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% of 1RM for (?) reps

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  • 29-02-2016 7:56pm
    #1
    b_mac2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 454 ✭✭


    I have not been able to progress with my 1RM squat for a few weeks now and I am thinking of dropping the weight and increasing reps. Higher rep work has been totally neglected by me in the past, as I have focused on heavy singles, doubles and triples.

    Would like to know what kind of % of 1RM people here aim for in say 5x5 or 3x8?


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    #2
    Hanley
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,981 ✭✭✭✭Hanley


    95 x2
    90 x3
    85 x5
    80 x8

    Give or take. When you move to multipl sets there's too many variables.

    You can estimate it yourself more accurately if you know your 1RM.


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    #3
    b_mac2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 454 ✭✭b_mac2


    Hanley wrote: »
    95 x2

    ****, no way could I get 95% of my 1RM(170kg) for two reps. Time to strip the bar down and build up the number of reps.

    Thanks-


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    #4
    Mellor
    Registered Users Posts: 39,157 ✭✭✭✭Mellor


    What reps/loads where you using for singles/doubles/triples previously.

    If you can do a legit 170kg single, then I would have expected that you'd get 160kg for a double.


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    #5
    b_mac2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 454 ✭✭b_mac2


    Mellor wrote: »
    What reps/loads where you using for singles/doubles/triples previously.

    If you can do a legit 170kg single, then I would have expected that you'd get 160kg for a double.

    Well, you would expect wrong then. I can get 150kg for two reps, but that would be about it, unless I went for a very very long and messy third rep.

    I`m only looking for advice on a stagnant lift, not to try win the internet weightlifting competition. I`m sure my PB is tiny in comparison to others here anyway...


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    #6
    Hanley
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,981 ✭✭✭✭Hanley


    b_mac2 wrote: »
    Well, you would expect wrong then. I can get 150kg for two reps, but that would be about it, unless I went for a very very long and messy third rep.

    I`m only looking for advice on a stagnant lift, not to try win the internet weightlifting competition. I`m sure my PB is tiny in comparison to others here anyway...

    Any videos of those 2RMS?

    Sometimes they actually look a lot easier than they feel... you can't trust your body when it comes to that sorta stuff :)


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    #7
    b_mac2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 454 ✭✭b_mac2


    Hanley wrote: »
    Any videos of those 2RMS?

    Sometimes they actually look a lot easier than they feel... you can't trust your body when it comes to that sorta stuff :)

    I`ll get someone to video me later up at the gym. Be interesting to see what you make of my form...


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    #8
    Mellor
    Registered Users Posts: 39,157 ✭✭✭✭Mellor


    b_mac2 wrote: »
    Well, you would expect wrong then. I can get 150kg for two reps, but that would be about it, unless I went for a very very long and messy third rep.

    I`m only looking for advice on a stagnant lift, not to try win the internet weightlifting competition. I`m sure my PB is tiny in comparison to others here anyway...
    Don't sell yourself short. 170kg is a big squat imo. I'd say it's definitely bigger than most, but regardless as you say you are only trying to progress your own lifts.

    If you could get a third rep at 150, even a slow one. I'd call that a triple. There always be a bit of grind with a max. It's around the 90% figure posted above too.
    I think recording a double/triple as suggested is a good idea. It may not look as tough as they feel. I've been recording a lot of my sets lately, I think it can be a big help to review.


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    #9
    b_mac2
    Closed Accounts Posts: 454 ✭✭b_mac2


    Didn't manage to get anything done today, but found a video I took awhile back. No major weight or anything with pause on the first and normal on the second, critique as ye see fit...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrfEEwXWYtY


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    #10
    Hanley
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 21,981 ✭✭✭✭Hanley


    b_mac2 wrote: »
    Didn't manage to get anything done today, but found a video I took awhile back. No major weight or anything with pause on the first and normal on the second, critique as ye see fit...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrfEEwXWYtY

    Without seeing a video of a 1RM and 2RM from the same day any critique from me in the context of the thread would be meaningless :)

    Reason I say "same day" is because 10 weeks ago I squatted 245 easier than I squatted 220 yesterday, so comparing lifts across time is relatively pointless!

    I'm sure someone else will be able to comment on tekkers in current vids!


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    #11
    MightyMandarin
    Registered Users Posts: 3,723 ✭✭✭MightyMandarin


    The video was removed so I can't judge you on anything I've seen.

    If 170kg is your 1rm that doesn't mean you could squat 160kg on any given day, that just means you could squat 160kg for 2reps on a day when you could squat 170kg for 1 rep. That's how 1rm calculators work, and they're pretty accurate up until about 8RM or so; after that the results are pretty wild.

    Strength is quite variable, and certainly the stronger you are the greater the difference between a 'good day' and a 'bad day' is, because a 10% swing for someone whose max is 250kg is 25kg, whereas for someone whose max is 150kg, 10% is only 15kg.

    The stronger you get, the greater the gap in kilos between 80% of your max (which theoretically you should be able to hit on any given day) and 100% of your max becomes.

    To answer your OP, doing 5x5 is usually indicative of around 80%, and 3x8 indicates less than 80%. I've done >80% for 5x5 before but it was very hard, while doing <80% is too easy imo.


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    #12
    Mellor
    Registered Users Posts: 39,157 ✭✭✭✭Mellor


    MightyMandarin wrote: »
    If 170kg is your 1rm that doesn't mean you could squat 160kg on any given day, that just means you could squat 160kg for 2reps on a day when you could squat 170kg for 1 rep. That's how 1rm calculators work, and they're pretty accurate up until about 8RM or so;
    This is a great way to describe/explain it.


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    #13
    arayess
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,707 ✭✭✭arayess


    just to add it varies per person - I have read there is a a mean and variance across the population to the number of rep you can bang out at a percent of your 1 rm - which makes sense we aren't all the same.

    Interestingly I read once that somewhere that there was a correlation between body types and this . which is plausible.

    personally i have found a big difference in what I can do at say 80% of my 1rm between lifts.
    I can squat all day long* but cant bench all day long...



    * clearly not literally ....


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    #14
    COH
    Registered Users Posts: 7,111 ✭✭✭COH


    People with low NME (neuro-muscular efficiency) will be able to crank out more repetitions at near maximal weights than people with high NME.

    As such 1RM calculators offer approximate guidelines but aren't accurate for everyone. In my experience (personally and with clients) their reliability decreases exponentially beyond 5 reps but that is not set in stone - as in your NME is a trainable quality and while a calculator may not be accurate today that is not to say that the calculator may not be very accurate for you in six months or a year etc.

    I have a really cool spreadsheet on approximate 1rms based off multiple to sets (5x5, 3x3 etc) I'll see if I can dig it up and will post a link if I can locate it...


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