WB Archives 20171214 - What is Light Weight?

What Is Light Weight?

Here at WB Fitness we talk a lot about the benefits of lifting light weight for massive volume, but what constitutes “light.” You’ve all heard Ronnie yelling “LIGHT WEIGHT BABY” as he sends some ungodly amount of weight for a ride. It gets the blood pumping just thinking about it. 
The problem is you soon remember that Ronnie is going in for his umpteenth surgery and can barely walk and Arnold just did a bicycle tour of Europe at 70 years old.

So what exactly is light weight? This is why we use the RPE system. So here I will define light weight. If you can take the weight for a ride for 20 reps without missing a rep, it is a light weight (even if the last rep is 10 RPE). Here is my promise to you….if you keep track of that number it will go up. Once every few weeks load up the bar and do a set of 3 (remember, that is just for fun) and that will go up too.

The classic thinking that you will not get stronger, but only more lean or more aesthetic but using volume sets is just plain wrong. This is a myth propagated by people who either have too much ego and need to see more weight on the bar, even at the cost of their own gains and health, or people who are too lazy to put in the work it takes to build a real physique with real strength and want to make excuses for being overweight.

This guy has absolutely said “do you even lift bruh”

I talk a lot about the virtues of not ego lifting. Please understand that in no way do I suggest that your ego, as well as your veins, ought not be totally pumped, but only that you should be realistic with what you can lift for the volume required to get your full workout in. By all means, walk through the gym like a pro wrestler and stare right through the trainer who is half your size as if to say that he better fucking jump out of your way or he will be your next meal.

Move Bitch Get Out The Way

20 Reps Nice And Calm

So today I am going to bring a little bit more ego into the field. Let’s hear some of your max lifts bruh! But not you pansy ass 1RM. Save that shit, no one wants to hear it. What is your 20RM. You pick the lift. I will give you guys my dumbbell bench press. As you know I am still off the weights until Jan 15, but as of a few months ago my 20RM of flat DB Bench Press was 2×110.

To give you guys an idea on how fast strength grows, 3 years ago that number was 2×40 I was about 20 pounds lighter, but the same general physique. I was doing DB Bench Presses at that point with 2 160 pound dumbbells (for 1 or maybe 2 reps). A very good friend, trainer and my current coach asked me if I could do 20 reps with them. This was at a time when I knew and cared about my raw score.

So as it turned out it was 40 pounds per dumbbell that I was able to move 20 times and my pump was great. What did I tell him? You guys know. I told him “yeah that’s awesome, but I want to get bigger and stronger not just leaner blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.” Took him about a week to get me into a high volume drop set routine and not only did I get bigger, but the numbers kept going up! It flew in the face of all the bro science I’d heard for years. In 3 years my 20RM on that particular lift when from 2×40 to 2×110. One of my personal goals is to see it pushed to 2×160 so I can finally say “yes I can.”

Back to the question at hand about light weight and ego lifting. Yes I want to push that 160 for 20 reps. Yes I will be an obnoxious douchebag when I do. Yes I will drop the weights and jump up and march the length of the gym with endorphins swimming out of my head.

Light Weight

Yes, I will stare through the trainer and will him out of my fucking way with a look that assures him that I will not veer off path and will go right through him. What I will not do, under any circumstances, is incrementally aim towards that goal. I will keep my eyes on what is important….the muscles and not the weight. What the muscles require is that I do proper 20 rep sets at 9-10 RPE. The goal you are aiming towards is your body, not towards some number. Trust the system, trust your body and pay attention (AND FOR GOD’S SAKE RECORD) to your numbers and when you hit little personal milestones take a victory lap but never, ever, ever sacrifice your body for that number. Keep lifting those light weights.

So what is it guys? Pick a lift and let me know your 20 REP MAX. Whatever it is, trust me it is only going to go up. Just writing this gives me an idea for the future….the massive volume raw score challenge. You guys who are planning on starting with me on the 15^th are in a lot of fucking trouble.
T-32 days and counting. Go #teambeater

Inspirational Quote Of The Day: “I want to rip out his heart and feed it to him. I want to kill people. I want to rip their stomachs out and eat their children.” –Mike Tyson