Choosing Loads

How do I know what weight to choose if it’s not prescribed or based off the percentage of my 1 Rep Max?

Functional Bodybuilding does not typically prescribe weights or percentages for strength and structural balance work, because your ability to execute will depend on many factors and can even vary day to day. This system of training will allow you to tune into your capacity in real time, and learn how to make an educated approach to loading based on past work as well as how you’re feeling each day. This may take some time to fine tune, but here is some guidance on how to approach loading:

First, if there is a rep range such as 8-10 per set, try to hit the top end of the rep range with great form holding strict to the tempo if given. If you accomplish this, try moving up a bit in weight on the next set or the next time the movement appears (make notes of what weight you used in TrueCoach or a training journal).

Generally, for the purposes of this program and many others, as reps decrease throughout your working sets you will want to increase load.

Similarly, from week to week, as similar movement patterns show up and repetitions decrease, these are opportunities to increase load in a somewhat linear fashion. How much load you can increase will vary from person to person, but the goal with weekly progressions of similar patterns is to allow you a chance to progress in load and movement quality.

Finally, remember that even with bodyweight or a small load, holding to strict tempo and activating the correct muscles will provide a fantastic stimulus with a good amount of time under tension – it’s better to be conservative and prioritize quality of movement rather than overload and have your form suffer.