Have you ever hear of a repetition maximum?  In the weight lifting, powerlifting, sports performance training and body building world, there's a common saying of, "what's your 1-rep max".  It's usually applied to the Bench Press because Monday's are traditionally the international bench press day, but it's also commonly applied to dead lifts, back squats, chin ups and military press.  What it means if you can't read between the lines is what is the maximum amount of weight you can lift or pull for 1 repetition.  It's fun.  Especially if you train for it.  

Here are my 1-Rep Max's for context.  I haven't trained for or tested these since 2007-2008, as my goals have been different, but I'm proud of each one.  They're not the best and they're not the worst.  They were all earned however.

Power Clean - 235

Bench Press - 275

Dead Lift - 355

Back Squat - 375

Chin Up - 270* (body weight of 180 + (2) 45 lbs. plates hung between my waist)

Military Press - Unknown

First, let's shorten Repetition Maximum to RM and 1-RM = 1 Rep Max, 5 RM = 5 Rep Max, etc....

In the professional sports world and many other non-weightlifting sports, sub-maximal RM's are more common and popular because they reduce the risk of injury to the athlete / client, while still giving a concrete baseline of how strong an athlete / client is.  It's important to know how strong a person is so you can apply to correct loads to specific exercises and rep recommendations.  

Example:  Back Squat

Do 3 sets of 8 reps @ 70% 1-RM

If my back squat was 375 lbs.  70% of it would be 262.5 lbs.  Therefore I'd do 3 sets of 8 reps with 260-265 lbs on the bar.

A 5 RM, 10RM or other RM can be applied similarly.  Use the chart below.  Find the number of reps you completed at the top.  Slide your finger down until you find the load you lifted.  That's your # RM.  

Slide your finger to the left until you get to the 1 Rep Column and that's your estimated 1RM.  This estimate is what you use to determine your specific weight used for different exercises and rep ranges.  

Example2:  DB Bench Press x6 reps

Using the Training Load Chart from above.

If I used 55% BW or (2) 50 lb. dumbbells and I get 6 reps.  Great!  It was perfect.  But if I could have done 9 reps or more, then we have a problem because it was too easy.  What do you do?  You use the chart above.  Say you got 12 reps with 50 lbs. dumbbells.  Using the conversion that DB Weight = 80% of Barbell Weight, 50 lb DB's = 125 lbs Barbell.  Find 125 lbs. under 12 reps, slide your finger to the left and that's your 1 Rep Max.  This number is 180 lbs.  

If I want to do 6 reps, a better DB weight might be 

180 1RM = 153 6RM

153 lb barbell x 80% = 122.4 lb Total DB Weight or 61.2 lbs. DB's.

Next time I might try 60 lb Dumbbells for 6 reps.  

An alternate option in the moment, if you don't have access to heavier dumbbells or my db's are already being borrowed is you can do Alternate DB Bench Presses from High or Low 

If you get to 6 reps.  Hold for a moment and ask yourself if you could do 3 more for a total of 9 reps.  If the answer is yes, do as many reps as possible, stopping when your form breaks down.  (1)  You'll feel amazing because you did a repetition maximum.  (2) You'll feel amazing because you smashed what you thought was possible.  (3)  You can now prescribe better what weight you should use.  

I recommend this ego boost, maximum repetitions for our all our strength exercises this phase as they're only 6 reps.  This will better help you determine the right load.  If you're concerned about safety have me watch.  Hockey Split Squats and Single Leg Dead Lifts, might require you to have mobility before you even use DB's so if you're working on mobility, then let's work on mobility.  If you've passed mobility, then let's get the right DB Load for you by doing as many reps as possible (AMRAP).  

Feel free to do the math and determine where your chin up stands compared to your DB Bench Press.

A few emails ago I wrote about tracking your baseball card stats, namely tracking your push ups or chin ups or cardio minutes, etc...  I wrote about Peter K and how he tracked his results and did b/w 2-3000 in 1 year.  Well, I was way off.  Pete was quick to point out that he averaged 2-3000 per month and did 70,690+ push ups between 2014-2016.  His annual total push ups ranged between 7,470 and 30,000+.  Pretty impressive and pretty cool.  Kudos to Pete.  High Five!

We've got a little over 2 weeks left in our phase.  Go ahead and set Repetition Maximum for your strength exercises and then either readjust during the workout or for your next workout.  It'll be fun, you'll get better & stronger and you'll get more prescriptive with your DB Load.

Getting better together,

Coach Mike

p.s.  want help customizing your weights, training, cardio or nutrition plan?  reply and let me know.