I'm a little confused as to when I should up the weight

[luvmypt]

Let's say I want to increase my max in any given exercise. If I can do 3-4 of a particular weight with good form, do I add a bit more the next time I work that body part and try for 3-4 at the new weight or do I stick with the original weight and try to do 4-6 or 6-8 then include 1-4 at the new weight?

For example this is what I did with squats this week.

45 lbs X 10 warmup
115 X 8
125 X 3
125 X 3
125 X 3
95 X 8

I think I could have gotten a couple of more out of the 125s but I didn't have a spotter. So, if I'm trying to increase my squat weight, where do I go from here?

I'm basically in a 'ditto' situation with everything else too.

[tiger1]

I find generally if I can do 8-10 reps and feel I could do more than I increase my weight. I guess it all depends if you want to build muscle or just tone

[brandy3369]

I agree with Tiger1, if I can max out at 12 I increase the weight to where I can only max 10 reps, but if by the third set I can only pump out 6 or 7 using the same weight, I decrease the weight a little to push out a few more. I always keep my reps between no less than 8 and no more than 12 regardless of what I have to adjust the weight too during the sets.

Krypto and Sicily can give you the best advice on what to do here though.

Brandy

If you are solely looking to just increase your 1 rep max, then I would try to add a bit more weight each time you work that body part. That would be the proper training for that particular objective. You train for what you need to accomplish. Bascially, on 1 rep maxes, you are trying to train your motor neurons to fire all at once. So keeping the reps low and adding more weight is how you would do that, it's basically how powerlifters train. If you need more info on the subject of rep ranges and weight, check out the articles in the May issue in the magazine section. /forum/images/icons/wink.gif

For me, I am wanting to increase my strength but not necessarily in terms of my one rep max. I want to get stronger but I am interested in just being able to increase the weight in the rep range I work out in, which is 8-12. And I believe that is the same thing the other girls were saying. So for us, if we can do more than 12 reps at a particular weight, then and only then, do we add more weight. For instance, one of my goals is to be able to flat bench the 50 lb dumbbells for at least 6 reps. Soo, when I finally get to a point when I can bench the 45's for 13 reps, I'll be jumpin' for joy and moving on up to the 50's for my next set! Yeeha! /forum/images/icons/grin.gif

Make sense?

[luvmypt]

Thanks for the information. Just wondering... Who came up with the magic rep ranges for different goals? Why 12 reps and not 11 or 15? Why do low reps 1-6 build power but adding just one more crosses over into building strength and size? How long ago was this determined and has anyone challenged that 30-50 yr old (?) finding?

Sorry to sound like a 3 yr old asking why all the time but sometimes the explanation either clarifies the reasoning or makes one question the decision in the first place.

As I stated before, the questions you are asking, JW answers in his articles in the magazine section, in the May issue. If you read these articles you'll totally understand why certain rep ranges work better for strength as opposed to power, and also endurance. It is specifically addressed in Muscle Fibers Part Two (http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magazine/musclefiberspart2.htm) but you need to read the others also, especially the ones before it, to fully understand. Trust me, there is a science to it. /forum/images/icons/wink.gif