Testing Max on 5/3/1

Training Over 35 Lifter
1

been running jim wendlers 5/3/1 programme am currently on my 4th cycle,question,when be good to test 1 rep maxes?? thanks in advance :slight_smile:

2

Iv’e done the following: (1) used the 1’s day as a test day and instead of repping out, taken a single to test; (2) taken an extra week before a deload to test after the 1’s day-week finished but used the same procedure as in option “1”; (3) ran a mini full-power-meet simulation a few days after my last 1’s day; (4) just tested one of my lifts on a 1’s day when I was curious on that particular lift; (5) tested one particular lift after a complete 1’s week but before a deload when I was curious about that lift. There’s no right or best answer, and the best approach for you probably depends on why you are testing, your schedule, and whether you are a PL’er with a meet coming up, for example.

3

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
Iv’e done the following: (1) used the 1’s day as a test day and instead of repping out, taken a single to test; (2) taken an extra week before a deload to test after the 1’s day-week finished but used the same procedure as in option “1”; (3) ran a mini full-power-meet simulation a few days after my last 1’s day; (4) just tested one of my lifts on a 1’s day when I was curious on that particular lift; (5) tested one particular lift after a complete 1’s week but before a deload when I was curious about that lift. There’s no right or best answer, and the best approach for you probably depends on why you are testing, your schedule, and whether you are a PL’er with a meet coming up, for example. [/quote]

thanks man,yes im a powerlifter,i lift raw,my next meet isnt until february 2013,just wanted to see what strenght gains im at now,i will test on my 5/3/1 week,just work up as if i was doing a meet :slight_smile:

4

Couple of other options:

  • I think Jim actually recommends waiting until you stall out to retest an actual max (usually 6-8 months at a time from his experience). Basically ride out the initial Training Max for as long as you can. Slow and Steady gains are the way to go, and they stick around the longest.

  • You can use the 1RM calculator based on a lower rep max. Meaning, if its 1+ week and you hit 300x3, thats an estimated max of 320, so you can just use that instead of actually testing to max.