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

In bodybuilding, there is one most important rule - the greater the number of repetitions in an exercise, the less working weight you need to use, and vice versa. However, there is a small caveat here - the working weight should be maximum for a given number of repetitions. This means that with the chosen weight, you should be able to master 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 you perform, for example, 6 repetitions, there will be no benefit from this. The rule also works in reverse: 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: how smaller amount 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 by trial and error. It is not difficult for experienced athletes to correctly calculate the value 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 the 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, writing down the results in a diary;
• This algorithm is suitable for determining the working weight in exercises performed in the range of 6-12 repetitions.

A beginner, and especially a girl who begins to engage in strength training, does not always understand how to choose weights for herself? What indicators of strength are the norm and what to strive for? As a result, women have been squatting with bodybars for years, although they are much stronger than they used to think. What weights can a girl focus on in such basic exercises as squats, deadlifts, bench presses and chest presses?

Power norms

The tables give several levels:

Untrained- people who have never done strength training, but are able to perform the exercise with the correct technique.

Beginners- regular strength training for 3-9 months.

Average level- regular training for about 2 years. Amateur level for a person working for strength.

Experienced- people who regularly practice for several years with specific goals. Possibly participate in amateur competitions.

Elite- performing athletes, the level of candidates for master of sports and masters of sports.

Figures are in kilograms for a one-rep max. A one-rep max is a weight that you can only do one rep of each exercise with good form.

Important: the tables give average figures based on data accumulated over 70 years. If you want to test the numbers in practice, be sure to work with spotters in the one-rep maximum.

Squats

A repetition is considered valid when the upper thigh line is parallel to the floor.

Deadlift

A repetition with a full extension of the back, knees and upper back after lifting the barbell is considered valid.

Press up while standing

A repetition is considered valid when the knees are straight, the torso does not go beyond the vertical line forward or backward, the elbows are fully extended.

Bench press

A repetition is considered valid when the bar touches the chest, rises without a pause, the elbows in the upper position are fully extended.

How to find out the weight for a different number of repetitions?

Using the tables below, you can find out the weight with which you should be able to complete the exercise for a wide variety of repetitions.

Find in the left column the number of repetitions that you perform in a workout for each specific exercise (upper body or lower body). Then move along the row of numbers until you reach the column with the number of repetitions for which you want to know the weight.

If you are squatting with a weight of 30 kg for 10 reps and want to know how many kilograms you need to do 20 reps, you should find the number 10 in the left column and go along the row of numbers to the right until you reach the number 20. Multiply your working weight by the number in a collumn. In our example, this is 30 kg x 0.86 = 25.8 kg

For those of us who are already familiar with bodybuilding, the question of choosing the right working weight seems absurd and simply irrelevant. However, for those who are just starting out in this sport, this is the very first question that comes to mind of a beginner standing in front of an endless rack with dumbbells.

Question: How to choose a working weight for training?

I just started bodybuilding and the very first hurdle I faced was choosing a working weight. How do I know which weight to train with?

Working weight in bodybuilding

The question of choosing a working weight is widespread among. However, the answer to this question is very simple. Before we tackle this cosmic puzzle, we'll talk about muscle failure.

What is muscle failure?

Muscle failure is the point at which it becomes impossible to perform one more repetition with good technique on your own. I advise you to immediately stop the exercise as soon as you realize that you are unable to complete another repetition with the correct form. So, for example, if you're doing a bench press with a 60kg barbell and you've done 12 reps, but you can't do another rep, you've reached muscle failure at the 12th rep.

How to choose weight for exercise?

The number of repetitions prescribed by the training program will affect the weight. So, for example, if you need to perform 10-12 repetitions in the exercise "", then you need to choose a working weight with which you will achieve muscle failure within 10-12 repetitions. Since you are just starting to get into your first bodybuilding workouts, choosing a working weight will be a matter of trial and error. Here are a few steps for a beginner to take:

1. First, decide on the exact number of repetitions that you need to perform for a particular exercise. Let's take 10-12 repetitions as an example.
2. Pick a weight that you think will reach muscle failure within those reps.
3. If you manage to achieve muscle failure within these reps, then continue to use the same weight for the next set.
4. If you fail to do 10-12 reps and you lose strength, say, on the 8th repetition, then reduce the working weight in the next approach.
5. It may also turn out that you are the owner of inhuman abilities that will allow you to step for 12 repetitions. In this case, slightly increase the working weight on the next set.

As a beginner, it is extremely important that you keep a journal where you will enter your working weights involved in each exercise in the required rep range. Thus, you will begin to slowly navigate in the choice of a suitable working weight. Also, keeping a training diary is a great way to keep track of your progress.

When to increase working weight?

Although this question has not been asked, I still consider it relevant. The working weight for an exercise may only be increased when the currently used working weight would result in muscle failure outside the prescribed rep range.

For example, let's say your training program calls for 3 sets of exercise " " with 10-12 reps, and your training diary shows that you use 12 kg dumbbells for this exercise and reach muscle failure at the 12th rep. You start the exercise, but this time you notice that you reach failure on the 13th rep. This is the very signal that speaks of the need to increase the working weight.

A correctly calculated working weight when performing strength exercises in the gym is able to help the athlete pump up muscles in the shortest possible time, increase strength indicators, make the muscles more prominent and, of course, get rid of ridiculous injuries in training.

All exercises that athletes perform in gyms are usually divided into two main classes, insulating(single joint) and basic(multi-joint), that is, they involve two or more joints when performing a working movement.

It is very important to choose the right working weight in basic exercises, because only they can significantly affect the growth of strength indicators and muscle mass(It is noteworthy, but they can also cause a very serious injury to an athlete, so it is important not only to choose the right weight in training, but also to study these exercises thoroughly).

Basis for calculation working weight, should become interest(%) of the maximum possible weight that you can lift in this particular exercise. For example, there are concepts that are closely related to the gym, such as light, medium, and heavy workouts. So, light workouts mean working weight in the exercise 60-65% of the maximum, medium 70-75%, and heavy 80-85%.

Calculation of the working weight in the exercise

Consider below, using a specific example, the calculation of the working weight, when performed on a horizontal bench.

An example of calculating the working weight in the bench press

Suppose we find out that our maximum result in the bench press from the chest is 90 kg, which means that the working weight, when converted to training, taking into account the load, will look like this:

• if we have an easy workout: 90 * 0.6 (0.65) = 54 or 58.5 kg = 55-60 kg
• if average workout: 90*0.7 (0.75)= 63 or 67.5 kg = 65-70 kg
• if hard training: 90*0.8 (0.85)= 72 or 76.5 kg = 75 kg

Round up to the whole or more, then in the process of training itself, you can correct (not fundamentally). You can see how to combine workouts with light, medium and heavy loads at. As a rule, if the exercise is performed on 6 repeats, then this heavy training, if 8 – average, if on 12 light.

As for the calculation of the working weight in isolating exercises, for example, on a horizontal bench, and so on, there is no strict calculation here, here you should focus more on your own Feel, taking into account the load you want to get and the number of repetitions you want to perform.

An example of calculating the working weight in the bench press

If you train hard, then it should be really hard at the end (but don't bring yourself to complete failure, this is superfluous, big stress for the body, after which it will need to be given a lot of time to recovery), if medium, then it should not be very hard, but not easy either, if the load is light, then the exercise should be performed without unnecessary, excessive effort, in compliance with perfect technique.

How to find out the maximum working weight in the exercise

As we have already found out, calculating the maximum working weight in isolation exercises does not make much sense (especially when we are talking about training newcomers), so you should concentrate all your efforts on the calculation in basic exercises (this is, first of all, the bench press)

1 way

To calculate the maximum in the exercise, you can use universal formula: perform the exercise with the correct technique in 5 sets of 6 repetitions and multiply the working weight by a factor of 1.2, the resulting figure will be your maximum weight.

It is necessary to perform so that after 5 approaches you cannot fully complete, without violating the technique, the 6th approach for all 6 repetitions due to the resulting muscle stress (fatigue).

Let's say you're in the gym doing a deadlift with a weight 120 kg all 6 repetitions in 5 sets, so in the 6th approach, if you performed, you would not be able to do it for all 6 repetitions (for 5 or 4), in total we get our maximum in thrust: 120 * 1.2 = 145 kg approximately .

2 way

Perhaps someone does not like such a rough calculation, then in this case, you need to warm up thoroughly, perform a full warm-up, and by experiment, with the addition of weight on the bars in increments of 5-10 kg, lift weights until you reach your maximum.

Correction of the weight on the bar when calculating the lifted weight per time in increments of 5-10 kg, more related to isolation exercises, and basic exercises when you are approaching your limit ( submaximal weights). Usually, athletes begin to use the step 20-30 kg, both during warm-up approaches and when calculating your maximum.

How to find out the maximum working weight in the exercise

For instance, calculate working weight in the basic leg exercise - squat with a barbell on the shoulders:

We know that an athlete assumes that he can squat with a barbell for about 110-120 kg, it is necessary to calculate how much he can realistically squat, if the usual leg training, of medium intensity looks like this:

• 4 sets of 8 reps, with a weight of 90 kg.

In order to determine how much weight an athlete will be able to handle the bar, you must first carefully warm up using an empty bar, light weights and for muscles (optional).

• 1 set of 15 reps with empty bar
• 1 set for 12 reps with 40 kg
• 1 set for 8 reps with 60 kg
• 1 set for 4 reps with 80 kg
• 1 set for 2 reps with 100 kg
• 1 set for 1 rep with 110 kg
• 1 set for 1 rep with 115 kg
• 1 set for 1 rep from 117.5 - 120 kg (hardcore)

Thus, the resulting figure can be used in all training programs where percentages of the maximum working weight in a particular exercise are mentioned.

3 way

Use different online calculators, or applications from the play market, which often use formulas Bzicki, Appley, Lander, Lombardi, Mayhew, O'Connor, Watana. However, the accuracy of these programs leaves much to be desired.

The most proven way to calculate the maximum, this is the method that is carried out practically, by a real feeling of the lifted weight, that is, method number 2.

How to increase the weight on the bar (simulators)

For the full implementation of training, in addition to calculating the working and maximum weight, you need to know how to properly increase bar weight. This is especially important at the initial stage, when the strength, respectively, and the weight on the bar will grow very quickly, because the beginner is still very far from the limit of the hidden power capabilities of the body.

As soon as you feel that it is easy for you to perform established the working weight in the exercise, or you are doing a hard workout (for 6 repetitions) with a large margin, then in this case, you can safely increase the weight on the bar, by 2.5-5 kg. The main thing in this matter do not rush, and the proverb “you go quieter - you will continue” shows the true picture of the future that appears in the increase in working weights on the bar.

A slow increase in weight on the bar has a positive effect on the absence of injuries in training and on the correct implementation of the exercise technique.

It is also necessary, especially at the initial stage of training, to start training diary, in which you will record progress and regression in exercises, that is, the number of completed approaches and repetitions, Time relax, a feeling of fatigue after completing the approach and the working weight in a particular exercise.

How to increase the weight on the bar?

By recording the weight on the bar and the date of the workout in a diary, you can see and adjust further working weight.

Now we know how much weight to put on the barbell (simulator), and what is the optimal number of sets and repetitions to do in order to maximize the involvement of muscle growth processes in the work.

It remains to choose the most effective exercises for muscle growth.

What exercises to do in the gym

The best exercises for muscle growth, we have already given in this one. For those who are interested, be sure to follow the links, because this information will help, among the entire list, to choose the most effective ones, which in turn will save you time.

For a general understanding principle choosing certain exercises in the gym, you need to understand, as we wrote at the beginning of the article, that there are isolated and basic (multi-joint) exercises. For beginners, it is necessary to perform mainly only basic without wasting precious strength and energy on isolated exercises that are ineffective for muscle growth.

So that you do not rack your brains, in what quantity, in what order and which exercises to perform, we have written training programs, depending on level of training if you didn’t exercise at all (or it was a very long time ago), then this one is suitable for you, and if you have experience in the gym ( 1-2 years), then this one is for you.

If you want us to develop individual training program, please contact us via the feedback form.

I would like to emphasize that the rough muscle mass give regular exercise in the range 6-12 repetitions:

• Deadlift
• Bench press
• Squats

These are exactly those “magic” exercises for a beginner level athlete, which not only can, but also need to be performed (if there is no health contraindications).

What exercises to do in the gym?

If your goal is to lose weight (dry), then you need to radically change yours. To gain weight (muscles), you need surplus, that is, an excess of calories, for burning fat, you need a shortage (excess) in the body of calories, which is created primarily by cutting carbohydrates. For more information on how to eat to dry out or increase mass, read the relevant articles.

Also remember that the gym, when losing weight, becomes secondary location(and after all, many fitness trainers do not understand these banal things when they force their ward to squat with a barbell so that her hips become smaller!), when gaining mass, on the contrary, strength exercises It is imperative that all excess calories are not converted into fat, but used as fuel for the growth of quality muscles.

Exercising with the same weight, you come to stagnation, and not only in muscle growth, but also in losing weight. Your body adapts to the load, and after training, you do not get any muscle hypertrophy or the accelerated metabolism that losing weight people strive for.

Increasing the working weight is a mandatory requirement for exercising both in the gym and at home. However, increasing it too quickly will not do anything good and may even lead to injury.

When to increase weight: the two-for-two rule

Pete Bellis/Flickr.com

If you want to increase muscle mass, then most likely use a low number of repetitions and a lot of weight, close to a one-time maximum.

It is important to understand here that in order to progress, the weight must be such that the last repetition in the approach is on the verge of muscle failure. The two-for-two rule allows you to determine when you stop exercising until muscle failure.

This rule was suggested by Thomas Baechle in his book Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning. Here's how it sounds.

If you can do two more reps on the last set of any exercise, and you're doing that for the last two workouts, it's time to go up in weight.

For example, you do 4 sets of 8 reps of dumbbell curls. If you can do 10 reps on your last set two workouts in a row, then it's time to increase the weight.

There is another, faster option for increasing working weight - the fixed approach scheme.

How to increase weight in the gym

With fixed approaches

If your plan includes 4 sets of 10 reps and you can complete the exercise as many times on the last set as on the first, it's time to increase the weight.

When you try an exercise with a new weight, the number of repetitions per set naturally decreases. For example, in the first approach you will be able to complete 10 repetitions, in the second - only 8, and in the third and fourth - 6 each. This is a completely normal scheme for mastering a new weight.

Gradually, you will increase the number of reps per set until you can complete 10 reps in all four sets. This means that it is time to increase the weight again.

Unlike the previous two-for-two scheme, in this case you don't have to test yourself with extra reps on the last set. As soon as the number of repetitions in all approaches is equal - increase the weight.

What scheme to use? Decide for yourself. In my opinion, the two-for-two rule allows you to make training safer and make sure that when you increase the weight, the technique does not suffer.

In pyramid training

In pyramidal training, both the working weight and the number of repetitions change.

In the ascending pyramid, you start with a high number of repetitions with a small working weight and gradually increase it, reducing the number of repetitions. For example, in the first approach you do deadlift with a 60 kg barbell 12 times, then 10 times 65 kg, 8 times 70 kg and 6 times 75 kg.

Warm-up sets with low weights are not performed to complete muscle failure. This should only happen on the last sets with the heaviest weight.

The descending pyramid, on the contrary, begins with short approaches with the heaviest weight: exercises are performed until the muscles completely fail, in subsequent approaches the weight decreases, and the number of repetitions increases.

It is necessary to increase the weight in pyramidal training in the same way as with a fixed number of repetitions. It is best to focus on the shortest approach with the heaviest weight.

If you can complete more reps on your hardest set to muscle failure than the program allows, it's time to increase the weight, and on all sets, including "warm-up" with high reps and low weight.

If you are just starting to exercise, you can increase the weight by 5-10%, if you have been doing it for a long time - by 2-5%. Usually it is 1–2 kg for small muscle groups and 2–5 kg for large ones.

How to increase weight while exercising at home

You can use universal rubber. If you are just starting out in fitness, they can be used to make some exercises with your own weight easier, and if, on the contrary, you need to increase the load, the bands will help you do it without dumbbells and plates.

Each tape corresponds to a certain number of kilograms. For example, there are belts that create a tension similar to 23 kg, and there are thin models that replace only 5 kg.

As a rule, tapes are distributed by color and each manufacturer has its own weight ranges. This is a kind of support with which you can develop target muscle groups and prepare for bodyweight exercises.

Not every person will be able to do push-ups with the right technique at least once. By pulling on the rubber band, you can do it without problems, gradually preparing the muscles for stress.

The same applies to pull-ups, squats on one leg, push-ups from the uneven bars and other exercises. As you develop, change the elastic bands to thinner ones or increase the number of repetitions.

Bands can also be used to make bodyweight or free weight exercises more difficult. For example, you can perform band squats or lunges, band chest rows, leg raises, and other exercises. And after training with them you can do.

And another opportunity to increase the load outside the gym is to perform more complex exercises. For example, deadlift with dumbbells can be made more difficult by performing it on one leg, regular push-ups can be replaced with handstand push-ups, and regular squats can be replaced with pistol or shrimp squats.

To avoid injury, increase the difficulty gradually and learn more about the technique of each exercise.

When not to gain weight

When increasing weight, carefully monitor whether this affects the execution technique.

For example, if you increase the weight on the bar during squats and after the first set your knees start to turn in and your back starts to bend, then it is too early for you to increase the weight.

Getting used to doing exercises incorrectly, you harm your health and increase in the future. Therefore, if you feel that you cannot perform the exercise correctly, it is better to reduce the weight and reinforce the correct execution.

And how often do you increase the working weight?