Free weights - increase lbs or reps?
 

I resumed lifting on New Years and I am at a plateau.
Should I increase the pounds or increase reps?
Not looking to bulk up, or fine tune the fast twitch muscles - just regain some of the tone I had 25 years ago. I've been doing cycling or walking 7 days/week so aerobically, I'm okay.

Thanks in advance,
Bill K

22 days of work after 25 years off and you're thinking it's a plateau? Seems more likely to be the begining of the real work. Maybe just keep doing what you're doing and see how it goes?

You should not be lifting every day, and 22 days....you're barely getting started.

I would focus on form with light weight for a solid 3 months, 2-3 times a week, then slowly increase weight. I strongly recommend not lifting heavy if you are are over 40. Your joints are not the same as when you were younger.

I would cut the cycling or walking back to 1 day a week max, do weights 2 days a week.

I concurr, that it'll take 3 months at least to get into condition to go heavier on weights. And it's way way wayyyy too early to go with free weights.

You are getting crappy fitness advice wherever you are going to work out.

Define what you mean by plateau. Is 10 reps too easy? Also, make sure your form is correct...

More reps, less/same weight

General rule for tone: if you can do 3 sets of 12-15, increase the weight.

As wildthing said: Form is very important.

Back when I lifted more than beer, I would do 3x8. Next workout 3x9. Up to 3x12, then add 10# and start over. Worked for me; weighed 160 and benched 310 x2 and about an inch from 315. YMMV.

You're gonna rip something. High reps, it's simply safer. YOu'll get where you want to go...

Don't rip a muscle, trust me. It sucks.

rjp

I know what you mean about plateaus, the human body is quick to adapt.

You could just try doing more reps, but my personal experience (which was recently backed up by something I read recently) says to "change it up".

Add a new exercise to your routine, could be something with body weight (calisthenics), free weights (dumbbells/barbells), or aerobic based.

About every three weeks I find an exercise which really nails it, we are talking immediate results. And in about three weeks those fantastic gains level out pretty flat.

I call them "threshold exercises", stuff that pushed you though the next doorway.

Trying to remember a few of these thresholds in the past two years.

1. Pushups have many variants - experiment but be careful

2. Running up stairs

3. Sprinting

4. Walking on hands and feet back and forth and in circles

5. Chin ups, pull ups, and hand over hand going the length like a kid on the monkey bars (also see Scooby1961 Youtube video on walking the plank)

6. Dips, reverse dips, and pulling yourself up from underneath the dip bars.

7. Trampoline

8. Jump rope (gets my heart thumping like nothing else)

9. Heavy punching bag

10. Deadlifts, plus something you saw someone else do, or saw in a magazine and online.

WARNING
Just like with automotive repair videos on Youtube where someone takes a hammer to his engine and damages the cooling fan trying to get it off, you will find idiots telling you to hyper-extend your tendons with heavy weight at unnatural angles resulting in you hurting yourself. Add to that they are selling you stuff so they can make a buck. I mentioned Scooby1961 because he is an older guy, and his primary concern is that you do not hurt yourself. And he's not selling a thing.

Don't get bored with your routine or hit a plateau, change it up constantly, at a minimum every month introduce something new. You decide what to drop in exchange, you will be coming back to it, so don't worry.

NOTE:
Warm up and get your heart going before attempting to stretch, don't try to stretch a cold muscle. About 1/3 of my time is spent on warming up and stretching before I do anything serious. If it's a 90 minute workout, the first 30 is just getting warmed up, but that's just me. Find what works for you, everyone is different.

Thanks Pelicans. That's the kind of feedback I was looking for, and thats also the way I was leaning. So, I'm going from 20 reps gradually up to 25 and see how long it takes me to get acclimated, then start to think about adding 3-5 lbs. and dropping back to 20 reps.
BTW, I'm not doing a full lifting workout, only what my arthritis ridden skeleton will allow. My 'fitness advice' is coming from my past experiences while doing colligate sports, and the workout facility is my den.
Thanks again
Bill K

I'm now doing "negative lifting", Note: this is something I just learned in youtube so take it like that ;-) But it is not easy and I think it just adds a new dimension to your workout:

1.- Same weight or even lighter
2.- Same reps

Here's the how-to:
Slow down to 5 seconds on your way down.. and slower than usual on your way up

So the uber-slow pace on your way down is the "negative" and holy smokes.. that is hard.

So this won't bulk you up but its just a new dimension that will not hurt your body and keep you sweating..

I find it weird but it works.. legs, arms, back, etc..



Report back some results!

good luck

I've never done over 15 reps except for legs...

and abs...

Get some of those girly weights of about 5 to 8 lbs and try doing +50 curls with them.

You will find out what high reps are all about.:D

More reps for better tone, more weight for larger muscles is what i've always heard. I like PorscheGal's general rule....

Change it up is also good advice. Say if you've done 6 workouts of regular chest press, do chest fly for the next 6...

Bicep curls? Switch up the direction of your palm as you curl... Etc etc.

Well that rings bells for me - my joints are the weak link to anything that involves movement.

I have read (maybe at a holiday inn) that older folks do better to avoid free weights and stick with high reps and lower weights on machines that limit the angles. I have a frozen shoulder and can only do chest work on a machine these days. I still do range of movement exercises and curls with dumbbells but they stay in the 15-25lb range only. My legs/knees are still good but I stay on machines for them too. My best workout comes from the concept (erg) rower.

Years ago (the '80s), when they were a semi popular thing, I bought a couple of pairs of Heavy Hand weights - five & ten pounders. I would go for forty five minute to hour walks doing about five or six different exercises coordinated with my stride. along with things like dropping to do ten or twenty push ups after each cycle of exercises. Didn't build any bulk, but kept me in good working condition.

Mix it up and keep your body confused

Full body compound motions are the best for general strength IMHO (deadlift, Clean, squat, etc).