dos Remedios and Friends

No, nothing like Fox and Friends: these guys actually have brains. Here are three of the most popular conversion charts for "one repetition maximum" or 1RM. That is the amount of weight that one can lift only one time with good form.

It is important to know your 1RM so that you can properly load and progress your lifts. generally, you must lift over 75% of your 1RM in any given lift in order to build muscle and increase strength. That might seem like a lot, but consider that you can get around 10 repetitions at your 75% 1RM.

Of course, the best way to get your actual 1RM is to do 1RM testing. But that can be dangerous and too time-consuming for many people.

Here's a  summary chart you can you use to estimate your 1RM. experiment a bit to see which one you find most accurate ( professionals appear to use the Brzycki most often.) Blank spaces mean the % matches the value above. "-" means no value provided.


REPS             1        2        3        4        5        6        7        8        9        10        12        15

%
1RM

Brzycki        100     95      90      88      86      83      80      78      76      75         70        -            

Baechle                             93      90      87      85      83      80      77                   67         65

dos
Remedios                92      90      87      85      82       -        75        -       70         65         60


Oh, and stay away from Fox and Friends. It will rot your brain. I mean it.

Tone Deaf

I bemoan the fitness industry's use of the word "tone" as a euphemism for "build muscle" when it comes to women. First,the use of this word is misleading. One builds muscle(hypertrophy) or not. One may lose muscle(through disuse or because of advancing age or because of disease.)There is no biological mechanism for "toning.". Second, it scares women into believing that lifting more than 3-5pound pink dumbbells will make them "bulky." Baloney. Getting really big muscles takes years of heavy training, the right diet,and supplemental testosterone. Oh, and the specific intent to get big muscles. I've lifted relatively heavy my entire life. I have never been accused of being bulky- but I get regular admiring glances and comments from both sexes. Third, use of this word implies that muscles on women are unacceptable. We need to change the aesthetic from "skinny" and "overweight" are acceptable, but "strong and "muscular" are not. Lift heavy. Be strong. Look good. Be healthy. Professor Henry Higgins: "By George, Eliza, the streets will be strewn with the bodies of men shooting themselves for your sake before I'm done with you.