{"id":9265,"date":"2021-11-17T13:31:02","date_gmt":"2021-11-17T19:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/?p=9265"},"modified":"2021-12-22T11:21:12","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T17:21:12","slug":"how-heavy-should-i-lift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/how-heavy-should-i-lift\/","title":{"rendered":"How Heavy Should I Lift?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Staring at a rack of dumbbells, unsure about which one to choose?\u00a0We&#8217;ve all been there. This short guide will help you pick the correct weight for your goals and fitness level!<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How heavy you lift has a lot to do with your goals and experience level. It will vary for every person, every exercise, and every workout.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there are still some common sense guidelines you can follow to help you figure out how to maximize both the safety and the effectiveness of your workouts!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div style=\"position: relative; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 56.25%;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute;\" title=\"How Heavy Should I Lift?\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/players\/wbnYJVch-5L2UHiXt.html\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"auto\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The short answer is: Muscle growth does not necessarily depend on the amount of weight you lift.\u00a0 As long as you lift heavy enough to challenge yourself and use proper form, you should build muscle and strength.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And no, ladies, lifting heavy enough to feel challenging will not make you &#8220;bulky.&#8221; On the contrary, lifting too light is a surefire way to make your workouts less effective for all goals!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-9268\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?resize=1170%2C781&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1170\" height=\"781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?w=2560&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1025&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1367&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?w=2340&amp;ssl=1 2340w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Think effort and form, not numbers<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you even think about how much weight you should lift &#8212;\u00a0 you need to focus on <\/span><b><i>PROPER FORM!\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Male or female, you should work hard enough to send your body a loud and clear message to change while not pushing yourself beyond where you can recover from\u2014or hurting yourself. Not every rep should be easy. But not every rep should be hard, either!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key to finding this balance is slowing down, being patient, and not letting your ego decide how much weight to lift.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep in mind that \u201cheavy\u201d is individual. Heavy for one person could be 5lbs, and for another, it could be 100lbs. Don\u2019t focus on that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All you need to do is use proper form and lift heavy enough to challenge yourself on some of your reps. Then ever so often (every week or even every couple of weeks), increase the weight, number of reps, or number of sets. You could also push just a little closer to &#8220;muscle failure,&#8221; or the point where you can&#8217;t do another rep.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are all forms of what is known as <\/span><b><i>progressive overload.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<h3><b>Let Your Workout Rep Range Guide You<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good rule to help you pick weights is to aim to perform all the reps and sets prescribed with proper form, but make each set progressively more challenging.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is what this could look like\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Say you\u2019re in the gym, and the workout says to do four sets of 8-12 reps, like most of the gym workouts in our program<\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vshred.com\/programs\/fat-loss-extreme?ref=programs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Fat Loss Extreme For Men<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/vshred.com\/sp\/fat-loss-extreme-f\/sku_CKcwR4TEg54IeG?ref=programs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fat Loss Extreme For Women.\u00a0<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aim to make the first set kinda easy\u2014 like you feel you probably have a solid 4-5 reps left in the tank. Wait 60-90 seconds, and then add a little weight, so you have about 3 reps left in the tank.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now you\u2019re warmed up and breathing a little harder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rest another 60-90 seconds, and do a third set. This time, only leave a couple reps in the tank. Rest again\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On that final set, keep repping until you\u2019re pretty sure you don\u2019t have another rep in you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you only managed 5, you probably went a bit too heavy. Got 12-15 or more? You went too light. No problem; just write it in your workout log and remember it for next week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trial and error, paying attention to your body, and keeping a workout log are the essential techniques to help you pick your ideal weight range when lifting weights. Because if you&#8217;re doing things right, that weight range will change over time!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And yes&#8230; you can build muscle using <a href=\"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/the-best-full-body-workout-you-can-do-anywhere-in-only-10-minutes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nothing like your body weight.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thousands of V Shred customers have totally transformed their bodies by pushing the intensity of bodyweight movements like you can find in our<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vshred.com\/sp\/move\/v7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b> at-home program MOVE<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you never pick up a single weight, you can learn a lot about how to find that &#8220;this feels heavy, but I can handle it&#8221; sweet spot. As a bonus, each workout is 20 minutes or less!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Keep Growing and Transforming<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As your fitness level progresses, so should your workouts! Remember the key to building muscle is to challenge them over and over again. Fitness results happen over the course of weeks and months, not a single workout&#8211;no matter how good that workout is!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are struggling to make it to the gym, need an extra push to get in those reps you know you have in you somewhere, and lift heavier, you have options beyond simply &#8220;dig deep and tough it out.&#8221; Take a quality pre-workout like<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sculptnation.com\/products\/pre-workout\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b> PRE by Sculpt Nation <\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">about 15-30 minutes before hitting the weight room, and don&#8217;t be surprised if &#8220;heavy&#8221; feels just a little lighter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8544\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/preworkout-sp-productimage-01-unisex.jpeg?resize=1170%2C780&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1170\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/preworkout-sp-productimage-01-unisex.jpeg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/preworkout-sp-productimage-01-unisex.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/preworkout-sp-productimage-01-unisex.jpeg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/preworkout-sp-productimage-01-unisex.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/preworkout-sp-productimage-01-unisex.jpeg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1170px) 100vw, 1170px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re someone who looks at a workout chart and sees a foreign language, please don\u2019t give up. We have a team of certified personal trainers who can build <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vshred.com\/sp\/custom-diet-plan\/reup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>a custom workout plan <\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that works for your experience level and the equipment you have\u2014 even if it\u2019s no equipment!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you are interested in one-on-one coaching, click the link above or email <\/span><a href=\"mailto:coaching@vshred.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">coaching@vshred.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and let us know you\u2019re interested.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you ready to push yourself in the weight room and build muscle? Then try Vince&#8217;s legendary <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/vshred.com\/programs\/clean-bulk-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clean Bulk<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> program! This 90-day gym-based program is engineered to add maximum lean tissue with as little fat as possible, and come with a targeted meal plan to match. Warning: You will need a new wardrobe!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Staring at a rack of dumbbells, unsure about which one to choose?\u00a0We&#8217;ve all been there. This short guide will help you pick&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":9268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7087,22,25,7508,17,45,26,30,1],"tags":[7348,6286,7419,7418],"class_list":["post-9265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-at-home-workout","category-body-workouts","category-build-muscle","category-frequently-asked-questions","category-fitness-training","category-for-energy","category-get-toned","category-strength-building","category-uncategorized","tag-build-muscle","tag-fat-loss","tag-lifting-heavy","tag-workout-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/AdobeStock_141170951-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1708&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9NWy7-2pr","jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9265"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9349,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9265\/revisions\/9349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vshred.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}