Increasing weight?

[Gettingfit]

Question for anyone that can answer....I'm getting to the point where I need to increase my weights in some of the upper body work I'm doing. My legs are so weak, I can barely do all of the reps on ANY tape!

My question is this...do I increase my weight in the first set & pre-exhaust my muscles or do I increase my weight in the final set so that I can get in every rep possible with good form?

Thanks for your help!

Deborah
"You have within you more resources of energy than have ever been tapped, more talent than has ever been exploited, more strength than has ever been tested, and more to give than you have ever given". John Gardner

 

[DebbieH]

Hi Deborah!

There is no theory behind my answer but I always use the heaviest weight possible and then when my form starts to suffer, I drop down. I would say if you are NOT able to do all reps at the weight you are using, drop down to a weight you CAN finish all reps and then improve from there. JMHO!

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!

 

[Andrea]

I'm with Debbie. If it feels like I need to increase, I do. If the second set or exercise just isn't gonna happen at that weight then I decrease.

Andrea

 

[naughtoj]

I would say go heavy as you can until you have to drop down. Atleast you will get some reps at the heavier weight.

Also, if anyone knows, how long do you think you should stay with a particular weight on an exercise. Everyone here says "until it gets easy", but am I alone here on saying it NEVER seems to get easy, but I do think I could handle holding 20 lb dumbells for a few squats rather than the 15lb'ers. Is this how most of you end up increasing weight??

Another thing I am burning to know is why Cathe always wants you to use the same wt for squats as you do for one legged lunges?? When I do MIS I always wonder why after the cruel set of squats I gotta pick up the same barbell for one leg lunges. If you only work one leg like that aren't you supposed to be able to lighten the weight load?? Sometimes I have a hard time getting through those. What do ya think??

One more thing....How heavy do you think you can go for upper body training. I think I could eek out a few reps holding 15 lb'ers for overhead presses but have read somewhere that "heavying up" on the shoulder work is not wise because the shoulder is a delicate system...if that makes any sense. The article said that it is not better to go heavy where the shoulders are concerned, that the concentration should be on more reps..any ideas??? Maybe Maribeth can answer this one.... Thanks guys.....Janice

 

[Gettingfit]

Thanks for your responses! I'll try going heavier in the beginning & dropping down toward the end.

Janice--in response to your questions, it actually has gotten easier for me to do some of my arm exercises (mostly dumbbell curls) which is why I asked the questions I did. I do increase when I "think" I can.

Your other question is about the weight Cathe uses when she does certain exercises. I ALWAYS use my own judgement. I am no where near where Cathe is in her weights, so I almost always drop down when changing from those nasty squats to one-legged lunges.

As for overhead work, I'm still just using 8 or 10 lb dumbbells. I look forward to the day when I can move up to 12s!

Hope that helps you.

 

[Aquajock]

I agree with the "Start Heavy" people; it's usually a given that when you increase the weight load you may have to decrease reps for awhile and then work your way back up. A lot of people do the heavy-first-set / lighter-second-set; another way to fashion your drop set is just to do fewer reps on the second set with the same heavier weight load. That's my preference, JMHO.

Janice - I personally don't believe there's any one general rule of thumb for how long you should stay with a particular weight load; a lot has to do with how frequently you train, what your specific distribution of fast-twitch to slow-twitch fibers are, what your diet is and how well does it promote muscle mass-building, etc. That's a mealy-mouthed answer, I know, but in the end you know your development capabilities best.

IMHO, you should use the same weight load for lunges as for squats because squats are somewhat less intense than lunges and therefore more of a high-octane warm-up or pre-exhaust. The base of support is wider, and the workload is more evenly distributed between both legs, whereas in lunges the workload is far more in the forward leg only.

As far as how heavy you think you can go . . . well, as heavy as you think you can go! I do not use Cathe's strength workouts, but for my upper body set I use a 50-lb BB for bench presses, triceps dips, and standing bentover back rows; I use weight loads up to 42 lbs for triceps extensions; 26-31 lbs for one-arm bentover rows, and 18.5 lb dumbbells for additional back work and all shoulder and biceps work. That includes overhead presses for the shoulders, and I haven't noticed any shoulder discomfort.

Just my $.02 . . .

Annette Q. Aquajock

 

[naughtoj]

WOW Annette, you are really strong!! How long did it take you weightlifting to get to those poundages?? Can I ask why you do not do Cathe strength workouts??

How is it you use 26-31 pounds for bent over rows?? Don't you use dumbells?? How do you get 31 pounds in dumbells?? Inquiring minds want to know...