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?
Are you giving your body enough time to recover? Also, rather than reps, focus on time under load. Aim for a weight light enough such that you do two or three verrrry slow reps for more than 60 seconds, but too heavy for 90 seconds. Source: “Body by Science” by Little and McGuff; “SuperSlow” by Hutchins. According to Little and McGuff (and their bibliography), most people require 7 to 10 days in between weight training muscle groups in order to fully recover. Any less than that and gains are being left on the table.
I didn’t quite believe it myself, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. Sure enough, I started being about to go up about five pounds every 6 to 8 weeks, weight training once every 7 days.
7 to 10 days between gym time??? I’m in the gym 4-5 days a week for 3-4 hours a day. Now granted some of that time is rest, but that sounds nuts! I just got off an exercise bike, and went for 20 minutes straight. Which is a new personal best. Said I burned 150 calories. I might do it again in 2 hours.
But for now, it’s weights time.
Anything between 5-30 reps is inside the hypertrophic sweet spot, but for isolation exercises you probably want to aim for ~12 reps and up.
My biggest concern reading this is that you seem quite fixated to the weight of the dumbells. Some body English is fine, but be careful to not make what should be a biceps exercise into a full body exercise.
Body English? :)
In sports and exercise contexts, it also describes the use of non-standard or extra body movements to help complete a physical action, such as using torso or leg motion to assist an upper body exercise
If 5 lb is too large of a jump, you can also get magnetic weights (expensive) or some cheap 1-2.5 lb wrist weights to bridge the gap.
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.
It depends on your goals, but for muscle growth 20 reps is a little high. 8-10 is a good range and then you can progress up to 12 reps before increasing the weight again.
Ex: week 1 30 lbs 8 reps
Week 2 30 lbs 10 reps
Week 3 30 lbs 12 reps
Week 4 35 lbs 8 reps
Etc
My goals are strength training and weight loss. I’m just kind of going to the gym, kicking my own ass for 3-4 hours a day, and then doing it again.
Just starting out, but I’ve already felt some improvement, and lost about 4-7lbs depending on the day. It fluctuates.
