On the first few weeks of your novice linear progression (NLP), the weights are slightly challenging but manageable. As the months pass, the bar starts to feel really heavy, and there comes a point when you think, “Damn, this feels super heavy. Can I finish my 3 sets of 5?”
You dig deep, push hard against the bar, and when you rack the back after fighting through those last few reps on the last set, you think, “That was brutal. Maybe I should stay at this weight until it feels easier before adding weight to the bar.”
You’re not alone. Many lifters have thought the same. And I’m sure many more will have the same idea. Here’s why staying at the same weight doesn’t work the way you think it’s going to work.
You don’t get stronger if you don’t add weight
This goes back to the Stress, Recovery, Adaptation cycle.
Let’s recap: we go through three different phases when we train. The stress phase where a training stress is imposed on your body that is higher than the level you’re currently adapted to. The recovery phase where your body attempts to recover from the stress imposed. Finally, the adaptation phase is where your body adapts to the imposed stress by increasing your baseline of performance.
Adaptation is your body’s physiological response to training. By repeating the cycle over and over, and increasing the training stress by adding a bit more weight each time, you get stronger.
What happens if you don’t increase your training stress?
Let’s assume that at your current level of adaptation, the heaviest weight that you can squat for 3 sets of 5 is at 110kgs. At your most recent training session, you squatted 100kgs for 3 sets of 5, which is roughly 90% of your current max.
If you decide to not increase the weight on subsequent sessions and keep squatting 100kgs for 3 sets of 5, you won’t be exposing yourself to a training stress higher than what you’re already adapted to.
Guess what happens? Not much. You’re not getting stronger, so squatting 100kgs will still feel heavy and hard despite doing it multiple times since it’s still at 90% of your max. So what can you do to make 100kgs feel lighter?
Get stronger
The simple way to make 100kgs feel lighter is to get stronger.
Get your max squat up from 110kgs to 140kgs. Now, 100kgs will be a smaller percentage of your max, and will feel much more lighter and manageable as compared to when you weren’t as strong.
It’s the only way we’ve found that works one hundred per cent of the time.
Can’t I just do more reps?
Ah, how about staying at the same weight but doing more reps you say? More reps = more training stress right = getting stronger right?
Short answer: no.
Because getting stronger is about increasing force production. Doing more reps at the same weight isn’t increasing your force production, it’s just producing the same amount of force multiple times.
Let’s apply this to your possible goals for strength training.
Some of you might be training to increase your bone density to combat osteopenia/osteoporosis. We know that to increase bone health, it must be loaded – bones that aren’t regularly stressed will decline in density and mass as one gets older. If you have been training consistently and adding weight to your bar, your bones will adapt to the compressive forces applied on it and get denser and stronger. Doing more reps at the same weight doesn’t increase these compressive forces. Only lifting heavier weights does.
Ditto if you’re trying to improve sports performance, if you’re an older adult training to prevent yourself from falling, or even if you’re lifting to look better.
Strength forms the basis for pretty much every physical attribute. And the only way to get stronger is to progressively lift more weight over time. Remember, the only true indicator that you’re getting stronger is being able to lift more weight.
I’ll stay at this weight and work on technique!
Another thing I occasionally hear lifters say when the weight gets heavy is, “Let’s stay at this weight to work on my technique before adding more weight”.
I’m not saying that technique isn’t important. Technique is important and plays a crucial role in not failing a set. There are two ways to fail a set.
1. When this happens, we need to assess why. Is it because it’s too heavy? Or is it because your performance is down on that day due to you sleeping only 3 hours the night before? Or was it due to a technique error like lifting your chest early and not staying in the hips on the squat or pressing the bar forward on a heavy press?
2. Form creep is the degradation of technique that happens to most people over time, especially as the weight gets heavier. For example, the weight on your back feels exceptionally heavy today and as a result, you’re squatting high because you’re nervous that you can’t get back up if you squat to the required depth.
Apart from the weight just being too heavy, in which case a program change should have been done before missing reps occurs, the other ways mentioned above of failing a set are legitimate reasons for maintaining the same weight on the next session to fix the errors.
This is when a coach can come in very handy to assess the situation and fix the errors.
But if there’s nothing specifically wrong and you just want to stay at the same weight to ‘practice’ your technique, that sounds more like an excuse to me to not increase the weight.
So how does one actually practice technique?
There are two ways to practice. The first is when you’re doing warm ups – the weights are light, so you can focus on perfecting technique on every rep. The second is when you practice maintaining good technique when the weights are heavy and you’re straining hard – maintaining technique here is especially important.
Working on technique should be an ongoing process. From day one when the weights are not heavy, you’re already practising technique. And you’re (or should be) focussed on the execution of the movement as the weight progressively gets heavier over time.
Why lifting heavy actually helps your technique
You’re forced to be efficient. You don’t really need good technique to lift light weights. You can lift a barbell in a less than efficient manner and still get it up. A barbell’s deviation from its most efficient bar path is also less apparent when the weight is light.
Heavier weights challenge your ability to maintain form and at the same time give you more feedback when it deviates. You’ll feel a barbell shifting forward of your midfoot on a heavy squat way more than on a warm up weight.
Because your margin of error is slimmer with heavier weights, you’ll be forced to pay more attention to how you’re moving if you want to get the bar up.
You’re practising the right technique (for heavy weights). Technique for lighter weights is not exactly the same at heavier weights.
For example, your technique on the squat will change slightly when the combined center of mass (CCOM) of the lifter/barbell system changes as the weight increases on the bar. At light weights, the barbell will be slightly forward of your midfoot at the bottom of the squat as the CCOM will mostly be the lifter’s center of mass (COM). As the weight gets heavier, the CCOM will shift closer to the barbell. When it’s heavy enough, the CCOM will pretty much be at the center of the barbell. At this point, the barbell will have to directly over your midfoot to maintain balance.
To develop good technique at heavier weights, you need to lift heavier weights.
Don’t fall into the trap of the ‘I’m working on technique’ excuse to not increase the weight on the bar.
Keep lifting the same weight and it’ll never feel easier, because you’re not getting stronger. At the same time, you’re not really practising the exact technique that matters, which is the one needed when the weights are heavy.
Barring the legitimate reasons mentioned above for staying at the same weight for the next session, add weight to your bar according to your program even if you don’t feel like it.
Technique and strength grow together
Barbell training requires your technique to develop together with your strength. You need good technique to get strong and you’ll need to be strong to maintain good technique when the weights get heavy. The best way to improve technique is with a coach who can teach you the correct lifts and cue you to maintain proper form as you lift increasingly heavier weights.
So, resist the temptation to take it easy and unnecessarily stay at the same weight when you could be getting stronger.
