5 Signs You Need To Train Heavier
Here are 5 signs that you may need to move up a weight class or train heavier.
Injuries / Niggles
Are you continually suffering with injuries / niggles and finding you’re needing to drop frequency, volume and intensity to get by? If this is you, and you’ve already improved the primary recovery factors like sleep, stress and food quality then this is probably your body telling you that it’s not being fueled enough between sessions to recover to your full potential.
Your body has a natural desired settling point depending on the activities you frequently engage in. Long distance runner? Likely you will have a lighter body composition than a bodybuilder… Powerlifter or strength athlete? It’s likely that your body will want to be heavier. This is dictated not so much by the activity, but by the requirements of your body to engage in it. Some people can survive on very little and get through, others struggle a great deal. From the super heavyweights to the lightweights, everyone is different.
Motivation
Not matter the level of lifter everyone experiences a dip in motivation at some stage. The most common reason is the slowing down of progress, those 2.5kg increments get that much harder to find as you push to your full potential.
The key is to make these dips temporary and not chronic. If you feel like you’re just going through the motions and lack the motivation to train then potentially increasing your bodyweight will allow you to push harder in each of the training sessions, stronger endurance and even sicker pumps. Training at a higher bodyweight and pushing through regular numbers is almost certainly going to help you find your mojo again.
This doesn’t have to be a full weight class move but simply just training 1-2kg heavier can give yourself that little bit of breathing room to help you blast through plateaus.
Competitiveness
Staying in a weight class to be more competitive whilst stagnating is delaying the inevitable.
Every prep you do whilst stagnating is just one more prep you could have done in a higher class building towards new numbers and goals. While there are exceptions who don’t benefit in going up a weight class, the majority of people who do end up surpassing their previous totals quickly, and improving their DOTs all the while becoming a far stronger and more confident lifter.
If you’re competitive in your current class then with some time you’re more than likely going to be competing in your heavier class & enjoy your training more. Always look to grow.
Fatigue
This is probably the most obvious marker, and equally the most often ignored.
If you’re chronically tired and feel drained then increasing your energy intake is most certainly going to be a positive.
Managing other factors such as sleep, stress and work load obviously have an impact, but simply just eating more food will negate some of these things if they’re not getting on well. Why try to adapt to a smaller pool of resources when you can just up your resources?
Total
Lastly but most importantly as a Powerlifter is total.
If you feel like you’re ticking all the boxes with programming, coaching, nutrition and recovery and your total isn’t improving over a period of time then this is a massive marker to move up or train heavier.
Far too often I see lifters making all the wrong changes hoping for different results when they simply just need to go up. Nothing changes if you don’t change anything – have that difficult conversation with your powerlifting coach or nutrition coach. Set a plan in motion and kickstart your growth again.
Don’t have a coach to have those conversations with? Sign up with our team now at https://abspowerlifting.com/gym-membership/.