"Noob" with some questions
- Thread starter Sharlak
- Start date
VO2Maxima
Active member
Rest long enough to recover, but not so long that you get cold. For high-rep work, that might be as short as 60-90 seconds. For low-rep work, that could be as long as 5-15 minutes. Once you get more experienced, you'll be able to go by feel and you'll "know" when it's time to start your next set. How long you rest is less important than being recovered enough to get in a good set.
You can either have a test day where you attempt a 1RM, or you can use one of the various 1RM calculators to try to estimate it. Be warned that calculators are just estimates that assume you are equally trained at both a 1RM and whatever rep count you just attempted...for most people who don't train low reps, they'll probably predict high and you won't actually be able to single whatever number they spit out. Also, using a 2RM or 3RM will give a more accurate 1RM prediction than trying to use a 10RM or similarly high rep max. However, you're probably overthinking this. If you're attempting a set where your goal is 8-10 reps, just pick up a weight you think will be hard for that rep range, where you think you'd fail if you tried to go higher, and use that. Get to 6 and then fail? Use a lighter weight for your next set. Get to 10 and it's still easy? Use a heavier weight for your next set. Don't overcomplicate things.
You can either have a test day where you attempt a 1RM, or you can use one of the various 1RM calculators to try to estimate it. Be warned that calculators are just estimates that assume you are equally trained at both a 1RM and whatever rep count you just attempted...for most people who don't train low reps, they'll probably predict high and you won't actually be able to single whatever number they spit out. Also, using a 2RM or 3RM will give a more accurate 1RM prediction than trying to use a 10RM or similarly high rep max. However, you're probably overthinking this. If you're attempting a set where your goal is 8-10 reps, just pick up a weight you think will be hard for that rep range, where you think you'd fail if you tried to go higher, and use that. Get to 6 and then fail? Use a lighter weight for your next set. Get to 10 and it's still easy? Use a heavier weight for your next set. Don't overcomplicate things.