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Are you maxing too often?

Constantly testing your 1 rep max is a pitfall myself and many other people have fallen into. I remember hitting a max squat every week for about a year. I made zero progress and had no idea why. Looking back, I’m honestly amazed I didn’t pick up an injury.

Maxing is fun. I get it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help you get ahead at all.

I believe ‘Powerlifting training’ works for people often because they have set numbers to hit. They have numbers based off of their 1RM’s to hit for particular days and this is a tool which can force you to keep progressing. Good bodybuilders and other sports do this too but it’s less common as our whole sport is based on hitting these maxes.

So, 1RM testing can give you an indication of how you are progressing and allows you to implement the correct training percentages for each main lift as you go from training block to training block. Keeping your training honest and focused on your...