Load increments in low weight exercises

C

cricardoc

New Member
Hello again,

Another doubt planning load increments:

Let's assume my 5 Max for lateral raises in 12kg

Starting at the 15's with 6kg (abou 50% 5's Max) and planning till my 5 Max, I will have 6Kg to divide by 17 workouts, moment when I reach my 5's Max. This is 0.35Kg increments per workout...

So, even if I repeat some weights and zigzag now and then, I'll still be increasing quite low, never close to recommended 2.5 kg minimum increments... Here´s the best I can figure out:

15's 10's 5's
Workouts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Weights 6 - 6 - 7 - 7 - 8 - 8 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 9 - 10 - 10 - 9 -10 - 11 - 11 - 12 - 12

How do you deal with these situations?

Tks
 
I deal with these situations by not doing lifts like lateral raises where it is difficult to increment. I prefer to use compounds or failing that at least isolations where you can use a heavier load, makes it much easier to progress.

But you can do the way you planned, repeating weights with the zig zag. Will it still be effective? Yes. Is it optimal? Probably not but I don't think it will make a significant difference over the course of a cycle or two. In the long run, over a year or two, it might make a significant difference but you could also just alternate it with something else.
 
Keep in mind that smaller muscles when isolated don’t neccesaraly need a 2.5kg increment. I would base it on the difference between the starting weight and the rep-max. for large muscle group exercises like Squat and Dead Lift that may be 5-10kg per workout. For usually weaker than those, muscle group exercises, like Bench or Shoulder Press it might be only 2.5-5kg. For even weaker isolation exercises like Preacher Curl or Lateral Raise it might be 1-2.5kg. What’s important is not necessarily the weight you are moving rather does it present a noticeably more intense load for that particular muscle while doing that exercise.

One of the reasons for sticking to compound exercises for a while is to build up some of the smaller muscles using heavy compound exercises until they are capable of a reasonable range from starting to ending weight to make working them separately more worthwhile.
 
Tks guys for nice tips.

I've read somewhere that for the isolation exercises (with low weights), 2.5% increments would work OK...

What I'm getting from your tips is that if I want to do the ISOSs, I should start them later on, on the 10´s, also this way will allow increments to be bigger, especially if I'm targeting smaller muscles. That's it?
 
I can’t speak for everyone but my preference is to include isolation exercises when the compound lifts are light. That way as they get heavier I can start dropping some of the isolation exercises so I recover better for the compounds ones. Also I find that early on with the lighter compound exercises my arms don’t get enough work so isolation exercises early on also help that. As the compounds get heavier especially pulling movements my arms get worked better and I can afford to drop the isolation exercises. It also helps shorten the workouts not to be doing extra isolation exercises when things get heavy because there aren’t as many sets to rest between. Something that can be remedied by doing supersets though.
 
Tks Grunt, You're the man! Due to trying to limit things to around 1 hour when 5´s comes up, I was planning in doing 5's x 2. Let's say your way, besides the advantages you mentioned, will allow me more time to do 5's x 3. If not in all compound, at least in some, dropping some ISO's by that time.

Tks again man
 
Alternatively, if you have access to a lateral raise machine, that might help with incrementing more easily.
 
Tks Totentanz. Actually I don't. It is just DB. I will try with it. Just like this exercise a lot and it works fine on me. Saw very nice results. Just a little bit concerned if this exercise shall be bad for my shoulder pain...
 
Yeah considering your shoulder pain mentioned in the other thread, I probably wouldn't go heavy on any shoulder exercises for now and keep them with higher reps...
 
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