Issues with 60% of 1RM - ??

[wennell_dennell]

UPDATE: Never mind! I found my answer on the Ask Cathe Forum...looks like I'm not alone in this!!!

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Hi all - I started STS this week...originally I thought I would have to do just two DVDs a week given my schedule, but I decided it was worth rolling out of bed early to fit in all three per week

I LOVE the program so far - so challenging and innovative. But, I did run into one particular problem....

First off, I'll say that I am pretty strong - I've always naturally been stronger than even my fittest female friends. My 1RM stats on the CatheNation backs this up when comparing to average 1RMs. I need to work more on endurance than brute strength.

Now, I didn't do all of my 1RM testing, but for some of the ones I did do, I'm getting really high numbers for MESO1 (60%). So as I worked through the DVDs, I started as close to the target weight as I could and just dropped the weight partway through the set if neccessary. The other thing is for legs this poses a problem during MESO 1 already -for example, my squat weight with a barbell 60% is almost 90 pounds. And I don't have a squat rack. Plus the exercises are really dynamic, so they don't all lend themselves to heavy weight, at least on this DVD.

Now I know I need to work on endurance, and I'll be trying to use recommended weights based on my 1RM, but I'll likely have to drop down in weight partway through as long as the reps stay high. Is any one else finding this? Maybe SNM or Cathe could weigh in (pardon the pun!)...

 

[Dela]

Hi, just some thoughts, maybe it really is just an endurance vs. strength issue, if that's the case, you should probably lower your weights enough to complete the reps, but of course at a challenging level for meso 1. It's possible the endurance nature of the workout, is kind of tiring you out too soon, and resulting in you needing to lift less.

I just finished meso1, and checked my cards, I can't find squats with a barbell on any of them.

I also read, and found personally, that if you ended up doing a lot of reps, and using that to calculate, your 1RM can end up to high. So for example, if you tested your squats with lets say 70 pounds, but ended up doing 18 reps, your 1RM is going to come out very high, probably higher than it really is. I don't have a squat rack either, but I find a weighted vest works well to add weight to these exercises. I just bought an adjustable 40 lb vest.

This is just me, but I tested a couple of the tricep exercises with incorrect form (I was standing up too straight), so my 1 RM was like double the weight I could really do when doing correctly in a "table top" position.

HTH, I'm sure others will weigh in

 

[wennell_dennell]

Hi Dela! Thanks for the reponse! I've basically done as you suggested, and lowered the weight where needed, still pushing hard to the end of the high end rep sets. From these weights I'll increase weekly....I'm only in week two and already feeling better from the endurance perspective too, which is encouraging

Cheers,
Jennifer