Max and Back Off Programming

If you love maxing out (who doesn’t?), then here’s a programming option for you:

• Work up to a heavy lift.

• Use that heavy lift to calculate your training loads for the day.

So simple, it’s a wonder that anyone was able to come up with 2500 words to say about it.

This post will take a quick deep dive into some of the details that can help a system like this run smoothly, including tips on weight selection and program design.

But first, here’s how to do it:

STEP ONE: MAX OUT

Pick a focus lift and work up to a Top Single (think 90% or so). Singles taken in this manner shouldn’t take up much training time or be too fatiguing.

Alternatively, you can work to a low rep Top Set.

STEP TWO: BACK OFF

After the heavy lift, do some lighter sets. Specifics for this can vary, depending on the lift you’re using and the objective.

Here are a few options:

#1. BASIC

• Work to a max.
• Drop 10-15% and do a few back-off sets.

In lifting language, this would be noted something like this:

4rm, 3×4 (-10%)

(I think you can do a lot with only this.)

#2. BACK OFF AND REP OUT

• Work to a max.
• Drop 10-15% for the specified # of sets.
• On the final back-off set, go for as many reps as possible.

Example:

4rm, 2×4 (-10%), 1×4+

#3. ONE AND DONE

This abbreviated option can work when you’re short on time, or if you suspect that you may be sandbagging. 

• Work to a max. 
• Drop 10-15% and go for as many good quality reps as possible.

Example: 

4rm, 4+ (-10%) 

Although this post focuses on strength development, Jordan Peters (the bodybuilder, NOT the guy who talks about relationships and stuff as they have similar names) uses something like for bodybuilding. He’ll push that top set closet to a ‘real’ max (Mentzer/ DC training style), then drop some weight and go for reps, aiming to reach failure around 10-15.

#4. DOUBLE DROP

• Work to a max single.
• Drop 10% for some doubles or triples.
• The, drop another 20% or so for sets of 8-10.

Example:

1rm, 2×2 (-10%). Then 2×8 (-15-20%).

#5. FOR BUILDING MASS

• Work to a max.
• Take a steep drop for higher reps to work on muscle build-y stuff.

Example:

3rm, 3×12 (-35%)

#6. FOR TECHNICAL CORRECTION

• Work to a max.
• Feel for the primary weak point in the lift.
• Perform more sets of fewer reps with a weight that can be done perfectly.

Example:

1rm, 8×2 (-20%)

You could even perform the back-off work with a close variation of the lift that addresses the weakness felt, like a pause, closer grip, etc. (I outlined a spinoff of this here).

QUESTIONS?

I should preface this next section by saying that this system is meathead-friendly. As is, you shouldn’t need a PhD in lifting to pull this off.

That said, the details can make or break it. Here are some questions that tend to come up:

HOW DO YOU WORK UP TO A MAX?

You’ll want to do enough work that your body and brain are prepared – but not so much that you tire out.

You could just go with a standard pyramid, doing fewer reps per set on the way up.

Example:

• Bar or 50% for 6-10

• 60% for 5

• 70% for 4

• 80% for 3

• 90% for 1

If you have no clue where you’ll land percentage-wise:

• Take 20-30lb jumps if you anticipate being sub 350-ish.
• Take 40-50lb jumps if you’re in the 4+ plate club.
• Cut those jumps by half or so when you feel you are getting close.

When working to a top set, you could just work up in rep ranges similar to what your max will be. For example: work up in 3’s to a top 3.

You could also work up with different intensity checkpoints. For example, hit a 5rm, then work up in doubles to a 2rm.

HOW DO YOU MAX OUT REGULARLY AND NOT ANNIHILATE YOURSELF?

Sports science tells us that training above 90% for more than three weeks on the same lift can result in staleness – i.e. physical and mental fatigue. So, either stay sub-90%, or rotate through different lift variations.

It’s also a good idea to set a limit on how many 90%+ attempts you do per session.

If you accidentally miss a lift – resist the urge to go back for revenge. Instead, channel the energy you have left into whatever weakness(es) caused you to miss in the first place. 

And lastly, try to stay reasonably chill for the maxes. If you have to pop ammonia caps and summons a demon to make a lift, it’s going to hit you much harder.

CAN YOU GET YOUR VOLUME IN BEFORE THE MAX INSTEAD OF AFTER IT?

Heading things off with a heavy lift can give a nice potentiation effect, allowing you to go heavier with better technique on the rep work that follows.

Getting work in on the way up can also be a thing. It’s just that once the volume starts impacting the top set/single, it becomes a different intent than what is described in this post.

HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT BACK OFF WEIGHTS FOR SINGLES?

Let’s say you have something like this:

1rm, 3×10

That’s a pretty steep gap in reps. Dropping off just 10%-ish in that scenario ain’t gonna fly. So, here’s a rough guide:

• Back off sets of 1-3 – drop 5-10%

• Back off sets of 4-6 – drop 10-20%

• Back off sets of 7-9 – drop 20-30%

• Back off sets of 10+ – drop 25-50%

HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT BACK OFF WEIGHTS FOR ANY SET AND REP COMBINATION?

Let’s say you want to do stuff like this:

• 3rm, 3×8

• 5rm, 2×10

• etc…

This might be able to be done somewhat intuitively, if you don’t mind some of trial and error. But if you want some extra guardrails, here you go:

OPTION 1 – USE A LOADING CHART

Or, you can use an online calculator site like strengthlevel.com.

• Using the 1rm, 3×10 example from above, let’s say your top single was 200lbs.

• You want to back off with 10’s.

• Plug 200lbs for 1 into the online calculator, or reference the above chart.

• We should get 150lbs (75%).

Now, if you didn’t push too hard on the single/top set, or you just happen to be good at repping out, maybe this will be just fine. Otherwise, you may not able to finish all of your reps with good technique.

So:

• Drop another 5-10%, maybe even more as you get more fatigued (we’ll get to that next), bringing us to roughly 135-140 lbs. Or, if you are using the NSCA chart, just slide over another box or two to the right.

This is all assuming that your top set effort was reasonable. If you went apeshit, you might need to bump off a bit more weight.

You can use this method with any top set/back-off combination.

OPTION 2 – USE THE RPE CHART/SCALE

Now we have a chart (originally created by Mike Tucherer) that factors in your own response.

This bit is going to assume that you are familiar with the RPE scale. If you aren’t – it’s a grading system to rate how hard you are working:

Sticking with the 200lb single example used above, let’s say that you definitely had another rep in the tank, and rate it as RPE9.

• 1 @ RPE9 = 96%. So, we can estimate your max for the day to be around 208lbs. (200 is 96% of 208.)

• Now, you want to back off with 10’s.

• Skim across to the ’10’ column to see that we should be good for 147lbs, or 71%. However, this would be at an RPE of 9. To keep the set quality under control, we want to work a little lighter than that. Maybe more of an RPE 7-8.

• RPE 7.5 would bring us to 67% of our max, or 140lbs.

Generally, the more sets you have to do, the more wiggle room you might need with the weights.

DO YOU HAVE TO USE RPE?

If this RPE stuff confuses you, don’t worry about it. However, you WILL need some consistent method of rating your top lift. You could use RIR, smiley faces, or whatever resonates with you.

And if you don’t want to use any formal system at all, that’s cool, too. Some people can probably get by just by knowing when they are a few reps from failure.

WHAT IF AUTOREGULATION FEELS TO SUBJECTIVE?

Autoregulation can be made less open-ended by combining it with percentages. Similarly, percentages can be made more forgiving just by including a small (3-5%-ish) margin for error.

To illustrate, this fully autoregulated example:

1rm @9RPE, 3×10@7-8RPE

or this percentage-based example:

1 x 200lbs, 3×10 (135lbs)

could instead be something like this:

1rm @9RPE (195-205lbs), 3×10@7-8RPE (125-140lbs)

This gives you some flexibility with a target range to shoot for, along with an idea of how hard you should be pushing.

SHOULD YOU ADJUST THE WEIGHT DURING THE SESSION?

When you’ve got multiple sets to get through, you might start hitting the wall.

In a nutshell, this:

225/5 – shooting hips.

215/5 – fixed the problem.

215/5 – good tech. DONE.

is probably going to be a lot more productive than this:

225/5 – shooting hips.

225/2 – bar got forward. failed rep 2.

225/1 – grinder. missed depth. ugh.

In most cases, you’d adjust things downward so that you can complete your reps with good technique.

Be more conservative when adjusting upward, as too much of that can lead to erratic recovery/performance issues and stalls.

This is not to say to never bump the weight up, but to stay honest and mindful of the intention when adjusting the load. (This sort of thing can go sour pretty quickly when it becomes solely a test to see how much you can lift each day.)

HOW MANY BACK OFF SETS SHOULD YOU DO?

This is totally up to the user, their objective, and what they can handle. A safe bet is to start more conservatively and add work if/when you need it.

CAN YOU ADJUST THE NUMBER OF BACK OFF SETS DURING THE SESSION?

If you want to do this, you could leave the number of sets open and stop when you reach a pre-determined level of ‘doneness’.

For example:

• Set 1 – 300/5 @7RPE

• Set 2 – 300/5 @8RPE

• Set 3 – 300/5 @9RPE – doneness level reached. Finished.

Autoregulating volume is optional. Some people really hit their stride by factoring fatigue into their volume decisions.

Others don’t experience much fatigue during a session, but their recovery tells a very different story… making them a bit more prone to user error.

On that note, there might even be times when you inadvertently get enough work on the way up that doing a bunch of back-offs afterward would be overkill.

For example, you are working to a 4rm and end up with:

200/4, 215/4, 225/4, 230/4 (max)

Because these work-ups were all within 15%-ish of your top set, it’s pretty safe to say that you already got 4 quality work sets in.

Sharp increases in volume are something to be mindful of in this (or any) format. This may or may not become an issue, just something to keep in mind if you are sensitive to volume changes.

HOW CAN YOU CREATE A PLAN WITH THIS?

While you definitely don’t need to plan anything out in excruciating detail, it’s good to have a game plan.

Here are a few ideas to get the ball rolling:

A SIMPLE PROGRESSION

You could aim to improve in some regard at each session.

Ex: Squat 2-4RM

Session 1 – You worked to a 2RM @ 200lbs.

Session 2 – Do any of the following:

• Go for 2 @ 205lbs (add weight).
• Go for 3 @ 200lbs (add a rep)
• Go for 2 @ 200lbs again, but with better depth, speed, or technique.

You get the idea.

The bodybuilder mentioned in the One and Done example above also incorporates what looks like a simple double progression, where you push that top set hard within a set rep range at each session. Once you hit the top end of the rep range, add weight. If you stall out for more than a couple of weeks, just switch to another variation of the lift.

SOMETHING LESS STRUCTURED

Create a pool of lift variations. Each training day, pick a lift and work to some sort a ‘max’, (nothing forced; just whatever you’ve got that day) followed by back-off work. Finish up with assistance work to build muscle and target weak points.

Keep going on a specific lift either for a couple of sessions, or for as long as you are making progress.

Switch out the lift once you stall, or rotate through slightly different variations every session.

USING A %-BASED CYCLE AS A ROADMAP

If you’d prefer some firmer structure, you could use a percentage-based plan as your base. Just convert the percentages to a max-back-off format with target weight ranges, as shown in the What If Autoregulation Feels Too Subjective example above.

THROWING A HEAVY SINGLE IN FRONT OF AN EXISTING PLAN

Hit a heavy lift. Then, execute the rest of the plan as written, adjusting the weight according to the max on that day. You can keep the sets x reps the same (or maybe drop a work set or two if you are working to a rep max). This gives you all the benefits of that nervous system spark without disrupting your current plan too much.

AS A TAPER

When used for a shorter phase, this can make a nice transition into peak or taper. Drop the back-off work as the top set gets heavier, and it is a taper.

FINAL WORDS

So there you have it. Hopefully this post provided some building blocks for experimenting with this very simple method!

Stay honest about your intensity and effort, and work weakness as they surface. You might not hit a PR every single time you train, but if your system is working, you should see both your maxes and work sets trending upward over time.

If you want to read more on autoregulation, check out the RTS manual:

And if you want to know more about successfully maxing without dying, check out Westside’s Book of Methods: