As a general rule of thumb we recommend starting with body weight to light weight as a beginner to really take the time to perfect your form inside of each exercise for injury prevention as well as creating a better muscle mind connection.
Once you have perfected your form we recommend moving into a moderate to heavy weight that is relevant to your set and rep range.
No matter what rep range or set range you are in you should be aiming for failure and / or approaching failure by the last two to three repetitions of each exercise. Your weight load will vary depending on the amount of repetitions in each set.
If you are unsure what your starting weight is we recommend starting with a lighter weight for your first set and assessing your weight load from there.
For example if you have 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions of bicep curls and you start at 5lbs and are able to complete 12 repetitions with complete ease and virtually no challenge then we would recommend increasing your weight by 2.5lbs – 5lbs.
If you reach 10 repetitions with 10lbs and reach failure by the 11th to 12th repetition then you are in range of your weight for that set. If you hit failure under that 10 rep range then you may be going too heavy for the intended rep range. This is where you would lessen the weight to reach the intended target rep range prescribed by your personal trainer.
If you are looking to build strength we recommend aiming for a rep range of 3-5 reps per set with 2 minute rests.
If you are looking to build lean muscle mass we recommend a 6-12 rep range with 30 second to 1 minute rest periods.
If you are looking to increase endurance we recommend a 12-25 rep range with 30 second rest periods.
If you want to increase your athleticism all around we recommend combining all three phases into your training splits.
Sam Wallace
I am a fitness professional Located in Los Angeles, California. Fitness for me is not only a hobby, it changed my life.