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Posted: November 16th 2018

Question: Is a 1-rep max important? (Question created from a conversation with a client this morning)

Answer: If your goal is to compete in a powerlifting meet or if setting a new 1-rep max is important to you, then yes. If your fitness goal is anything else, then no.

I could leave that up as my full answer, but, with this being the first “Ask Drew” I should probably give you some context.

A 1 rep max is/can be important if your goals involve pushing your strength to your full potential. Powerlifters and Olympic weight lifters need high levels of maximum strength to compete in their sports. Football players can benefit from extremely heavy loads due to the physical demands of the sport.

Motor Units are what cause muscles to contract. Individual muscles are made up of a bunch of motor units and when all these units work together, the muscle contracts harder than when only a few motor units are active. The purpose of lifting heavy weights is to teach your body to recruit more motor units. Flick yourself in the ear if I am losing you, this is important! It is a little more complex than “I pick things up and put them down”.

Following this, it makes sense that a powerlifter would need to train in a way to recruit as many motor units as possible by lifting heavy ass weight. But, what if you are an athlete who wants to improve her speed? What if you are a 35 year-old bro who wants to gain some strength but does not want to blow your back out trying to deadlift 800lbs?

On every lift, your body is activating the necessary amount of motor units to get the job done. If you want to get faster, lifting heavy weights in the 3 to 5 rep max range will still activate a ton of motor units that will help your force production on the field. If you want to gain some strength, trying to improve your 6 to 8 rep max on a given lift will make you stronger while keeping you away from the excessively heavy 1-rep max.

To keep it simple, if your goal isn’t to set a 1-rep max, than you do not have to try to set a 1-rep max. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, flick the prick in the ear!

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