How do I progress weights if my gym doesn't have 500g plates? Every beginner program I've seen suggests progressing with 1kg steps for upper body and 2kg steps for squats and deadlifts, but the lowest increases I can do at my gym are 2,5kg and I'm failing hard on upper body because of it. I'm supposed to add 10kg in 4 workouts but I can't seem to do it.
Should I lift the same weight twice, just add more reps the second time? I guess that would double the amount of time it takes to progress but right now I'm making zero so everything would be better.
Buy microplates
I thought about that before, but my gym is kinda high class and I'd look like a sperg bringing plates in.
Yeah that's kinda what I was trying to get at with my question. Mayne I worded it a bit weird, apologies.
I've been able to progress, but I feel my form is suffering a lot, I'm not really "comfortable" with the weights I'm lifting now.
>my gym is kinda high
>doesn't have microplates
Yes. I don't get your point.
>what are 500g plates
See pic related
If your gym doesn't have 500g plates its a shit gym and it should be obvious why you brought them yourselves
nagger, my gym has 1.25kg weights, but they weigh basically nothing. I have always used 2.5kg and 5kg increments.
Honestly you can buy your own plates and bring them. Alternatively you can go for more reps on the same weight and try to progress anyways.
2.5 kg is really not much.
Just get stronger with one weight (high number of reps) then once you are feeling strong, add weight but do less reps, and so on.
Most beginner programs actually progress via 2.5kg upper body and 5kg lower body. I have never seen 1-2kg progression in my life, nor do they even make plates for that.
Microplates even add up to 1.25kg because they are half the weight of a 2.5kg plates which are half the weight of 5kg plates, etc.
>nor do they even make plates for that
ok retard
What are your lifts currently? I'm a 30yo woman on stronglifts and progress with 2.5kg increments. The only one I've struggled with in that progression is OHP.
It's far from impressive tbh, I'm at 45kg OHP, 67,5kg Bench, 87,5kg Squat and 105kg deadlift. Maybe u just not eating enough
Could be psychological too. 2.5kg is just a small bag of flour, surely you can lift in addition to what you're doing.
Makes sense. I do worry a lot about these things, maybe I'm just too afraid idk
See that's exactly what I was trying to get at. So I could keep progressing, but not increase weight every workout. Thanks.
Lmao, I have an home gym, and my smallest increment possible is 10kgs
Just increase the reps going higher. You're still lifting progressively more every workout so it's the same difference. If you're worrying about this, you're too much of a beginner for it to matter if you do high or low reps. Just progress. Once you're hammering out way over your rep range, another 2.5KG won't be a big deal.
Increase weight. Do reps until you can max out at 10 or more. Repeat.
If you keep dividing up the weight into smaller and smaller increments you add each time, your progress becomes asymptotic and you never actually make any real progress at all
THINK ABOUT IT
Interesting
Lmao dude just go up in 45lb plate increments like a real man. I used to think I could only bench 225 but then I threw 45s on each side and pumped out 5 reps of 315. It's that simple