how often do you increase weight and by how much?

[CuT-uP]

how do yo keep from being stuck lifting the same weight? For example do you add 10 pounds to your bench press every 2 weeks or what?

[boroboy]

how do yo keep from being stuck lifting the same weight? For example do you add 10 pounds to your bench press every 2 weeks or what?

When i hit a standstill on a compound, i usually decrease the amount of reps i do per set and use a heavier weight. Just to get me used to hitting heavier. Usually do this for a couple of months then revert to my original rep scheme. Come back to find myself stronger

[UltimateAeroSSC]

how do yo keep from being stuck lifting the same weight? For example do you add 10 pounds to your bench press every 2 weeks or what?

Depends a lot on your goals and your routine. Adding 10 lbs out of no where is sort of a lot though. I'd probably stick to adding 5 lbs. when possible. If you add weight very frequently, you will gain strength fastest but also stall on that program faster.

When in doubt start light and progress at a healthy pace. I'd say you should try to add weight every week if you can, but it depends on what you're doing. Like I said though, if you're unsure, add a small amount or even stay where you are a little longer.

Don't get ahead of yourself and add 20 lbs in a week. It might work for now, but the routine will die down quicker in the long run. It also depends on the exercise, your progress and other things.

[BDfreak05]

I add 5lbs. every week on bench and shoulders.
10lbs. every week on squats and deadlifts.

[mrpatrson]

Sometimes its very hard to add weight and keep form good. In my opinion adding 5 Lbs a week to your lifts such as bench is a bit much, thats 250 + lbs a year, aint gonna happen. I think 5 and sometimes 10 lbs a month is a much more realistic goal.

To better answer your question its nice to do a warm up set and pyramid your weight up each set until your at an idle weight/rep, next week try to increase any one of those sets and take it from there.

[DJAuto]

Not often anymore. However, at least something (repetitions etc.) changes every week or two.

[FueledByYelyah]

ive gone from benching 75 pounds in october to 140 now

do the math sucker

[NukedLaxer]

I mean you get to a point where you cant just throw on 10lbs and just go off and do that set for how ever many reps. so dropping the weight slightly and hitting more reps on that set or adding 5lbs and just hitting that set for lower reps. but 10lbs is a lot to just throw on after your have reached your strength plateaus on everything and now your actually having to train to get stronger.

[firefox16]

ive gone from benching 75 pounds in october to 140 now

do the math sucker

must have just started benching in october because if your 25 and your benching only 75lbs than you havnt been working out very long.... most of that gain is just from conditioning. your muscles werent used to lifting a barbell before october im assuming.
doesnt mean you really gained all that much muscle.

adding 5lbs a week to a bench is just unrealistic for someone who has been lifting for a while.

[jay8899]

how do yo keep from being stuck lifting the same weight? For example do you add 10 pounds to your bench press every 2 weeks or what?

you just dont add weight to add weight.If im on my last working set and i cant get 8-10 smoothly.I stick with that,usually add in some drop sets,will help you get stronger. Or at times ill stick with the same weight,my heaviest and if i cant do 2- sets at my heaviest for no less than 6-8 reps,i wont go up....Thats how i do it,wrx for me

Keep eating and training regularly,change up work out and routine,plenty of drop sets and pre exhausts,little rest time,as long as you train right nutrition is good,you will get stronger.for me,i lack with tris and pressing movemnts,i get strong slower than i do with pulling or leg workouts,just wahat it is man.

[jay8899]

ive gone from benching 75 pounds in october to 140 now

do the math sucker

your bench went up 70lbs in 7 months,lmao,your full of **** bro!

[jay8899]

Sometimes its very hard to add weight and keep form good. In my opinion adding 5 Lbs a week to your lifts such as bench is a bit much, thats 250 + lbs a year, aint gonna happen. I think 5 and sometimes 10 lbs a month is a much more realistic goal.

To better answer your question its nice to do a warm up set and pyramid your weight up each set until your at an idle weight/rep, next week try to increase any one of those sets and take it from there.

if your not keeping good form,why the hell are u adding weight. Now i know why i look around my gym and see the same ppl always lookin the same doing the same **** and everything worng,sooooo sad there wasting there time and money

[Rasputin4]

If he was benching to the exclusion of about everything else and taking supplements to aid recovery so he could bench several days per week with newbie gains that might be possible. Not saying it's good, but it's possible.

After newbie gains, ain't gonna happen.

[Indestructible6]

I increase weight by 2.5 lbs each week for most excersises. Leg press and Deadlift i add about 10 each week.

[Mvick07]

on my main lifts? bench/squat/dead?

about 5-10lbs a month. depends on how hard i decide to go.

[mrpatrson]

if your not keeping good form,why the hell are u adding weight. Now i know why i look around my gym and see the same ppl always lookin the same doing the same **** and everything worng,sooooo sad there wasting there time and money

You should really read an entire post before quoteing it and looking stupid.

[FueledByYelyah]

must have just started benching in october because if your 25 and your benching only 75lbs than you havnt been working out very long.... most of that gain is just from conditioning. your muscles werent used to lifting a barbell before october im assuming.
doesnt mean you really gained all that much muscle.

adding 5lbs a week to a bench is just unrealistic for someone who has been lifting for a while.

im aiming at some reps at 145 next chest day...make hate

[_OZ_]

how do yo keep from being stuck lifting the same weight?

I find deloading helps deal with plateaus. A temporary reduction in load and volume works for me. Load reduced to 80% and sets halved, rebuild over 2 weeks, spend 4-6 weeks making new progress, then repeat the cycle. However, there are many ways. Have a look at the sticky on deloading in this subforum.

...do you add 10 pounds to your bench press every 2 weeks or what?

This depends how long you've been making progress. A beginner can add more weight more frequently than an intermediate or advanced lifter.

[DanielBeauchamp]

I try to add weight, reps, or sets whenever I can.

So say I worked up to 350 on squats today (which I did). Next week I'll aim for:

355x1 or

350x2 or

350x 2 sets of 1


And the week after that the same thing. Sometimes you can't go up in weight, so you don't progress that way. Other times you feel like adding 10lbs instead of 5lbs, so you do that.

It's based on feel for me.

[CuT-uP]

Yea I sort of have a phobia that while lifting by myself after i've added weight that I wont be able to finish my last rep and the whole gym will start staring at me as the weight is sitting on my chest lol. anyways I have been lifting for a while but haven't increased my lifts significantly (partly due to lack of motivation/In-consistence). anyways I am trying to increase the weight by about 10 pounds every month or so until my lifts start to stall more. Any tips on getting over the anxiety of not be able to finish a rep? (besides getting a spotter :/)

[UltimateAeroSSC]

how do yo keep from being stuck lifting the same weight? For example do you add 10 pounds to your bench press every 2 weeks or what?

For some of the beginner programs you start light and work your way up. Using these types of programs (Starting Strength as an example) you increase the weight every workout in which you successfully complete all reps in all sets. Usually you increase the weight by 5 lbs, but sometimes it is more difficult for some exercises, like the Overhead Press. In this case, some people use micro plates or sit at the same weight for another week or so.

But it depends on a lot of stuff. I think if you're a veteran it becomes a lot harder to add weight consistently. As a beginner, you have so much room to grow and improve. Over time, your fitness gets ever closer to its potential and I think that makes it hard to infinitely add weight without problems.

A lot of it depends on other stuff. How old you are, you much you eat (calories, protein, etc) and other stuff. The main idea is progression. Sometimes it's quick, other times it's really slow. And while progression is vital, form is more important. So don't let your ego get in the way. Take your time and patience will reward you eventually.

[Rasputin4]

im aiming at some reps at 145 next chest day...make hate

Dude, I'm glad you're making progress and all, but repping out 145 is nothing to brag about. Once you're repping out 225, then you'd have a valid brag. I repped out 195 today, will rep out 200 later this week, is that something to brag about? I feel good about it, but not really. Now, once I rep out 225, I might feel I actually have something to brag about.

[oldballs]

I add 5lbs. every week on bench and shoulders.
10lbs. every week on squats and deadlifts.

adding 260 lbs to your bench and 520 lbs to your other lifts every year is pretty good. Nice job.

[BB4239]

For some of the beginner programs you start light and work your way up. Using these types of programs (Starting Strength as an example) you increase the weight every workout in which you successfully complete all reps in all sets. Usually you increase the weight by 5 lbs, but sometimes it is more difficult for some exercises, like the Overhead Press. In this case, some people use micro plates or sit at the same weight for another week or so.

But it depends on a lot of stuff. I think if you're a veteran it becomes a lot harder to add weight consistently. As a beginner, you have so much room to grow and improve. Over time, your fitness gets ever closer to its potential and I think that makes it hard to infinitely add weight without problems.

A lot of it depends on other stuff. How old you are, you much you eat (calories, protein, etc) and other stuff. The main idea is progression. Sometimes it's quick, other times it's really slow. And while progression is vital, form is more important. So don't let your ego get in the way. Take your time and patience will reward you eventually.

This.^ repped.

[smokeater]

My goal is to do 6 reps with a weight that I can manage for only 6 good reps. Or 8 reps or 10,12... whatever the rep range is for that set. I don't want to finish with a weight I push 6 times, but could have done 8.

I gauge it set by set. Say bench press, I'll start my working sets with 295 and do 6 reps. if I feel that I could have done more, I'll add a 2.5 plate on each side. 5lbs total increase on a barbell movement works for me. If it's a bit too much weight, I can still get 5 good reps (usually), and can strip the bar if necessary on the next set.

Dumbbells is a bit different, but a similar principle. Let's say 6 reps is the rep range. If I feel I'm getting stronger, I'll do that weight for 8 reps instead of 6 for all my sets. I don't change around weights when using dumbbells because your performance can vary from one set to another on certain exercises. If I can knock out those 2 extra reps in each of my working sets, I'll increase the weight of the dumbbells by 5lbs on the next workout day.

This is what works for my body after a few decades in the gym. This way of increasing weight has helped me stay injury free and get reasonably strong.

[BenGrimm]

Started lifting again after a long time dormancy. I was so out of shape I was benching 95 lbs 6 times. This week I repped 3 sets of 160 6 times each. This was over a 5 week time period [steady gains in between].

A couple of influencing factors... had a spotter this week so more confidence to do more weight w/o fear of smashing face to pieces or shattering wind pipe, and Ive been on creatine monohydrate for a few weeks now and I have always responded really well to it. Most likely my "muscle memory" returning or my "skeletal muscle" revitalizing or whatever [I used to rep 200 lbs 6 times for 3 sets], but its nice for the ego. Pretty stoked 200 lbs is in eye sight now... no idea how hard/easy it will come, but its only a number. Im still way away from my fitness goals. Walking away from the gym when I re-started only benching 95 lbs made me feel like a "Hanz and Franz girlyman".

[LinebackerGod]

your bench went up 70lbs in 7 months,lmao,your full of **** bro!

Well he is still benching less than what most people start with so its not surprising
Any way I go up 5 lb every week it seems like

[Rasputin4]

Well he is still benching less than what most people start with so its not surprising
Any way I go up 5 lb every week it seems like

I'd actually give him more credit than that. Most untrained people out of the general population cannot rep out 145. I'd be surprised if the average untrained guy could max more than about 150. That being said, it's till nothing to brag about.

[yepimonfire]

i was having problems getting stuck on a certain weight and what i would aim for is 5x5, once i could do all five sets with all five reps i added 5lbs. repeat. after adding 5lbs i usually get hit with 5 reps the first set, and usually 3-4 the rest. it only takes me a week to increase it by 5lbs doing this, but i'm also somewhat of a noob.

[EdiTiZ1]

Sometimes its very hard to add weight and keep form good. In my opinion adding 5 Lbs a week to your lifts such as bench is a bit much, thats 250 + lbs a year, aint gonna happen. I think 5 and sometimes 10 lbs a month is a much more realistic goal.

To better answer your question its nice to do a warm up set and pyramid your weight up each set until your at an idle weight/rep, next week try to increase any one of those sets and take it from there.

yes but the gyms in my town only go up in 2.5kg so u've no choice but to add at that rate too.