Beginner Bench Press - tips/advice
bunnerfly
Posts: 197 Member
I've only been lifting since the end of December. I am following a program I found on a body building website.
Today, for the first time, I tried to see what my max on bench press might be, as I've always done a 10-8-6 rep and have gradually built up to 55lbs including the bar. So not much.
Anyway, I did 2 sets of my regular arms/chest workout, and Then tackles the max weight attempt. I did 3 reps at 90lbs (including the bar). Im guessing this is pretty average since I'm 5'2" and weigh almost 200lbs. I'm wondering if I should continue to make the max weight a regular part of my workout. Any tips on incorporating it and how often?
Today, for the first time, I tried to see what my max on bench press might be, as I've always done a 10-8-6 rep and have gradually built up to 55lbs including the bar. So not much.
Anyway, I did 2 sets of my regular arms/chest workout, and Then tackles the max weight attempt. I did 3 reps at 90lbs (including the bar). Im guessing this is pretty average since I'm 5'2" and weigh almost 200lbs. I'm wondering if I should continue to make the max weight a regular part of my workout. Any tips on incorporating it and how often?
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Replies
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I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.0
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So you only use your max weight every couple of months?0
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Same. I probably max maybe once every three months or so. (And it is mainly to test where I should be. I like to stay in the 60 to 80% of max range when lifting. The kids in the gym do it more often, but they have yet to learn to check their egos.) Unless you are trying to be a power-lifter I am not sure Maxing does much. I mean I normally start one set warm up and then move up, normally topping out with whatever weight I can barely hit 6 reps on. (I do try to go up in weight, but the idea is not to just Max for a single press.0
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Its not something you incorporate into your routine. A 1 rep max is a test of strength, hence why AJ_G does it every few months. So I'm sorry to disappoint but 3 reps at 90lbs isn't your max weight.
If your unsure of how to build up to a 1 rep max do a quick google search, there are hundreds of articles related.0 -
So you only use your max weight every couple of months?
Yes, it's not something you should do very often, it's very hard on your central nervous system, and every time you max, you have an increased risk of injury. Just make sure you always warm up before a max and that you have your form down before you attempt to max. It's really only done to gauge strength progress. There are people who believe that you should never max and that the only people who max are those who want to brag about it. That's a load of crap. Maxing out has a legitimate purpose and should be done every 2 to 3 months in my opinion, but not really more often than that.0 -
i think it depends on what you are training for and what your program is. I have a max effort day once a week for each of my 3 lifts where i do some kinda variation of a one rep max, but i'm a powerlifter and thats what we do.
There are some websites where you can put in your 3 or 8 or whatever rep weight and it calculates what your 1rm would be, but i dont know those websites. If you google them you can find them or maybe someone knows and can post the links.0 -
I work up to 95% every three weeks, and test my max every few months. Generally I'm benching between 75-95% of my max.0
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I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
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i think it depends on what you are training for and what your program is. I have a max effort day once a week for each of my 3 lifts where i do some kinda variation of a one rep max, but i'm a powerlifter and thats what we do.
There are some websites where you can put in your 3 or 8 or whatever rep weight and it calculates what your 1rm would be, but i dont know those websites. If you google them you can find them or maybe someone knows and can post the links.
I like this one. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html
It tends to be a bit modest but I have found it to be pretty spot on for me.
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I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...0 -
I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.0 -
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
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Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
exactly, and the only way to get to that 1rm is to move up by adding a little at a time. You can't just do a warm up set and say " i think i'll try 150 lbs today" and load up the bar. Well i suppose you can, but thats not too smart0 -
I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
It is for me. When I max on the bench I do 10 reps at 145 lbs, then jump to my one rep max. I see that as a warm up, sorry if that clashes with your definition.0 -
Change your routine to something more suitable for your lifting level. Running something like Starting Strength, SL 5x5, or even ICF 5x5 will have you hitting PRs during pretty much every workout on all the big lifts ( bench, squat, deadlift, row, overhead press)0
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Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
I was just thinking the same thing.0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
My platform warmup to my 1rm is also about 7 sets. I guess we're doing it all wrong.0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.0 -
I'm definitely not as experienced as @SonyaCele or @Iron_Miss_Canada but I would probably have at least 5 sets before I test a 1rep max as well. More like 7 for squat.0
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our sets aren't 10 reps, we are lifting in the 1-3 rep range. a warm up set is just the bar maybe 5 or 8 reps, and then we drop down to sets of 3 or 1 and add weight as we warm up.0
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Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
Yes I realize, thanks. Power lifters have to max out a lot more often than anybody else does, or should. You can imagine what you want, but I think the worry about injury on a one rep max is overblown and nobody has provided me anything to dissuade me of that notion. People are much much more likely to get injured when they are performing olympic lifts past the point of fatigue and past the point of form degradation, then they are when performing a slow, controlled one rep max with good form.0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
My platform warmup to my 1rm is also about 7 sets. I guess we're doing it all wrong.
Thanks for the sarcasm, I'm just trying to have an objective discussion...0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
So you have to be competitive to have knowledge on the subject. I'm not doubting their method, maybe AJ_G is but I know personally if I was to do 7 sets of any power lift then try to 1RM I'd fail hence why I think it a bizarre, that's not to say its wrong. These guys train for power and big lifts in comps, it doesn't surprise me than can max after what most would call a chest workout and they call a warm up.0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
Yes I realize, thanks. Power lifters have to max out a lot more often than anybody else does, or should. You can imagine what you want, but I think the worry about injury on a one rep max is overblown and nobody has provided me anything to dissuade me of that notion. People are much much more likely to get injured when they are performing olympic lifts past the point of fatigue and past the point of form degradation, then they are when performing a slow, controlled one rep max with good form.
Don't know where that strawman came from (the bolded), as nobody was talking about doing oly lifts past the point of fatigue.
Read Sonya's response to you right above your last one. They're doing work-up sets of 1-3 reps and probably resting 3-5 minutes between sets. Fatigue and form degradation aren't factors under those conditions.0 -
JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
So you have to be competitive to have knowledge on the subject. I'm not doubting their method, maybe AJ_G is but I know personally if I was to do 7 sets of any power lift then try to 1RM I'd fail hence why I think it a bizarre, that's not to say its wrong. These guys train for power and big lifts in comps, it doesn't surprise me than can max after what most would call a chest workout and they call a warm up.
You do realize these sets are low reps right? Sometimes I'll just throw a bit more weight on and do only 1 rep, just to "feel" it. Sometimes 3 reps. Maybe 5 only after 50%.0 -
JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
So you have to be competitive to have knowledge on the subject. I'm not doubting their method, maybe AJ_G is but I know personally if I was to do 7 sets of any power lift then try to 1RM I'd fail hence why I think it a bizarre, that's not to say its wrong. These guys train for power and big lifts in comps, it doesn't surprise me than can max after what most would call a chest workout and they call a warm up.
Again, read Sonya's response. They're not doing hypertrophy-type sets of 8-10 reps, they're doing short 1-3 rep sets with long rest periods in between.
No, you don't have to be competitive to have knowledge - but I'd certainly say somebody who trains and competes in PL has more knowledge about the subject than somebody who doesn't. Since they, you know, do it all the time.0 -
Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
Yes I realize, thanks. Power lifters have to max out a lot more often than anybody else does, or should. You can imagine what you want, but I think the worry about injury on a one rep max is overblown and nobody has provided me anything to dissuade me of that notion. People are much much more likely to get injured when they are performing olympic lifts past the point of fatigue and past the point of form degradation, then they are when performing a slow, controlled one rep max with good form.
Don't know where that strawman came from (the bolded), as nobody was talking about doing oly lifts past the point of fatigue.
Read Sonya's response to you right above your last one. They're doing work-up sets of 1-3 reps and probably resting 3-5 minutes between sets. Fatigue and form degradation aren't factors under those conditions.
Not trying to use that to refute her point, so not sure that can be classified as a strawman. I was just trying to point out that many people seemingly believe that a 1RM is a big cause for injury in the gym. Most lifting injuries come from other sources. I thought that point was valid to this discussion, if it wasn't, I apologize.
In regards to the work up sets, I'm supposed to believe that 7 sets of increasing weight of 1-3 reps has no fatiguing effect on a lifter? Just based on personal experience (yes I know it's anecdotal) I can tell you that wasn't the case for me. I've done the textbook long lead up to a 1RM where you add weight and do 1 or 2 reps for 5 sets, and I've also done it how I do it now. I always felt much more fatigued during the long warm up. There is an argument to be made that it can hurt your lift when you don't prepare your CNS for the max. I understand the argument, but I never felt that way in a practical setting when I tried them both out. My performance was always better with a 10 rep 40%-50% of max, then about a 3 minute break and a 1RM. I get it, people are more inclined to side with the power lifters based on credentials. I've never competed in power lifting, but I've been lifting for a long time, and I've tried different methods, and with my method I've never even come close to an injury, and I've never walked away with any pain, tendon soreness, joint issues, etc. In my book it's a spectrum and you have to find the happy medium between lifting as much as possible and playing it as safely as you can. There's a middle ground.0 -
arditarose wrote: »JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
So you have to be competitive to have knowledge on the subject. I'm not doubting their method, maybe AJ_G is but I know personally if I was to do 7 sets of any power lift then try to 1RM I'd fail hence why I think it a bizarre, that's not to say its wrong. These guys train for power and big lifts in comps, it doesn't surprise me than can max after what most would call a chest workout and they call a warm up.
You do realize these sets are low reps right? Sometimes I'll just throw a bit more weight on and do only 1 rep, just to "feel" it. Sometimes 3 reps. Maybe 5 only after 50%.
I didn't expect them to be pressing 80% if that is what you mean, I understand its low end but if we are talking 7 sets of 2 reps at 50% then yeah I can see the logic but that not the impression these guys were giving off.
I've never trained in such a way, by that I mean power lifts, its a rarity I weight train (1 week in 5) so when I 1RM I've usually warmed up with body weight and calisthenics circuits then 20s on the bar for a couple sets to like you get the feel for the lift. I don't think AJ_G means he just walks in off the street and max's out.0 -
arditarose wrote: »JoshuaMcAllister wrote: »Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
Got to agree with this. Just for example, my warm up for the platform is 7 sets. And I use that warmup every time I'm working at 85% or above. I know how every rep feels on bad, average, good and really good days and know how to make adjustments based on that.I like to max out once every couple months. It's the only real test of true strength because you remove fatigue and endurance as variables. My suggestion is that when you max, you do one light warm up set of maybe 10 reps to stretch out and warm up, then jump to your max the next set so you're not tiring yourself out leading up to the max.
i would never jump from a warm up set to a max effort. you need to gradually warm up and add weight. you do need to be aware of warming up without fatigue. but going from a warmup set to a 1rm is not safe
Well just because you would never do it does not make it unsafe. There's no evidence that going from a 10 rep set at 50% of your max to a 1RM your next set is dangerous. If anything it's shocking to your CNS, but it does not increase your risk of injury as long as your form is good. If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd love to see it, otherwise, it's just anecdotal...
a 10 rep set at 50% is not a warm up set. going straight from one warm up stretching set to a 1rm is what you said. injuries happen all day long from people not being amply warmed up before going heavy.
Can you go from 50% to max effort? Sure. But you're placing a huge unnecessary beating on your nervous system. And I prefer to leave those for my programming, not to just jump weights around.
I don't max test often - it's been 10ish months since I last did. I've had a couple times when I KNEW I had the next increment when I was scheduled to be at 100% and just did it, but no actual formal max testing.
If that's the case then you'll never truly figure out what your max is cause by the time you've done 7 sets, you're too fatigued to hit a true 1RM.
You DO realize that both of the posters you're talking to/about are competitive powerlifters, right? I imagine they probably know a thing or three about warming up for 1RM lifts.
So you have to be competitive to have knowledge on the subject. I'm not doubting their method, maybe AJ_G is but I know personally if I was to do 7 sets of any power lift then try to 1RM I'd fail hence why I think it a bizarre, that's not to say its wrong. These guys train for power and big lifts in comps, it doesn't surprise me than can max after what most would call a chest workout and they call a warm up.
You do realize these sets are low reps right? Sometimes I'll just throw a bit more weight on and do only 1 rep, just to "feel" it. Sometimes 3 reps. Maybe 5 only after 50%.
Yes, I realize, I've done it myself and still find it fatiguing compared to the alternative.0
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