I've been lifting weights for over 15 years so I've learned, and I'm still learning!, quite a lot over the years. I just want to touch upon a mistake that I've noticed a lot of newbies, as well as more experienced lifters, make quite often regarding rep ranges.

 

Let's say your program calls for 4 sets of 4 to 8 repetitions on the bench press; how should you pick the amount of weight you will put on the bar?

 

It's all about the first set.

 

The weight that you "pick", should be the amount of weight for which you will be able to hit the rep range for that first set. That's it. That's all there is to it.

 

If you know for a fact that you can hit 4 reps at 250 lbs on the bench, that's what you should put on the bar. It doesn't matter if you'll do 5-4-2-2 for your sets, the amount that you put up there should be what will allow to hit that range on the first set. If you try to pick a weight that will allow you hit the range for all 4 sets, you're cheating yourself by lifting too little.

 

So try this out the next time you hit the gym. Whether your rep range is 8-10, or 3-5, aim for the maximum amount of weight for which you can hit the range on that first set and go from there. You'll never have the impression that you didn't give it your all when you leave the gym at the end.