_dog_mom]

I would look at at knowing the 1RM from the standpoint of knowing what i am capable of and using that knowledge as a motivator to make sure I am putting in max effort with each workout. During the workouts I think I am putting in max effort but when I go back and review the videos it appears the same to me as it does to most of you that I am not putting out max effort. It has nothing to do with lazy or not wanting to work hard it has to do with I don't know what hard physical work is supposed to feel like.

Having said that how do you go about testing the 1RM?

Diana

[stuward]

On a day you planed to do that exercise, warmup, then do singles starting around your normal 5 rep work weight, adding a little weight (say 5-10 lbs) each time. Take a few minutes after each to make sure you're fresh for each attempt. Keep adding weight until you can't get the rep. Have a spotter to help you catch the bar if you fail. Make sure he knows you don't want him to touch the bar until you tell him to.

For what it's worth, Most people do 3x5 or 5x5 with about 80% of ther 1RM. It doesn't always work out that way but it should be close. For example, if you're normal work weight is 60 lbs, you should expect to get 1 rep at 70 or 80 lbs. If you hit 100 or so, you know you haven't been working as hard as you could.

[mark74]

Something that seems to be working for my upper body lifts now is increasing volume. E.g. after your SL work, try about half your work weight, or even less, and do 5 sets of 10. If you chose the 'right' weight things should get interesting towards the end. As always, it's better to choose a weight that is too light the first time, than to choose a weight that is too heavy.

[KenDowns]

How important is it to know your 1RM?

Doesn't this change as you get stronger, so do you have to retest?

Diana, there is no objective importance of the 1RM. If you are in a competitive meet then of course biggest wins, but that is not our context.

So, since this is a subjective thing, a good way to answer this is to go ahead and get your 1RM's. You usually skip the workout the day you do this, so afterward, when you have the number in hand, and you've skipped the workout, you can decide on your own how important it is to skip a workout to get a new number.

My most recent efforts were to see if my 1RM's were about 125% of my 5x5 working weight. They were, within a few percent. Having done that, I won't likely go through the effort again until I've been on Madcow for 9-12 weeks, to get a feel for how the 1RM relates to the ramped sets of Madcow.

Other than that, it is of little interest to me. As long as the working set numbers are going up, I know my 1RM is going up.

[DavidMcF]

thanks for the responses guys

[Jungledoc]

I also don't think that there is much real value in knowing a true 1RM. Having said that, I confess that I periodically really want to see how high I can get a given lift, and I go for it. However, when I do this, it is often a set-back in the over-all picture. If you are progressing in your program, you will be getting new PRs, but these may not be true 1RMs. If I were you... well, honestly, if I were you, I'd test a max once in a while. If I were your coach I'd discourage it.

[The_dog_mom]

I also don't think that there is much real value in knowing a true 1RM.

I am trying to rid my brain of the self doubt that has been plaguing my workouts since day one. I need a concrete goal that says I should Squat so many pounds DL so much and so on......I don't know how to set one.

If I were your coach I'd discourage it.

OK I know your not but what would you tell me to set as a realistic goal for a lifting weight on the 5 lifts I do before I stall. This may actually help and as an added bonus shut me up