Working weight at this stage. How to determine the optimal working weight? Correct calculation of working weight

In this article we will talk about such a problem and an eternal question among novice athletes - “How to choose a weight for training?” This is perhaps the first problem that a beginner who comes to the gym has to face. Correct selection weights for each exercise, this is quite a difficult task for a beginner.

To choose the right weight, you first need to decide on the goals you are pursuing. For example, if you need to type muscle mass, then you need to perform exercises for a minimum number of repetitions with heavy weight. If you want to lose weight, then you need to use smaller weights for a large number of repetitions, plus cardio exercises, which should be included in any workout in order to pump not only the muscles of the body, but also expand the volume of the heart.

Let's figure it out. If you just came to the gym and are not at all aware of everything that is happening around you, are not familiar with exercise techniques, do not know how certain machines work and which muscle groups are pumped, in this case you should take the minimum weights and learn the technique of each exercises, and then gradually increase the load. First, you must familiarize yourself with each exercise, understand what you can do and what you shouldn’t do so as not to injure yourself. If you are one of the novice athletes, I advise you to familiarize yourself in more detail with the technique of each exercise in this section -.

So, let's say you've read correct execution exercises. How to choose the right weight for a barbell or dumbbell? First of all, you should choose such a weight so that the last repetition is truly the last. You should not be able to do 13 repetitions if there are only 12 repetitions. At the same time, if you are aiming to do 10-12 repetitions, but somehow manage to complete 6-8 repetitions. In the first case, if you perform more reps than intended, the weight is too light. In the second option, the weight of the barbell or dumbbell was chosen too large.

How to solve this problem and choose a working weight? That's how! Take a load that you think you can handle and start moving from starting position, bringing the weight to its extreme position. At the top point, you should hold the dumbbell or barbell for 1-2 seconds, then start moving in the reverse order. If you were unable to hold the weight at the top point, where your muscles are maximally contracted, this means that you need to lift a few kilograms less.

Now start a full lesson consisting of, say, 10. If you feel that you cannot hold the weight after the 5th repetition, reduce it. Well, if everything is good and you can continue up to 13 repetitions, the weight should be increased. Again, it all depends on the goals you are pursuing and the training method. For example, there are workouts that involve performing several exercises in one approach. There are also workouts that involve performing exercises with light weights for a large number of repetitions. This method allows you to increase blood flow to a specific muscle group. If you expect to do 12 reps and feel you can do more, you should go heavier. If you perform a basic exercise for a minimum number of repetitions, let's say 4-6. The situation is the same here, you feel that you can do more repetitions, the movements are easy for you, lift the weight.

You should also consider what kind of exercise you are doing. If you intend to perform an isolation exercise with a short range of motion, you need to take a weight where you can do 12-20 repetitions. For example, take “ ” or “ “.

This is exactly how the scheme for selecting the right weight for a barbell or dumbbell works. I recommend everyone not to chase kilograms, because in many cases, the pursuit of greater strength leads to a violation of technique, and consequently to injury.

The working weight cannot be chosen at random. Learn how to determine the load that will help you gain muscle mass in the shortest possible time.

As a strength training veteran, I often hear two types of questions from beginners. The question, unrelated to which protein powder to take, is a completely different issue: How much weight should I lift on any given exercise?

A very good question to which there is no easy answer. In fact, we find ourselves at a crossroads here with a ton of options, so let's go through them in order. This will allow you to adapt training program to your needs, and you will always be sure that you are using the optimal working weight.

You can take a 10 kg barbell, lift it 75 times, and after a while you will feel tired and your arms will be bloody. You will definitely sweat a lot. On the other hand, you could take a 40kg weight, lift it 8 times, and then give up because you can't complete even one more rep. In both cases you are training "intensely". But which option should be preferred?

This may seem strange to you, but the answer depends on your goals. If you want to get as strong as possible, you will use more weight than your counterpart who wants to get as big as possible. And to increase muscular endurance, you will have to work with even less weight.

• Developing strength requires choosing a weight that allows you to train in the rep range of 1 to 6.
• Gaining muscle mass is based on training with weights that allow you to complete 8 to 12 repetitions.
• If it's on the agenda muscular endurance, you will have to settle on a working weight with which you can perform at least 15 repetitions.

Now let's take a closer look at all three training protocols.

1. Strength training

The biggest and strongest men and women - powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, strongmen - have one single goal: to become stronger. To lift heavy equipment in competition, you have to lift heavy weights in training. And when we talk about heavy, we mean really, really hard. heavy weight.

To develop strength indicators you need both, and. They involve several joints at once, for example, the bench press involves the shoulder and elbow joints simultaneously. Multi-joint activity like this generally activates more muscle mass, allowing you to lift heavier equipment.

During heavy sets, the work is done primarily by those muscle fibers that we call fast-twitch; they answer better strength training growth in volume and strength indicators. However, they run out of energy very quickly, so you won't be able to perform high reps with heavy weights.

Rest periods between main sets should be long enough so that incomplete recovery does not ruin the next set. Of course, lifting heavy weights involves a preliminary warm-up, during which a series of sets with progressively increasing weights precedes work with maximum tonnage. Athletes who work on strength also try to avoid, and this technique is adopted mainly by bodybuilders.

When working on mass, focus on complex exercises

Although those who train for maximum strength work with really heavy weights, their methods are not the best for maximizing muscle size (). Bodybuilders and gym goers who are looking to gain muscle mass take a slightly different approach to determining how much weight they should lift. The weight you can complete 8-12 reps with has been proven to produce the most muscle size.

But this statement requires some explanation, so let's start with that.

You must train with correct technique. You've probably seen videos on YouTube of guys doing bounce bench presses because the bar is too heavy and they have to use a little extra momentum to move it. This is not considered good technique. Each exercise contains its own “arch technical rules" Generally speaking, you must control the apparatus and use only those joints that are destined to participate in this movement. If your biceps curl involves your knees or hips, you're using joints you shouldn't be using. There's a term for this—cheating—and it subverts the mantra of proper technique.

Perform “full” sets of 8–12 reps. Of course, you could just put a little less weight on the bar and stop at 12 reps, but that wouldn't be a full set. A full set ends on the verge of muscle failure - at the moment when you can no longer complete another repetition according to all the rules. If you can do 13 reps, you're using too light a weight. By analogy, if you can only do 4-5 reps, the load is too high for maximum muscle growth. The golden mean is a weight with which you can complete 8 to 12 repetitions without assistance.

Bodybuilders also train fast-twitch muscle fibers, usually starting with compound exercises divided according to body part. This technique requires a large volume training load(3-4 working sets of compound exercises performed at various angles) and short rest periods (60 seconds for small muscle groups and 90 seconds for large muscles).

The golden mean is in the range of 8-12 repetitions

Not everyone trains to become very big or very strong. You can train at low intensity by choosing a weight relative to your one-rep max. This approach activates mechanisms in muscle fibers that make aerobic energy synthesis pathways more efficient, but does not increase muscle size. As a result, the muscles can perform many repetitions for a long time without fatigue. An example is the musculature of classic marathon runners, which is designed for continuous work over a long distance.

If your goal is muscular endurance, you should choose a light weight that will allow you to complete 15-20 or more repetitions. Such stimuli are not strong enough to increase strength or mass. This is because the muscles use slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are designed for long-term work and do not increase in volume the way fast-twitch muscles do.

The relationship between weight and number of repetitions

Once you've already decided on your goal, it's easy to figure out what weight to use for each exercise. Obviously, there is an inverse relationship between the number of repetitions per set and the weight of the apparatus. As you increase the weight, you will be able to complete fewer reps, and with a lighter weight, you will be able to complete more reps.

You can use the following table as a starting point. If your bench press max is about 100 kg, the number of reps you can complete with a given weight will be something like this:

Weight	60	65	70	75	80	85	90	95	100
Repetitions	15	12	10	9	7	5	4	2	1

This strength curve is unique to each athlete and each exercise, and you can design your training protocol based on it. Let's say this is your bench press strength curve. Then to work on strength you would have to train with a weight exceeding 85 kg. For mass, you would train with weights between 65 and 75 kg, and for endurance you would have to use weights that fall outside the lower end of this chart, less than 65 kg.

Each of us has our own strength schedule for each exercise, and you can become familiar with your schedule as you train. The key to success is to use a weight that is ideal for your goals. If you're used to starting an exercise with a warm-up set, you can always hang the bar long before muscle failure and tell yourself it was another warm-up set if you think you're not getting into the desired rep range. In the next approach, adjust the working weight. By recording your results in a notepad or smartphone, you will save yourself from guessing at your next workout.

Fine-tuning the working weight

The hard part is over, but that doesn't mean an experienced lifter can't fine-tune the weight he's lifting. Here are a couple of tips to help you with this.

1. Build warm-up sets in ascending order

Some people think that warming up is a waste of time, but it actually helps you lift more weight. Your tissues will become more elastic if you go through the motion path before lifting heavy weights. It should be noted that although bodybuilders train to muscle failure, warm-up sets never approach this point. Stop any light weight approach well before muscle failure. A bodybuilder who plans to lift 100 kg on the bench press and complete 8-12 repetitions in each set should adhere to the following warm-up scheme: 60, 80 and 90 kg.

2. Heavy weight - at the beginning of the workout

Since your energy reserves are only depleted during an intense workout, set the most difficult exercises at the beginning of the training session, when there is a lot of fuel in the tanks. You can even train at the lower end of the hypertrophy zone by choosing a weight that you can only do 8 reps with. As you train your target group, vary the number of reps per set and train at slightly different intensities: perform sets of 10 (almost to failure) and 12 reps toward the end. With the exception of the warm-up, start exercises in the lower rep range and work your way up to 12 reps towards the end of the workout.

Try to vary the number of repetitions per set when training one muscle group

3. Be careful with progressive overload

Muscles adapt to training stimuli, becoming larger and stronger. Powerlifters and bodybuilders know that most of the adaptation occurs within the fast-twitch muscles. muscle fibers. If we graph this, your strength curve will move up and you will be able to perform more reps with each weight you work.

How do you know when it's time to increase your load? Try this method: When you can do 2 more reps with a particular weight you started with in two workouts in a row, increase the weight. If you started out doing 8 reps with 100kg on the bench press and now manage to do 10 reps in two workouts in a row, move up.

• For upper body exercises such as the bench press, the weight should be raised approximately 5%. So instead of 100 kg you need to put 105.
• For lower body exercises such as squats, the weight should be increased by about 10%. Instead of 100 kg you need to put 110.

Let's say you've gained muscle volume and increased your strength. To continue to progress, you must challenge your muscles in new ways by increasing the load. As you can see, you must progressively increase the load, otherwise you will simply mark time. Complacency is your biggest enemy no matter what your goals are, so pushing yourself to do more reps or using a little more weight will help you progress.

Even the most dedicated lifters will eventually hit a training plateau. High-intensity training techniques, in which you competently manage the working weight, can spur mass gain and strength gains, but they should not be performed on a whim, but after careful planning of specific training methods. Learn different techniques to help you do your training process cyclical.

You'll soon learn that the bigger and stronger you become, the less you see "random" results, and the more carefully you have to plan your training process. It seems counterintuitive, but you will find that the more you know, the faster you progress.

Greetings, friend! Today we would discuss an equally important thing, which is often neglected, or is not known about it fully enough - about how to choose correct weight in the exercise.

Why is it important to choose the right weight for exercises?

Since we are engaged in bodybuilding, we do not have a goal to lift heavy weights. We need to contract the muscle as much as possible in each approach. A In my personal experience, the strength of muscle contraction in the approach does not directly depend on the weight lifted. The only exercise that has a relationship between weight and contraction force is the trapeze shrug. In all other exercises, it is either very indirect, or there is no connection at all between the weight and the force of muscle contraction.

The fact is that When you take on a lot of weight, your body turns on a protective reaction to prevent you from harming yourself. This manifests itself in the following. To put it simply, the ligaments have receptors that respond to heavy loads. Your brain analyzes the signals from these receptors, and if the tension in the ligaments is too great, it reduces the power of the nerve impulse to the muscles to relieve stress on your ligaments.

And this process cannot be physically controlled in any way, whether you would like it or not. All processes that are controlled by the subconscious (a level that is separate from consciousness) such as heart rhythm, control of internal organs, etc. - you cannot control.

Therefore, when you take on a lot of weight, in most cases the muscles contract weaker (with the exception of the trapezius shrug, in my opinion personal experience). Accordingly, cheating appears, other muscles are connected to distribute the load more evenly. This is all a protective reaction of the body.

I think you’ve noticed, for example, when you do biceps curls with, say, 12 kg dumbbells - the technique seems to be ideal, but you don’t feel the biceps working, there’s no feeling that the muscle is about to burst. And no matter how you try to mentally shorten it further, it doesn’t work, there’s not that feeling of work, a strong contraction of the biceps. Now take 8kg dumbbells and compare the sensations in your biceps. Well, have you noticed the difference? :) And if you mentally contract it, the biceps almost bursts from the force of the contraction.

This happens because there is no strong lever tension in the ligaments to which the biceps is attached. Those. there are no such tearing moments, jerks as if you were working with a large weight - no matter how hard you try to do everything smoothly, it will not work with a large weight, because... a protective reaction is activated (less intense nerve impulses from the brain to the muscles). Consequently, muscle contraction will be inconsistent and weaker.

I think you've noticed some something like convulsions. Particularly noticeable when a person lifts the maximum weight in a deadlift. The load is so strong that the defensive reaction is clearly visible from the outside.

Probably, many already knew about this, but they could not really explain why this was happening. By now it should be clear to you that the usual advice - to use the maximum weight with which you can perform the exercise with ideal form - is incorrect. Yes, for an athlete with AS this is not so important, because... he will experience growth even from incorrect training, so he doesn’t need to know all the nuances, but he can simply use the progression of the load “he lifted more - he grew more.”

But for a person not using AC to get maximum result(after all, the natural growth limit is not that great - you literally have to fight for every millimeter in the volume of the biceps) you need to train as productively as possible, delving into literally every little detail.

What are the principles for selecting weights for exercises?

Here you need to proceed from your personal feeling of the working muscle. You must choose the weight so that the strength muscle contraction was maximum, but at the same time do not take too little weight so that the negative phase of the movement does not “fly by”. But I will still try to give specific recommendations.

Let's say you take Weight Limit, with which you can do 30kg barbell curls with the correct technique for 10 repetitions, and on the last 10th repetition you experience failure. Then the plan is as follows, you reduce the weight by about a quarter (25%) of the total and do the same 10 repetitions (without failure), i.e. with a barbell of approximately 22-23kg. This will be your working weight for the workout.

In what exercises can you still work with maximum weight?

As I already said, the growth of the trapezius (shrugs with dumbbells, with a barbell or in a machine) almost directly depends on the weight of the apparatus. Same everything basic exercises you can sometimes (select one week out of a couple of months) do it to failure with the maximum weight(except squats and deadlifts), to strengthen and develop your articular-ligamentous apparatus, because this will promote muscle growth in the future. But always follow the technique of performing all exercises! Squats and deadlift I do not recommend trying to do it with the maximum maximum weight, even if you feel that you know the execution technique perfectly, because... this can lead to disastrous consequences... Do you need it? I think no. But in my opinion, there is no benefit at all from deadlifts in muscle growth, and I personally don’t do it.

I repeat, such training with maximum weight and to failure should be no more than once a month.

Conclusions:

• - the strength of muscle contraction does not directly depend on the weight lifted (the only exception is shrugs on the trapeze).
• - when you lift the maximum weight, the body includes a protective reaction in the form of a weaker nerve impulse to the muscles and the connection of nearby muscles at the site of the load.
• - the weight of the projectile must be selected according to the following principles: first, you do the maximum weight with ideal technique until failure in a given number of repetitions, for example, a 30 kg biceps barbell for 10 repetitions (failure on the last repetition), then reduce the weight by a quarter (25% ) and this will be your working weight for 10 reps without failure (no failure needed).
• - no more than once a month you can do basic failure exercises with maximum weight to strengthen the ligaments, which will lead to muscle growth in the future.

Sincerely,
Dima Marchenko
Vlad Fomenko

Your personal trainer online

Important! If you are determined to achieve results and want to achieve your goal in the shortest possible time (lose weight\lean body, gain muscle mass or just lead healthy image life and have athletic build, having correctly drawn up a diet\meal plan, training program and daily routine), then use the services of a personal fitness trainer online ==>

The standard recommendation of “let the reps determine the training weight” does not work for first-time gym goers. They don’t always understand how to train correctly and what “hard” means. And if there is no trainer nearby who could tell you with what weight to perform the exercise, then it’s a disaster. Let's clarify once and for all how to choose the right weight for training. gym.

The main rules for selecting weights

1. The choice of weight depends on how many repetitions you need to perform. The dumbbells/barbell should be heavy enough to fit exactly where you need it, no more and no less. If you have the strength to do more repetitions, you need to raise the weight, if you can’t reach it required quantity repetitions – reduce.
2. The weight of the weights should be unusual for you. If you are a girl, a mother and you constantly carry your child in your arms, then 2 kg dumbbells will be useless. But if you haven’t held anything heavier than a ballpoint pen, then 2 kg may be fine.
3. For large muscle groups (muscles of the back, chest, hips and buttocks) more heavy weights than for small muscle groups (muscles of the shoulders, arms, abs).
4. You can lift more with pulleys and other machines than with barbell or dumbbell exercises. Therefore, never compare dumbbell rows with bent over rows and horizontal rows. block traction, squats and leg press.
5. For a beginner, it is much more important to learn the movements than to increase the weight. But this does not mean that you need to systematically underdevelop.

Selecting the weight of the projectile in accordance with body weight
In order not to spend a lot of time searching for that same dumbbell (author Ekaterina Golovina), you can use a simple method of selecting weights - based on your own weight. If you decide to go to the gym, then you have a rough idea of ​​what you will do there.

Let me make a reservation right away: this method is not suitable for trained people, because... they have greater strength relative to their body weight than beginners with low levels of fitness.

So, below is the table.
1. Choose an exercise. The table shows three types of exercises - free weights (WS), on machines with a lever mechanism (RS) and with an eccentric mechanism (EM).
2. Multiply your body weight by the factor next to the selected exercise. The odds for women and men are different. Weights above 79 for men and 64 for women are not used in calculations. That is, if you are a man and weigh 85 kg, then use 79 to select the weight; if you are a woman and weigh 65 kg or more, then take 64 kg as a basis.

For example, a 50 kg woman wants to know how many plates she needs to put on the leg press machine: 50 kg × 1.0 = 50 kg. A novice man weighing 90 kg decided to bench press the barbell for the first time. horizontal bench: 79 × 0.35 = 27.6. Round up to 27-28 kg. The approach is performed for the maximum number of repetitions, and the result is recorded in the training diary.

This is not yet a working weight in training, but only a test.
Go ahead.

Choosing a working weight for a beginner
Look at the following table. Let’s say that 27 kg in the bench press for our conditional man is funny to the point of tears - he was able to bench press 17 times, but for his goals (hypertrophy) he needs 10-11 repetitions.

1. In the new table we find the number of repetitions that were done with the test load.
2. On the left we look for the required number of repetitions.
3. At the point of contact between the real and the desired, we have +7.5. This means he needs to add another 7.5kg to his test weight.

Even all beginners have different initial data, and the tables are compiled so that an untrained person does not accidentally kill himself (and, to be honest, a little clumsily). It would be appropriate to add here: focus on your feelings, let the number of repetitions determine the weight of the projectile, the last 3-4 repetitions should be heavy, if you do more than necessary and recover quickly between approaches, then add weight. If you can't finish the set, then reduce it. Let the tests be your starting point.

Working weight- a term used in bodybuilding and other strength sports, characterizes the weight of the weight with which you can perform a given number of repetitions without violating the execution technique.

There is one most important rule in bodybuilding - than larger number repetitions in the exercise, the less weight you need to use, and vice versa. However, there is a small caveat - the working weight should be maximum for a given number of repetitions. This means that with the chosen weight you should be able to handle only the required number of repetitions - no more and no less. Obviously, if you take the working weight with which you do 15 repetitions, but perform, for example, 6 repetitions, there will be no benefit from this. The rule also works in the opposite direction: that is, if you take a weight with which you do 6 repetitions, but try to perform 15 repetitions with it, you will not succeed.

Remember: the fewer repetitions we perform, the higher the intensity and, as a result, the working weight used. The more repetitions we perform, the lower the intensity and working weight.

Correct calculation of working weight

How to choose the right working weight? Unfortunately, only through trial and error. It is not difficult for experienced athletes to correctly calculate the amount of their working weight, so over time this ability will come to you.

In the meantime, a simple algorithm can help you choose the optimal working weight.

Step-by-step algorithm for selecting working weight:

Features of using the algorithm:

• Rest between attempts – at least 3-4 minutes;
• If within 2-3 attempts you were unable to determine your working weight, leave it until the next workout, recording the results in your diary;
• This algorithm is suitable for determining the working weight for exercises performed in the range of 6-12 repetitions.