Re-Finding Rep Maxes

W

wrestlingmark

New Member
I am about to complete my first HST cycle and i didnt actually find all my rep maxes this time aroun, i guessed on a good bit of them. So, I was wondering what i should do after i complete my 8th and last weight training week. Should i go into SD for a week, then find the rep maxes, then take another SD week off, then start my new cycle? What should i do ?
 
Find your maxes in your last week before SD. In the future one thing I do that might help you out is to find your new maxes at the end of each RM phase, IE in your last workout of the 15's find your new 15RM, same for 10's and 5's.
 
What i do is at every RM workout see how the weight goes.

For every exercise, i see how i do. If i feel i could have repped out a couple more, i'll put a + next to my RM weight number so i know to up it next cycle. How much i'll up it depends on how many more reps i feel i could have done. For 15's the weight doesn't up a whole lot, depending on exercise. If i could have gotten one more rep during the 15's on squats, i'll up it maybe 5lbs. During 15's, if i could have gotten one more rep i'd up it 10 more likely.
 
How would you find your maxes the week before you SD if you are doing negatives? Won't fatigue mask your true maxes? Can you go into further detail cuz i don't fully understand?
 
At your last workout of the negs find you new Neg Max, take a day off, then find your new 5 maxes, then do the same for your 10 and 15's, you extend your cycle by a few days but who cares you are about to SD.

The reason I say work in reverse is after your heaviest weights you should be able to increase your max in the lower weights, this way each cycle is progressing.

Another tip, don't change your start weight, unless there is a huge increase in maxes, just take the difference between your old start weight and new max and divide by the number of workouts, these will be your new increments. This makes for larger increments and an increase in your max.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (dkm1987 @ July 17 2005,4:37)]At your last workout of the negs find you new Neg Max, take a day off, then find your new 5 maxes, then do the same for your 10 and 15's, you extend your cycle by a few days but who cares you are about to SD.
The reason I say work in reverse is after your heaviest weights you should be able to increase your max in the lower weights, this way each cycle is progressing.
Another tip, don't change your start weight, unless there is a huge increase in maxes, just take the difference between your old start weight and new max and divide by the number of workouts, these will be your new increments. This makes for larger increments and an increase in your max.
Click to expand...

Interesting i like that idea... it would work really well for dipping and chins...

Mind you, i'm not a fan of HUGE increments... they feel too strenuous around the joint area for me. (10 lb inc. for dips, chins and milatary press)

I've found 7.5 lbs to be ideal ofr dipping, and 5 lb inc the best for milatary. (Chins 5-7.5lbs is nice)

What do you use?

( I should probably add i've been cutting while upping increment size... and i had a 16 day SD--- which no doubt contributed to the effort requried to move the weight. EACH rep range i thought "MAN no WAYY i can lift 10 more lbs..." but 2 days later i was LOL...)
 
Well for most people their increases in RM probably won't be above 10%, so with 100 lbs, and assuming their old start weight is 70% of their RM, each increment would be 5 lbs, now with a 10% increase, each increment would be 8 lbs. So not HUGE.

I personally like 7.5% to 15%.

7.5% on smaller lifts, delt, bi, tri, isolation,

10% on larger lifts, military, bench, rows

15% on squats, deads (if I do em)
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (OneMoreRep @ July 17 2005,9:47)]How do you manage 8 lb increments when the smallest plates are 2.5 lb... or do you have reallly small plates???
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I was gonna ask that too.

I know for me if I only increase something 5 lbs I can't do it exactly everytime.

For instance if I'm using 80 lbs for shoulder press and increase that 5 lbs the next workout I have to use a 3 lbs plate for each side thus increasing it by 6 lbs. The next 5 lbs increase has to actually be 4 lbs as I simply replace those 3 lbs plates with 5 lbs plates.
 
I don't have micro plates so what I did was buy some adjustable (1/4 lb increments) wrist weights, each wrist strap is 2 lbs, so I just strap the wrist weight (with the needed fractions) to get what I want. So in the case of 8 lbs, I use 2-2.5 lbs plates then 2-1.5 lb wrist weights strapped around the bar.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (dkm1987 @ July 25 2005,10:27)]I don't have micro plates so what I did was buy some adjustable (1/4 lb increments) wrist weights, each wrist strap is 2 lbs, so I just strap the wrist weight (with the needed fractions) to get what I want. So in the case of 8 lbs, I use 2-2.5 lbs plates then 2-1.5 lb wrist weights strapped around the bar.
Click to expand...
now thats a good idea. i never thought of that.
 
Well, from where I'm from (very very very far away), it's quite common to see the following plates: 1.25lbs, 2.5lbs, 5lbs.
I think these weights are standard, so I don't believe you'll have much trouble finding them.

Those weights are enough for me to increment as I need to (of course, needless to say, I also have the larger plates like 10, 25 pounds). Anyway, I only increment in "multiples of 2.5", that is 2.5 (for when I started and couldn't increment larger), 5, 10, etc.

-JV
 
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