Stronglifts 5x5 for Women

Join

Newb question - When do you go for your 1 rep max??

Options
aliciaje
aliciaje Posts: 83
in Social Groups
Hi Everyone, I have been doing Stronglifts for a few weeks now. I started with the bar for everything but deadlifts and squats (just added more for them) and have been working my way up. I don't think I am doing anywhere near my max yet and I am cool building up slowly. Here are my currents stats: Squat 100lbs, Deadlift 100lbs, Bench 60lbs, Overhead press, 55lbs. HOWEVER I am by nature very competitive and want to know what my 1 rep max would be. How do you folks go for these? How do you guess what that max is.. do you start at say squat at 150lbs, if you can do that add 5 more, then 5 more etc.
Also, I work out alone so is it even safe for me to try max??

Thanks!!

Replies

  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Options
    I wouldn't test 1 rep maxes until you are at an intermediate level, personally. The reason is that a novice does not yet know how to produce maximum force--the skill just isn't there yet.*

    *edit: and you could get injured as a result. I think your work weights need to get heavy enough to where you know what you can handle.
  • cleotherio
    cleotherio Posts: 712 Member
    Options
    You will get closer to attempting your max as you progress in Stronglifts :) If you started with a good strength base and the first few weeks didn't seem to hard, things will get much harder over the next month. At some point you will start to "fail", as in not be able to five reps. And as bumblebums said, you'll have to know how to handle stuff that feels really heavy. I'd recommend waiting until you've stalled and broken through a few plateaus to get a better handle on how it will feel to attempt.
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
    Options
    there are also websites where you can put in your 5 rep max and it will calculate a 1 rep max from it.. so I occasionally do that to see 'well I'm doing 3x5 of x weight, where does it think I can go'.. which is interesting but not totally scientific!

    I've been doing SL for 6 months and haven't even thought of attempting 1RMs yet..
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Options
    there are also websites where you can put in your 5 rep max and it will calculate a 1 rep max from it.. so I occasionally do that to see 'well I'm doing 3x5 of x weight, where does it think I can go'.. which is interesting but not totally scientific!

    I've been doing SL for 6 months and haven't even thought of attempting 1RMs yet..

    It's a little hard to tell with those calculators, but I think they assume you did all the reps in one set--that is, if you put in 15 reps at X lbs, that would give you a 1 RM assuming a 15-rep set at that weight. You'll notice that the estimations look a lot more sobering when you do a calculation based on a 5 rep set with the same weight.
  • lwoodroff
    lwoodroff Posts: 1,431 Member
    Options
    yes, if I'm doing 3x5 I just put 1x5 in for the calculator :)
  • aliciaje
    aliciaje Posts: 83
    Options
    Thanks for your replies everyone! I am totally jumping the gun so I will just try and be patient then! 5lbs at a time...
  • Desterknee
    Desterknee Posts: 1,056 Member
    Options
    strstd.com
  • DaniH826
    DaniH826 Posts: 1,335 Member
    Options
    I'm still playing around in the kiddie pool and have in no way reached probably even half of my newbie gains, but I test my 1 RM every so often just for kicks. Then I go right back into the kiddie pool and keep going.

    Cause sometimes ... I just want to know what I can do. So I take them up by like 5 lbs at a time until I know I can do no more without losing form. It's fun. :smile:

Categories