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You can test as frequently as every four weeks, or at the end of a program (12 weeks). You can record your best plank time and work to increase the time each week, or record your maximum reps for exercises like push-ups and chin-ups. If you’re following the home program, you can test your strength and fitness abilities in different ways. The lift should be challenging, but achievable! If there is no weight percentage outlined in your program, aim for between 40-60% of your 1RM depending on the number of reps required. Your programming will often prescribe a percentage of your 1RM. Make sure you also get adequate rest between each of your sets! You should give it everything you’ve got (with correct technique and safety your main priority). Your 1RM is your absolute max possible weight lifted. Then, moving onto 70% for a few reps and so on. From there you can move up to 60% of your predicted 1RM and perform 5 or so reps. Start by warming up with your own selected weight and roughly 40-50% of your predicted 1RM for 6-10 reps. If you have a Testing Day scheduled, try avoiding strenuous training the day before or after. A one-rep max (1RM) is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single rep of a given exercise. I t’s always a good idea to have a coach or training partner present on your Max Testing Day for spotting and encouragement. Your 1RM is also a good indicator for your working weights for other exercises.
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Knowing your 1RMs gives a good indication of your progress if you set aside time to test every few months.īasing your working weights (the weights being lifted during your regular BOD workouts) on 1RMs ensures you are strategically selecting weights that are ideal for the kind of session or volume about to be lifted. Testing your 1RM is important for a few key reasons: Often, the exercises tested for 1RMs include the squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press. A 1RM is the maximum amount of weight you can lift for a single rep for an exercise. These percentages are a reflection of your 1 Rep Maximum (or 1RM for short). If you’re following a training plan, you may have noticed percentages across the board of your program.
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