define 'reasonable goal'

[alexseanchai]

Resistance bands? Apparently not doing it for me. However, my development has a gym attached to the community center, and it has free weights. Yesterday I did a ten-rep set each, with five-pound weights, of bicep curls and overhead presses and half a ten-rep set of lateral raises; given how long it's been since I did any strength training at all, I'm calling that impressive.

The goal I am setting is to be able to do at least that much with thirty-pound weights. Appropriate intermediate goals seem to be each intermediate size of weight, five-pound intervals. However, I do not know how long I should stay with any given size of weight before moving up to the next, how many ten-rep sets I should be aiming for with each weight, and also something about more reps with smaller weights for stamina and fewer reps with bigger weights for strength?

Help me set attainable goals, is my question here.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

Yay free weights!

how many ten-rep sets I should be aiming for with each weight,

As a rule of thumb, going for three sets (with breaks between them) is fairly standard and effective.

However, I do not know how long I should stay with any given size of weight before moving up to the next,

There is no "should" -- your body will respond as fast as it responds. What I tend to do is to play with the 8-12 rep range (which, again, is a nice rule of thumb range for reps).

So, for example, if I'd done 10 reps with good form and was feeling like I could do more, I'd see if I could manage another one or two.

When I got to the point of consistently being able to do 12 reps, then next time I'd go for the next highest weight up and see if I could manage 8. Then work my way back up to 12 over subsequent sessions, then try 8 with the next weight up, and so on.

You might also want to try using different weights for the bicep curls, overhead press and lateral raises; they're very different moves involving different muscles, and I'd be surprised if you were equally strong on all of them. It would be more usual to find that you can curl a much bigger weight than you can use for a lateral raise.

Btw, some people find that lateral raises cause problems with stress and impingement in the shoulder joint. If that's the case, the "scapular plane" version is a good alternative:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCsdpHx-nOo

and also something about more reps with smaller weights for stamina and fewer reps with bigger weights for strength?

That's it, basically. *g*

Rules of thumb:

8-12 reps is a nice general strength and fitness range, which is why it gets used a lot.

Above 15 reps, and you're into working muscular endurance (which can be useful and important, particularly with more delicate muscles or ones which have a stabilizing role).

3-5 reps (or even less) and you're working pure strength, maximum power. But it can be very demanding -- and means you're working with weights which are very heavy for you, so you have to be very sure of your form to avoid injury.

[lyorn]

I up the weights when I can finish all my sets with full reps in good form. Which often leads to things like 10-10-6 reps when I start with the higher weights, but I find it more encouraging than staying with a given weight for too long. When it goes like 9-6 and I feel form trouble coming, I reduce the weights for the final set.

Maybe you could do one stamina workout (one set to fail, or sets of 20?) for every two strength workouts? When I manage to go to the gym three times a week, I sometimes do that. (Or do extra heavy, three sets of four. But with overhead, I need a spotter for those.)

30 lbs overhead and biceps curls? Wow!