1RM

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daaaaaanielle
daaaaaanielle Posts: 114 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What would be the safest way for me to determine my maximum lift? I rarely have a spotter so I was wondering if there's a way to determine this with minimal risk to my safety just in case I'm not able to have a spotter with me all the time.

Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    Do you want to test it or calculate it? If you're going to test it, maybe wait until you can get a spotter. Or practice failing with the safety bars if you're squatting.

    You can try to calculate your 1RM on www.strstd.com or http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html
  • daaaaaanielle
    daaaaaanielle Posts: 114 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Do you want to test it or calculate it? If you're going to test it, maybe wait until you can get a spotter. Or practice failing with the safety bars if you're squatting.

    You can try to calculate your 1RM on www.strstd.com or http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html

    Oh I didn't think a calculator could do it. That'll be a good start. How accurate do you think that'll be?
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    daaaaaanielle wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Do you want to test it or calculate it? If you're going to test it, maybe wait until you can get a spotter. Or practice failing with the safety bars if you're squatting.

    You can try to calculate your 1RM on www.strstd.com or http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html

    Oh I didn't think a calculator could do it. That'll be a good start. How accurate do you think that'll be?

    It comes pretty close for me. I think the exrx is more modest.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    How serious are you about testing your 1rm? You could look for a local power lifting training group, and train for and enter a meet. That's the best and safest way i can think of to get your true 1RM.
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
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    Otherwise for bench and squat, lift in the cage. Set the pins. Get to it.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    There are various calculators on the internet.

    If you're actually going to test it, all I can recommend is getting a spotter just in case things go wrong.
  • yusaku02
    yusaku02 Posts: 3,472 Member
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    I've never used a spotter when trying a 1RM.

    If you fail at bench you do the roll of shame
    If you fail with squats you have the safety bars
    If you fail with deadlifts you can just drop the weight
    If you fail at OHP you can rerack it (I do mine standing with the hooks about shoulder height) or worst case, drop it.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    Calculators/estimators typically are more accurate when you're closer to your true 1RM.

    For instance, being able to do 12 reps at 135 lb - using this calculator = 195 or 189 lb. Maybe. In reality, though, you may only be able to do 175 for one. So doing 3 reps at 160 lb = 170 or 176 lb.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    arditarose wrote: »
    Do you want to test it or calculate it? If you're going to test it, maybe wait until you can get a spotter. Or practice failing with the safety bars if you're squatting.

    You can try to calculate your 1RM on www.strstd.com or http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html

    yes, this is actually pretty darn accurate. For myself I typically use the following...

    (Weight Lifted x Reps Lifted * .02) + Weight Lifted
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    I think lifting to failure in the 5-8 rep range hits a good balance--hard enough to get relatively accurate results from a 1RM prediction equation, but easy enough that it can be done safely, even by beginners.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
    edited June 2015
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    Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »
    Do you want to test it or calculate it? If you're going to test it, maybe wait until you can get a spotter. Or practice failing with the safety bars if you're squatting.

    You can try to calculate your 1RM on www.strstd.com or http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html

    yes, this is actually pretty darn accurate. For myself I typically use the following...

    (Weight Lifted x Reps Lifted * .02) + Weight Lifted

    Edit: You can always use a multiple-rep number to calculate this. You can always try a weight and say you're on your 4th rep and you can get the 4th rep but not sure if you can get a 5th; then just use that as a 4-rep max and calculate it accordingly. Aside for figuring initial programming it's not that important. You're 1-rep max is probably better said as a 1-rep personal best because it's not likely that you'll hit that 1-rep max every time you go for it, we all have bad, average, and good days in the gym and the 1-rep will fluctuate accordingly. A Training Max is truly the better gauge.

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