Prescribing Strength Training for Team Sports – Part 5

In case you missed the previous part of this video series, click here to watch Part 4 on Prescribing Strength Training for Team Sports.

Testing before training sounds logical. Get the numbers. Plug in the percentages. Start lifting.

Except it rarely works that way.

Testing takes time. Numbers drift. The athlete who squats 150kg today might be different after a week of hard practices or poor sleep. If you keep chasing fluctuations with new tests, you end up managing numbers instead of training.

This is where estimation through iteration comes in.

Instead of testing first, you start with a reasonable guess. Train. Observe. Adjust when needed. It’s Agile Periodization applied to load prescription—embedded testing replaces formal testing.

Guess, Train, Update

The cycle is simple: guess the 1RM → train → monitor → test occasionally → update → repeat.

You don’t need a max test to begin. Use bodyweight as a reference. Ask what they’ve lifted before. Start with an empty bar and build weekly until the load fits.

A practical tool: the plus set. After prescribed work, add one open set. If you programmed fives and the athlete hits ten comfortably, the load is too light. Increase next week. Cap the set to avoid unnecessary fatigue.

It may feel slow. But unless you’re in a rush, gradually raising the floor works. If you need faster estimates, push harder temporarily. That’s where DAPRE comes in.

DAPRE vs Iterative

DAPRE adjusts every session. Open set, adjust, repeat. Aggressive. Quick to locate the ceiling.

The problem is fluctuation. Strength moves daily. React every session and you chase noise. Good day, increase. Bad day, decrease. You stay close to the ceiling with no buffer.

Iterative waits for signal, not noise.

Long phases adjust too slowly. DAPRE adjusts too quickly. Iterative balances responsiveness with stability.

Phase-to-Phase Updates

At the end of a phase: retest directly, use a plus set, add a fixed amount, adjust down for competition periods, or change nothing. If assistance lifts become important, decouple them from the main lift and let them develop their own 1RM.
Repeat the same percentage scheme with a slightly higher planning 1RM and you get a natural wave. The second phase starts lighter in absolute terms before climbing again. Built-in unload without forcing one.

Rolling Log Analysis

Track loads, reps, estimated effort consistently. Estimate 1RM trends directly from the training log. Testing becomes embedded in training. When the log shows meaningful upward trends, update the prescription.

Simple. Quiet. Effective.

Living With Uncertainty

We want precision. Reality gives variability.

Athletes change with sleep, stress, practice load, competition. No model survives perfectly once those moving parts enter.
So instead of chasing optimal, build robust. Use heuristics. Use percent tables. Leave wiggle room. Apply quality control.
Start with a guess. Train. Watch. Adjust when needed.

Satisfying beats optimal when optimal isn’t stable.

That’s estimation through iteration.