So, I started going to the gym about a month ago. Doing dumbell curls I started at 10lbs. I tried 50lbs at first.
Mistake!
Sized down until I got to 10lbs. I was looking for the first one I could do 20 reps. Then, as days went on, I kept moving up sizes. I’m currently at 25lbs. I keep wanting to move up to 30lbs, but my body gives way around the 12-15 rep range. So, not quite there yet. But the first 10 reps of 25lbs aren’t even hard anymore. It only gets increasingly more difficult after the 10 mark, but more often than not the 15 mark. 15-20 are the hard ones.
But with 30lbs it’s hard right from the start.
So, should I be doing the 30lbs reps, even if its less than 20 reps? Or do the 25lbs reps which I can easily do 3/4ths of before it becomes a struggle for the last few reps?
As low as 8 reps is effective. 20 is at the higher end but there’s some limited reasons to do that.
Multiple sets. 3 sets of 10 reps gets you 30 reps.
Give Renaissance Periodization and Jeff Nippard a look on the other platforms. Dr Mike talks a bunch about rep ranges.
…is it bad that I’ve been doing 5 sets of 20 reps? You’re saying 30 reps total. If I REALLY pushed myself, I might be able to do that in 1 set. You’re saying split it between 3 sets. Is there a such thing as too many reps? I’ve been just saying “nope!” if my arm gets this heavy/tired feeling. When I feel that, it becomes a struggle to lift, and I’ve been taking that as a sign that I need to rest before I get hurt.
I feel like it’s not necessarily about “too many” as long as you don’t get hurt doing it, but rather it’s a question of time - 5x20 with something you can do easily will not really get you better or faster results than 3x10 with a weight that really makes you work, and the latter takes less time.