Yeah. Progression will be really weird when you start by yourself. Sometimes you’ll be 20% stronger than last workout on the same exercise, sometimes 20% less (because you might have improved your technique).
If you are not, on average, getting stronger, you are probably not gaining muscle. Don’t goodhart, letting your technique focus slip away.
Progression changes a lot from one exercise to the other. You can probably add 5lbs every time you deadlift for the first 3 months. However I’ve been doing DB Lateral raises for 3 years and I’m about to move on to the 20lbs.
My practical advice?
Keep track of the weights you’re using, apps like strong do this well. Anytime you select a lift, it shows you how much you did it with last time.
As a beginner, stop every set when you are not confident you can maintain good technique on the next set. You’ll be farther from “true muscular failure” than someone who is more accostumed with the lift, but that’s ok.
For every exercise, have a range of repetitions. Say you’re doing squats for 5-8 reps. Perform the set as described above. If you get less than 5, next sets use 10% less weight. If you get more than 8, next time use 10% more weight.
Also, I worry a bit about being too variable in the number of reps and in how to add weight. I found I fall easily into doing the minimal version—“just getting it done for today”. Then improvement stalls and motivation drops.
I think part of the appeal of “Starting Strength” (which I started recently) is that it’s very strict. Unfortunately if adding 15 kilo a week for three weeks to squats it not going to kill me drinking a gallon of milk a day will.
Which is to say, I appreciate your post for giving more building pieces for a workout that works out for me.
Could you say a bit about progression?
Yeah. Progression will be really weird when you start by yourself.
Sometimes you’ll be 20% stronger than last workout on the same exercise, sometimes 20% less (because you might have improved your technique).
If you are not, on average, getting stronger, you are probably not gaining muscle. Don’t goodhart, letting your technique focus slip away.
Progression changes a lot from one exercise to the other. You can probably add 5lbs every time you deadlift for the first 3 months. However I’ve been doing DB Lateral raises for 3 years and I’m about to move on to the 20lbs.
My practical advice?
Keep track of the weights you’re using, apps like strong do this well. Anytime you select a lift, it shows you how much you did it with last time.
As a beginner, stop every set when you are not confident you can maintain good technique on the next set. You’ll be farther from “true muscular failure” than someone who is more accostumed with the lift, but that’s ok.
For every exercise, have a range of repetitions. Say you’re doing squats for 5-8 reps. Perform the set as described above. If you get less than 5, next sets use 10% less weight. If you get more than 8, next time use 10% more weight.
10% seems like a lot.
Also, I worry a bit about being too variable in the number of reps and in how to add weight. I found I fall easily into doing the minimal version—“just getting it done for today”. Then improvement stalls and motivation drops.
I think part of the appeal of “Starting Strength” (which I started recently) is that it’s very strict. Unfortunately if adding 15 kilo a week for three weeks to squats it not going to kill me drinking a gallon of milk a day will.
Which is to say, I appreciate your post for giving more building pieces for a workout that works out for me.