# What is a strength phase, and why should your gym test your 1RM?

![What is a strength phase, and why should your gym test your 1RM? — Boom Fitness Culture, Lehi and Pleasant Grove, Utah](https://boomfitnessculture.com/assets/og/learn__what-is-a-strength-phase-1rm-testing-utah-county.png)

*Boom Fitness Culture · By Teresa · Updated 2026-09-25*

**Short answer:** A strength phase is a block of training — usually two to four months — where the programming is deliberately organised around getting stronger, and where you measure it at both ends. At Boom we test a one-rep max on bench press and barbell back squat at the start, program the block around building those lifts and their accessories, then re-test the same lifts at the end so you can see the number move. We are in one right now; it runs to the end of December, when we re-test. We deliberately do not max the deadlift, for reasons I explain below. The research on 1RM testing is reassuring: a 2020 systematic review found it highly reliable across trained and untrained people and reported it as safe across populations including children and older adults, with muscle soreness the most common complaint.

## The problem with how most people train

Walk into a big-box gym in January and watch what happens. People work hard, sweat, feel tired, go home. Three months later they are doing roughly the same weights they started with, and nobody noticed, because nothing was ever measured. Feeling tired is not the same as getting stronger. It is just the part you can feel.

A strength phase fixes that by putting a number at each end. You cannot argue with a number.

## What a strength phase actually is

It is a block of weeks where the programming is pointed at one job. In a strength block that means heavier loads, lower reps, longer rest, and — the part people skip — deliberate work on the accessory lifts that hold the big ones back. Your bench does not usually stall because your chest is weak. It stalls because your triceps or your upper back are. A phase that only chased the main lift would leave that on the table, so our programming through this block works the accessories as hard as the headline movements.

Different from what most people do, which is a different random hard workout every day. Random work makes you tired. Organised work makes you stronger. Both feel the same on the drive home.

## Why test a one-rep max at all?

Because it is the cleanest measure of maximal strength there is, and because it is honest. Either the bar went up or it did not.

The reliability question is worth taking seriously, and it has been studied properly. A 2020 systematic review in Sports Medicine – Open by Grgic, Lazinica, Schoenfeld and Pedisic pooled the test–retest data on 1RM assessment. Their findings: reliability coefficients ranged from 0.64 to 0.99 with a median of 0.97, and 92% of them were at or above 0.90. That held “regardless of resistance training experience, number of familiarization sessions, exercise selection, part of the body assessed, and sex or age of participants.” They also concluded that familiarisation sessions are not strictly necessary for a reliable result.

On safety, the same review reported the test “has been shown as safe across different populations, even among children, older adults, and clinical individuals,” with muscle soreness the most commonly reported issue. That matches what we see. A max attempt under a coach who has watched you all block is not the dangerous thing people imagine. A max attempt on a whim, alone, with an ego and no spotter, is a different activity entirely.

## Why we don’t max the deadlift

This is the one people ask about, and the answer is a judgement call rather than a rule handed down from anywhere.

A heavy deadlift is the lift where form degrades most sharply at the limit, and where a breakdown puts the load straight through a rounded lower back. Bench has a spotter and a rack. Squat has a rack and safeties. A maximal deadlift has neither — the failure mode is just you and the floor. The information it gives us is not worth the risk profile across a room of general-population members with varied backgrounds.

So we still deadlift, and we train it heavy in the block. We just do not test the absolute limit on it. If that sounds overly cautious, consider that our job is to have you training in March, not to collect an impressive number in September.

## What the number does and does not tell you

It tells you whether your maximal strength moved. That is genuinely useful and almost nobody tracks it.

It does not tell you whether you look different, whether your conditioning improved, whether you sleep better, or whether your back stopped hurting. Those matter too, and for a lot of our members they matter more. A strength phase is one lens, not the whole picture. If your goal is general fitness or fat loss, you still benefit from organised strength work — you just should not judge the whole block on one number.

## What if I have never lifted heavy before?

Then you are exactly who benefits most, because untrained people make the fastest early gains and because your first test gives you a baseline you will beat comfortably. Nobody is testing a true limit on day three. You get coached into the block, the coach sets your loads, and the test happens when it is appropriate for you. On test day you will be given a weight your coach already believes you can move.

What you will not be asked to do is grind out a max in front of a room of strangers with no preparation. That is the version of this that lives in people’s heads and it is not what happens.

## When does the current block end?

End of December, when we re-test bench and squat. If you are reading this in the autumn, joining now means you get a baseline and a re-test inside the same block — which is a far better reason to start than a new year. January starters spend their first eight weeks just catching up to where the room already is.

## Where to do this

Boom Fitness Culture, Lehi at 1657 N State St. and Pleasant Grove at 564 W 700 S Ste. 304. Coached classes on a programmed weekly split, currently mid-strength-phase, with a coach setting your loads rather than handing you a sheet. $119.99 a month, month to month, no contract, both gyms included, 24/7 member access. Your first week is free — every class for seven days, no card. Call or text (801) 362-6315.

## Frequently asked

**What is a strength phase in training?**

A block of weeks — usually two to four months — where programming is organised specifically around building maximal strength, with a measurement at the start and a re-test at the end so progress is verified rather than assumed.

**Is testing a one-rep max safe?**

A 2020 systematic review by Grgic and colleagues reported 1RM testing as safe across different populations including children, older adults and clinical groups, with muscle soreness the most commonly reported issue. Coaching and appropriate load selection are what make it safe.

**Is a 1RM test actually reliable?**

Yes. That same review found test–retest reliability coefficients with a median of 0.97, and 92% at or above 0.90, holding across training experience, exercise, body region, sex and age.

**Why doesn’t Boom test a max deadlift?**

Because the deadlift is the lift where form breaks down most sharply at the limit and there is no rack or spotter to catch it. We train the deadlift heavy but don’t test an absolute max on it. That is our judgement call, made for a general-population room.

**When does Boom’s current strength phase end?**

End of December, when bench press and barbell back squat are re-tested. Joining in the autumn means you get both a baseline and a re-test inside the same block.

**Do I need lifting experience to join a strength phase?**

No. Untrained lifters typically make the fastest early progress. Your coach sets your loads and you are only tested when it is appropriate for you.


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Boom Fitness Culture — coached strength & conditioning, two locations in Utah County.
Pleasant Grove: 564 W 700 S Ste. 304, Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 · Lehi: 1657 N State St., Lehi, UT 84043
Phone (801) 362-6315 · Unlimited $119.99/mo, no contract, 24/7 access, kidcare and nutrition included.
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