Deadlift: Find your 1 repetition maximum. Then, test how long you can hold a handstand.
Today, we begin the testing we mentioned last week. We have a few guidelines for the 1 RM tests. We will review this in class but if you have a minute to review the details now thigns will go smoother.
New To EmerFit or Heavy Lifting?
It is only useful to truly test your 1-rep max if you have been heavy lifting for three months or more. If you are new to heavy lifting we will work with you to choose a weight and we may have you do sets of 3 instead of singles. You results will still be useful for choosing loads in future workouts.
Perfect Mechanics
During your 1 RM test we want to see perfect mechanics. The goal is to get stronger and move better not to lift more weight. Let that sink in. You will lift more weight overtime but you should not sacrifice safety for a few more pounds. If your form degrades we will ask you to abort the lift and either try a lighter load or call it a day.
Choosing a Weight and Warm-Up Sets
Please consider these suggestions from Coach Rippetoe:
“The first attempt would be a weight you know you can do for a heavy set of three. The second attempt would be a weight you know without any doubt that you could do for a single, having just done the first attempt. And the third attempt is the weight you want to do, based on your performance on the previous two attempts. If you have made a mistake setting your first attempt, the next two will need to be adjusted, but you should know what you can triple, and this will always be a safe first attempt. And since you know this weight, you know what weights to use to warm up for it: you’ll use the lightest weight that you normally start with for your first warm-up when you train, and 90% of the first attempt for the last warm-up, with either three or four relatively even increments in between these two. For instance, warm-ups for a 405-pound first attempt on the squat would be:
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 1
325 x 1
365 x 1
If you don’t have a damn good idea of what you can do for a heavy triple, you don’t need to be doing a CrossFit Total [ or 1 rep max test] yet.”
