How much weight I should lift?

Get more from Tone and Tighten by following on Twitter!

“How do I know what weight should I use?”

“What’s a good starting weight for _______?”

“Am I using too much weight?”

Most of my absolute favorite posts here on Tone and Tighten actually come from reader questions. Today’s is no different! Plenty of you have emailed me over the last little while wondering at what resistance you should perform these exercises at. Well wonder no more as I share with you the answer in today’s post! Interested? Good – keep reading…

The easiest way to determine the best weight to use actually comes in a surprising way – failure! If you can get through an entire workout without ever failing on any given set then you’re not using enough weight. I’m pointing my finger at you, Mr/Mrs/Ms “3 sets of 20+ reps”! However – (you knew there would be a however) I don’t necessarily want you to fail every set (now I’m looking your way Mr/Mrs/Ms 3 sets of 5). However, before I get too mad at either extreme let me give each of you a little vindication…

1. The high repper: 3 sets of 20 is not a horrible thing. In fact, as far as toning is concerned it’s actually a really good thing. The way you build muscle endurance and also burn calories (and therefore fat) is doing many, many reps at a lower intensity. Low weight + high reps = lean and slender (for the most part).

2. The high weighter: 3 sets of 5 is also not a bad thing. Lifting low reps, high sets, at a higher weight is perfect for increasing strength and putting on size. This causes massive muscle failure and therefore increased rebuilding. High weight + low reps = big and strong (again, for the most part).

So seriously, how much weight should I use??

I refer to the perfect weight as the “Goldilocks Principle”. Meaning not to high, not too low, but juuuust right. The answer actually lies in the majority of most workouts I put on this site. Drumroll please….

3 sets of 10 and then FAILURE.

You should be able to get to that 29th and 30th rep, but it had better be a battle to do so!!! This targets the “sweet spot” – that perfect area between training lean endurance muscle and big strength muscle. This is the target area for what the majority of us are after – muscle growth. This is the quickest way to get bigger and smaller all at once! Bigger meaning more muscle (who doesn’t love definition?? You come here to get Toned and Tightened, right??) and smaller meaning you will actually burn more calories at rest as you raise your metabolism.

Here’s your take home message…

If you’re doing 3 sets of 20+ you should probably reach for a higher resistance (unless we’re going for some aerobic cardio!)
If you’re only getting in 3-4 sets of 3-5 reps you’ve probably got a little too much (unless you’re focusing on bulking and strength)
The best way to achieve muscle growth is shooting for 3 sets of 10-12 reps, but again – I want reps 28-30 to be near failure!!

Adjust your resistance according to the above recommendations and watch your results take off!

Did you find this info useful? Share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest! See the social icons below for easy social sharing!

Looking for some great workouts to try out your new knowledge? Here are a few of my favorite weight routines that you can totally knock out of the park now!!

30 Minute Total Body Gym Workout