How many reps should you really do?

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Subject: How many reps should you really do?

At StrongFirst, we never train to failure. Not because we like to take it easy, but because our goal is improvement, not exhaustion.

Training to failure leads to sloppy technique, a higher injury risk, and longer recovery times—three excellent reasons why we always keep some reps in reserve.

Based on Soviet weightlifting experience, you should perform roughly between 1/3 and 2/3 of your RM (repetition maximum). E.g., 3-6 reps with 10RM, 2-4 reps with 6RM, etc. This ensures every rep is crisp, powerful, and technically perfect, while still providing the optimal stimulus for strength and muscle growth.

But how can you know how many reps you could perform at a given percentage of your 1RM without testing your RM with every single WEIGHT?

You’ve probably seen dozens of charts online that claim things like:

75% 1RM = 8–10RM

80% 1RM = 6–8RM

85% 1RM = 4–6RM

We wish it were that simple. Strength endurance varies greatly from athlete to athlete and from lift to lift. That’s why in Built Strong we created a formula and a reference table that allow you to estimate your RMs for every intensity by testing just one weight: 80% of your 1RM.

Fabio Zonin teaching at the Built Strong seminar

Fabio Zonin, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor and the author of this newsletter
and the table below.

Do not miss the upcoming Built Strong seminar he is teaching online.

All you need to do is:

Know your 1RM.
Test how many perfect reps you can perform with 80% of that weight.
Use the Built Strong RM table to estimate your RMs for all other percentages.

For example, let’s say you can perform 8 perfect reps with 80% of your 1RM.

From that single test, you can estimate your RMs at other intensities: around 9 reps at 75% and about 6 reps at 85%.

Now, to find your training range, take roughly one third to two thirds of those numbers.

That means you’ll be working with 3–6 reps at 75% of your 1RM and 2–4 reps at 85%.

This keeps your sets technically perfect, your recovery fast, and your progress steady. This simple approach allows you to train smarter: no failure, no junk volume, just steady, measurable gains in both strength and muscle.

During the Built Strong online seminar, we’ll go deep into these principles and show you how to master the variables of volume, intensity, and effort to design bulletproof programs that deliver incredible, consistent results.

Imagine applying this level of precision to every lift you do—that’s exactly what Built Strong will teach you.

Built Strong online seminar—December 20-21, 2025