You don’t go to the gym to remain stagnant and do the same routine every day. Increasing your lifting capacity is an integral part of the gym experience. The more you lift, the stronger you get. Working out is all about improving yourself and breaking through the barriers you encounter on your fitness journey. So how do you increase your lifting limit? There are a few tips you can take with you every time you want to take the next step and add more weight to the bar. Grab your gym gloves and follow these four tips to lift more weight.
Lower Your Reps and Increase Your Weight
Depending on your lift, let’s say you’re aiming for 10-12 reps each set you do. By the end of each set, you should feel spent and like you gave it your all. What happens when you decrease the rep count to 6-8 reps? You have more energy for each set. Now, you can increase your weight limit. Figure out how much extra weight you can lift for 6-8 reps without overexerting yourself, and then slowly increase your rep count as you get stronger over a few weeks. Once you are back to doing 10-12 reps, you can increase the weight, drop the rep count back down, and restart the process.
Make Sure You Are Resting Your Muscles Properly
You need to have the proper resting period after lifting. You can’t hit the same muscle group one day after working out and expect to be able to lift heavier weights. Muscles take time to repair themselves and get stronger. Even though it may feel like you are waiting too long, you want to give your body at least two days between workouts on the same muscle group. Three days might be even better if you’re really training hard. This extra time can help your muscles recover and give you the strength to lift more than you thought you could.
Increase Your Capacity in Small Percentages
When deciding how much extra weight to add to the bar, it’s important to think in percentages and not total pounds. For example, if you are bench pressing 10 pounds and decide to add another 10 pounds, you increase your load by 100%. However, if you usually bench 100 pounds and add another 10, that is only a 10% jump. When trying to improve your lifting amount, try to stick to additions in the 5-20% range. Slow and steady improvement can pay big dividends in your long-term gains.
Swap Long Distance Running for Short, Muscle-Building Cardio
When you put on your favorite gym clothes and head out for a run, you should consider heading to the nearest hill or beach instead of your usual route. Long-distance endurance running has its benefits, but short, intense cardio routines are much more helpful when you are trying to build muscle. Run sprints on the beach or up a hill and take plenty of breaks between each set. You’ll be building muscle, improving cardio, and pushing yourself past your lifting limits without touching a single weight.
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