One-Repetition Maximum

The one-repetition maximum (ORM) is how much weight in a certain exercise a person can lift, push or pull without being able to perform one more repetition of the same exercise with the same muscle right afterwards.

For beginners, this should be performed only with the supervision of a personal trainer, physical therapist of physician. Implementing the ORM is not a good idea for an exercise routine It is a good idea to do a few times a year for each muscle group, such as once very three months, to measure strength progress. It can also be done at the beginning of an exercise program for the same purpose, but only with supervision for beginners


It is useful to break muscle fibers up so that they can grow bigger and stronger. During the night’s sleep and the next day’s rest, these muscle fibers will grow back bigger and stronger. If someone uses a twenty-pound free weight for a biceps curl for one or more repetitions, for instance, and a minute or a few minutes later uses a five-pound weight for the same exercise, the five-pound free weight will seem like a feather. In the same way, ORM done a few times a year for each muscle can ready the muscle for lighter weights that are still an advance over the last weights used for a certain muscle. Always be sure to stretch the muscle used before and after the ORM.

The ORM measures muscle strength. Muscle endurance is the ability of a person to perform many repetitions with a sub-maximum resistance. Usually, a person can perform 10 repetitions using 75% of the weight of their ORM. For instance if the ORM for someone in doing biceps curls is 20 pounds for each arm, they can perform 10 repetitions at a time with 15 pounds.

Disclaimer: None of the information in this blog is meant to take the place of medical advice. Talk to a physician before starting an exercise program or implementing anything in this blog.

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