MilesFromHerView

09- How to Know if You're Lifting Heavy Enough

• Kathrine Bright • Season 1 • Episode 9

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"How to Know If You're Lifting Heavy Enough"

Episode Highlights:

  1. Understanding "Heavy":
    • Discussion on how "heavy" varies for each individual.
    • Importance of personalized strength levels.
  2. Three Key Ways to Determine Proper Weight:
    • Reps and Fatigue:
      • Explanation of sets and reps.
      • Signs that your weight might be too light or too heavy.
    • Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale:
      • Description of the RPE scale (1-10).
      • Ideal target: 7-8 on the RPE scale.
      • Concept of Reps in Reserve (RIR).
    • Trial and Error:
      • Importance of experimenting with different weights.
      • Using feedback to gauge strength and adjust accordingly.
  3. Practical Tips:
    • How to choose the right weights.
    • Adjusting reps and weights when gym equipment is limited.
    • Emphasis on safety, form, and progressive overload.

Closing Remarks:

  • Recap of key points on assessing lifting weights.
  • Encouragement to embrace the trial and error process.
  • Importance of safe and progressive training.

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Kat:

Welcome to miles from her view, the podcast, where we dive deep into the unfiltered reality of fitness, strength, training, and nutrition within womanhood and motherhood. I am your host, Kat founder of Kat Fit Strength. I'm a career strength and conditioning coach, entrepreneur, lifelong athlete, and a mom of two. In each episode, we explore the unique challenges and triumphs faced by women navigating the complexities of life from juggling family and career to prioritizing self care. We dissect the systems and the habits that shape our health and wellness. Join us for real stories, authentic advice, and genuine conversations as we empower each other to embrace our journeys and find strength and vulnerability. Welcome to another episode of miles from review podcast. I'm Kat your host today. We're going to dive into an essential topic. How to know if you're lifting heavy enough. We're going to start by going over three key ways to determine if you are lifting the right way. We hear that you need to lift heavy, lift heavy to build strength, lift heavy to build muscle. Really? What does that mean? It's very nuanced. Heavy is different to each person. A 10 pound weight can feel heavy to someone where it can feel light to another person because we're all different and we all have different strength levels. So first, reps and fatigue. When you have an exercise, it's prescribed by sets and reps. So the number of sets you complete. So repeating that exercise 2, 3, 4. Maybe four times. And then the reps will be anywhere from one all the way up to maybe 20. Now, when you are lifting heavy, your rep range will probably be anywhere from 4 to maybe 12, but really 4 to 10. We want to make sure when we're choosing that weight, you understand how many reps you can complete. Okay, so you step up to a dumbbell rack or weight plates if you're using a barbell, and it can be overwhelming. Like, how do I know where I'm at? What I would say is choose a weight, there's no wrong way to choose, and I want you to pay attention to how many reps you can complete. If you can easily do the prescribed number of reps and still feel like you can do many, many more reps, the weight might be a little too late. What we want to do is aim for the weight where you feel challenged by the end of your set. Now, what does that mean? That's very ambiguous. I get that. This is where point number two comes into is what's called the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale, RPE. You may have heard. Those letters. RPE. Just go off of RPE. Again, what does that mean? So that scale is one through 10. The 10 means it is maximum effort where you can only do about one rep. Think about bodybuilders or if you've ever maxed out in the gym to find your one rep max, your one RM. That is what a level 10 is. It means the weight that brings you to failure where you can't do any more. weights. Now, a 1 to 2 on that 1 through 10 scale means it's a little to no effort. You could be doing many, many reps before you feel ever challenged. Ideally, you want to be closer to a 7 to 8 on the RPE scale. That means when you are completing your reps in your set, you should feel like you could do 2 to 3 more reps once you hit the rep count for that set. So if you're doing a set of 10, one set that with 10 reps in it, and you get to 10 and you're like, Hmm, I could probably do two to three more reps. Awesome. You're working at about a seven to eight on a RP skill. By leaving reps in reserve, RIR. What this does is you're not working to failure every single time. We don't want to be working at a level 10 all the time when we're strength training. We want to be in that sweet spot of seven to eight range. Step number three is. How do we find that out? It's trial and error. I can't sit there and hand a client a weight and be like, here you go. This is your seven to eight on the RPE scale. You have to kind of determine that. So when I work with clients, I choose a weight. I can generally guarantee like, okay, this weight is going to be challenging for them. And I ask for feedback. So sometimes it takes reaching complete failure to understand what your limits are. So you step up to the weight rack and you're like, I'm going to grab 20 pounds and you're doing bicep curl and you're like, Oh my goodness, it's a set of 10. Um, you know, first that is a set of 10 reps and you get in there and you're like, Ooh, I can barely make it to 10. Brilliant. You learned that that is working above eight on an RPE skill, put the weights down, take the recommended recovery time, and then go back. And let's say your gym has 15. And you pick up the 15s you do the next set of 10 reps And when you get to the end of those 10 reps, you're like, hmm I could probably do about maybe five or six more. Okay. Well your gym doesn't have any 17 and a half or an 18. So what do you do there? What I would recommend is maybe doing one or two more reps on that set. So opposed to a set of 10, maybe doing a set of 12. The other thing that you could do is pick up the 20 pound weight for the first set, do four to six or two to four reps there. So what that is doing is you're not working to complete failure, but you're still working on lifting heavy and then go to the 15 pounds and then You're working on building yourself up. You're working on that progression to work up to those 20 pounds because in any gyms or your home gym, there may not be every increment to make those steps easier. You may have bigger jumps. It is a learning process. And with time you're going to be able to better gauge your strength and the appropriate RPE for you. For exercise, there's no shame or guilt. If you choose a weight too heavy or you choose a weight too light, it is different for every single person and it is going to be different for each exercise. If you get one or two that's in, that is awesome. Don't worry about if you choose a weight that's too heavy, but you're still not sure if it is, you know, working at a seven or eight, but you can't complete the third set, totally fine. You are still building strength. So remember, discovering your heavy weight is a process. Don't worry about leaving those sets on the table while figuring it out. The key is to keep challenging yourself safely and progressively. So we really want to watch form and we want to be safe and challenging ourselves progressively. How I work with clients at KatFit Strength is I break down the RP scale and prescribe workouts in set and rep ranges, and it really helps clients find their ideal weight. And the program is tailored to their individual needs so that I help them ensure that they are lifting effectively and efficiently so they achieve their fitness goals safely. To recap, to determine if you're lifting heavy enough is by assessing your reps daily. and your fatigue rate. If you're fatiguing too quickly early on in the first set, chances are the weight is a little heavy and that's where the RPE scale comes in. We want to be aiming for about a seven to eight on that RPE scale, which would mean we would have about two to three reps in reserve after completing each set, understand that it's trial and error. It's part of the process and it's okay to adjust weights as needed. That is perfectly normal. When clients come in, in the first four weeks, we really work on finding, okay, what is lifting heavy for you and bridging the gap to build them up because With a program, we want to build strength over time. That is progressive strength training, which I'll cover all of that in another episode. So thanks for tuning in. If you have any questions or need personalized advice, don't hesitate to reach out. Keep lifting. Stay strong and I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you for joining me on another episode of Miles From Her View. Your support means the world to me, and I truly appreciate you being a part of our community. If you found today's episode helpful and want to stay informed about all things. KatFit Strength. Make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. You'll receive exclusive insights, tips, and updates straight to your inbox. To sign up, simply visit the show notes or the subscription link. To discover more about KatFit Strength programs and how you can ignite your fitness journey, head over to our website at www. cat. fit. There you'll find everything you need to invigorate your path. To strength and once again, thank you for tuning in and I can't wait to connect with you in our upcoming episodes. Take care and remember act to take the next step.