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Is there a way to figure out when to raise the weights when working out? Like a certain benchmark or test to find out if I'm ready to raise weights? thanks

just start off with your max limit, you should be fine

You keep doing it until you could do a lot of them. Try and raise the weights by 5 pounds (or 10) if you feel like you can add more, go ahead.

When 8-10 reps is too easy. On your third set, the last few reps should be almost impossible.

At least that's how I do it. It depends on your type of workout.. some people don't like going until failure, some go until almost failure (me), some throw around the pink dumbbells, it's up to you.

If you're going past 12 reps without much burn then you should definitely increase the weight.

.AWAKE. wrote:just start off with your max limit, you should be fine

lol no, you should start with roughly 80% of your max ( this is for race to the top bench pressing only and you should work with 80% for the first 2 weeks ) you measure most strength building exercises by the 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps system. so anyways if you arent hitting failure on your 3-4th set is time to increase or add something else to your routine, this to push those muscles to where they need to be. btw i do failure and is fun playing handicapped the next day .

Leg days are the worst... I know what you mean by handicapped. Simple little things like..err walking or putting on shoes becomes pretty hard.

EvGa's right as always.

I've read -

low reps/high weight = beach muscle/mass (dont get me wrong it's still muscle)

many reps/lower weight = more 'toned', stamina and eventually better overall muscle


If you can do many reps with x weight it doesn't mean you have to go higher, there are many different ways to work out.

I remember a while ago someone on this forum said that most people who work out just have beach muscle and can still get their ass handed to them buy some fat guy with a bit of muscle >.>

Azilius wrote:I've read -

low reps/high weight = beach muscle/mass (dont get me wrong it's still muscle)

many reps/lower weight = more 'toned', stamina and eventually better overall muscle


If you can do many reps with x weight it doesn't mean you have to go higher, there are many different ways to work out.

I remember a while ago someone on this forum said that most people who work out just have beach muscle and can still get their ass handed to them buy some fat guy with a bit of muscle >.>

The ultimate irony is that the IFBB is facing in trying to get bodybuilders into the Olympics is that while every athlete in every other sport is presumably the healthiest they've ever been so that they are able to compete athletically and break records, the bodybuilder is so weak on competition day that he or she would have trouble fending off the attacks of an enraged mouse. The weeks of constant dieting, workouts that continually tax the body almost beyond recovery, and a constant influx of potentially harmful drugs and diuretics have brought most of them to total exhaustion.

To think about the huge amounts of food some steroid-using bodybuilders eat. In all the longevity sites in the world where people routinely live to be one hundred, the only common denominator is that they all either under-eat or eat just enough to meet their daily caloric requirements. By ingesting less food, they ingest less harmful chemicals, and fewer free radicals are formed in the body. The average professional builder probably eats at least four or five times what these aforementioned people eat.

As a result, bodybuilders often suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Plus, with all that extra mass, the heart has to work that much harder and will probably stop beating years before it was designed to. That's why professional bodybuilding is the ultimate act of vanity. It was done strictly to fulfill some misguided notion of the superhuman ideal, and health was not even a consideration. Almost without exception, these guys and gals are not healthy, and they'll probably be among the first to tell you so. However, weight-training and consuming a nutrient-rich diet is very healthy, as long as it is not carried to extremes.

all right thanks guys!!

I do 10 reps in each set and 3 sets for each routine. I think I'll increase reps when I can do all three sets perfectly.

Use a weight with which you can do 3x8 reps. Increase when you can do 3x12. At least that's one easy method that won't have you blowing your brains out calculating how much weight you should use.

Ash wrote:The ultimate irony is that the IFBB is facing in trying to get bodybuilders into the Olympics is that while every athlete in every other sport is presumably the healthiest they've ever been so that they are able to compete athletically and break records, the bodybuilder is so weak on competition day that he or she would have trouble fending off the attacks of an enraged mouse. The weeks of constant dieting, workouts that continually tax the body almost beyond recovery, and a constant influx of potentially harmful drugs and diuretics have brought most of them to total exhaustion.

To think about the huge amounts of food some steroid-using bodybuilders eat. In all the longevity sites in the world where people routinely live to be one hundred, the only common denominator is that they all either under-eat or eat just enough to meet their daily caloric requirements. By ingesting less food, they ingest less harmful chemicals, and fewer free radicals are formed in the body. The average professional builder probably eats at least four or five times what these aforementioned people eat.

As a result, bodybuilders often suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Plus, with all that extra mass, the heart has to work that much harder and will probably stop beating years before it was designed to. That's why professional bodybuilding is the ultimate act of vanity. It was done strictly to fulfill some misguided notion of the superhuman ideal, and health was not even a consideration. Almost without exception, these guys and gals are not healthy, and they'll probably be among the first to tell you so. However, weight-training and consuming a nutrient-rich diet is very healthy, as long as it is not carried to extremes.

-Bodybuilding.com

Azilius wrote:I've read -

low reps/high weight = beach muscle/mass (dont get me wrong it's still muscle)

many reps/lower weight = more 'toned', stamina and eventually better overall muscle


If you can do many reps with x weight it doesn't mean you have to go higher, there are many different ways to work out.

I remember a while ago someone on this forum said that most people who work out just have beach muscle and can still get their ass handed to them buy some fat guy with a bit of muscle >.>

then again beach body with gun > fatass with gun most likely. game on !

my swim team have some things like 90 seconds/60 seconds/30 seconds. and we increase weight every time the clock is lower.

most of the time, we do stuff like 1 set of 20, 2 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5.

Take steroids, drink only water or diet coke, do 10 push-ups a day, jog around the block once.

You can do whatever you want - including eat at McDonalds everyday if you do this. You'll develop six-pack abs in like 3 weeks..seriously.

but seriously, thread = tl;dr. im sure there were some good points mentioned already so... /sarcasm

a good work out will burn but if your really feeling shit the next day you aint streched off and cooled down properly you need atleast 10mins worth of cool down (by that i mean strech off the muscles you have worked hell i would do all just encase)

inky wrote:Take steroids, drink only water or diet coke, do 10 push-ups a day, jog around the block once.

You can do whatever you want - including eat at McDonalds everyday if you do this. You'll develop six-pack abs in like 3 weeks..seriously.

but seriously, thread = tl;dr. im sure there were some good points mentioned already so... /sarcasm

diet coke is the solution obviously ... only one of the worst foods of all times ...

Diet Coke = Aspartame = Fail.

are you serious..diet coke? drinking a lot of fake sugar shit can also lead to diabetes for those who dont know.

[SD]Master_Wong wrote:a good work out will burn but if your really feeling shit the next day you aint streched off and cooled down properly you need atleast 10mins worth of cool down (by that i mean strech off the muscles you have worked hell i would do all just encase)

Oh so your supposed to feel sore without feeling sick? Do you think im doing something wrong if I don't feel sore after the day I work out? I only feel sore the first couple days I work out and then after that I don't feel like I'm getting anything done.

Its simple, no pain, no gain.

If I can barely walk into my apartment after a jog around campus I know I've done a good job. Upper body: If I can't feel my arms, chest, and abs it's all good in the hood. If my body is sore after a full body workout (to the point where I sleep 3-4 extra hours) I know I did myself in. lol.

Burn more than the amount of calories you intake is one way of staying in shape or not gaining weight.

Start with the Rippetoe program, everything is explained there

Dont increase reps.

Well depending on your excercises and what u do, you should pyramid, ( low rep, increase weight), and then max out once in awhile to seee where u are. If you can improve your max, then you are improving your structure for getting stronger

Oh and remember.

Its all about using good form.

Never increase the weight for the sake of using a heavier weight.

Being sore for longer than a day isn't the sign of a good workout, then you've pushed yourself too far.
Actually being sore at all isn't really a good sign. It shows that you didn't do a good cooling down. To prevent getting sore you need to do stretches after your workout, stretch the muscles you were working.

woutR wrote:Being sore for longer than a day isn't the sign of a good workout, then you've pushed yourself too far.
Actually being sore at all isn't really a good sign. It shows that you didn't do a good cooling down. To prevent getting sore you need to do stretches after your workout, stretch the muscles you were working.

If you just started working out it is impossible to prevent DOMS. Also if you've never done negatives before, you will most certainly be sore a couple days after the first time.

Love wrote:

inky wrote:Take steroids, drink only water or diet coke, do 10 push-ups a day, jog around the block once.

You can do whatever you want - including eat at McDonalds everyday if you do this. You'll develop six-pack abs in like 3 weeks..seriously.

but seriously, thread = tl;dr. im sure there were some good points mentioned already so... /sarcasm

diet coke is the solution obviously ... only one of the worst foods of all times ...

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thanks for the advice guys

I think I'll go 3x8 program so I can gain mass as fast as possible. I found a nice beginner body building schedule online and the schedule seems pretty logical to me.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fawnia1.htm

Toasty wrote:Oh and remember.

Its all about using good form.

Never increase the weight for the sake of using a heavier weight.

I agree, I think I'm going to have to start at a much lower weight than I think I should.