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testing one rep maxes - spotting and failing on squats

If you have a rack with safety bars, dont be afraid to drop any amount of weight from any height if you have to, thats what its for.
 
No its not.

A friend dumped a jerk from behind the neck with only 120kg, the bar went into the bin, the video was quite funny, it was posted on ns.com

If your going to dump a bar, do it OUTSIDE the rack, so your bumpers take the load, not the bar, thats what THEYRE intended for.

My ABC bar survived with a 160kg drop on the pins, not sure many other bars would. Even Wayne from ABC was surprised as they dont test for that as its misuse.
 
Markos, what I mean is, if your in the rack, and your in TROUBLE, get rid of the weight and don't worry about what damage the equipment might suffer. You should be more concerned with the damage the weight might cause you.
 
Silverback said:
For what purpose does the hobbyist need to figure their max?????
Click to expand...

i am about to embark on approximately 12 months of powerlifting-style training.

something completely different to what i have always done.

everyone on this forum keeps going on about how bodybuilders/powerlifters train the same etc.

so i've decided to test this for myself. i am going to do a full set of measurements/photos/1 rep maxes etc

do powerlifting style training for the best part of a year and see how i've changed.

i am also planning on eating an insane amount of food, and hence am confident that i will break through to at least 105kg, hopefully even 110kg (at a respectable level of bodyfat)
 
Silverback said:
For what purpose does the hobbyist need to figure their max?????
Click to expand...
I don't understand you? Are you taking the piss like usual or what?

Strength + food = size, Markos has said many times to continually improve your strength you need to be training within 85% of your 1RM's.
 
Morgan said:
I don't understand you? Are you taking the piss like usual or what?

Strength + food = size, Markos has said many times to continually improve your strength you need to be training within 85% of your 1RM's.
Click to expand...

Hello Morgan, all my thoughts are cogent.

Would you jump off a cliff if markos told you?

To continually improves ones strength, one needs to do it safely and in a progressive manner how do you measure 85% accurately?
 
Silverback said:
Would you jump off a cliff if markos told you?

To continually improves ones strength, one needs to do it safely and in a progressive manner how do you measure 85% accurately?
Click to expand...
Markos' posts have a lot more merit than yours in my books, I'd go as far as saying I would apply his bad advice before I applied your good advice.
 
Silverback's trying to say you have a noob who shouldnt be testing his max.

There's nothing wrong with mucking around and testing out how much you can do every once and a while but the OP should be following a program that will get him from his current point X to a reasonably attainable point Y.

That his safety bars are too low for him highlights a lot of other problems as well whether they be poor form, ignorance (no offence) or psychological.
 
I'm going to put it out there as well - I really recommend that some of you guys buy Starting Strength. There are certain members of this forum who have a very poor knowledge of exercise anatomy and the general philosophy behind stuff like progressive resistance. This is why we see odd posts like this one, constant 'high bar vs low bar' discussions and a whole bunch of guys whove been stuck on 80kg since the beginning of time despite training x3 a week.

I'd like to say its as easy as finding a squat style that is comfortable for you and trying to put weight on the bar every session but time and time again this forum has proven that it isnt.
 

what a load of crap, i shouldn't be testing my max?

firstly, i am not a noob thank you very much, and i need to know my one rep maxes for just about every strength program i am about to embark on (not to mention that it is a guage of improvement).

also, i NEVER normally test out my one rep maxes (i have only ever tested one rep max in one exercise (bench press), and i have only ever done this once, and it was only because i actually had to do it), so this has nothing to do with ego. i simply need to know what i can lift to start out a new program.

that was the point of this thread. having never tested a one rep max for squats, i wanted to know how to do it safely. for all i know, the bar isn't actually that low, it might just seem that way, i've never done it before. i'll try dropping it as i mentioned earlier next time i do legs, it'll probably be fine, but i thought i'd ask about this one first as i don't want to look like a total dick at the gym when i squat, fail and have a barbell come crashing on my back or neck

so to reiterate:

- i am not a noob, i have been training for about 6 years (about 2 years off in that time)
- i am doing full squats

maybe you should re read my posts next time (no offence)
 
pistachio said:
what a load of crap, i shouldn't be testing my max?

firstly, i am not a noob thank you very much, and i need to know my one rep maxes for just about every strength program i am about to embark on (not to mention that it is a guage of improvement).
Click to expand...

A 120kg 5rm is a beginner level squat. It is further along the beginner spectrum, of course, but still - I would classify it as such.

As mentioned I don't see why you need to do a 1rm test on a lift that you will see significant progress on simply by virtue of lifting, eating and resting - your 1rm will have gone up in a week or two making the entire exercise a futile one?
 
a 120kg 5rm is not a noob level squat. doing a 1rm test will give him a starting point, and something to compare to in 3 months time. It will also motivate him to improve on that next time. doing a 1rm is not a difficult thing. it will also give him a taste of using maximal effort.

Pistachio, Test your max. Which program will you be using? And nice work on your weight gain.
 
Interesting thread.

I am 48 years old, and I can only remember failing a squat once in my life, and it was doing 20 reppers.

I have never failed a 1RM. All this dumping bars has me confused.

Approach your max slowly, in 10kg jumps. If 90kg is really hard, and your not sure if you could get 100kg, use 95kg as your 1RM.

Its only an approximate figure you need for a program I gather, 5kg wont make a bit of difference.

Four pages of arguing over such an innocent simple little thing. I work out a client's 1RM in 5 minutes, its not that hard.
 

exactly my point, obviously it isn't the heaviest squat in the world, but it is still better than 95% of people at your average gym.

i just get (easily) annoyed when anybody calls me a noob at the gym or training in general after dedicating so much time and effort into it and coming from being a skinny f_ck. obviously i still have much to learn, but obviously i have also worked damn hard to get to where i am.

i may have overreacted slightly, but my keys type faster than my mind decides whether or not to post something...

its a pretty generic strength training program (similar to 5x5), although seeing as i am new to powerlifting style training, i think just about anything would probably work.

oh and thanks mate, it is nice when ppl recognise the effort you have put in to date


lol, fair call mate.

that is basically exactly how i plan to do it. bench press is the only exercise i am not afraid to fail on, simply because there is next to no risk of injury if you aren't trying to lift too heavy and you have a spotter.

tested my 1RM at the gym 2nite for deadlifts (sumo style).

i got up to 170kg with perfect technique, and the lift was surprisingly quick too, good momentum. will easily be deadlifting 200kg within 6 months. i was quite pleased considering that i have been bouncing deadlifts ever since i started doing them and this was the first time i did it without.
 
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I haven't read all of this thread but I don't know why 1RM's need four pages. Set the safeties so that you can lean forward in the hole and let the bar rest on them, this should be 10cm or so under the bar when you are in the hole. Doesn't have to be exact, just try it with an empty barbell ad set the safeties a bit under where the bar ends up whilst squatting.

As for finding our weight, go from our last workset and raise the weight in 10kg or 5kg. Pistachio, if you've been training for 6 years you will know when the weight is starting to get close to your 1RM.

haz said:
a 120kg 5rm is not a noob level squat.
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I have to disagree there, I didn't even know what squats were until 23/11/2009 and was squatting 120kg for 3x5 on 15/1/2010 at a bodyweight of 92kg. My training buddy at that time would have been about 80kg and 189cm tall and he did it maybe a month later. It is very much a beginners squat if you are training for strength. (Unless you're like 60kg or something.)
 
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