Testing Your Max: 4 Weeks to Testing

What is Intensity?

In the context of strength training, the word intensity is used to describe the amount of load that we’re using in a given exercise.

When a training program is written, this is how the program tells the user how much weight to load on the bar, or how heavy of an implement to use.

There are a few ways to prescribe intensity:

Prescribe Exact Load: This is where the program writer explicitly writes the load that the athlete should use. For example, the coach might write 3 sets of 5 at 315 pounds. 315 pounds is the intensity.
Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE): RPE uses a numerical scale to rate how difficult the lifter felt a set was. Prescribing an RPE asks that the lifter reach a weight that provides them with a specific experience under the weight.
Reps in Reserve (RIR): At the end of each set, an athlete has a certain number of reps left in the tank. If they go to failure, then that number is 0. Usually RIR’s aren’t prescribed higher than 3, because it becomes difficult to estimate how many reps were left in the tank.
Velocity-Based Training (VBT): There is an inverse relationship between the speed at which a lifter can move an object, and how heavy that object is. Heavier weights move slowly while lighter weights move quickly. This lets coaches prescribe intensity by prescribing speed of movement.
Percentage-Based: This is the method that we’re focusing on in this article. The idea here is that the coach prescribes load by applying a percentage to an athlete’s 1-Rep Max (1RM), or the most weight the athlete can move in a single effort, regardless of time. For example, if an athlete’s 1RM is 200 pounds, and they’ve been prescribed sets at 75%, then they know to load 150 pounds on the bar. (200lbs x 75% = 150lbs).

A lot of programs that you can find free or purchase online use a Percentage-Based approach, assuming that you have a good idea of what your 1RM is.

They don’t account for the fact that you may not have tested your 1RM recently. Or that you may be trying to get back into the sport and haven’t trained at all in a while.

Our goal with this article is to give you a short protocol that will allow you to determine your 1RM effectively to give you something to apply percentages to.

Prepare before the max

Practice makes perfect. IF you do something repeatedly, you and your body get better at doing it. Pretty simple right?

This logic also tells us that if you’re doing something for the first time, you’re probably not going to be very good at it. Some people might be better on their first shot than other people, but noone is going to be as good at the start as they will be after some practice. I think this is also still pretty simple.

Despite the simplicity of this logic, there are still coaches and programs that take a pretty casual approach to finding that first 1RM.

If you don’t have a good 1RM to use as they prescribe percentages, they’ll tell you to take a training day and work up to a max in the exercise they’re building a protocol for. You might take a week to max out on a few core lifts before starting your program.

This max is going to be lower than you’re capable of because you don’t have any practice hitting singles. You’re going to end up low-balling your max.

I also don’t like this approach because it runs the risk that you’re working up to a max effort repetition with little preparation, shocking the body with an intensity that it is lilkely unaccustomed to. This can lead to an increased injury risk.

Using an RPE protocol for the max

A better alternative is to run a short protocol before you start your program that gets you prepared to set your max, and sets a solid max that accurately represents your actual max.

That is the purpose of this article. To give you that protocol that you can use just before you start your program using percentage-based intensity prescriptions. To do it, we’re going to use a different intensity prescription. An RPE based protocol.

RPE works without a max, and just relies on your perception of the difficulty of reps. We’re just going to be working with singles so perceiving that max shouldn’t be too difficult. Plus, nailing the number only matters at the end of the protocol when you go for the max single. Before that, close should be good enough.

For your quick reference, here is a brief description of the different RPE’s you’ll see in the scale:

RPE 10 - This is your all out max. The most you can lift giving it everything you’ve got.
RPE 9 - At this RPE, the barbell has slowed dramatically and there is strain, but you still have effort in the tank.
RPE 8 - At this RPE, the barbell is slowing despite your best efforts to move it quickly.
RPE 7 - At this RPE, the barbell is moving fast but it takes a lot of effort to get the bar moving that fast.
RPE 6 - At this RPE the barbell is moving fast with very little effort.
RPE 1-5 - These ratings are typically not used. They would be warmup weights, and for most barbell exercises they would not be stressful enough to consider for most programming purposes.

The protocol

I have a series of protocols I call Intensity Focused RPE Protocols. You work up to a heavy set initially, drop the weight, then let fatigue accumulation dictate how much work you do from there. They’re a derivative of some of the protocols that Mike Tuchscherer wrote about in the “Reactive Training Manual”.

Here’s what you’re doing for this protocol:

Week 1: Work up to a single at RPE 9 and record this as your first working set. From there, drop the weight by 10% and continue hitting sets until fatigue accumulates and you reach another RPE 9 single. Take 2 minutes of rest between sets. IF you reach your 4th working set and you haven’t reacahed your RPE target, start dropping the rest time by 10 seconds per set.
Week 2: Work up to a single at RPE 9 and record this as your first working set. From there, drop the weight by 5% and continue hitting sets until fatigue accumulates and you reach another RPE 9 single. Then you’re making another 5% drop, and going to another RPE 9 single. If you reach your 5th working set and you haven’t reached your RPE taget, start dropping the rest time by 10 seconds per set.
Week 3: Work up to a single at RPE 9 and record this as your first working set. This week you’re just making one 5% drop. This will reduce the volume you have for the week, and that is part of the plan. If you reach your 3rd working set and you haven’t reached your RPE target, start dropping the rest time by 10 seconds per set.
Week 4: Work up to an RPE 10 single. This is your testing week, and this single will be the max that you use for your training program.

Make sure that you’re building up to that RPE 9 single slowly. You don’t want to pile on weight too quickly if that isn’t something that you’re accustomed to.

For most athletes I don’t recommend that you run this protocol for more than one movement per training session, but you can run this protocol with multiple exercises over the course of a training week.

create a range of maxes

One of the biggest drawbacks to using a percentage based program is that what any athlete is capable of can change from day to day. Percentages are applied to a max that you set on a specific day under certain of circumstances, so if you’re carrying more or less fatigue compared to that day when you train your max could be over or under stated.

You might imagine that when you set your traning max, it was a normal week of your life where nothing out of the ordinary had happened for a few days. Then weeks later as you’re following your program you had a couple of stressful days that caused sleepless nights and reduced recovery. The original max is overstated because you’re training in a more fatigued state than normal.

We can make percentage based programs more effective by creating a range around the max that we stay within.

For example, if you hit 350 on the bench press during your max week, then you might make your max range 340-360. Then if you were prescribed 85% in your program, you would apply that intensity to the range instead of just the max, aiming for your working weight to be between 290 and 305.

If you’re in the gym and feeling strong compared to normal, you can aim for the top of the range. If you’re feeling the fatigue, you can aim lower. This gives you and your program some flexibility when following your program.

If you find that you’re consistently hitting the higher or lower end of the range workout after workout, you might consider just shifting your max or restesting it in the near future.

Use a training max?

A lot of programs have you apply a discount to your max to find your training max. Usually that discount is anywhere between 5 and 15%. The question is should you apply this discount if you used the protocol above to caclulate your max.

The answer (as it almost always is) is that it depends.

The training max is one of three theoretical maxes an athlete is capable of:

The Absolute Max. This is the actual maximum force capacity that your body is capable of from a mechanical standpoint. If your brain had the capability to get every fiber of muscle in your bdoy contracting with maximum intent in an exercise, this is the amount of force you could create. It is impossible to actually achieve, and is largely theoretical.
The Competition Max. When you get out in front of a crowd of people with adrenaline pumping through you, after peaking your program with a great taper, you’re going to be capable of more than you would be at any other point during your training. This is the competition max. The goal of any powerlifter is to try to close the gap between their competition max and their absolute max through training.
The Training Max. This is the maximum output that the athlete is capable of at any given time, and will fluctuate from day to day as athletes accumulate fatigue and dissipate that fatigue through recovery.

If you feel that the max you set when you test is similar to what you can hit for a single on the day you’re training, you shouldn’t need to apply a training max discount to your max. If you can’t imagine hitting that max again on the day of the workout because it would be too heavy, then a discount is appropriate.

At the end of the day, all of this information is meant to help you get the right load on the bar. You should make adjustments as needed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding and managing intensity in your strength training program is crucial for optimal progress. While percentage-based programs are widely used, they come with challenges, particularly when it comes to setting an accurate and adaptable 1RM. The article introduced an alternative approach – an Intensity Focused RPE Protocol designed to address the pitfalls of casual 1RM determination.

This protocol, spread over four weeks, combines precision with adaptability. By working up to a single at RPE 9 and strategically dropping weights while managing fatigue, you create a more reliable and realistic max. The approach allows for better program flexibility, acknowledging that an athlete's capabilities can fluctuate.

Additionally, the concept of creating a range around your max offers practical flexibility, considering variations in daily performance. Whether aiming for the top or bottom of the range based on your day's condition, it provides a more dynamic and responsive training experience.

Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that the load on the bar aligns with your true capabilities, promoting effective and injury-free strength training. Adjustments can be made based on individual feelings, ensuring a personalized and adaptive approach to intensity management in your training journey.