Load–velocity profiling
The central idea in velocity-based training, and the one most coaches stop short of using properly.
A load–velocity profile is a simple linear function: as the load on the bar goes up, the maximum velocity an athlete can produce comes down. The slope is consistent within an athlete but differs between athletes, which is what makes it useful. Build one for an athlete and you can predict 1RM, daily readiness, and target loads from a few sub-maximal sets.
Build your load–velocity profile
What it tells you
Three things, in order of how often you’ll use them:
- Estimated 1RM, in real time, from the workout that already happened. Where the line crosses minimum velocity threshold — the slowest a maximal effort rep ever moves for that lift — is the load the athlete could have hit on the day. No max attempt required.
- Daily readiness. The same load on Monday and Friday should sit on the same line. If Friday’s point sits above the Monday line, the athlete is moving faster than usual at the same load — they’re recovered and primed. Below the line means fatigue or a technique drift; either way, ease off the gas.
- Programming intensity. Decide on a target velocity for the day’s intent — read against the athlete’s own profile rather than a universal chart — and the line tells you the load that produces it. The number on the bar follows the speed you want, not the other way around.
Where the line breaks down
Below ~30% of 1RM, velocity ceiling effects kick in — you can only move an empty bar so fast — and the line bends. Above ~95%, small load changes have outsized velocity costs and the linear assumption gets shaky. Inside 30–95% it’s clean.
The lift matters too: squat profiles are flat and reliable, bench less so, deadlift the noisiest. Each lift gets its own profile.
Looking for the protocol? Building a profile from scratch — load selection, rep counts, how to average across sessions — is its own write-up.