Originally Posted by
CommanderFun
Well, the book has a simple procedure. Start with an empty bar. Then in the same session, keep adding weight and doing sets until there is a noticeable slowdown in the lift. Then do two more sets with that weight and you've got your start weight. Gives you something that's a bit of a challenge to your muscles but leaves lots of room for improvement. You might be tempted to try and work with weights you've been doing prior but you run the risk of bumping up into sticky spots a lot earlier. You're not really at a heavy place based on those estimated 1RMs, and even if you start very low, you will probably be able to be doing those weights or greater on your work sets (not 1RM, 3 sets of 5) within a month or two.