How Do You Know How Much Weight to Lift?
How do you know how much weight to lift?
The end of August marked one year of my training relationship with Dan Zivatovic. I haven't consistently worked with a trainer since 2017 because I'm a bit picky 🤣. I met Dan on Instagram and loved his approach to movement and training, and I needed some help with some specific skills. As soon as we started, I knew I'd also want him to be a coach for The MOB. I haven't consistently worked with a coach since 2017.
The most interesting thing I quickly noticed at the beginning of our relationship was that I was underestimating my own strength. I knew other people underestimated their strength -- I have to talk to clients about this all the time. But me? Oh yes, me too. No wonder I wasn’t making any progress!
Dan and I finishing up my training session over Zoom.
Rules of Adaptation
Our bodies really don’t love to expend energy. Expending energy is expensive which means it’s a survival risk as far as our brains are concerned. In order for the body to adapt to get stronger, smarter, or to heal, it needs a stimulus to begin the process. The stimulus has to be stronger than what the body is used to, otherwise the body has no reason to adapt. When strength training, hitting your capacity or getting close to it IS the signal your body needs to make the necessary changes to build muscle. And if you’re reading the words “build muscle” and thinking “No I’m good, I’d rather not,” just remember that if you’re not building it, you’re losing it. Strength training close to your capacity is a sure fire way to at least preserve what you have. Here’s another way of putting it:
"give maximal mental effort, leading to maximal neural activation of muscle to produce forceful contractions, involving lifting and lowering movements, training through a full range of motion, and (potentially) inducing muscular metabolic stress." Institute for Clinical Excellence summarizing a research review paper.
Rate of Perceived Exertion
So how do you know how much weight to lift? Whether it’s a bodyweight exercise or you’re choosing to use weights, know that by the end of your set, you should feel like you worked hard. What does that mean? Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a scale of 1-10. One means you’re barely working (think like an easy stroll) and 10 means you are absolutely at your max (like a very heavy exercise you can only perform one time, or a 20 second sprint). If your goal is to be able to do everyday life things for a long time, you want to shoot for about a 7 or an 8 on the RPE scale. The reason the RPE scale is awesome is because it takes into account how you’re feeling that day. Eight lunge reps with 20 pounds today might feel like an 8 on the RPE scale but next week it might feel like a 10 based on your sleep, nutrition, and whatever else is happening in your life at the time. Let your RPE be your metric, not the weight you used last week.
How much is too much?
I had a client recently ask me “How much is too much?” Fantastic question – but, too much for what? All our training is goal dependent. You might think a 40 year old woman deadlifting 308lb is too much but when you know she’s a bodybuilder and her goal is to compete in international muscle building competitions, then it’s right on par with what she should be doing. If she’s just trying to stay in shape to maintain her volleyball hobby, then sure, lifting 308lb off the ground doesn’t make much sense.
No really, please tell me, how much weight should I lift? I’m nervous to lift too much.
Ok fine. I’ll give you the answer stripped of nuance and context (although I’m cringing). Generally speaking, if you are training for everyday life tasks (this does NOT include any hobbies you may have!) you should be:
Easily lifting 8-10 repetitions of a weight equivalent to your heaviest daily task within that skillset.
For example, one of life’s skill sets is picking things up off the floor. If you’d like to be able to pick up a suitcase, 2 bags of heavy groceries, a kid, or a bag of soil, you’re looking at about 50 pounds. That means, for your training, you want be able to lift 50 pounds several times to ensure that when it comes time to do it during the day, it’s easy for you to do (I cover this concept, One Rep Max Living, in a previous post).
What if you can already do that? Do you need to continue adding weight? My bias will always be to say yes. However there’s A LOT you can work on before adding more weight. Adding variations to an exercise are an excellent way to keep the exercise and current weight challenging without having to add yet.
How many different ways can you lift 50 pounds off the floor?
How many different leg positions?
Can you carry it? And for how long?
How quickly can you lift it off the ground?
Creating variability with the weight you’re currently using will add to your comfort level and confidence so that the next step of adding a few more pounds will feel doable and safe.
Figuring this all out on your own, especially if you’re just getting started or recovering from injury or diagnosis can be challening. Our goal at The MOB is to help guide you through this process. With a membershp coach that you can consult with along with a team of coaches guiding you through weekly classes whom you can interact with, your path toward getting stronger becomes much simpler and clearer. Schedule a complimentary 30 minute consult today to see if joining The MOB is the right fit for you.
Similar Reading:
One Rep Max Living
Why Don’t People Strength Train?
Lifting Heavy Things