66. How much weight should you lift in the gym to build muscle as a man or woman?

Share this article

How much weight should you lift to build muscle when training in the gym?


To really answer this we need to look at one of the key issues with men (and women) when they train in the gym.

I always say that on the whole men need to lift a bit lighter and women need to lift a bit heavier.

I’ve coached both men and women for over 10 years and I’ve noticed that men generally will up the weight before they’ve mastered an exercise and women will generally opt on a lighter weight.


Call that sexist but it’s a truthful observation.

When coaching women in person I’ve noticed that they’ve performed well on an exercise and are sometimes reluctant to increase.

When encouraged to do so they actually end up surprising themselves with the weight that they can safely lift.

Men on the other hand, possibly due to ego, are more than happy to push the weight but sometimes before they are truly ready to handle that weight.

What then happens is they have to use momentum and body movement to hitch the weight up which takes the emphasis off the body part they are trying to work.

This also can lead to an injury long term.

So how do you know if a weight is right for you and if you should progress?

In this video I cover how to determine the right weight for you and when to know you need to increase of decrease that weight to progress.

  • Listen to the podcast
  • Watch the video below

Check out my YouTube channel for more videos.

Use my Calorie Calculator to work out your calories for fat loss and get a free macro guide

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Linkdin
Share on Pinterest
Email to someone

Latest Podcasts and Articles

32. Does a Discount Mean Devaluing Your Coaching?

discounts run the risk of devaluing your coaching When should you offer discounts for your coaching? Should you ever offer discounts? Discounts run the risk of devaluing your coaching price.  Just like the DFS sale is always on, if you’re always offering discounts your price to value plummets. So how can you create an offer

Read More »

31. How You Put People Off Working With You

Things Online Fitness Coaches Do To Repel Clients That They Don’t Even Know They Are Doing You want to get more online fitness clients? But you’re not getting many leads for your coaching? Maybe you’re doing something that’s pushing them away. In this podcast, we discuss the common mistakes coaches make that repel clients, often

Read More »

30. Stop Clients Cancelling For Holidays

A client holiday shouldn’t mean a drop in income for you A big problem for fitness coaches – keeping clients when they will be away for a bit and want to cancel. Are your clients going on a holiday or just enjoying the time off work? Either way they may decide that they don’t need

Read More »

29. Is trying to have a process for everything slowing you down

Process procrastination Gurus seem to have a process for everything. Morning routines Lunch routines Ice bath routines Productivity Hacks Is all that really necessary? Is overthinking and over engineering basic daily routines harming your business? In this podcast you’ll learn what processes we follow in our business and personal lives. We’ll also discuss some of

Read More »

28. Reel Talk – Instagram Reel Strategies

Creating short form videos that attract your ideal customers What are the best practices for Reels at the moment for online fitness coaches? Dan and Tom share what they are currently doing and what’s working for them and their clients. We cover: Scripting content for clearer messaging Ways to create different types of Reels, Shorts

Read More »

27. How to get more clients in a week

Need more clients in the next 7-10 days? Do these things What we would do if we needed to get more clients fast.   Which sounds kind of silly as wouldn’t we always want more clients? So wouldn’t we do these all the time?   These are techniques which we apply to our coaching periodically

Read More »

Leave a comment

How can I help ?

Please fill in this form and I'll be in touch within 48 hours