CFS Rules for Max Effort Deadlifts, Squats & Presses

CFS rules for Max Effort Deadlifts, Squats & Presses work is as follows. Know your 1RM's. If you can't be bothered recording them then please don't ask me to explain what Max Effort is. If you can be bothered then read on. The Max Effort work is based around a percentage of your 1RM and helps protect you from Central Nervous System Fatigue. CNS fatigue is what you most likely feel today after 14.3. Your tired and the thought of lifting a heavy deadlift again tomorrow will probably make you want to cry. If you aren't a little CNS fatigued then most likely you didn't complete enough deadlifts in the 8mins to feel it. So we need to get you stronger so that next time you attempt 14.3 you are laying on the couch the next day sucking your thumb and calling out for your mummy. Back to M/E explanation. Research suggests that to help maximise strength gains and minimise CNS fatigue we should only lift 3-4 lifts above 90% of your 1RM in a session. Now i don't believe everything i read as scientists have got things wrong before, they had us believing that the earth was flat for a very long time, but for now, the Max Effort Method is what we are working off. So it's 3 lifts above 90% of your 1RM. Now a couple of more rules that have been adopted at CFS through trial and error

Rule 1) When attempting to go for a new PB, you are not allowed to increase it by anymore then 1KG on your first attempt at a new PB. If you are successful with that lift then your are welcome to as much increase in weight as you like on your next attempt.

Rule 2) Now this rule can be broken, as mitch says, rules are meant to be broken. It is encouraged to go until you miss one. Why? Your body adapts to the demands placed upon it. If you load your bar up with a weight beyond your capacity at this time and miss the lift, your body with let your mind know to prepare it for the next time you place that load on it. That is how we adapt, and get stronger. Now i know this goes against some beliefs that once you get your PB you should stop, pat yourself on the back for your PB and move on. It does plenty for your ego, but little for your body's preparation for that next PB.  Plus, when you get a PB and your done with the back slapping, yes you deserve it, there isn't a whole lot of thought put into to how you got it. But if you miss it, your mind is racing, what if i had of kept my chest up, if i drive out of the bottom faster next time i will get it etc etc. We have all been down that road. But like i said rule number 2 has the Mitch clause built into it.

 If you are done you are done.

Rule 3) Don't lift the same weight as an old PB. Why? Because you have lifted it before, there is no more to prove here. Why not try for a 1kg increase instead, or 1/2 kg even. Be smart with your lifts above 90%. Here is an example of a smart increase.

Jessica has a PB of 100kg on her back squat. She does 10 reps with the 20kg bar to get the movement pattern going. She adds a couple of 10kg plates on and gets through 5 reps. She then adds a couple of 20kg plates & some 1.25kg plates and it takes her to 62.5kg(for the picky ones, yes she took off the 10kg plates). She does 3 reps to feel a bit of weight and to stress the muscles a little more. She adds some 10kg plates on and it takes her to 82.5kg. At this point Jessica is assessing how she feels today. Is she feeling strong. Yes she is so she puts some 5kg plates on and takes the bar to 92.5kg for her first lift above 90%. She un-racks the bar and hits the 92.5kg easily. She is getting excited now about a new PB today. She know not to take to big a jump so adds 2 x 2.5kg plates and takes the bar to 97.5kg for her 2nd lift above 90%. This weight moves even better so she adds another 2 x 1.25kg plates and the 0.5kg fractionals so the bar is loaded at 101kg. She un-racks the bar for her 3rd lift above 90%, hits the bottom of the squat and drives out, the bar hardly moving but it still heading up, 15secs later she is at full lock out for a new PB of 1kg. She's excited. She knows that if she lifts another one she will probably miss, the last one took it out of her. She ways up the pros and cons in her head, having read rule 2 the day earlier. She decides to have a go at 102kg but can't get out of the bottom. She knows that she needs to work on her mobility to hit some higher weights, she heads off to mobilise thinking the whole time about how she can hit that 102kg next time.

We will have a look at an example of a "not so smart" increase at a later time.