Why Increasing Your Strength Lift By 1-2kg Per Week Isn’t As Bad As You May Think
By Coach Mikaela
We’ve all been there when we are mid-strength block and wondering “WHY can’t I lift heavier? I’ve only increased my lift by 1kg this week.”
There are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to strength training;
How is your recovery? (Sleep, rest days, mobility/stretching)
What is your nutrition like? (Pre-workout, intra-workout, post-workout)
How long have you been lifting weights for? (Days, week, years)
Is your exercise form perfect?
Is your body properly prepped and ready? (Did you arrive to class late and miss the warm up? Did you just do a 10km run and now want to lift heavy weights?)
There are so many factors to take into consideration when it comes to the results of a heavy lift (e.g. BB Squat, Bench Press, BB Power Clean etc).
Usually, the heavier your lifts get, the slower your weights will increase.
e.g. a 60kg female may get to a 100kg BB Back Squat relatively ‘quick’ compared to going from 100kg to 150kg in the same lift.
Taking this into consideration, if you have increased your big lift by 1kg from the previous week, you will have totaled 6kg more than week 1, over a 6 week strength block. Change that to 2kg and the increase is 12kg over 6 weeks. Now let’s say 1kg increase per week over 52 weeks… (52kg!) 1kg doesn’t seem too bad now does it? (Keeping in mind that breaks and de-load blocks are important too 😬)
Remember, when your lifts get heavier, your rate of progress can slow down. That does not mean give up or stop! It means that you are pushing your body and you are slowly but surely increasing your strength. 💪🏼
If you would like help getting your health & fitness back on track, you can find us at the Supafit Performance Centre located at 8/45 Powers Road Seven Hills Western Sydney 2147
