Advice on increasing weights

[BrandNewBicep]

Hi - I have been doing Caroline Girvan workouts for the last 2 months - just upper body as I have knackered my knee. I started on 1 and a half kilos (do not scoff) and have just got up to 4kg. If I can't manage all the reps with the new weight, should I stop or continue with my previous lower weight? I realise these are piddly little fairy weights to some of you on here, but I am really pleased with my progress having done nothing for years. Any advice would be appreciated.

I'd personally up the weights and do as many as I could. then finish the reps at a lower weight again if needed.

Thanks for that. I am doing this, but wasn't sure if this was correct.

I'm not familiar with the workouts but you could do either. I think you'll be better able to monitor your progress if, for the next workout, you step back to whatever weight allows you to complete the reps but not really have anything left in the tank.

And well done on your progress. 1.5kg to 4kg is great. You have more than doubled the weight!

I'd agree with the advice above, you can simply drop the heavier weight and finish with a lower weight. Or rest for the remaining time of the set and (if repeating the same exercise) have another go with the same (heavier) weight for the next set. It really depends on how you feel i.e. have you reached absolute failure and can't do another rep with good form? Or do you just need a longer rest then can have another ago with the next set?

CG is a lot of high reps, so if you are managing 30 secs out of a total working time of 40 secs then you're doing well. You could just take the additional 10 secs rest and keep the 4kg for the next set, maybe doing fewer reps at a slower pace. Judge how you feel and keep it challenging.

It's actually a technique called a drop set.

A drop set is an advanced resistance training technique in which you focus on completing a set until failure - or the inability to do another repetition. Then, you lighten the load by 10-30% and repeat, with little to no rest in between sets. The goal is often to maximise muscle gain.

Well done - weights are personal so don't worry about what you're lifting compared to others. As Caroline Girvan would say - It's You vs You!

Thank you for the information and advice, and for being so encouraging.

You should train to failure.

From what I've watched of Girvan's workouts, it's much more AMRAP, than taking it slowly and building/training in a progressive training schedule. So still a bit more aerobic-y than weight lifting in classic terms (eg the basic compound lifts of backsquat, deadlift, bench press). But I don't follow her, so could be wrong here.

Sorry, should have said - the main thing is a progressive training programme. That is, you train to failure (or near enough) and in stages, add more weight - maybe each week, or each fortnight.

MegSquats has some great advice here:

See Tip on Progressive Overload

I think she's inspirational! She makes lifting for women just so straightforward. THere are a lot of free videos on her YouTube channel.

Thanks for that. Watched the video which is really helpful. I will watch some more of hers.