{"id":32972,"date":"2014-10-13T07:15:05","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T11:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=32972"},"modified":"2016-07-14T16:02:24","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T20:02:24","slug":"how-to-find-one-rep-max","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/fitness\/how-to-find-one-rep-max\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Find Your One-Rep Max"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"One-Rep
Photo: Pond5<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat do you bench?\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s usually the first thing people ask when they hear that you lift, but finding your one-rep max isn\u2019t just about getting an ego boost (or reality check). In addition to acting as a benchmark for your strength gains<\/a>, knowing your one-rep max with multiple lifts is a key to workouts<\/a> that require a specific set of exercises and reps at a certain percentage of your personal max.<\/p>\n

Take CrossFit<\/a>, for example. \u201cIt\u2019s is all about measurable results, so a baseline needs to be laid out,\u201d says Daniel Gallagher, co-owner and coach at Jefferson State CrossFit in Redding California. \u201cRevisiting your one-rep max periodically lets you see how effective your overall training program is working for you.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

Knowing how much you can push (or pull) also makes it easier to scale a workout to your strength level. \u201cIf the workout calls for 20 reps of a 225-pound clean and jerk and your one-rep max is 155 pounds, you know to scale back<\/a> to a weight you can move 20 times with proper form,\u201d <\/b>Gallagher says. <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0“If you can\u2019t do the lift correctly and pain-free without a heavy load, you cannot do it at a high load.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What Lifts Should You Max Out With? <\/b><\/h3>\n

Unless you\u2019re trying to post all of your stats on your Tinder profile, there\u2019s no need to figure out your one-rep max with every exercise. Focus on multi-joint moves<\/a> and ones that mimic everyday movements.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should know his or her one-rep for at least the back squat, deadlift and shoulder press,\u201d Gallagher says.\u00a0\u201cI don’t think it matters how much you can curl, leg press or calf raise; focus on functional movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget bench press. Because bench press, well you know, is bench press.<\/p>\n

Stay Safe<\/b><\/h3>\n

Keep in mind, there\u2019s more to maxing out than just piling on the plates and pushing yourself as hard as you can. As weight increases, so does your risk of muscle strains and tears or joint and back injuries<\/a>. \u201cBig lifts with heavy loads are serious,\u201d says David Jack, founder of ActivPrayer.com and creator of the Men\u2019s Health 60-Day Transformation fitness DVD program. \u201cDon\u2019t attempt any one-rep max on a movement that you\u2019re not comfortable with and don\u2019t know well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Make sure you have the proper form down and a pain-free range of motion<\/a> with an unloaded bar before attempting to add weight. \u201cIf you can\u2019t do the lift correctly and pain-free without a heavy load, you cannot <\/i>do it at a high load,\u201d Jack says.<\/p>\n

Warm up with unweighted movements that are related to your lift. If you\u2019re doing bench press, start with two or three sets of 15 push-ups before putting weight on the bar. If you\u2019re doing deadlifts, try some air squats to loosen up and establish a full range of motion, and three sets of 10 unweighted good mornings<\/a>. Shoulder press? Try 10 to 15 PVC pipe pass-throughs to loosen up your shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd make sure you have a spotter,\u201d Jack says. \u201cOr at least a safety rack to catch the bar if you drop it. That\u2019s lifting 101.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t sure about your form in the gym, ask a trainer if they can watch you to make sure you\u2019re set up and moving correctly through the motion.<\/p>\n

Loading the Bar<\/b><\/h3>\n

Wearing yourself out with too many sets can have dire effects on your one-rep max. When you finish warming up<\/a> and you\u2019re feeling good and strong, it\u2019s time to get down to business.<\/p>\n

\n

There\u2019s no reason to sacrifice your health for the sake of learning your strength level.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cStart with weights that are light enough to get five to 10 reps in without wearing you down, then move up to a weight that you can push out five reps of with some ease,\u201d Gallagher said. Finally, bump the weight up in five to 10-pound increments until you\u2019ve found your max.<\/p>\n

According to Gallagher, that doesn\u2019t always mean going to failure. If your form starts to go, you\u2019ve passed your max.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen to your body,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cSometimes you feel like you can lift until you hit failure, sometimes you hit your one-rep and you know not to push it any farther.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brain Versus Brawn<\/b><\/h3>\n

Yes, this bears repeating: If you\u2019re not totally confident with the movement, don\u2019t risk injury by going all the way to one-rep failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t attempt it unless you\u2019ve been working with heavier loads with that movement for at least a few months,\u201d Jack says. If you need to, you can guestimate your one-rep max through other means, like using your three rep to five rep max.<\/p>\n

A quick Google search will yield dozens of calculators, but Gallagher says a simple (and fairly accurate) rule of thumb is that your 10-rep max should be 75 percent of your one-rep max, a five-rep max is 85 percent, and a three-rep max is 90 percent.<\/p>\n

There’s no reason to sacrifice your health for the sake of learning your strength level. Safely track your gains with good form, a solid warm-up, and a great spotter…and maybe a little math.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Knowing your one-rep max isn\u2019t just a benchmark for strength, it\u2019s key for workouts with prescribed reps at a certain percentage of your best. Learn how to find yours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":18195,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14],"tags":[105,281,341,343,99],"class_list":["post-32972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-strength-training","tag-free-weights","tag-strength-training","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2exercise","tag-weightlifting"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/60"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}