how to max out (sets, reps, rest)
Published: Thu, 03/15/12
What if I told you that you could bench press a lot more than
you think you can?
If I were a betting man I'd wager that today's email will help
you get at least an extra twenty pounds out of your bench the
next time you try to see the most amount of weight you can
lift for one rep.
Personally I don't max out too often but I like to test myself a few
times a year and when I do I follow this schedule that Mike
Westerdal shared with me.
If you haven't picked up a copy of Mike's Bench Press Explosion
report go get a copy now. At $7 it's probably the best bargain
I've seen in 2012.
Here's how to determine your one rep max in the bench press
(or any other big compound movement)
First get warmed up and do a set with the empty bar to visualize
yourself having a great max out session and rehearse your technique.
For your first warm up set start with a weight that you know is light
enough to perform eight to ten repetitions of the exercise easily.
Example: 135 lbs.
Rest two minutes.
Increase the weight approximately 20%-30%. Using this weight, perform
four to five reps of the exercise. Example: 175 lbs
Rest three minutes.
Increase the weight again by about 20%-30%. Using this weight, perform
two to three reps. Example: 225 lbs
Rest three to four minutes.
Increase the weight again by about 20%. Using this weight, perform one rep.
Example: 270 lbs
Rest for four to five minutes.
Add 10-15%. Using this weight perform one rep.
Example: 300 lbs
You might be really close to your max here. But rest another 4-5 minutes.
Add 5-10% and perform one rep max attempt. Be conservative hear because
if you get greedy and miss the lift you'll lose a lot of the energy in the process
and it's really hard to get the weight on a 2nd attempt. Example: 315 lbs
You can keep repeating this last step until you are happy with the result or
until you miss a lift. If you want to try it again after missing feel free, but it's
usually not a great idea and could hurt your confidence if you miss it twice.
Just go for a moderate personal record each time you max out instead of going
for a huge chunk so that you feel a sense of accomplishment from your past
few weeks/months of training.
Oh and only max out once every 8-10 weeks after following one of these
18 highly effective bench press routines. <<< click here
Hope this helps you out,
Brian