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If tomorrow I do sets of 3 reps of 85% of my 1-rep max with 5 minute rests (as many sets as possible), what info will my number of sets tell me? Or is an entirely useless benchmark to track?

alliwantsoda

(Age 40, male, 260 pounds, seated dumbbell shoulder press, lifting diligently for just under a year)

I am taking a rest day today because I have way too much systemic fatigue apparently. I have been doing seated shoulder presses almost daily for triples (sets of 3 reps) all year, typically for 1-2 sets but occasionally more. It's my favorite exercise and it's the only lift I actively work towards getting stronger at. (my other lifts have gone up some but less as a percentage) Here is my workout from yesterday and all previous workouts this month follow a similar volume:

Jun 5th 2pm

Shoulder Press DB

3 reps x 55lbs

3 reps x 55lbs

Close-Grip Incline Bench Press

5 reps x 115lbs

5 reps x 115lbs

(45 minute mcdo break)

Shoulder Press DB

3 reps x 55lbs

Close-Grip Cable Row

3 reps x 187lbs

EZ-Bar Curls

* 2 reps x 100lbs

[quote][/quote]
[quote]10 minute rests, moderate glycogen levels estimated[/quote]
[quote][/quote]
[quote]6pm 2 sets of 45lb kettlebell swings for 15 seconds each[/quote]
[quote][/quote]
[quote]7pm 40 minutes of zone-2 cardio[/quote]

My 1-rep max early last month was with the 60-pound dumbbells but I only achieved that once in my life, and I've failed to get 60 pounds twice since then, so I'm estimating that my true 1-rep max is closer to 58.8 pounds, of which taking 85% yields 50 pounds.

Yesterday I was able to successfully perform 2 triples (2 sets of 3 reps) with the 55-pound dumbbells with a 10 minute break in between, which was the first time I've been able to accomplish that. Prior to yesterday, I could only get 2 reps on my 2nd set following a 10 minute rest using the 55-pound dumbbells. I absolutely would not have been able to do a 3rd set of 3 reps with the same weight yesterday after another 10 minute break because it mentally crippled me and I felt useless all day yesterday after my morning gym session, which is why I'm taking a rest day today.

Tomorrow, my goal is to be able to get at least 10 triples (10 sets of 3 reps) using the 50 pound dumbbells but hoping for 20 or 30 sets of 3 reps since the 50 pound dumbbells feel very light/easy in comparison to the 55 pound dumbbells. However, I've never done more than 4 sets per day of the same exercise so my goal might be unrealistic. It's just what I want to do tomorrow, which is my reason for posting.

TL;DR: If tomorrow I do sets of 3 reps of 85% of my 1-rep max with 5 minute rests (as many sets as possible), what info will my number of sets tell me about my strength endurance or my conditioning or my physiology? Or is an entirely useless benchmark to track?

6 Jun 2026 22:05

vapordays

It's not deeply insightful imo beyond telling you what you're doing now compared to what you've done before. Are you doing more than before? If so, good, that's supposed to happen. If not, why?

And also it will tell you that there are some people who are stronger than you (at least in that lift) and some people you are stronger than (at least in that lift). Which is always the case.

Question for you: I rarely see or hear about people doing 3 rep max or 1 rep max with dumbells, usually that is a barbell thing? Why aren't you doing more like the 6-12 rep range?

Also, there's a good reason it is not recommended to do heavy compound lifts every day, like you said you've been doing. Has that worked well for you? You will probably advance more quickly by lifting less frequently! Rest/recovery is just as important as the lift, as it's where the muscle actually grows and gets stronger.

6 Jun 2026 22:52

alliwantsoda

It’s not deeply insightful imo beyond telling you what you’re doing now compared to what you’ve done before. Are you doing more than before? If so, good, that’s supposed to happen. If not, why?

Yes. In December I could not lift the 50 pound dumbbells for 1 rep. I could only get 45 pound dumbbells for 4 reps and failed with the 50 pounders.

Question for you: I rarely see or hear about people doing 3 rep max or 1 rep max with dumbells, usually that is a barbell thing? Why aren’t you doing more like the 6-12 rep range?

My favorite fitness youtuber last year was "Flow High Performance" and I believed his advice (and 90% of other fitness youtubers) emphasizing the RIR advice that essentially says to make sure all your working sets are limited to 3 or fewer reps in reserve. I stumbled across a different concept (the greasing the groove protocol) and I tested it experimentally and had superior results compared to my workouts last year. Here's a playlist of 9 videos I put together and the linked video summarizes it pretty well (i.e. that "less is more"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtU66OYkJIE&list=PLCh9kW9pX73Z9O4ya7PVfId9XOUQZ-_a5&index=2

The main reason though is because I like it. I love going to the gym and doing 15 seconds of high-intensity effort (sets of 3) and then resting for 10 minutes by setting a timer, logging my exercise, figuring out which exercise I want to do next, looking at my exercises the past 3 days to see if a muscle group hasn't been targeted, etc...

I love the ratio of 15 seconds to 600 seconds of work/rest. It fits my personality and my preferences and is the setup I find most enjoyable. But it also seemingly works better than the most recommended method by youtubers such as Jeff Nippard, Mike Israetel, etc..

Also, there’s a good reason it is not recommended to do heavy compound lifts every day, like you said you’ve been doing. Has that worked well for you? You will probably advance more quickly by lifting less frequently! Rest/recovery is just as important as the lift, as it’s where the muscle actually grows and gets stronger.

Fully agreed! I'm still a beginner and I'm trying to learn how much each exercise contributes to neural or systemic fatigue as that's my limiting factor. I was somewhat "forced" near the end of last month to take 4 days off from the gym due to life responsibilities, and it made me realize I was severely under-resting and neglecting my recovery by a huge margin. I was looking at my average daily volume of 10-20 reps and believed it was extremely low compared to other programs I've looked at (such as Jeff Nippard's 7 day split of Push, Pull, Legs, rest, upper, lower, rest) and I thought doing 3-6 working sets per day would never give me more fatigue than I could recover from by the next day. Suffice to say, I was very very wrong. 🤦‍♂️

6 Jun 2026 23:18

vapordays

Wait, in your original post you are saying 3 reps, and 3 rep max, and now you are using reps in reserve (RIR) which is different

7 Jun 2026 00:01

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