What % to use when retesting 1RMs?

[jzt]

Hello everyone,

I'm finishing up week 2 of 6 of Operator and it's going great so far.

I read the whole book, but couldn't find a clear cut answer regarding what % to use when retesting 1RMs at the end of the block (when that strategy applies ex: vs rerunning a block).

For example, I started off at 5 x 155 on the Press (≈1RM of 181) before I started (Test week). I figured that if I hit the last week's numbers (95%) for triples when I'll test my 1RM, it will be a PR: 3 x 172 (≈1RM 189).

Using the same starting weights I hit 5 reps with and trying to hit a rep PR would also be an option, but since I'll have spent 7 weeks workout between 1-5 reps, going beyond that doesn't seem to match what I've been training for.

I attached my workout (and excluded cardio, SE, etc. for the purpose of this thread).

[YohanBC]

Hello, I'm not sure I understood your question perfectly but I will try to answer as well as I can.

So from what I've actually understood, you want to know how to retest your max when your cycle is over, to calculate your next cycle, correct me if I'm wrong.

If I'm right I will tell you 2 things. First, you could consider doing the forced progression, I actually prefer this method. If you still want to test again, whatever the reasons may be, what I do and find the most practical is taking your old 1rm (181 I think in your case) and try to rep it for amrap. You should probably do at least 2, then you can calculate your new max. If that seems too heavy for you, and you think you couldn't rep the weight, I suggest taking 95% of your old max and rep it for amrap and calculate from here. Or you could just do heavier sets of 1 rep until you can't lift anymore, and you will have your 1RM directly.

Tell me if I answered your question, and tell me if I can help again.

Sorry if you didn't understand something that I wrote, I'm French so I may make mistakes in my sentences.

[godjira1]

I think testing for new PRs is part of the fun to keep motivated. If you have been training for a while, I think being modest with a PR target is the way to go.

To use a concrete example, if I had a PR E1RM of 56.2kg (50kgx5), I will try for a 55kgx3 ~ e1rm of 58.2. Your suggestion of a triple at 95% works, assuming you are not using a TM.

[jzt]

Hello, I'm not sure I understood your question perfectly but I will try to answer as well as I can.

So from what I've actually understood, you want to know how to retest your max when your cycle is over, to calculate your next cycle, correct me if I'm wrong.

If I'm right I will tell you 2 things. First, you could consider doing the forced progression, I actually prefer this method. If you still want to test again, whatever the reasons may be, what I do and find the most practical is taking your old 1rm (181 I think in your case) and try to rep it for amrap. You should probably do at least 2, then you can calculate your new max. If that seems too heavy for you, and you think you couldn't rep the weight, I suggest taking 95% of your old max and rep it for amrap and calculate from here. Or you could just do heavier sets of 1 rep until you can't lift anymore, and you will have your 1RM directly.

Tell me if I answered your question, and tell me if I can help again.

Sorry if you didn't understand something that I wrote, I'm French so I may make mistakes in my sentences.

Hey, I'm also French! Thanks for the help, yes it did answer my question.

The forced progression is nice, but I like to actually take a week ''off'' to test new PRs every 6 weeks.

Like you said, I was also thinking of using my old 95% 1RM and doing an AMRAP set with it to set my new 1RM. I will probably go with that. 100% of my previous 1RM seems a bit too high, I could get 2, and maybe but not likely 3 reps. With 95% I'm guessing anywhere between 3 and 5 after a whole block.

For this very first block, I'm leaning towards retesting my 1RM with 95%, then starting a new block with the results I got.

[jzt]

I think testing for new PRs is part of the fun to keep motivated. If you have been training for a while, I think being modest with a PR target is the way to go.

To use a concrete example, if I had a PR E1RM of 56.2kg (50kgx5), I will try for a 55kgx3 ~ e1rm of 58.2. Your suggestion of a triple at 95% works, assuming you are not using a TM.

Hey, I think I was typing my previous post as you were posting. Sorry for the double post!

Yeah that method seems to be the one that makes the most sense, and I agree with you that the ''PR Week'' is a nice motivation, a short term goal to strive for in a way and keep us going.

I'm using real 1RM, so no TM here. Therefore, 95% for 3 would definitely be a PR for all 3 lifts. I will be aiming for that, if I get more than that, good, but I always avoid ''grinders''.

[YohanBC]

Hello, I'm not sure I understood your question perfectly but I will try to answer as well as I can.

So from what I've actually understood, you want to know how to retest your max when your cycle is over, to calculate your next cycle, correct me if I'm wrong.

If I'm right I will tell you 2 things. First, you could consider doing the forced progression, I actually prefer this method. If you still want to test again, whatever the reasons may be, what I do and find the most practical is taking your old 1rm (181 I think in your case) and try to rep it for amrap. You should probably do at least 2, then you can calculate your new max. If that seems too heavy for you, and you think you couldn't rep the weight, I suggest taking 95% of your old max and rep it for amrap and calculate from here. Or you could just do heavier sets of 1 rep until you can't lift anymore, and you will have your 1RM directly.

Tell me if I answered your question, and tell me if I can help again.

Sorry if you didn't understand something that I wrote, I'm French so I may make mistakes in my sentences.

Hey, I'm also French! Thanks for the help, yes it did answer my question.

The forced progression is nice, but I like to actually take a week ''off'' to test new PRs every 6 weeks.

Like you said, I was also thinking of using my old 95% 1RM and doing an AMRAP set with it to set my new 1RM. I will probably go with that. 100% of my previous 1RM seems a bit too high, I could get 2, and maybe but not likely 3 reps. With 95% I'm guessing anywhere between 3 and 5 after a whole block.

For this very first block, I'm leaning towards retesting my 1RM with 95%, then starting a new block with the results I got.

I'm glad I could help you, if you want to talk more about it in French, send me a dm! Good luck with your training