Tips on figuring out 15, 10, & 5 Rep Maxes

M

marcus314

New Member
Hey. I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to go about this. Do any of you have any suggestions? Is it more estimation, or is there another way? I remember several years ago, strengthcoach.com had a calculator that predicts your 1RM; is there anything like this, but in the reverse (e.g., 1RM-->15RM)?

I'd just hate to go into the gym one day, only to max 3 times on every exercise.

Thanks
 
I followed the guideline in the HST FAQ document, and then went a step further to test the numbers. The calculation is pretty close.

The guides says to do an actual test to determine your 15RM. Yeah, you gotta press some iron. With this number accurately determined, add 20% to estimate your 10RM. Then, add 15% to your 10RM to estimate your 5RM.

So:
15RM - Actual
10RM (est) = 15RM * 1.2
5RM (est) = 10RM * 1.15

The FAQ notes to be conservative in following the guide. When I did the estimates, I usually rounded down to the closest multiple of 5 (unless the number calculated out to an exact 5 lb multiple).

For example:
15RM = 100 lb
10RM = 100 * 1.2 = 120
5RM = 120 * 1.15 = 138 = (round down to) 135

Like I said, I went ahead and tested the calculated RM's. Some were good, while I found that I could add another 5 - 10 lbs to others.

Hope that helps.

Chuck L Head
 
I keep all my old workout records so I have a pretty good idea of what I can lift if I need to estimate. But, I have my cycle set up so that I spend the last week figuring out my maxes for the next cycle.

So basically I go

2 weeks of 15s
2 weeks of 10s
2 weeks of 5s
1 week continue @ 5RM
Last week = 1 day new 15RM, 1 day new 10RM, 1 day new 5RM

Then I use the new RMs to fillout my sheet for the next cycle.
 
2 weeks of 15s write down new max
2 weeks of 10s write down new max
2 weeks of 5s write down new max
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I went one day and just started loading plates to what I think my 15RM would be (used previous workout logs to estimate).

I did my entire HST routine that day, with 1 set ea., writing down my weight and reps.  If I was able to do more than 15reps, I would pile on more weight and go at it once more so that my reps would not exceed 15.

Once I had these #'s, I used the 1 rep max & multi rep calculators here: http://www.hardgainers-home-gym.com/tools.html  Using these calculators, I input the #'s I came up with at the gym to give me my 15RM, 10RM & 5RM estimates.


After I got these #'s, I then hit the gym 2 more days that week, 1 day testing the 10RM given by the calculator, and the other day testing the 5RM given by the calculator.  Everything was pretty dead on, except 1 or 2 exercises which I had to increase the weight like 10lbs (leg workouts).


Hope this helps!

dave
 
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