Backsquat
3-3-3-3-3
then
Press
1-1-1
The 3RM back squat is part of the yearly benchmark series.  Log your score!

 

What’s My 1 RM?

Today we’ll work up to a 3 rep max back squat.  This 3RM  lift is part of the yearly benchmark series and this will be the second of four times in which we do this lift and rep set over a 12 month period.

Many athletes wonder, “If I can do 3 reps for a certain amount of weight, how much does that mean I can lift for one rep?”

Of course, there’s no exact science to this as sleep, each training day, warm-up, effort, among other factors play a role, but there are a number of strength and conditioning coaches who have published methods to calculate a hypothetical one rep max based off of a 3, 5, or 7 rep lift.

This website can be a useful tool in predicting your 1 rep max based off of your 3 rep max.  Simply enter in the weight lifted and the number of reps and your hypothetical one rep max will appear at the top of the righthand box.

If you did the 3 rep max back squat for this time and last, it’s fun to put in both numbers and see how your one rep max has increased over the past 4 months, not because you’ve been lifting at the top end of your strength all the time, but because you’ve been adding more to the base.

For today’s press 1 rep max, you could enter an old press workout you’ve logged and see your hypothetical 1 rep max you should aim for for today.  This not only gives you a goal but can help instruct your warm-up sets and where to start your first set.

Questions?  Post to comments.