Man, I’ve been lifting for a while now, right? But picking the right weights always felt like guesswork. Am I going too light? Am I gonna hurt myself going too heavy? Saw a ton of confusing charts online. Tried remembering what “felt good” last time, but that was useless.
Then I stumbled across this idea of a weight calculator based on your size. Like, your bodyweight, height, all that. Sounded way more specific than just “beginner use pink dumbbells.” Had to try it. Pulled out my dusty laptop first thing Saturday morning.
Digging Around Online
Honestly, finding one that didn’t seem totally sketchy took longer than I thought. Lots of them wanted emails or felt like they were written by aliens. Finally found one that was pretty basic. Asked for simple stuff:
- My actual body weight (no lying!).
- How tall I am.
- My age range.
- How often I actually lift stuff (be real with yourself here!).
- What kind of lift? Bench press? Squat? Curls?
Plugged in my numbers. For bench press, with my bodyweight around 180 lbs, height 5’10”, lifting moderately? The thing spat out a number. First thought: “That seems kinda light.”
Putting The Number to the Test
Hitched a ride to the gym Monday evening. Warm-up was easy peasy. Then loaded up the barbell with what the calculator suggested. Okay, lay down on the bench. Grip it. Deep breath. Pushed up way easier than I thought I would. Did all my reps without breaking a sweat. Felt kinda… disappointed? Like, maybe the thing was garbage?
But hey, figured I should at least try pushing harder. Started adding little plates. Five pounds more. Still decent. Five more. Now it was actually starting to feel heavy. Kept going slowly. Hit a point where I could do my reps, but that last one was a grinder, legs shaking and everything. Made a mental note of that weight – the real challenge zone.
Looked back at the calculator number. It wasn’t telling me my max effort weight, thank god. It was giving me a good starting point, a weight I could definitely handle to get moving.
What Actually Worked
So here’s the thing. The calculator number by itself? Too easy. But it was the perfect launchpad. Here’s how I used it:
- Used the suggested weight for my very first set. Easy confidence booster.
- Added weight steadily for the next sets until I hit that “this is hard but I can finish it” feeling.
- Made sure I could control the weight the whole time. Didn’t let it drop fast.
- Wrote down where I stalled, what felt tough. Used THAT as my target for next bench day.
The key wasn’t taking the calculator as gospel. It was using it to kick off my session smartly without wasting time starting way too low or dangerously high.
Bottom Line From My Messing Around
Forget finding one magic number you lift forever. Doesn’t work like that. Here’s what clicked for me:
- Those size-based calculators are decent for getting a safe starting point when you’re clueless.
- They save you from starting way too heavy and hurting yourself, or wasting sets lifting air.
- Use that suggestion as only your first set weight.
- Then you gotta listen to your body and bump up the weight slowly until it feels properly challenging.
- Track THAT “struggle weight.” That’s your real number for now. It’ll change!
Been doing it this way since. Saves time, feels safer, and I’m actually getting stronger because I know I’m pushing myself from a sensible place, not just guessing. Ain’t perfect science, but works way better than winging it.