How to Calculate Your One Rep Maximum
Step-by-step Instructions
Here is what you need to do...
Step 1
For all weightlifters, whether you're amateur, professional, bodybuilding, powerlifting, or just doing it to keep up with athletics, calculating a one rep maximum is something that is both fun to do and very helpful towards gauging your strength. Figuring out your one rep max is typically done for large exercises such as the bench press, squat, deadlift, or the Olympic lifts (hang cleans, power cleans, squat cleans, power presses), but it can also be applied to normal exercises like the curl, shoulder press, leg press, or even the upright row.
Step 2
There are two notable ways to calculate your one rep max. Doing this can be a great motivational boost, or a nice kick to put you in high gear. Either way, figuring out your one rep max is something that should be done at one time or another. This way, you can continue moving forward and growing as a weight lifter, no matter which part of the lifting spectrum you fall under.
Step 3
The first way to calculate your one rep max involves doing a little bit of math. If you need it. buy yourself an old fashioned calculator in order to help with the somewhat complex calculations. Ok, so this method goes as follows: perform a set of whatever exercise until failure. For instance, a set of squats for 7 reps with 205 lbs. After you do your set, get your calculator out. Take the number of reps you did, and multiply it by .033. Then, add 1 to this number. Take that number, and multiply it by the amount of weight you just lifted. The resulting number should (by all reasonable calculations) be within 5 lbs. either way of your actual one rep max. This is a cool way to predict how strong you are before you decide to hop underneath a weight that is far too heavy, or far too light. Use this calculation as a guide-bar to move on to the next way of figuring out your one rep max.
Step 4
The second way to calculate your one rep max is to simply get underneath the bar and lift. If you've used the calculation above, you should be relatively sure of how heavy you're able to go. Put the weight to whatever you think you can manage, grab yourself a trustworthy spotter, and do that one rep. This method does not require a calculator, and it yields directly accurate results. If the rep seems all too easy, up the weight by tiny increments until you discover your true maximum for one single rep.
Step 5
Once you know your one rep max, you can start working towards making that weight a 8-10 rep resistance level. This is a fantastic way to continue setting goals for your strength, which will help increase your size. If you're an athlete, this will be especially helpful, as it can serve as a way to gauge your strength against your peers, and continue using your competitive spirit in order to further your athleticism.
Special Attention
Difficulties people often experience or parts that need special attention to do it right.
Figuring out your one rep max with the calculator method can be a little bit vague, so going forth and actually putting yourself to the 1-rep test is the most accurate way to figure this out. It can be hard to lift weight for a single rep, so make sure you have a spotter and that you're pumped up and feeling ready to break some personal records.
Stuff You'll Need
| Brand | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Avalon 12 Digit Dual Powered Desktop Calculator, Tilted LCD Display, Silver | No Price |
Suggested Further Reading
| Author | Title | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Nutrient Timing: The Future of Sports Nutrition | No Price |
This Student Author
This Student Author's Background
Funny or interesting story about this topic...
Some people tend to take their one rep max tests a little too far. One kid I knew was insistent on finding his absolute one rep max for squats. He had some pretty strong legs, so he decided to start with 315 and see what he could do. Normally, during our training sessions, I would restrict him to 225 in order to prevent injury or overexert the knees. He was easily able to put 315 up though, so he moved on to 335. He did 335 no problem as well. At this point, though, your legs begin to tire out. He moved up to 365 and gave it a shot. He was unable to get it up. I recommended that he lower the weight to something between 335 and 365, but he refused. Being competitive, he saw that failure as a challenge and wanted nothing more than to avenge himself. He tried doing 365 for an entire hour that day. He would take long rests, get some water, listen to some pump up music, and then hop back under the bar and give the rep a go. In the end, he was unable to get 365 that day, and I had to explain to him that he had already exhausted his legs. The next time we came in for leg day, he put 365 on the bar immediately after the warmup set, and was able to squat it like a beast. So, the lesson here is that when you're figuring out your one rep max, make sure you give yourself proper time to recuperate and you analyze your results by considering every available factor.
When did you first do this & how did you get started?
I first started figuring out my one rep max on different exercises within a month of going to the gym. It's pretty natural for every lifter to want to gauge the utmost level of his strength. So go out there and figure out how strong you are- then maybe teach your friends and you guys can compete among each other. Happy lifting!
J