Weightlifting 101 | How heavy is heavy?

You’re on board with lifting heavy. You know the benefits and you’re ready to start crushing workouts.

But how do you start? How do you know how heavy to lift?

Here, we go over just how heavy you should be aiming to lift and where to get instruction on lifting technique.

But first, a science lesson.

Heavyweights to build muscle

When we lift heavy, we stress and fatigue our muscles, causing microscopic tears. This is a natural and necessary process. It is also why after exercise we feel soreness.

In the recovery stage, our bodies overcompensate in repairing these tears, resulting in bigger muscles. This process is known as muscle hypertrophy.

There are two schools of thought on how to achieve this process and build muscle.

The first is working with low weights at higher repetitions. For example, doing 12+ reps at 30- to 50-percent of your one rep max.

The other is working with heavier weights at low repetitions. In this scenario, you’d be working in the 70- to 90-percent range for four to six reps per set.

Studies show that both methods improve muscle growth and increase strength.

So it’s really up to the lifter to determine their preference.

However, the catalyst for either method is discovering that true one-rep max.

How much should I lift?

Maybe you’ve done that HIIT class or aerobics class and used the 15-pound dumbbells and felt a good burn afterward. That means you lifted heavy, right?

No.

That doesn’t mean you didn’t work hard or that the workout wasn’t worth every drop of sweat you put in. It just means you need to change your thinking around lifting heavy.

The human body is capable of moving multiple times its body weight.

Think of the little ant. The average ant can lift 50 times her bodyweight. Others can lift 100 times her bodyweight.

Now we are not as impressive as ants, but we are capable of more than the pink dumbbells.

Here are general guidelines based on industry data for what a novice, beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifter should be capable of lifting:

This means a 150-pound woman, in theory, should be able to squat 68 pounds with no training. She should be able to deadlift 83 pounds, press 45 pounds, and bench 75 pounds.

Surprised?

Just wait ’til you actually start lifting! You will be shocked at how quickly you progress to the novice and intermediate categories.

Where did these numbers come from? I took charts from Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength and Practical Programming books and converted the numbers to percentages.

Once you start lifting, you can calculate potential one rep maxes for each lift.

Now, this does not mean that you should just walk up and start lifting this weight. We all have to crawl before we can walk and run.

How should I start?

Lifting requires a lot of technique. This can be super frustrating for a new lifter who just wants to feel like Wonder Woman and lift all the things.

I hate to be the one to tell you: Get over it.

Focusing on proper technique will help prevent injury and will allow you to lift heavier in the future.

Start each lift with a PVC pipe. Then you can progress to an empty barbell. Then you can start adding weight.

There are a lot of great (and not-so-great) tutorials on proper technique for each lift. While I hope to eventually include my own library of video resources, Juggernauts Training Systems offers a lot of great tutorials on how to perform the lifts.

How do you know that your technique is good enough to progress?

Get a coach.

Whether you have a trainer at the rec center watch your form, you join a CrossFit gym and go through their introductory course, or hire an online coach and video your lifts, you absolutely need someone to evaluate your form.

Trust and listen to your coach.

Lifting heavy with proper technique stresses your body in ways no other workout or activity has in the past.

I grew up swimming and then was a rock climber for years. I thought I understood uncomfortable and tricky positioning. Weightlifting was a huge wake-up call to me. Just holding a starting position had my legs shaking.

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

A lot of the muscles and mobility issues that weightlifting reveals are results of poor lifestyle choices — for example, sitting for long periods of time hunched over a computer.

Embrace the fact that you are taking tangible steps to correct these issues.

Finally, once you do begin to add weight, do not be afraid to push yourself. In addition to stressing your muscles, you need to stress your mind. You will give up mentally way before your body gives up physically. Trust that you have the strength to push through.

When doing sets of heavyweights, you should be struggling by the fourth or fifth rep. If all five reps go up without issue, you can lift heavier. Likewise, if the first two reps are a struggle, check your ego and go down in weight.

There is no perfect program or ideal weight range that you should be hitting. All of the advice and evidence out there is purely anecdotal. Find what works for you and get lifting.