[LBblitz]

Hey guys what do you guys think is the best way to hit your BEST 1 rep max? I've always hit my highest weights just jumping under the bar and throwing it up. I know you're supposed to warm up but...

This is for powerlifting btw; not everyday bodybuilding training. I'm going to try my first powerlift meet in about 7 weeks and obviously want to push the most weight.

If you guys do warm up, what is the best way to hit that TOP weight.

[LBblitz]

BTW if you want to do specific weights or something... I've never had more than 335 on the bar. I benched 335 2x unassisted. I'll say that on a bad day my 1RM is 350 on a good day it could be as high as 365.... MAYBE

[under construction]

Ive done the same bench as you but when I tried 355 I missed. Cant say I ever just went for it too scared. I did 135x10 225x5 295x2 335x2 355 big time miss. maybe warmed too much but in my case Id rather warm too much and miss than injure but then I am16 years older than you.

[lil_big_junior]

I managed to hit 530 on a Smith machine about 30 mins after training Chest. This was going back about 5-6 months ago, I never did 1RMs but it felt good, lol

[LBblitz]

UNDERCONSTRUCTION, I def hear ya on the not wanting to get injured point. Thats why I don't max out often. That's why I'm trying to find the best way to hit that max weight without having to go through a bunch of trial and error. lol

530 LBJ....Good Lord!

Okay so I am happy and disappointed at the same time. Tonight I worked back. I decided to pull something near my max.
135x10 225x6 315x6 405x6 455x6 500x1. I'm really scared about injury on Squats & Deads so I think I warmed up too much. I was so exhausted after pulling 500 that I didn't try more weight. So I am happy because I have never pulled (or even tried for that matter) to pull 500 lbs !! But I am disappointed because I feel I could have done more if I would have warmed up less.

[ZackKnight]

what're u trying to do for ur powerlifting workout?

Try one week of heavy, 1 week of speed with bands, and 1 week of light. and then if u need it one week of small muscles to let the others recuperate better. this will increase ur 3 lifts immensely.

[mabo]

For me it depends on the lift. Something like deadlifts I don't mind a big jump in weight, and I'll only pull singles apart from the first set with 135.

Squatting I'll do more reps, triples and doubles before singles.

Benching is again pretty much all singles, but I keep the weight jumps small. I really notice the extra weight otherwise and it messes with my groove.

Things might change though, once the weight I lift starts actually getting heavy.

[LBblitz]

OK, so bench and dead you like to jump up via singles. Squat you increase via 2's & 3's

I do incorporate speed days into my routine, but I have never used bands. I've been keeping most of my bodybuilding routine and just altering it to fit a powerlifting style. I cut out flyes and other isolation movements.

[ZackKnight]

try getting some bands. they help. cuz the provide a constant pull throughout the movements. once they're gone then the weight feels lighter and easier to move around.

[BigPoppaSnake]

Originally Posted by under construction

Ive done the same bench as you but when I tried 355 I missed. Cant say I ever just went for it too scared. I did 135x10 225x5 295x2 335x2 355 big time miss. maybe warmed too much but in my case Id rather warm too much and miss than injure but then I am16 years older than you.

The only reason to be scared is if you do your max without a spotter. I usually do a light warmup to get blood pumping.

[42gunz]

warm up with other exercises.. if your benching, warm up with push ups, or flies. or maybe just hit the treadmill for a quarter mile...this way you warm up the joints and get blood in the muscle with out taxing yourself on the bench.

[mabo]

OK, so bench and dead you like to jump up via singles. Squat you increase via 2's & 3's

Yep, but the main thing that's different is the weight jumps. Mainly because of the differences between the lifts. The bench is the most technical, then the squat, with the deadlift being the simplest as far as technique is concerned. The result is that I take the smallest jumps with benching because I don't want to lose my groove by taking too big a jump. You're also generally lifting a lot less weight in the bench.

E.g. assuming I was to shoot for a 455 squat, 300 bench, 500 dead it might look something like this:

squat: barx10, 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 355x1, 385x1, 425x1, 455x1

bench: barx15, 135x5, 185x1, 225x1, 245x1, 265x1, 285x1, 300x1

dead: barx 10, 135x1, 225x1, 315x1, 405x1, 455x1, 500x1

So that's a 30lb jump for the squat, 15lbs for the bench, and 45lb jump for the deadlift. In fact, the gap might be even larger for the dead just depending on how it feels on the day.