At what point does one stop adding weight when weightlifting
Discussion
TameRacingDriver said:
I honestly think this is what it is... at school I was probably one of the smallest, weakest lads in my year at school, the periodic arm wrestling contests were something I tried to avoid, but when I did, I was utter crap at it.
The irony is I probably don’t look as weak as I actually am... although I don’t exactly look much other than fairly average.
You are scarred by your experiences of growing up, 25 years (1/4 of a century!) ago. Lots of people are. The irony is I probably don’t look as weak as I actually am... although I don’t exactly look much other than fairly average.
I was fortunate to be quite strong, competitive, and a decent Rugby player at school, despite now being of average stature. It probably does help with self-belief. I still do competitive sport.. .. Now in the Veterans category, which can be quite high standard.
You are unlikely to be "weak" in reality. As I mentioned earlier, I see men when at the tip struggling to throw wood into skips. I suspect you would have no trouble with it.
You will not be the world's strongest man, nor will you be as strong at the exercises as some of the people on here who might be bigger than you and could have spent years or decades in physical/strength sports or jobs.
It is a bit unclear what you are trying to achieve.
Just lifting for its own sake isn't always that enjoyable and you probably won't find self-worth through bigger numbers if you always feel that you are inadequate. Eddie Hall has deadlifted more than you ever will.
Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 23 September 14:42
MC Bodge said:
It is a bit unclear what you are trying to achieve.
Just lifting for its own sake isn't always that enjoyable and you probably won't find self-worth through bigger numbers if you always feel that you are inadequate. Eddie Hall has deadlifted more than you ever will.
In my 20s it was definitely a vanity thing.Just lifting for its own sake isn't always that enjoyable and you probably won't find self-worth through bigger numbers if you always feel that you are inadequate. Eddie Hall has deadlifted more than you ever will.
Now, it’s more a health thing really, nothing much more than that, although I wont lie, and as much as I should know better than the compare myself with anyone else, it would have been nice to look different than 6 months ago but if not that then it would be nice to be consistently handling higher weights week on week and feeling like I’m getting stronger, but if anything, that doesn’t seem to be happening.
So I either need to focus solely on the health side of it, and modify the routine or find something totally different.
TameRacingDriver said:
In my 20s it was definitely a vanity thing.
Now, it’s more a health thing really, nothing much more than that, although I wont lie, and as much as I should know better than the compare myself with anyone else, it would have been nice to look different than 6 months ago but if not that then it would be nice to be consistently handling higher weights week on week and feeling like I’m getting stronger, but if anything, that doesn’t seem to be happening.
So I either need to focus solely on the health side of it, and modify the routine or find something totally different.
Getting increasingly strong(or not) isn't necessarily an indicator of health.Now, it’s more a health thing really, nothing much more than that, although I wont lie, and as much as I should know better than the compare myself with anyone else, it would have been nice to look different than 6 months ago but if not that then it would be nice to be consistently handling higher weights week on week and feeling like I’m getting stronger, but if anything, that doesn’t seem to be happening.
So I either need to focus solely on the health side of it, and modify the routine or find something totally different.
Some "health" ideas, some better than others
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/mi...
Being able to move your body efficiently and smoothly and having good balance are important as you get older. Part of this is through maintaining muscle mass (through resistance training of different forms), but part of it is through flexibility and movement practice.
If you are healthy you will look good.
ORD said:
Mobility is important. Flexibility less so. You can’t make a muscle longer by stretching it, and there’s pretty much nothing to suggest that being bendy has any health benefits at all (behind a minimal level).
Agreed. I maybe should have written mobility and unrestricted movement through the proper range. A lot of people have tight hip flexors and the like through sitting.I certainly wasn't advocating extreme yoga stretching.
Jayzee said:
LordGrover said:
I stopped adding more weight when I started to get too many niggles and tweaks. Not proper injuries, but forever feeling not right, or having to go careful in my daily life.
I still paddle at the shallow end, doing similar to you; squats, deads, benchpress, ohp and rows, though weights are very much lower than I used to lift/attempt. Still challenging enough to make it worthwhile though. As others have said, varying different aspects like number of reps/sets, tempo, volume, etc. helps keep things moving along, albeit slower than 'doing it properly'.
Just out of interest, how has this affected you in terms of how you look now vs to a time when you were lifting heavier? I know you’re one of the seasoned guys on here.I still paddle at the shallow end, doing similar to you; squats, deads, benchpress, ohp and rows, though weights are very much lower than I used to lift/attempt. Still challenging enough to make it worthwhile though. As others have said, varying different aspects like number of reps/sets, tempo, volume, etc. helps keep things moving along, albeit slower than 'doing it properly'.
That's for others to say, though I think pretty good though I say so myself. Not as big as I used to be, but still have visibly more muscle than my untrained peers and well defined. Considering I'm only squatting 100kgs and benching 70kgs for example, I'm pretty pleased with what I get. Some weeks I'll drop down to 60kgs squats but for sets of 20 and other weeks I'll up it to 120kgs for 5's.
Apols for thread sidetrack OP.
The only piece of advice I've got as an intermediate lifter is to keep trying to progress, whether that's in weight added or reps completed, constant progressive overload, even if it's only 1% more than last time is the only way you'll see progress.
Keep good records! I see loads of guys in my gym who just sort of flit from one machine/weights to the next. They do the same every week, a few curls until they get tired, a few skull crushers, bit of bench press, handful of lat pull downs etc etc week in week out. Even after a couple of years consistent training I doubt any of them can do a body weight bench... or squat for that matter. Write it down and review if it takes 2 years to put 10kg on your bench press who cares. But if you don't write it down you'll never be able to monitor that progress. .
As for the 100kg reps thing, I'm going to finish my current Texas Method cycle (another 4 weeks), and they have a couple of months doing 5x5 for squat and deadlift and doing some 5,3,1 work on bench press. I'm going to see if I can get my current 100kgs rep PB of 11 up to 20.
Keep good records! I see loads of guys in my gym who just sort of flit from one machine/weights to the next. They do the same every week, a few curls until they get tired, a few skull crushers, bit of bench press, handful of lat pull downs etc etc week in week out. Even after a couple of years consistent training I doubt any of them can do a body weight bench... or squat for that matter. Write it down and review if it takes 2 years to put 10kg on your bench press who cares. But if you don't write it down you'll never be able to monitor that progress. .
As for the 100kg reps thing, I'm going to finish my current Texas Method cycle (another 4 weeks), and they have a couple of months doing 5x5 for squat and deadlift and doing some 5,3,1 work on bench press. I'm going to see if I can get my current 100kgs rep PB of 11 up to 20.
Halb said:
My log books go back years, if I only take one thing to the gym it's a logbook. Become so used to it now I think it's second nature, yet as I think about it, it's extremely rare for me to see anyone else write stuff down in the gym.
I take note of what I do too.I have an extensive spreadsheet of info about my runs, bike rides, gym activities, other, weight, health etc.
Halb said:
MC Bodge said:
I take note of what I do too.
I have an extensive spreadsheet of info about my runs, bike rides, gym activities, other, weight, health etc.
I have an extensive spreadsheet of info about my runs, bike rides, gym activities, other, weight, health etc.
I use excel to plan the week/month
I spend so much time on this stuff, I should crack on with my scriptwork instead!
I'll leave the spreadsheet to the nation, it can be displayed at The Science museum and The British Library.
Mothersruin said:
Have to say the 5x5 app was very handy in that respect.
Start it off, press a few buttons during the workout, click finish and it worked out the rest for you.
Yes agree. Start it off, press a few buttons during the workout, click finish and it worked out the rest for you.
I now use an app called Strong. You can build routines and they run similarly to StrongLifts in the end. Not quite as sophisticated (doesn’t self calculate deloads for example, though I always thought StrongLifts was a bit over zealous there anyway) but it’s decent.
What is it you want out of the gym?
Do you want to lose fat first and foremost? To then gain muscle and have an athletic looking body?
Firstly, do exercises you enjoy. If that means doing bicep curls for 12-15 reps because you get a pump then do that. Do the main compound movements first as they are the bread and butter in breaking down muscle but throw some isolation exercises in at the end if you want.
Change it up from 3x8. Do 4x10 with a slightly lighter weight. Focus on the reps.
If you want to get stronger do 5x5.
I'm not sure if you said you were 90kg but depending on your height, try and drop some fat first. Then you will notice the gains that weightlifting would have gave you.
I'm not the strongest yet my training partner who is 3 stone lighter than me is stronger than me in a few exercise.
I couldn't care less because im getting my results and he is getting his.
Focus on what you want first and foremost. If you are training to lose weight and in a calorie deficit you aren't going to be lifting big numbers in the 8-10 rep range.
Do you want to lose fat first and foremost? To then gain muscle and have an athletic looking body?
Firstly, do exercises you enjoy. If that means doing bicep curls for 12-15 reps because you get a pump then do that. Do the main compound movements first as they are the bread and butter in breaking down muscle but throw some isolation exercises in at the end if you want.
Change it up from 3x8. Do 4x10 with a slightly lighter weight. Focus on the reps.
If you want to get stronger do 5x5.
I'm not sure if you said you were 90kg but depending on your height, try and drop some fat first. Then you will notice the gains that weightlifting would have gave you.
I'm not the strongest yet my training partner who is 3 stone lighter than me is stronger than me in a few exercise.
I couldn't care less because im getting my results and he is getting his.
Focus on what you want first and foremost. If you are training to lose weight and in a calorie deficit you aren't going to be lifting big numbers in the 8-10 rep range.
Alcohol plays a big part in your life, that's something you haven't mentioned on this thread, and something that will directly impact your training performance & progression.
A few others on this thread have hinted at it as well. In isolation, that's not necessarily a game changer but when you add in the negative mental attitude - things start to become more clear.
TRD, I know you've said before that you can't talk about stuff on a face to face basis, but seriously, please give real consideration to the idea of talking to a professional.
Even a small positive change in your mental outlook will pay dividends.
A few others on this thread have hinted at it as well. In isolation, that's not necessarily a game changer but when you add in the negative mental attitude - things start to become more clear.
TRD, I know you've said before that you can't talk about stuff on a face to face basis, but seriously, please give real consideration to the idea of talking to a professional.
Even a small positive change in your mental outlook will pay dividends.
Edited by TheJimi on Monday 24th September 13:58
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