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Identify your strength: are your muscles all they can be? This three-step test will let you know

Men's Fitness, April, 2005

THE NEXT TIME YOU do bench presses, scrap your regular workout, find a good spotter, and try this instead:

Step 1: Warm up, then test your one-rep max in this manner: Take a full four seconds to lower the bar to your chest, then push up as you would during a normal set. It may take a few attempts to find the exact weight (rest two to four minutes between attempts), but consider the heaviest weight you're able to lift with control to be your "positive" one-rep max.

Step 2: Rest 10 minutes, then add 10% to the bar. Now simply lower that weight to your chest for four seconds and have your spotter pull it off you. Don't strain to help him; your goal here is to get a true measure of your "negative" one-rep max.

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Step 3: Rest one to two minutes, add another 10% to the bar, and lower it again for four seconds. Repeat this step until the bar drops to your chest in less than four seconds. The heaviest weight you can handle for four seconds is your negative one-rep max.

Calculate Your Results:

A. Your positive one-rep max:--.

B. Your negative one-rep max:--.

C. Subtract A from B:--.

D. Divide A by C:--%.

This is how much stronger your negative one-rep max is compared with your positive one-rep max.

Here's What it Means:

* If you're more than 30% stronger on the negative, you have a strength deficit. Your muscles aren't as strong as they should be on the positive. So you need to go on a strength-oriented program--5 sets of 3-5 reps with very heavy weights, for instance--for four weeks to catch up, since your muscles aren't utilizing all the fibers and nerves at their disposal.

* If the difference is less than 30%, you're recruiting all the muscle you have. A good muscle-building strategy for you would be higher-volume training: For example, do 4-6 sets of 6-12 reps, using moderately heavy weights.

Identify your strength: are your muscles all they can be? This three-step test will let you know

Men's Fitness, April, 2005

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