Fitness 101: How to Choose the Right Weight, the Easy Way

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Did I Train Right? Did I leave Gains on the Table?

You're about to start your workout, finishing off your warm-up (hopefully), and you look at your weights/gym equipment. As a beginner or intermediate even, you might feel lost and go with the heaviest weight you are able to handle from the start. Or, maybe even worse, one that doesn't Progressively Overload you for Growth.

Breaking from this trap is important to avoid the dreaded Plateau. You spend valuable time making your weight to the gym and working out hard to reach your goals, so some easy to apply knowledge will go a long way to maximizing your time at the gym. 

A Simple Formula

Look all over the web and you'll entangle with endless information of what's optimal and what a workout should look like and why. You definitely should do some research into deeper training methods so you get an idea of them, but at a basic level this formula works: 

Warm-up Set, then Working Set(s), then Finishing Set, modified through Rate of Perceived Exertion. 

Without going into a long winded response to this, you do a set of a warm up weight at RPE 2-4 (2 if you didn't have a dedicated warm-up which you should). Then 1-3 sets of a Working Set RPE 6-8. Then a Finisher set RPE 3-5. This follows the Muscle Recruitment Pattern the body follows when training properly. 

That way, you are in a Training Zone where you don't doubt the weight you're using is working, your muscle fibers are recruited and work from Warm-up to Finisher sets, and it's customizable based on the way your body is feeling.

The Curl as an Example

You're about to perform Dumbbell Biceps Curl.
  • Warm up Weight is 10lbs for 12-15 reps and you're at an RPE of 4
  • Working Weight is 25lbs and you manage 6-8 for 2 sets at an RPE of 8
  • Finishing Weight is 15lbs and you manage 10-12 reps at an RPE pf 5

The Effect

Following this Formula ensures you follow basic and effective training principles. Doing too much at once will lead to hitting a Wall or even an injury. There are ways to even expand on this Formula for more complex training that we'll touch up on later as you get more advanced

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