James (or anyone for that matter), I need some help with my maxing out tomorrow. I am maxing out on bench and conventional deadlift. For bench, the aim is 225+ and for deadlift 435+. I am curious how you would suggest maxing out? Also, should I use a belt for warm-ups or no? I was thinking yes to make sure i am in the right groove.
For 405 deadlift I went
135x4,
225x3,
275x2
315x1,
MAXES: 370x1, 385x1, 405x1, 410x miss.
For 210 bench I went
bar x 4-5
95x4,
135x3,
155x1,
185x1,
MAXES: 200x1(uneven bar because of a smart spotter), 205x1, 210x1.
Also, which lift should I max out on first? How much time inbetween each warm-up set and max out? How much time between exercises?
The bench recruits less high threshold MU’s than the DL, therefore, by benching first you would have more MU’s in reserve for the DL.
The DL recruits more high threshold MU’s than the bench, and induces more peripheral fatigue than the bench, therefore, on the one hand the heighted amount of MU recruitment may render you in a neurally excited state for the bench, however, the peripheral fatigue may have a negative impact on the bench performance, even though the prime movers for both lifts are different.
I suggest that you bench first.
Your warm ups look pretty good. Here’s what I would suggest in order to hit your goals of 225 and 435 respectively:
These numbers are based off of your previous max’s of 210 and 405 respectively
Bench
Bar 2-3sets of 5-15 reps
95x5 1min rest
135x3 2min rest
165x1 3min rest
190x1 (90% of 210) 3-5min rest
225 PR
WHen we maxed sorta we just went like 5 sets of 1 and worked are way up. Though we didn’t go in prepared this is a max day, just kinda worked out that way lol
225 went up easy and faster than any lift 200+ I have lifted. I made the mistake of going up too quickly on my next attempt though and went to 235. I got it about halfway up and couldn’t get it any further. I went for 230, but I had already messed up the rhythm. I got it a little higher than halfway, but failed at the sticking point.
Deadlift, I felt something in my back during warm-ups, I missed at 430 (I figured I would do 1 attempt and stop there to not risk any injuries). I got it up about halfway and then just dropped it. I punked out, oh well, next time. I did match my old PR just to make sure I wasn’t that big of a loser lol. It did go much much faster than it did when I had maxed it out 4 weeks ago. Thank you very much for your help James! I think if I had possibly gotten some bodywork done this week I wouldn’t have had the problem I did. Good day and good luck with the 315 hang clean .
In terms of the bench press I agree with James mostly except I would only do one warmup set with the bar, I would take a 3min rest at 135x3, I would cut out the 165x1 and 190x1 lifts and instead do a 185x1 lift with 4-5min rest before attempting your PR. I personally believe that the least amount of lifts you do before your max the better; however, you still have to do a couple of single rep lifts as prescribed above. For example, when I hit my PB of 405lbs this is the sequence I used,
I agree with doing the least amount of lifts. When I had to max out it was actually in a powerlifting competition at my school.
I didnt warmup at all to be quite honest.
135x10
Stretch
275x1
Stretch/loosen up
That was all the real warming up I did. We then had 3 seperate attempts. I guess You can say that was part of the warmup. I went…
305x1
315x1
320x1 P.R. New weight class record @148 pounds
Venom and Quick, what you must realize is that your limit strength is far in excess of Davan’s. Accordingly you may take bigger leaps when working up to a max single, as each leap amounts to a much smaller percentage when compared to a lifter who is lifting much less weight.
The lower the trainee’s 1RM the more emphasis must be placed on performing an ideal volume of work sets prior to 1RM.
The higher the 1RM the larger the leaps
The lower the 1RM the smaller the leaps
A trainee with a significantly lower 1RM has much less room (poundage wise) for sufficiently warming the neuromuscular system.
Venom and Quick, both of you have made the mistake of comparing the training strategies of athletes of very different levels of physical preparedness (you two and Davan respectively).
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