Increasing Workload

[ChrisH]

As I hear it, it is important to increase your workload each week for a specific exercises in order to really induce building muscle and strength. Here is the objective I've run into.

For example:

Say I can lift 130lbs one time for a specific exercise. I want to stay within about a 4-6 rep range, so about 110 is what I can do 6 times. But .. I do not want to do just 6 reps each week, I will alternate between doing 6 reps week one, 4 reps week two and so on.

Week one - 110 lbs X 6 reps X 2 sets = 2640

For week two, just as I can do 110, 6 times, I can do 120, 4 times.

Week two - 120 lbs X 4 reps X 2 sets = 1920

That is not an increase in total workload from 2640 to 1920 (obviously).

Correct me if my way of calculating workload is wrong. As I understand it you do total weight by total reps. (i.e - 220 X 12 for week 1).

Is that OK .. is that although the # is smaller, an increase in workload because of the increase in weight or am I doing something wrong.

Thanks for the help.

[casanova88]

well i have to admit i've never seen this before :shrug:

personally - i wouldnt worry about numbers on pages or calculations

what i would do is just make sure you add weight each week

stick to 3-5 reps for strength (you can gain size w/ this too) and make sure you go and use maximum effort, and have a good spotter to ensure effort and safety in those heavy lifts

[ebon00]

Unlike casanova88 I'm very familiar with the concept of workload (as are most college lifting coaches). It's sound but it does come with a few caveats.

First, you need to build your base and increase workload slowly.

Second, if you'll be using proper workload increases it's easier to increase by using a back-off set than to increase reps every week.

Workload is indeed calculated by multiplying your reps, sets and weight as you did. But, if you're looking to increase workload you need to increase the total number. So in your case, the second week is lower and therefore your workload is lower. So that's not increasing your workload.

There are a few methods that you can use. If you can lift 110 for 6 reps here's what you can do. Week 1 you do a specific number of sets of 4 reps (say 4 sets). Week 2 you do 4 sets fo 5 reps. And finally, week 3 you do 4 sets of 6 reps. This will mean that your workload will increase from 1760 to 2200 to 2640. From there you can progress in one of two ways.

Do one type of wave-type loading: either increase the weight a little (115lbs perhaps) and do the same thing over again; or, start over again with doing 4 reps at 110 but do 5 sets instead. Both will increase your workload in time (and like I said, this is a slow process).

Your workload shouldn't go up all the time (if it did everyone would be hella strong), but rather you should aim at getting increases for short periods of time, taking a step back and then trying to push things up again.

Also, there's a limit to how much workload anyone can tolerate. So don't try to push yours too high.

[ChrisH]

ebon00-

Thanks for your answer. That is exactly the type of answer I was looking for. I have a couple more questions for you ...

1) Do you follow the "increase workload" idea?

2) If so, how often do you up your weight amount. When should I try to up the weight from 110? I had the idea that increasing the workload by about 5% each week would be good. That resulted in an approximate increase of about 5lbs for all large muscles such as legs, chest and back, etc and about 2.5lbs for smaller isolated exercises. Your comment about we would all be as strong as h*ll if we always increased workload by alot makes me think that is way too much. 5lbs per week would have me lifting 200lbs in a matter of a couple months. Maybe that is possible, but doesn't seem realistic. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[Alex(AJ)]

too complicated for me- i just strive to increase each lift by +1 rep/week (sometimes every 2 weeks depending on lift (e.g., chain benching)).

hasn't failed me yet.