Why below your true max
Basing percentages on 90 percent of your real max builds in a buffer. That buffer means your top sets are achievable, you accumulate quality reps, and you avoid grinding maximal singles every week.
What is a training max?
A training max is a working number below your true one rep max, usually about 90 percent, used to set your program's weights.
The quick answer
A training max, or TM, is a deliberately conservative estimate of your max, typically set at about 90 percent of your true or estimated one rep max. Programs like 5/3/1 calculate every working set as a percentage of the TM rather than your actual max. Using a submaximal number keeps your prescribed weights manageable so you can hit all your reps and progress steadily.
How to think about it
How it drives the program
In percentage based plans, every set is TM times a percentage. A 100kg TM gives a 65kg, 75kg, and 85kg progression, so the TM is the single anchor for your whole cycle.
Progressing the TM
You bump the TM by a small fixed amount each cycle, often 2.5kg upper body and 5kg lower body, rather than testing a true max constantly. Slow TM growth keeps the buffer intact.
Do this
- Set it at 90 percentTake your best recent max or estimate and use 90 percent as your TM.
- Estimate from a top setNo true max? Plug a heavy set of reps into an e1RM formula, then take 90 percent.
- Bump it slowlyAdd 2.5kg upper and 5kg lower per cycle rather than retesting your max.
- Reset if you miss repsIf prescribed reps start failing, drop the TM by about 10 percent and rebuild.
Keep going
How SUUPR helps
A training max is a working number below your true one rep max, usually about 90 percent, used to set your program's weights.