Is Your 1RM Irrelevant? New Research Says You Might Not Need It

The one-rep max (1RM) has been the undisputed king of the weight room for decades. It is how coaches prescribe training loads, how lifters chase their next weightlifting PR, and how strength gets measured in research. If you have ever loaded a barbell and grinded out the heaviest single you could manage, you know the thrill (and the mild terror) of a true max attempt.

A 2026 commentary published in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance argues that traditional 1RM testing is time consuming, fatiguing, and largely unnecessary for most training goals. Before you torch your lifting chalk in protest, the authors make solid points, and there are better tools available now for tracking progress and setting loads.

What Is 1RM?

Your one-repetition maximum (1RM) is the heaviest weight you can lift for a single rep with correct form on a given exercise. It is the standard field test for dynamic strength and has been used for decades to set training percentages, track progress, and compare athletes. A large systematic review found 1RM testing is very reliable across ages, sexes, and exercise types (median ICC of 0.97). The problem is that getting an accurate number eats a full session per lift, generates serious fatigue, and carries more injury risk than normal working sets.

Who Really Needs to Test Their 1RM

If you are a competitive powerlifter or Olympic weightlifter, your sport literally is the 1RM. You need to test it, and doing so is practicing your craft.

For everyone else training for general strength, muscle, or conditioning, a true 1RM test is a tool, not a requirement. It eats a session, generates fatigue that cuts into your actual training, and the number you tested last month probably does not reflect what you can do today anyway. The Loturco commentary makes the case that most of us spend time and energy on max testing that could go toward actually getting stronger.

What the New Research Says

The commentary by Loturco, Pereira, and Boullosa lays out three problems with routine 1RM testing. First, your true max is impossible to pin down precisely. If you lift a weight and succeed, you know you can lift at least that much, but if you add weight and fail, you do not know if you added too much or if you were fatigued from the previous attempt. Your 1RM also fluctuates daily based on sleep, stress, and accumulated training fatigue.

Second, frequent max testing is impractical. Near-maximal attempts generate significant neuromuscular fatigue that displaces actual training time. Third (and this is the interesting part), strength changes can be tracked just as effectively without a true max attempt. The authors say using velocity based methods, submaximal prediction formulas, and perceptual tools like reps in reserve are some more practical alternatives to 1RM.

Smarter Ways to Track Strength

If the 1RM is losing its crown, the replacements need to be up to snuff. Fortunately, there are some excellent options to choose from.

Velocity-Based Training (VBT)

VBT tracks how fast the bar moves during each rep. If you used to bench 225 lbs at 0.5 meters per second and now you move it at 0.6, you are stronger, and you did not need a max attempt to prove it. VBT also lets you autoregulate within a session. Once your bar speed drops below a set threshold (typically 20 to 30% slower than your first rep), you end the set. Load-velocity profiling can accurately estimate 1RM for upper body lifts using just two to four submaximal loads, though accuracy for lower body lifts is less reliable. Smartphone apps have made this tech accessible for home gym lifters too.

Reps in Reserve (RIR)

Instead of prescribing loads as a percentage of your 1RM, you train based on how many reps you have left before failure. An RIR of 2 means you stopped with two good reps in the tank. This self-regulating approach adjusts automatically for daily fluctuations in fatigue and stress, and recent research suggests training guided with RIR leads to strength gains on par with percentage based programs. The tradeoff is that beginners tend to overestimate how many reps they have left. It gets more accurate with experience.

Submaximal Prediction Formulas

Submaximal prediction formulas estimate your 1RM from a lighter set taken close to failure. A 5RM test is especially accurate for bench press and leg press. Load up a weight you can do for about five reps, plug the numbers into a formula, and get a usable estimate without the fatigue of a true max.

Estimating Your 1RM Without Testing It

Here are the four most widely used 1RM prediction equations. All take two inputs (weight lifted and reps completed) and work best in the 3 to 10 rep range.

Here's an example: say you deadlift 315 lbs for 5 reps. Using Epley, your estimated 1RM is 315 × (1 + 0.0333 × 5) = 367 lbs. Using Brzycki, it is 315 × (36 / 32) = 354 lbs. The formulas will disagree by a few pounds, and that is fine. You are looking for a usable ballpark, not a decimal-precise answer.

One thing worth pointing out is that deadlift 1RM is consistently harder to predict than one rep max bench using these equations. Most formulas underestimate deadlift, and velocity based methods tend to overestimate it. If precision matters, a direct test or a lift-specific equation is your best bet. For a quick estimate on any lift, try this 1 rep max calculator from NASM.

When a True 1RM Still Matters

None of this means the 1RM is useless. It is a well validated, highly reliable test with decades of data behind it. The point of the Loturco commentary is that routine, frequent max testing is impractical and unnecessary for most people. If you want to test your max once or twice a year to benchmark progress and celebrate the work you have put in, go for it. Just do not feel like you need to retest every month to run an effective program.

If you do test, warm up properly, use safety straps or spotter arms, and build up over no more than five ascending singles with full rest between attempts. If you train alone at home, a good set of rack safeties is non-negotiable.

Takeaway

The 1RM is not dead, but it does not need to run your entire training life. You'll get a lot out of velocity tracking, RIR, and submaximal prediction formulas for setting loads and measuring progress with less fatigue and less risk. Save your true max attempts for competition and benchmarking, or the pure satisfaction of finding out what you are made of. The rest of the time, train hard, track your bar speed or reps in reserve, and let the strength take care of itself.

FAQs

In exercise, what is a rep?

A rep (short for repetition) is one complete movement of an exercise from start to finish. On a bench press, one rep is lowering the bar to your chest and pressing it back to lockout. Reps are the basic unit of training volume, and most programs prescribe work in sets of a certain number of reps (for example, 3 sets of 8 reps).

How do I calculate my 1 rep max?

Pick a weight you can lift for 3 to 10 reps with good form and take the set close to failure. Plug the weight and reps into a prediction formula like Epley (1RM = weight × (1 + 0.0333 × reps)). For a quick answer, try this 1 rep max calculator from NASM. These estimates are most accurate in the 3 to 5 rep range and less reliable above 10 reps.

Is 1RM testing dangerous?

Any lift carries some risk, and the risk goes up when you are handling maximal loads. The biggest concerns are form breakdown under fatigue and failing a lift without proper safety equipment. If you decide to test, warm up thoroughly, use safety straps or spotter arms, build up gradually over no more than five attempts, and rest three to five minutes between singles. Newer lifters should get comfortable with submaximal testing first.