Dan, I am curious, what formula do you use to determine what weight someone should lift after determining their 1 rep max from bench press, squats and reps of crunches?

I can't give away all my secrets!

Seriously though, I can let you know that I have developed something that I call the Leveling System that looks at each individual's strength to bodyweight ratio’s as the first factor in designing an individualized program. The Leveling System encompasses many formulas like the Schwartz, Wilk’s, Sinclair, and Malone which are used internationally in weight lifting contests to develop a point system which ranks weight lifters based on their bodyweight and the actual weight that the individual has lifted. There are also pages of research data that I have compiled from the American College of Sports Medicine to help me in formulating workouts for the less competitive individual. I then use various percentages of a person’s one repetition max to determine the specific weights to use for the repetitions in the workouts.

There is also something called a “Strength Modifier” that I’ve developed that enables me to calculate weights for various exercises based off the testing exercises that I ask people to perform to initially start their workout programs.

Finally, because I have always been in very competitive environments where if I am not successful in getting results with the people I work with, I get fired! So, I am constantly researching and testing what works or doesn’t work when it comes to training. Ah, the life of a strength and conditioning coach!

Rest assured, anything that I develop for Fitrex has been tested in real life situations. My biggest task now is simply designing programs for all the different individual goals that people may have.