Lifting for maximum progress is not the same thing as lifting for maximum performance. Performance is purely focused on the maximum amount of weight or reps that you can lift at the current moment. Progress is focused on lifting in a manner that will help you to lift more in the future.
Maximum Effort Did Not Lead To Maximum Progress
When I started lifting weights, I had no idea that there was a difference between lifting for progress and lifting for performance. I believed that the best way to make the most progress was to perform your best in every workout. Of course, this meant that I had to push with all of the effort that I could summon in order to squeeze out the maximum amount of reps that I could perform on every set. I believed that anything less than this was cheating and would take away from my future progress. Why did I believe this? Because that is what I had been taught. “No pain, no gain.” Any time my progress slowed down, I believed that I had not made the sufficient sacrifice of effort to stimulate more progress.
As time went on, I began to see that maximum performance did not result in maximum progress. It seemed that maximum effort would sometimes speed up my progress for one to three weeks, but the short term progress would always be followed by no progress at all.
Use Weights That Are Comfortable to Handle
It took me forever to learn that lifting for progress and lifting for performance are two very different things. Maximum performance undermines maximum progress. It’s better to train with weights and reps that are comfortable to handle. Many believe that when the reps start getting hard to repeat, you should start pushing harder because it’s those high effort reps that give you the real results. Once again, those high effort reps may give you quick results, but they don’t give you sustainable results over the long-term.
Avoid Maximum Fatigue
Some lifters also have a performance mind-set pertaining to the amount of sets they should perform. They believe that maxing out on sets to attain maximum fatigue is the best way to make maximum progress. There was a time when I thought this was true. Of course, it didn’t work. I eventually found that any time my strength began to decrease during a workout, it was time to quit repeating sets for the body part I was working. This usually meant that I would only do two to three work-sets per muscle group. This doesn’t sound like much because it’s not.
Work Out at Least Three Times Per Week
Many believe as I once did that short workouts that are only moderate in effort and intensity are inadequate. I would agree with this belief if you are only going to do one or two short workouts per week using moderate effort. Such training probably won’t amount to much. Why? Because you need to work out more often. Do at least three workouts per week in which you stop your sets two to four reps short of failure for two to four sets per muscle group. The workouts will get easier over time and you will be able to gradually add weight over a long period of time.
Beware of Maximum Effort Videos
If you are watching youtube videos of lifters setting personal records and maxing out on reps, you are watching those who are lifting for performance, not progress. If you believe that maximum performance leads to maximum progress, I urge you to reconsider your way of thinking. Train, don’t strain. Train hard enough to gain, but don’t train so hard that you can’t gain. Be patient enough to allow the same weight and reps to become easier to lift for a while instead of instantly adding weight every time you gain a little strength. If you are pushing for maximum progress by pushing with maximum effort, but you are not making progress, consider a different approach to training by using the suggestions in this article. Best of training to you.
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Lifting For Progress
The lifter in the video below is putting forth sufficient effort for progress. I’m sure he could do several more reps if he pushed himself, but it would be counterproductive for future progress. His level of effort is hard enough to make progress without being so hard that it will hinder progress.
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Lifting for Performance
The video below is an example of a lifter who is going all-out for max reps. It is ok to do this occasionally when testing your strength, however, the point of this article is to caution you against going all-out in every workout with the assumption that it will lead to more progress. You can get stronger without maxing out on reps in every workout, and will likely make more progress by stopping your sets before you reach max reps.