For the serious athlete or power-lifter, measuring body and weight exercises provides a weightlifting starting point, which can be used to develop goals for muscular endurance. Repetition maximum testing, annotated as a 1RM test, predicts your muscular strength coefficient using a mathematical equation. This formula and the subsequent 1RM calculating tools were founded to dispel the chance of serious skeletal muscular trauma while attempting to lift your maximum potential. Adhering to guidelines for the 1RM result may mitigate the risk of injury from lifting weights that are too heavy for you.
Step 1
Choose the muscle set you are wishing to test. Your 1RM testing may be completed on any skeletal muscle, but it is most commonly completed on the chest and leg muscles with a bench press, deadlift or squat.
Step 2
Select the free weights you will use to test. The American Council on Exercise suggests using a weight with which you can comfortably complete at least eight repetitions, with the last few lifts providing a challenge.
Step 3
Squat for the legs and buttocks; deadlift for the shoulders, back and chest; or complete a bench press for the chest and arms. Record the number of repetitions you completed as well as the total weight used.
Step 4
Enter the data set of repetitions completed and weight used into a 1RM calculator, such as the free online one supplied by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Step 5
Use your 1RM score to predict your muscular strength or endurance potential. Increasing ability to complete repetitions speaks to the endurance potential of your muscles, whereas low repetitions with heavy weights predict your muscular strength, or raw power potential.
Things You'll Need
- 1RM calculator
- Free weights
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