How Much Weight To Lift To Build Muscle

I recently received a question from Ankur Tewari in South Africa about how much weight to lift to build muscle.

I decided to address the question because it's a question almost everyone has when they begin weight training.

Actually, if you don't ask the same question then something is probably wrong.

Here is Ankur's question:

“I would like to know how much weight is needed to lift the weights. I am 158cm tall and would like to build muscle.”

I want to answer this thoroughly even though there isn't an exact answer to the amount of weight to lift to build muscle. I will tell you how to find the amount of weight to lift, though.

So here are the answers you're looking for…

Start Out With Light Weights

The first thing you should do when beginning weight lifting is to start out with very light weights and work on getting your form and technique correct on the best weight lifting exercises.

Once you have your form and technique correct, you can begin increasing the weight at a slow rate while continuing to monitor your form and technique.

If you choose the right weight lifting exercises as given within the WLC System Manual, you should be able to increase the weight on each exercise by at least a few pounds each workout.

Just to summarize, the best weight lifting exercises are the following and all forms and variations of these 7 exercises are acceptable:

1. Squats
2. Deadlifts
3. Bench Press
4. Rows
5. Overhead Press
6. Chin Ups
7. Dips

You simply start out with very light weights on each exercise and continue to increase the weight each workout.

Eventually, it's going to get very tough to continue increasing the weight and that's when you must have an intelligent weight lifting program to guide you on what you need to do. That's what we do here at WLC and each one of our weight lifting programs is designed to help you build muscle and get stronger fast.

Everyone Is Different…

I can't give you an exact amount of weight that will begin to build muscle for you.

Each and every person is totally different when it comes to that. You may be able to build your chest with 135 pound bench press while it might take someone else 315 pounds to be able to build their chest.

You have to start out with light weights, get your form right, and then continue to increase the weight each workout.

You will most likely begin building muscle even at the very light weights, especially if you have never lifted weights before.

Beginners to weight lifting will get amazing results with light weights.

Don't try to be macho and start out with heavy weights. You will kill many of the results you would have gotten by starting out light and you may end up injuring yourself if you start out lifting too heavy.

Only increase the amount of weight once you know your exercise technique is good.

Here's What Builds Muscle

Increasing the weight over time is what builds muscle.

It works every single time.

For example, when you start out with 50 pounds in January and increase that weight to 200 pounds by May, you will have built a lot of muscle to go along with that strength increase.

So the answer to your question may not be an exact amount of weight, but there is a very simple answer:

Start out with very light weights and increase the amount each workout.

That increase in weight from workout to workout triggers a muscle building stimulus within your body that is sure to build muscle. It works and works very well.

The people who lift the same amount of weight all the time are the ones who never build muscle and never change their bodies.

You will build muscle, and you will love the results.

Please get yourself a copy of the WLC System Manual as well and follow everything within the manual. Your results will be very fast and hard hitting. You'll be shocked at what you can achieve.

Good luck to Ankur. Let me know if you have any questions.

You can respond in the comments section below this post if you need further clarification or have further questions. I am always here to help.