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Should you 1 rep max?
ninerbuff
Posts: 48,982 Member
in Debate Club
This is a subject that's discussed in my gym often. My personal opinion is that it's not needed unless you're a competing athlete in powerlifting. Other than that, it's mostly for ego because in most cases it's not really achieving goals of just being healthy, hypertrophy, or fitness. The risk of injury increases tremendously with them and in some cases can totally stop some from performing the standard exercise of that lift.
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Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
2
Replies
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This is a subject that's discussed in my gym often. My personal opinion is that it's not needed unless you're a competing athlete in powerlifting. Other than that, it's mostly for ego because in most cases it's not really achieving goals of just being healthy, hypertrophy, or fitness. The risk of injury increases tremendously with them and in some cases can totally stop some from performing the standard exercise of that lift.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
*or weightlifting 😉 just saying1 -
Bump because I’m interested to hear what others think. Ninerbuff’s arguments seem valid to me.0
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No one else has commented so I’ll throw my hat into the ring. I max out probably three times a year (depending on competition schedules) but actually I rarely go for PBs in competition as it’s risky for the score. Instead I’ll pb - if I can - during a peak in my training beforehand. It means I can slowly go up in each comp (or aim to, on the day all sorts can go wrong) and improve the kilos I can lift in a recorded competition for my national affiliation.
I go up reeeeaaaally slowly on the 1RM because it is dangerous to get it wrong - in weightlifting the bar is overhead and you really don’t want to drop it on your head.
Would I max out if I didn’t compete? Probably occasionally so that I know what my 75% is for training plans, but that can also be determined by how easy a weight or lift is. I often use “reps in reserve” which allows me to train how I feel that day, whether well rested and strong, or tired and weak.
I often get asked how much I can lift and I will always engage with the conservation but it’s kind of a moot point. I’ve lifted at only 75% of my max but felt like I was holding the earth above my head. Those times give me more back, and I learn more from them, than a PB ever can (speaking personally).
And the days when I lift the bar out of the rack and wonder how 15kg can feel so heavy are the days when I know it will be hard and horrible!3 -
A couple of arguments I get are "well how will you ever get stronger?".
You can get stronger doing 3-5 reps increasing the resistance. That's why actual competitors train doing doubles, triples etc.
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Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition 1 -
For the general public just wanting to look good naked, you don't really ever have to drop to but like 5 reps on an exercise, and even then, doing 10-15 reps on a set to failure is much safer than less.
And really the only exercises I do that few reps on are squats and deadlifts at my "advanced" age (I'm 42). And even then, I have 3-5 RIR. I don't like going to failure on deads at all period (again, I stop with a guestimated 3-5 RIR), and squats I'll only do it with lighter weight after I've pre-exhausted my quads.
You start to care about safety when you get old like me.0 -
Do you need to DO a 1RM? No.
Do you need to KNOW your 1RM? Yes.
There are calculators available to estimate your 1RM based on how much you lift for multiple reps, with the fewer the reps the more accurate the estimate is likely to be. Many lifting plans ask you to select a weight based upon a percentage of your 1RM, so you should be aware of it, and periodically retest where it may be (every 3-6 months or so). But the risk of injury rises rapidly the closer you get to actually trying your 1RM, so I agree most people don't need to actually attempt it. (The only times I've had to miss time due to injury were all associated with attempting an actual 1RM lift.)0 -
Yes. While again while it may be an estimate, it's RISK FREE to know.Do you need to DO a 1RM? No.
Do you need to KNOW your 1RM? Yes.
There are calculators available to estimate your 1RM based on how much you lift for multiple reps, with the fewer the reps the more accurate the estimate is likely to be. Many lifting plans ask you to select a weight based upon a percentage of your 1RM, so you should be aware of it, and periodically retest where it may be (every 3-6 months or so). But the risk of injury rises rapidly the closer you get to actually trying your 1RM, so I agree most people don't need to actually attempt it. (The only times I've had to miss time due to injury were all associated with attempting an actual 1RM lift.)
I've been around long enough to see several people I know attempt PR's and get injured with a few having to abandon that lift permanently due to the injury they sustained from it.
Even influencers are getting injured (one even dying recently) or will be suffering from it later in age due to wanting to impress their followers.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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For years I did CrossFit and knowing your 1RM was good as a base for workout based on the movements and suggested weights… I would think it’s a personal thing. If it matters to you fine it… if not, don’t worry about it… probably depends on the person.0
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victoriaclark9447 wrote: »For years I did CrossFit and knowing your 1RM was good as a base for workout based on the movements and suggested weights… I would think it’s a personal thing. If it matters to you fine it… if not, don’t worry about it… probably depends on the person.
You can estimate you 1RM accurately without having to actually do it. There are formulas based off 3 rep max to help determine it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
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Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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victoriaclark9447 wrote: »For years I did CrossFit and knowing your 1RM was good as a base for workout based on the movements and suggested weights… I would think it’s a personal thing. If it matters to you fine it… if not, don’t worry about it… probably depends on the person.
You can estimate you 1RM accurately without having to actually do it. There are formulas based off 3 rep max to help determine it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
That sounds awfully like the guy who swears he can do 100 pushups because he can do 10 without breaking a sweat.
Have they actually determined these formulas to be accurate and worthy estimates because this is the first time I'm ever hearing about it.0 -
Single reps aren't the same as counting multiple reps because one is based more on endurance that strength.nolongergordo wrote: »victoriaclark9447 wrote: »For years I did CrossFit and knowing your 1RM was good as a base for workout based on the movements and suggested weights… I would think it’s a personal thing. If it matters to you fine it… if not, don’t worry about it… probably depends on the person.
You can estimate you 1RM accurately without having to actually do it. There are formulas based off 3 rep max to help determine it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
That sounds awfully like the guy who swears he can do 100 pushups because he can do 10 without breaking a sweat.
Have they actually determined these formulas to be accurate and worthy estimates because this is the first time I'm ever hearing about it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I don't see why they wouldn't be quite accurate. Try it yourself some time.nolongergordo wrote: »Have they actually determined these formulas to be accurate and worthy estimates because this is the first time I'm ever hearing about it.
e.g. here, and scroll down the page to see the estimate for each rep count up to 30 reps.
https://strengthlevel.com/one-rep-max-calculator
I 100% agree with OP btw, especially at my age. No need whatsoever for me to even contemplate doing a 1RM, also that would be by myself in my home gym room.0 -
nolongergordo wrote: »victoriaclark9447 wrote: »For years I did CrossFit and knowing your 1RM was good as a base for workout based on the movements and suggested weights… I would think it’s a personal thing. If it matters to you fine it… if not, don’t worry about it… probably depends on the person.
You can estimate you 1RM accurately without having to actually do it. There are formulas based off 3 rep max to help determine it.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
That sounds awfully like the guy who swears he can do 100 pushups because he can do 10 without breaking a sweat.
Have they actually determined these formulas to be accurate and worthy estimates because this is the first time I'm ever hearing about it.
It’s fairly accurate for me at least - I’ve used it for squats, snatch, cleans - accurate to a KG or two which is enough when trying to work out 1RM for training purposes.0 -
Personally, when I use the calculators off my 3RM it gives a pretty good estimate of my 1RM. But if I use my 10RM instead, the calculated 1RM is a bit off.0
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Here’s my take on it coming from someone who’s not a pro but had my fair share of injuries,I think firstly it depends on the person and what type of sport they’re in, if a bodybuilder is doing it I personally see no point in hitting 1RM since the rep ranges usually r from 8-20 so it just depends on the sport, for me tho maxing out weights did me no good got a herniated disc with some nerve issues and that was a pain to heal and no exercise felt normal so heavy weights def comes with a lot of risks as an injury is every lifters worst nightmare, so if someone were to test out their maxes they just better be using correct form,make sure they learn proper bracing and are hydrated well fed ,rested.
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Single rep if you are competing. Otherwise the risk/reward scale will tell you not to.0
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For me it is ego lifting. I don't do it often but I enjoy seeing how far I can push the boundaries. But when I do I'm extremely mindful about form0
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Completely agree with ninerbuff. Sometimes in my gym we do what they call “a hard one.” This means you can do the rep with good form but honestly feel like you could do a second rep.
If you need to know a percentage, just add a small amount to your “hard one” and calculate, or just use a slightly higher percentage eg 78instead of 75%.
No need to actually test 1 rm unless competitive.0
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