Masheen

Articles

Plain guides to lifting weights, each with its numbers shown and its sources listed. Written by the person who builds the app.

A word you do not know? The glossary explains each one in a sentence and a drawing.

Starting out

Where to begin with weights: the first weeks in a gym, what to load on day one, and plans for home.

Your first four weeks in the gym A gym workout plan for beginners. Twelve sessions over four weeks, three days a week, with the sets, the reps and a weight rule for every session. Updated

Progression

How lifters get stronger on paper: adding reps, then weight, when to back off, and how to read a stall in a log.

Are one-rep max calculators accurate? One-rep max calculators are close, not exact. Epley and Brzycki side by side from 2 to 12 reps, what studies found about error, and three rules for the number. Updated Double progression: reps first, then weight Double progression explained with numbers. Add reps to the top of your range, then add the smallest plate. The rule as a table, a worked example, and the sums. Updated Progressive overload, explained with a log What progressive overload is, five ways to add load ranked by how easy they are to write down, and one month of squats in a log with the sums done. Updated

Programs and splits

Beginner programs and weekly splits side by side: the days, the lifts, the sets and reps, and how the weight goes up.

Beginner strength programs compared Starting Strength, StrongLifts 5×5, GZCLP and 5/3/1 for Beginners in one table. Days, lifts, sets and reps, how the weight goes up, and what to do on a miss. Updated

Standards and numbers

The numbers of the weight room: what each bar weighs, kilo and pound plates, and what lifting scores mean.

How much does a barbell weigh? Every bar in the gym A standard Olympic bar weighs 20 kg (44 lb), the women's bar 15 kg. Smith machine, EZ and trap bars have no standard. Checked figures, and how to check yours. Updated