KNOW
YOUR OWN
STRENGTH
Part of getting stronger
is knowing your one-rep
max, or 1RM for short.
Here are the two most
common ways to
determine this key number.THE HARD WAY...
To establish your current
one-rep max on any
exercise, you can do an
old-fashioned test if you
have a spotter on hand to
help. Start with a handful of
very light, easy sets of the
exercise you’re about to
test yourself on; you’ll want
to do enough to increase
the blood flow to the
working muscles but not so
much that you drain your
strength. Next, you’ll want
to pyramid, with your target
1RM in mind — that is, where
you think you’ll end up
based on your historical
numbers on the lift. For
instance, if you think you’ll
be able to bench 110kg for
one rep, you might start at
75 for three reps, then 90
for two reps, then 100 for
one rep, and 110 for one.
If you successfully lift
that amount without help
or extreme effort, add
2.5 to 5 kilos and try
one more rep.THE EASY WAY...
Doing a one-rep-max test
for one lift is challenging.
Attempting multiple
one-rep-max tests for
major lifts for each of your
body parts is just plain
crazy. Instead, estimating
based on how much
you can lift for 10 reps
is the answer. Essentially,
you figure out what you
can handle for 10 reps —
that means failing at
10 and not being able to
eke out any more — and
then multiply the weight
in pounds by 1.33. Going
back to the bench as an
example, let’s say you
could do 85kg (187 pounds)
for 10 reps: 187 x 1.33 =
248.71 or 113kg, which
you’d round up to 115.
It’s an imperfect system,
admittedly, but safer
and certainly applicable
when it comes to setting
your goals and measuring
progress over time.FLEXONLINE.COM.AU | FLEX 93Before worrying about
increasing your strength,
you want to make
sure your form is spot on.