“Hey, whadduya bench?”
What if you never tested your max?
What if you didn’t care to?
One of my clients asked me recently what I thought he could maximally lift in bench press based on his current level. While it’s impossible to know what his true one-repetition maximum (the maximal amount of weight he can bench just once – abbreviated as 1RM) is without testing it, here are two ways you can get a reasonably accurate guesstimate:
1) Calculate it. One of my old professors, Matt Brzycki, published a pretty good formula for guesstimating a 1RM performance based on reps to fatigue in a given exercise. The formula is as follows:
Predicted 1RM = (weight lifted)/1.0278 – .0278x
where x = number of reps performed (must be a number between 1 and 10)
Example: You test lift 190 for 8 reps. Using Brzycki’s method, your 1RM would be 236.
Don’t like math? exrx.net has an online 1RM calculator based on Brzycki’s equation. Thanks, Coach Matt!
2) Tables. If you’re looking for a bit more accuracy without the inherent danger of 1RM testing, using Mike Berry’s Table method for estimating 1RM might be in order. This would be applicable for athletes (as opposed to your run-of-the-mill gymgoer or weekend warrior) for whom it’d be nice to know 1RM – for programming purposes (kinda tough to design mesocycles without an assessment of what your athlete can do).
Berry’s method uses your 6-10RM (weight that fatigues you in 6-10 reps) weight load. By plugging the test results (actual reps performed and test weight) into his 1RM chart, you can quickly see a guesstimate of 1RM. He also makes coefficient factors for each rep total available, so if you test using a weight not on the chart, you’d simply multiply that weight by the coefficient factor that corresponded to the reps performed.
Example: You lifted 297lbs for 5 reps. Your 1RM is 341 lbs (297 x 1.148).
I’m certain some bored strength coach (or intern, more likely) calculated out every single possible value for a range of weights and posted them in tables on the web somewhere. With a bit of looking, I’m sure you could easily find such a table.
Filed under: Muscle and Strength Gain, Strength Training
