How Much Weight Should I Use?
By Coach Elise Perez
A common question we get from new and experienced trainees alike is, “How much weight should I use?” The answer, like basically everything in fitness, is…. it depends.
When we say “it depends,” there’s quite a few factors to take into consideration. First, YOU, of course; your level of fitness, your knowledge of technique and if you are currently training through injury and/or pain.
If we don’t know how to properly and optimally execute a lift, there is no point in loading up the movement; loading faulty movement patterns is a recipe for disaster. An idea we drive home in our gym is “Form before load.” If you’re a newer trainee, learning proper technique should be the main focus of your training sessions. If you’re not new to strength training, the intent should be to only increase the weight so long as form is maintained. When form starts to crumble, it’s time to take the weight down.
When it comes to injury and pain, increasing weight or adding weight in general is a way of increasing your training volume. This means it’s a way of doing more. And we should be doing more! This is how we progress. But keep in mind that adding weight to a movement is only one way to progress it. If you’re working through an injury or dealing with chronic pain, you have to be smart and strategic when it comes to progressing with weight. Otherwise flare ups can happen and pain can be made worse. A general rule is, discomfort or pain can usually go as high as 4/10 before it becomes problematic. If it exceeds that, drop the weight.
We’ve thought about you as a trainee quite a bit here, what else is there to consider?
Purpose. What is the purpose of this movement or what training stimulus are we going after? Is it pure strength, power, endurance, speed? The prescribed training stimulus will largely determine how much weight you should be using. For example, let’s say today you’re doing Back Squats for 4 sets of 12 reps. Take into account 12 reps is on the higher end of strength reps. Maybe you know that your 1 rep max on your Back Squat is 275 pounds. That is the most weight you can push for only 1 rep with nothing left in the tank. This tells you that you should be nowhere near that number when performing Back Squats for 4x12. About 70% of that 1 rep max would be an appropriate load for the given rep scheme.
An easier way to digest all of that, when training for general strength, aim for a weight that allows you to stay 1-2 reps shy of failure. Each training session should be somewhat of a test of your new strength as you work up to heavier loads and listen to your body along the way.