It help you determine how much weight you should be lifting for your workouts and you can monitor your progress over time and ensure that you are lifting the correct amount of weight for your body type and fitness level.
HOW DO I CHECK MY ONE-REP MAX?
Trainers and coaches frequently design programs based on your one-rep max (1RM) because they don’t know your actual strength level but know what percentages they want you to use relative to your 1RM. Here are some important things to keep in mind when using them.
The fewer reps you perform, the more accurate your 1RM will be. In other words, a three-rep maximum (3RM) will provide a more accurate estimate than a 12RM.
Keep in mind that each exercise has its own 1RM. You should not use your back squat 1RM to calculate your front squat.
HOW MUCH OF MY ONE-REP MAX SHOULD I LIFT?
There is no definitive answer to this question, as it depends on factors such as your training goals and experience level. However, a general guideline is to lift approximately 60-80% of your one-rep max for most exercises.
The answer to this question varies greatly depending on your goal, your training plan’s progressive overload style, and even what phase or day of that program you’re in. These are the most common starting points for percentages, sets, and reps for specific goals:
Speed and power: 50-60%, 3-5 reps per set
Muscle size: 70-80%, 8-12 reps per set
Strength: 85-95 percent, 3-5 reps per set
But there’s nothing magical about those numbers, or the traditional bodybuilding set and rep scheme of 3 sets of 8-12 reps at 70-75 percent. If that’s all you do, you’re probably missing out on muscle gains.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO USE MY ONE-REP MAX IN A WORKOUT?
You might believe that your 1RM doesn’t matter because you’ll never train that heavy on most lifts anyway. But then you see a program that asks you to use 70% of your 1RM on a lift. When that happens, use this calculator to help you.
Some programs are set up differently, instructing you to lift with your 3RM, 6RM, or another number. What’s different about this one is that instead of a percentage of your 1RM, you’ll see 3RM, which means you should use a weight that you can do for only three reps. To do the conversion in a different way, you’ll need the Repetition Percentage of REP MAX Calculation.
Just keep in mind that these are estimates and may not always be accurate. Because a squat uses more muscle than a curl, one study discovered that lifters could complete more reps at 60, 80, and 90% than they could with curls
Similarly, rep maxes can change on a daily basis, depending on everything from how well you slept to how well you recovered from your previous workouts. Don’t be afraid to lighten the weight for a workout if you find that last week’s 8RM is now a 5RM.
