You may be smashing your workouts but if you’re hoping to get stronger or build muscles, you’re going to need to progressively lift heavier weights.
Strength results come from overloading your muscles over time, meaning you need to gradually increase the physical stress you’re putting on your muscles so that it can adapt and get stronger.
There are a number of ways to achieve progressive overload - adding sets and reps, taking less rest, more intense exercises - but the most effective way is to lift heavier weights.
Lifting heavier weights over time is also a great confidence booster. You can easily track your progression over days, weeks, months, and years and there’s nothing quite like that ‘I’m SO strong’ feeling when you achieve your heaviest weight!
So, how can you lift heavier?
Test your 1RM
Testing your 1RM (1 Rep Max) is a great way to find your starting point, help you set your weight goals, and to measure your strength progression. Knowing your 1RMs gives a good indication of your progress if you set aside time to test every few months. Learn more about how to calculate your 1RM here.
Master movement and form first
Don’t rush into lifting a heavier weight because you’re having a good day and suddenly feel like superwoman. First, you need to ensure your form and movement is on point otherwise you risk injuring yourself. Want to front squat 100kg? Make sure you master your squat mechanics first.
Make time to train
If you want to lift heavier, you need to be willing to commit. If you only lift weights every couple of weeks when you can squeeze it in, it will take a lot longer to reach your desired results. Aim to do 2-3 weight training sessions per week, leaving 1-3 days rest between each. Ensure you don’t give your body too much of a break before working on a particular muscle group again.
Fuel your body
We say it all the time but your nutrition is SO important. You need to make sure your body is adequately fuelled before your workout and properly nourished afterwards, too. We’ve shared some of our fave high protein snacks to eat before a workout here.
Warm up
It’s important to take time to warm up before a workout and ensure you’re prepping all the joints and muscles you’re planning to utilise through your workout.
Follow a training program
Whether you’re new to fitness or you’ve been training for a while, a training program is an easy way to mix up your training and enhance your strength. The great thing about THE BOD Nutrition & Training programs is that there are three levels, allowing you to level up to the next program when you feel ready.
THE BOD Lifting Grips
Grip is everything. If your hands are sweaty, the weight is slipping, or you feel like you need assistance, we can’t recommend THE BOD Lifting Grips enough - they are seriously a game changer (just check out the reviews!). They work on both pulling exercises, aka deadlifts or rows, and for pushing exercises such as bench press, overhead press and the like. It locks in your hands so that you can achieve more pull-ups, greater weight when deadlifting, and better form when performing movements like a row or overhead press, as your wrists are supported and your grip is secure.
Don’t overdo it
When you’re in the moment and you’re feeling strong, it’s easy to be tempted to complete more reps or sets but slow and steady wins the race here. Check in how you feel the next day - a small amount of soreness is normal but if you experience any extreme pain you may need to drop the weight back down or increase your rest.
Mindset
The power of the mind is incredible. Believe you can. Start imagining you are achieving your desired number of reps with your heaviest weight. Now FOCUS on being able to do that amount of reps with that weight. Lean in, sis - you’ve got this!
Ready to lift heavier weights? Let us know how you go, GF!
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