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What is the correct procedure to test out 1 rep max?

Monte_Cristo

Monte_Cristo

Member
Lets say I wanna find out my 1 rep max for my bench press how exactly should I prepare before going for the big lift?

Some say to reach that weight gradually through many sets while others say to keep it to a minimum not to exhaust the muscle.
 
Monte_Cristo said:
Some say to reach that weight gradually through many sets while others say to keep it to a minimum not to exhaust the muscle.
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Combination of both. Do enough to warm up and get your groove right, but not so much to wear you out. Once you get above 70% of your max, drop to singles (some people will even drop to singles sooner than this). And once you start to get close, try to make it so that each jump is the same or smaller than the one before it (i.e. don't jump 20lbs and then 40lbs the next time).

Some people need more sets, others need less. And some people like making bigger jumps while others do better with more conservative jumps, so as you get more experience, you'll get better at figuring out what kind of jumps you can make. So let's say you're predicting your 1RM at 405.
A short warmup might be: 135x5 225x3 275x1 325x1 365x1 405x1
A longer warmup with smaller jumps (but also a final single that's relatively close to your max) might be: barx10 135x8 185x5 225x3 275x1 315x1 355x1 380x1 405x1
And obviously there are a ton of options between those two.
 
^great advice. As a personal example, if i were to go for a 1rm of ~365 on bench id go:

45x8/95x8/135x5/185x5/215x3/
245x2/275x1/305x1/335x1/365x1

Generally id recommend about 5-10% of the e1rm as the biggest jump once you get past 50% or so. Its really about finding that perfect balance point where you're warmed up but also havent built up any fatigue getting up to the max attempt.
 
jswain34 said:
^great advice. As a personal example, if i were to go for a 1rm of ~365 on bench id go:

45x8/95x8/135x5/185x5/215x3/
245x2/275x1/305x1/335x1/365x1

Generally id recommend about 5-10% of the e1rm as the biggest jump once you get past 50% or so. Its really about finding that perfect balance point where you're warmed up but also havent built up any fatigue getting up to the max attempt.
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It's honestly about feel You have to try a few ways. If I were to do it I am at about 420/430 1rm Like you said I would not make big jumps once you are getting close to your max

45x20
135x20
225x12
275x5
315x2
365x1
385x1
405x1
420x1
 
Imo, there is really 0 reason to do reps of 20 or 12 even as warmups when working up to a 1rm. If you want to, do a couple sets of 5-8 at the same weight. If you need more reps to find your groove or whatever id suggest just doing multiple sets of singles. So in your example work up to 315-365 and hit 2-3 singles then continue working up.

That's just my humble opinion though.
 
jswain34 said:
Imo, there is really 0 reason to do reps of 20 or 12 even as warmups when working up to a 1rm. If you want to, do a couple sets of 5-8 at the same weight. If you need more reps to find your groove or whatever id suggest just doing multiple sets of singles. So in your example work up to 315-365 and hit 2-3 singles then continue working up.

That's just my humble opinion though.
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That's how I always warm up. Just something I am used to. Is it necessary no not at all
 
I do it this way

135x5
185x5
225x5
275x2
315x1 and so on

For me, I don't like going over 5 reps because I want to save my energy. I also take a longer rest than usual in between sets as well as stretch my chest and triceps.
 
I do similar to R1balla and mmorso, and I keep my rest periods down. I never rest more than 90sec between sets at anytime, so no reason to go into the 5 min range. I warm up with 135 for 8-10 to get the shoulders warmed up, then drop back to 3 reps and then singles. I just tested 1RM after a DC run a few weeks ago and bench looked like this:

135 x 8
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 1
285 x 1
295 x 1
305 x 1 spotter used, but had a little more in the tank.
315 x 1 spotter used. This safely became 1RM.
 
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