There’s a Perfect Weight For Every Exercise

There’s a perfect weight that pushes you to think about and maintain perfect form, and there’s a weight that pushes you just beyond that point and breaks down your form. And finding that weight is really important. 

It’s something I’ve noticed a lot recently, I think in part because I’ve been doing more movements that require a lot of total body engagement. Since some of the moves are new to me, I’ve been intentionally underestimating the weight I start with, so I don’t blow my form before I learn the exercise. 

But as I progress the weight, I’ve noticed that when I’m really dialed in, there’s a weight that focuses me and pulls it all together. It happened over the last two weeks as I’ve been working on landmine rotations (kettlebell alternative shown here).

Last week I started with 10 lbs for 20 repetitions (10 per side), which I incorrectly assumed was a light enough place to start. But it was too much, and so on the subsequent two sets I used used just the bar. But that too didn’t feel great and I felt my form suffer throughout the whole ciruit.

So, this week I modified two things. 

One, for the first set I backed off the weight and started with just the bar. 

Two, I reduced the reps from 20 total (10 per side) to 10 total (5 clean rotations per side).

The difference in the two approaches was profound (at least to me). Starting too heavy with too many reps in week 1 forced me to regress (from 10 lbs to 0 lbs). But in week 2, by making the adjustments above, I was able to make progress (from 0 lbs to 10 lbs).

Even more interesting to me was that 10 lbs on my third set in week 2 hit that form and focus sweet spot, whereas the same weight the week before took away from the movement.

It’s these little things about training and exercise that fascinate me and keep me interested. Consistency is key and I’ve found consistency through making myself aware of even the smallest changes. Cheers.