Opinions on the One Rep Max Testing...

[Gibbee]

Donna

I did 1RM testing on the exercises listed as 4 or 5 stars (mostly basic exercises) and then 'guessed' from there when I was working out. I generally found I was able to pick the 'right' weight from that point on. Doing this will save some time.

[iheartsts]

Prior to week 1, I did the 1 rep max for only the exercises coming up for that week. Then, sometime during the weekend prior to Week 2, I cranked out the 1RM for the Week 2 exercises, etc. As the weeks went on, there were fewer and fewer remaining to be done. I didn't do any 1 rep maxes for the leg workouts, so it went faster.

Doing it that way didn't seem as daunting. I just did them as they came up. Don't know if that makes any sense....

Good luck to you!

[counterclockwise]

Originally Posted by Jules

I did do the 1RM testing for my first round.I have found it to be very helpful. Without knowing my 1RM, I am positive I would have underestimated what I should be lifting by quite a bit. It is also very helpful to know what weights I will need before each workout so I can set them up in advance. Meso 1 moves very quickly and there isn't much time to mess around.

I also did them, and ITA! There are very many similar exercises (like tons of back row variations) that you can use just one test for, too.

[Mandy]

I was lazy at first and didn't want to but then when I saw that Cathe has the 1 rep max tutorial in the workout manager, it wasn't that hard. The hard part was doing it. You have to lift pretty heavy to get to failure at 10 reps. I was worried about getting injured. And I did injure my shoulder trying to do a 1 rep max for 1 arm tricep press.

It was a workout just figuring out the 1 rep max. I found to my surprise that I was not lifting as heavy as I could. It pushed me to higher levels in strength training, yes, but my joints felt it too. My joints felt achy.

My feelings on STS is that I need a spotter for some exercises and don't have one. I do have her Tower but I got pinned down doing a chest press with a heavy barbell and couldn't get the barbell up to the tower and couldn't get someone to help me. I had to lower the barbell to the side and thankfully, didn't get injured.
It kind of scared me to do STS since then. This was for the Meso 2 Hypertrophy where you use heavier weights and lots of sets.

[Helen]

There are 2 standard equations to calculate your 1RM. One blows up & gives negative numbers with higher reps (hence sticking with less than 10), the other works for higher reps. They're both only guides but the latter gives numbers similar to the first for reps under 10, and might help save you time by

1) not having to enter them into an online calculator, and
2) avoid repeating the exercise with a heavier weight a day or so later due to reaching failure with more than 10 reps.

One-rep-max = weight x (reps x 0.033 + 1)

[Kimberly33]

Originally Posted by DHKWriter

Forgive me for bringing this up if there's already been extensive discussion, but when I try to search it, the search engine deletes ONE and REP and I don't end up with any useful results.

Generally, for a search on short words, tag searches work MUCH better than the regular search. (That said, I haven't tried a tag search on '1rm' or 'one rep max').

[nora]

I did the one rep max testing for almost all the exercises. It took me quite a while, and I counted each session as a weight workout in itself. At the time, I was glad I did it because it taught me that I could lift heavier and go for a bigger weight than I might otherwise have gone for.

But that's it. I wouldn't/couldn't recommend that anyone invest the time. Just adjust your weight higher for each exercise than you think you should. That was my only lesson learned in the end.

On the other hand, I still keep the sheets I printed out as reference points, so I guess it was of some use.

I felt that I gained in strength and muscle definition when I did STS, so all good!

[JP44]

Originally Posted by Mandy

I was lazy at first and didn't want to but then when I saw that Cathe has the 1 rep max tutorial in the workout manager, it wasn't that hard. The hard part was doing it. You have to lift pretty heavy to get to failure at 10 reps. I was worried about getting injured. And I did injure my shoulder trying to do a 1 rep max for 1 arm tricep press.

It was a workout just figuring out the 1 rep max. I found to my surprise that I was not lifting as heavy as I could. It pushed me to higher levels in strength training, yes, but my joints felt it too. My joints felt achy.

My feelings on STS is that I need a spotter for some exercises and don't have one. I do have her Tower but I got pinned down doing a chest press with a heavy barbell and couldn't get the barbell up to the tower and couldn't get someone to help me. I had to lower the barbell to the side and thankfully, didn't get injured.
It kind of scared me to do STS since then. This was for the Meso 2 Hypertrophy where you use heavier weights and lots of sets.

Wow! That's really terrifying! I'm glad you're okay and were able to figure a a way out of this.

I disagree w/ the 1 rep max approach for home lifting esp. for this reason. I also think your 1 rep max is affected by the exercises you do before it during the actual workout. (Your x% 1 rep max lunge strength is affected by how many squats you did before it at at your x% 1 rep max strength, etc.)

Just do the workouts 2x each. See how much you can push it each time, SAFELY. Don't risk hurting yourself or putting your life in danger for a workout.

Joan

[FirmDancer]

Mandy - Yikes! You're very fortunate; I'm glad you were able to manipulate the bar to get it off you.

FWIW - that was a concern I had about STS and the chest presses, since it's a home workout. I lift "heavy" and *never* do barbell bench/chest presses by myself. I use dumbbells. Maybe that idea is useful for others.

[DHKWriter]

Originally Posted by FirmDancer

FWIW - that was a concern I had about STS and the chest presses, since it's a home workout. I lift "heavy" and *never* do barbell bench/chest presses by myself. I use dumbbells. Maybe that idea is useful for others.

This is excellent advice. My mothers's friend lost a son this way.

Donna