[quote]Lowery38595 wrote:
I really dont feel like finding my real maxes for exercies. I have a good idea of where they are at though. Do you guys think it would be okay to estimate my maxes then knock off 10% even if it is a little on the lighter side?
[/quote]
check your pm!
Wendler also gives a formula to calculate you max … that way, you can compare your progress from different lifts e.g which is a stronger performance, 320 x 5 or 290 x 8 ??? Only to give you an idea that you are progressing.
[quote]Magarhe wrote:
Wendler also gives a formula to calculate you max … that way, you can compare your progress from different lifts e.g which is a stronger performance, 320 x 5 or 290 x 8 ??? Only to give you an idea that you are progressing.
[/quote]
i emailed a few peoples with the formula…didnt feel comfortable posting it for free right now since the book just came out…maybe later but people who are regular on T-Nation feel free to ask!!
The formula was posted in Wendler’s Q&A, so don’t feel bad about posting it.
Formula: weight x reps x 0.03 + weight= 1 rep max
Example: 325 lbs for 6 reps= 325 x 6 x 0.03 + 325 = 383.5 lbs. (approximate 1 rep max)
Link: http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=83022&tid=164
it doesnt make a HUGE difference (few lbs), but the formula Wendler uses is actually …reps x .0333
meaning, .0333, not .03
at least thats what it was when i saw it…
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
it doesnt make a HUGE difference (few lbs), but the formula Wendler uses is actually …reps x .0333
meaning, .0333, not .03
at least thats what it was when i saw it…[/quote]
You’re right. I went off of the one on the Q&A, but I just looked at the manual.
So corrected the example would come to 389.935 lbs. 1 RM.
I was suprised at how high this formula estimated my max squat.
Does it seem pretty accurate to to everyone else?
Above 8 reps it seems to get pretty optimistic, other than that it seems to be pretty accurate for my lifts.
You can use Brzycki’s percentages too.
Take your poundage and number of reps. reverse calc to the 1 rep max. If you can’t work out the maths for that, then there is no point living.
But if you need an example here:
5 reps of 220 is 86% of 1rm
1 / 0.86 = 1.162790698
1.162790698 x 220 = 255.8139535
Your 1RM is 256 roughly.
Is this perfect? No. Is anything? Even a 1 rep personal best isn’t really your 1RM it is just the best for the day at the time.
Reps Percentage
1 100%
2 95%
3 90%
4 88%
5 86%
6 83%
7 80%
8 78%
9 76%
10 75%
11 72%
12 70%
Just to throw in a reality check, but you’re really not going to know what your 1RM is until you actually do it. It’s like the band tension questions they get over at Elite all the time, “Well, I squatted 275 with a doubled green band off a 12” box, what’s my 1 rep max?"
The only way to know for sure is to get under the bar and do it.
Well apparently there a article in menhealth on the 5/3/1…anyone with a link …im just curious to see it…scan,copy,jpg etc!!
argh
[quote]Just to throw in a reality check, but you’re really not going to know what your 1RM is until you actually do it. It’s like the band tension questions they get over at Elite all the time, “Well, I squatted 275 with a doubled green band off a 12” box, what’s my 1 rep max?"
The only way to know for sure is to get under the bar and do it.[/quote]
I disagree - unless you get yourself in competition shape, and take time off before you try your 1RM, you are never going to really know what it is. Even if you pick a weight that you can only do 1 rep with.
If you do max effort training and do a 1RM often, whether that be weekly or monthly, you still don’t really know what it is, because it is NOT the maximum you could do, just the maximum you can do at that time when you still have residual fatigue in your system. So unless you take time off before and get yourself ready like you are in a contest, you won’t really know it.
But - WHO CARES? You don’t have to be that precise.
Also, who is to say that 85% is the right % to use to do 5 reps? etc… why not 86%? 84%? it is all quibbling over numbers. It does not have to be that precise because the fact that you do the last set for as many reps as you need means you “take up the slack” in the system … if 85% wasn’t enough of a workout for you, doing the extra reps will make it a good workout. It is a self-adjusting system. Which is why it does not need to be so precise and you don’t need a perfect 1RM.
I’d like to add that I don’t like cookie cutter routines … if they say do X sets of Y reps and there is nothing in the system to tell you what to do to progress, how intense it should be etc… what to do if you stall, well that is an incomplete system.
[quote]crankMAN wrote:
Well apparently there a article in menhealth on the 5/3/1…anyone with a link …im just curious to see it…scan,copy,jpg etc!![/quote]
It’s in Men’s Fitness. The regular article isn’t available online, but a continuation of it is:
[quote]Ryan71 wrote:
crankMAN wrote:
Well apparently there a article in menhealth on the 5/3/1…anyone with a link …im just curious to see it…scan,copy,jpg etc!!
It’s in Men’s Fitness. The regular article isn’t available online, but a continuation of it is:
www.mensfitness.com/fitness/workout_routines/451
[/quote]
Thanks man…hey people cant get some template for free!!
Anyway good article, i tought menfitness and al those magazine were just shitty but i found some good article on menfitness with some author of T-Nation,Zach Even Esh, Jim Smith, Cosgrove etc…
Will be nice to see a article on the 5/3/1 on T-Nation!
yea, ive noticed that certain magazines seem to perhaps be doing some more research these days, instead of regurgitating the same old 3 sets of 10 crap.
[quote]ultimatethor wrote:
Just to throw in a reality check, but you’re really not going to know what your 1RM is until you actually do it. It’s like the band tension questions they get over at Elite all the time, “Well, I squatted 275 with a doubled green band off a 12” box, what’s my 1 rep max?"
The only way to know for sure is to get under the bar and do it. [/quote]
ha ha good post
so true. I can rep all day but holding or pulling that weight is entirely different
I suppose the more appropriate response is “my 10 rep max is …”,but who really cares about 10 rep maxes?
[quote]Lowery38595 wrote:
I really dont feel like finding my real maxes for exercies. I have a good idea of where they are at though. Do you guys think it would be okay to estimate my maxes then knock off 10% even if it is a little on the lighter side?
[/quote]
that is exactly what I did and has worked out great, don’t be afraid of starting too low; maybe try to find your 3 or 5 rep max and use that weight as your 1 rep max
I dont think these formulas are meant to tell you your actual 1 rep max. Too many individual factors to consider.
They are, as Jim says a good way to monitor progress.
The one mistake I made while using 5/3/1 during late November and through December was to try and combine the 5x10 from the Boring But Big template with my WS4SB template.
Prior to that, my training was going well by using the WS4SB template but using 5/3/1 for my main lifts only (squat and bench) and then using the rest of the exercises from the WS4SB template.
But just the addition of the 5x10 on squat and bench along with the rest of the exercises killed me. Not only did I feel beat down after the training sessions, but when I retested my maxes, I had actually lost strength!
Next time I use the 5/3/1 template, I’ll know better. Keep it simple and just follow it like Jim has laid it out.