What is Your Max-Max?

I borrowed this from strength coach Dan John. What Dan was referring to when he used the term max-max is the number we use when we are designing someones program. Example: do 4 sets of 8 with 80% of 1 rep max. Dan's argument against this type of programming is that very few of us know our true max or max-max weight on our lifts. Sure, we think we have a pretty good idea of what we can lift on an exercise for a certain number of reps, but do we really know? Most of us lift at what Dan calls a sub-max or a little less than we could probably do for a true 1 repetition maximum.

I like to think of max-max in terms of effort. If I had a gun to my head or pliers to my..., could I do 10 reps with a weight that I normally lift for 6? Probably with the gun, definitely with the pliers. Maybe even less motivation, like I mentioned in my previous post.

We are conducting a little experiment at NPPT this week. It looks like this:

Choose a maximal weight and level for each exercise that you would normally use for 6-8 reps. Now perform 1 set to failure. Pretend as if all of your friends and family are watching or that you will have to pose nude on the Internet, if you do not get more than 6-8 reps.

The 4 exercises:

Pull-ups- assisted, full or resisted
Push-ups- knees, toes, resisted
Single Leg Squats to a Box- low box, high box, weighted
Single Leg Dead Lifts- weighted

We chose these 4 exercises because they are self limiting (safe). If you can't complete the movement, you simply stop. This workout would not be safe for our clientele using an exercise like back squats, "Hello, is this Mr Jones? Yes, Hi, could you please swing by the gym and pick up your wife. We have managed break her in half with a maximal squat test. Oh, by the way, she won't be much help with the kids for at least a week".

Our goal with this workout is to reveal to our clients their own potential. An "ah,ha" moment, if you will. If someone does 15 full push ups with laser focus when they normally stop at 8, it can really go along way towards stretching boundaries and helping that person understand how much strength they posses. This new mindset then changes the landscape of their future workouts.

Give it a try this week and see if you can find your max-max. You may be surprised!

Extras- Check out this study regarding kettlebell training. Pretty compelling evidence to support kettlebell workouts for fat loss.