% of 1RM for weighted chin-ups

[Myrmecia]

I have just completed a strength-building cycle of eight weeks ending with chin-ups with 40, 42.5 and 45 kg weights from my belt (heavier weights for the grips that give me the easiest lifts). 5 x 3.

I am also finishing strength-building cycles for deadlifts (5 x 5) and dumbbell presses (5 x 3).

My intention is to begin a hypertrophy cycle on all three lifts this week (8 x 6) using Stephan Korte's protocol in which the weight lifted in the first week is 58% of 1RM.

It's straight-forward to calculate 58% of my deadlift and press 1RM. But, as in my chins I am lifting the ~40kg + my 80kg bodyweight, where do I set my 58%? I am inclined to push myself and reduce the weight hanging from my waist to 58% (to 30kg). I certainly can't reduce my bodyweight + plates to 58% as that'd be 69kg - less than my bodyweight! I'm confident I can chin 8 x 6 at 30kg, but it will be harder going than the 58%s for the deads and the presses.

How would you calculate a percentage of 1RM for a weighted chin-up? Or do you recommend a different approach?

I'm 63.

[Dastardly]

This all sounds frightfully complicated for chin up training.

[yorick]

You really have to look at bodyweight+plates as the total weight you are chinning.

So, the easiest method would be to just drop the weights completely, and then calculate your bodyweight as a percentage of what you were chinning before if you really need to figure out the percents. Instead of starting your chin program at 58%, you might be starting at 85% or whatever.

You could repeat the weeks of your chin program until you are at the % spot in the program where you are finally able to add weight again.

There's a million ways to program chins, but you'll have to decide how important they are and how much you can handle without interfering with your other lifts.

You could always do 8x6 the first week, 8x7 the second week (or 7x6 and 1x7), and play with the reps that way instead of adding weight again anytime soon.

[Myrmecia]

It sounds complicated because I was careful to provide sufficient information so someone who had thought through this stuff and had direct experience, possibly as a coach, could help me out. I'm aiming to do one-armed chins by the end of the year and unless I'm injured I am confident of reaching my goal. My upper body is looking better than it ever has, especially the lats, but also the arms and, notably, the whole shape. I have surprised myself about the extent I - as an older lifter - can add muscle with just determined, regular work - no supplements.

[yorick]

It sounds complicated because I was careful to provide sufficient information so someone who had thought through this stuff and had direct experience, possibly as a coach, could help me out. I'm aiming to do one-armed chins by the end of the year and unless I'm injured I am confident of reaching my goal. My upper body is looking better than it ever has, especially the lats, but also the arms and, notably, the whole shape. I have surprised myself about the extent I - as an older lifter - can add muscle without just determined, regular work - no supplements.

Sounds like a good plan, and that you have made some good progress.

Have you checked out beastskills.com ? I believe he still has a lot of good info about getting to a 1 arm chinup and various progressions for getting there.

Keep up the good work.

[D.W.]

Holy Shit. I struggled to chin with 25 kg today and you are at 45 while beeing three times my age. I thing i'm just gonna shot myself. Good job!

[Myrmecia]

I struggled to chin with 25 kg today and you are at 45 while beeing three times my age.

It was not instant. Six months of Rippetoe "cycling" got me there. And only for triples so far. The big one will be the one-armed chins - that's a nice lift and you can't fake it. The psychological barrier is almost as tough as the physical one - as I am sure you will have noticed when you chin with 25 kg. You strap the weight on, you reach confidently for the bar, you grip it carefully and are about to take the strain when your brain tells you: "Hang on - This is impossible!".

[D.W.]

Yep, chins never felt heavy before i got to 22,5-25kg. I failed before, but it didn't feel heavy. Nice side effect: I can now feel my back muscles working. Also i'm starting to get a problem with getting in position since the bar is relatively high (Only straight bar in the gym) so i have to use a bench to get up. Climbing on a bench with a 45lbs plate is really annoying. Still searching for a solution for that.
The one-arm-chinup is my goal too. I probably need to chin with ~50kg for a set of 5 to get a chance. Some work to do.

[Clint Merrill]

It sounds complicated because I was careful to provide sufficient information so someone who had thought through this stuff and had direct experience,.

OK, I will weigh in, for two reasons. 1) the OP and I are somewhat similar My age 64, weight 78kg, and I worked up almost his level in weighted chins a while back, best was 80lbx2, 75lbx3x3. 2) I'm just geeky enough to want to do the math for "calculate a percentage of 1RM for a weighted chin-up"
I would agree with another poster that you need to consider the total weight (bodyweight + load) = 80 + 45 = 125 KG. Wendler's formula says that for a 5rm of 125KG, 1RM = around 146kg. Since he did sets across, lets call it 150kg 58% of that is 87kg, or 80kg bodyweight + 7kg approx to start. This squares OK with my experience. For me, doing volume chins with just bodyweight starts to get to me after 25+ total reps or so. 30kg added sounds way too high.

[Myrmecia]

I would agree with another poster that you need to consider the total weight (bodyweight + load) = 80 + 45 = 125 KG. Wendler's formula says that for a 5rm of 125KG, 1RM = around 146kg. Since he did sets across, lets call it 150kg. 58% of that is 87kg, or 80kg bodyweight + 7kg approx to start. This squares OK with my experience. For me, doing volume chins with just bodyweight starts to get to me after 25+ total reps or so. 30kg added sounds way too high.

Thanks! I was way over-confident! I have been accustomed to triples with 45 kg (body+plates=125), but when I tried with 15 kg (body+plates= 95), my performance dropped sharply after the fourth rep. So in the last two reps of the last two sets, I managed to get only half-way up.

Clearly I had been doing triples for too long and had allowed myself to get embedded in that groove. There is a humbling lesson in this, especially for older lifters who - like me - can get comfortable in a routine. As Mark Rippetoe is constantly urging: "disrupt the homeostasis".

As I'm beginning an hypertrophy cycle, I may need to reduce the plate weight still further to match the chins' perceived effort to the perceived effort of 58% 1RMs on the deadlift and the (dumbbell) press.