Friday, September 25, 2009

How much weight should I lift?

Hopefully you have embraced the idea that strength training is an integral part of every older adult's fitness routine. Combating the ravages of aging, strength training alone is more important than either cardiorespiratory exercise and flexibility training combined. The reason for this is the functional transfer that occurs after strength training is performed.

But the question comes up, "how much weight should I lift?", because some older adults are afraid of strength training and think they might get injured if they lift too much. The truth is that you cannot get injured by lifting too much weight, you will get injured by lifting incorrectly. So first and foremost, strength training technique is of critical importance. No one, young or older, should be strength training unless their technique is as perfect as can be given their range of motion and skeletal structure. If your technique is poor, you will probably get injured regardless of the weight you are lifting.

Once the technique is correct, then you can address the amount of weight. Actually determining this is pretty easy. If you know how many times you should be lifting the weight (the repetitions or reps), you simply select a weight and attempt to lift it that many times with correct technique. If you can lift it more times, it is too light. If you cannot lift as many times as you want, it is too heavy. Adjust the weight accordingly up or down and you will have the correct weight. Once set, continue to adjust it session to session, based on how many times you can lift it. As you get stronger and exceed the number of reps targeted, increase the weight slightly to accommodate the progression you've enjoyed.