Should the pro 5’s TM be 85%. I am wondering if a TM of 80 would be better.
I’m starting my 5’s PRO cycle in 2 weeks with 85% TM
Assuming it’s 5’s Pro, 5x5FSL, 85% is good. It’s already a lighter template and 85% is the TM that works better for most people accross all degrees of age, experience and such.
If you’re very old and/or coming back from injuries and/or strong as fuq, you might want to tone it down to 80%.
Personally I do not deal in percentages when choosing a training max - I set a training max that will allow me to get 10 reps on my 95% set of the 5/3/1 week. I’ve not tested my 1, 3 or 5 rep max in a long time since I really have no ambitions to compete, so it’s hard to tell what my percentage is. I can hit all my training maxes for 5 solid reps and even get 10 without it being a total grind.
I’m doing the original 5/3/1 for my anchor so what I did was plan what weight I wanted to hit for my 1+ set on the last day (and this would be more than 5 reps) then worked backwards to figure out what my starting TM would be depending on how many total cycles I would do. By having the end goal be a small PR with a 5RM or higher it means all prior weeks have no problem getting the 5s Pro reps because they are all less than that.
Start with 85%. Train. Check progress. Make notes in your training journal. Assess.
Good? Then stay with it. Bad? Drop to 80% or jump to 90%. Train. Check progress via training journal. Assess.
In general, each lift will have a sweet spot, as mentioned in the Forever book. That is why you constantly use programs to assess each and every lift/program. We have people on the forum that have done this and have accurately figured out each lift simply by assessing and keeping detailed training journal.
The only question is if you want to do the work required to use your experience.
Came in to basically post the second half of Jim’s post.
Personally I found 80% for Squat, 90% for the presses, and 85% deadlift fitted me.
You’ll likely be different, after a couple of cycles at 85% for all you should have a good idea.