When Should I Increase the Weight??

I’m going to explain to you my simple methodology for knowing when to increase the weight if you’re fairly new to strength training or lifting weights in general.

Part one is using rep ranges. As a beginner working the 8-12reps range is a good place to start to build some solid foundations.

Let’s jump straight into an example to give you a clearer understanding;

So let’s say we’re doing goblet squats with a 10kg Dumbbell. Using this rep range your programme looks something like this:

Week 1: 4 sets of 8reps.

Week 2: 4sets of 10reps.

Week 3: 4 sets of 12reps.

Week 4: 4 sets of 8reps with 15kg Dumbbell.

You then repeat this process increasing weight each time you achieve the top of the rep range. As a beginner, this simple method will take you very far in terms of building your strength.

Part 2 is using the RPE scale - this stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion which is basically an over-complicated way of saying difficulty scale.

This is an abstract internal measurement of difficulty that’s used on an out of 10 basis. 10/10 being complete muscle failure which we want to avoid.

Aim of the game is to aim for an 8-9/10, or in other words, leave a rep or two in the tank.

The example used earlier is an ideal scenario, however things won’t often be that straight forward which is why the RPE scale is really important.

Let’s say you get to Week 3 when you’re aiming for 12reps but in actual fact 8reps feels like an RPE 9, this could be for a multitude of different reasons like lack of sleep, stress etc so what you do is scale it back that week and hope to have a better week the next.

In my experience, I’ve found that most people tend to be over-cautious with increasing the weight. They think they’re operating at an RPE 8 when in actual fact it’s more like a 6.

If you’re not sure my advice is to give the heavier weight a go because most likely you’ll surprise yourself. If it is too heavy you’ll know pretty quickly and you can always drop back down.

Anything you don’t understand or feel lost on? Comment below or send me a PM and I’ll get back to you ASAP.