Test Your Strength to Get a Year-End Guideline
Last week, we ran a little test to see how many reps you can do (be it push-ups or your favorite exercise) and how long you can hold something like a board. This week, let’s take a look at the classic 1RM strength test.
The idea is to determine the maximum weight you can lift. Powerlifting and weightlifting competitions are designed to give you maximum lift, but if you prefer to keep your true maximum effort on the platform, you can spend the day with the minimum maximum weight. Choose the heaviest weight you can lift smoothly or the one that makes you feel like you have a couple of reps in the tank.
Personally, I like to make the most of every chance I have, whether in competition, at the end of a multi-week training cycle, or almost every day on a program inspired by the Bulgarian theme . I record my maximum lifts in my training log each time I hit a new number, and it’s pretty amazing to look back comparing this year’s lifts to those I did last year.
However, a caveat: if you want to compare, you should choose the lifts that you have been working on all the time. If all you’ve done was push-ups, your bench press maximum may not be very impressive. But if you train your bench press for several weeks, your strength will quickly shift to a new format.
How to check your 1RM
If you’ve never tested your maximum before, or haven’t done it for a while, here’s how it goes.
Before you start, make sure that if you fail the lift, you can do it safely. If you are bench press, make sure you have a supervisor or stand with proper safety precautions. For squats, you can use a squat rack with the pins in place, or you can practice dropping the barbell if your equipment and space allows.
Everything is ready? Start warming up. Lift up a little weight that you know you can handle for a few reps, then put on some weight and continue again. Usually when I get about 80% of what I think would be my maximum, I do single exercises instead of multiple reps.
More than 85% or so, I only add 5% at a time and sometimes less. It’s much better to sneak up on a personal best than think, “Well, I just put on 180 pounds, so let’s get 200,” and fail. Pay attention to how each single feels – was it moving fast or was it boring? – before deciding how big a jump to make with the next one.
You ended up when you either miss a lift or when you do a lift that was so exhausting you know you can’t add another pound. Write down your new high in your diary – whether it’s ongoing PR or not – and congratulate yourself. Then start working on it next time.