Help! I Don't Know How Much Weight to Lift!

Help! I Don’t Know How Much Weight to Lift.
– Why strength training at Urban Athlete makes all the difference

If you’ve landed here, chances are you already know that strength training is important—or at the very least, you're curious about it. Maybe you're wondering how to get started, how much weight to lift, or whether you're doing it right. These are questions we hear all the time at Urban Athlete, our neighborhood gym in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, and it’s exactly why working with a personal trainer can help take the guesswork out of your workouts.

At Urban Athlete, we believe that strength training is one of the most important things you can do for your long-term health. It helps you build muscle, protect your joints, and maintain independence as you age. And contrary to popular belief, it's not strength training that causes injury—it’s often improper form, poor technique, or simply lifting the wrong amount of weight for your body and your goals.

Let’s look at a few things.

How Much Weight Should You Be Lifting?

One of the biggest mistakes people make at the gym is using the same weights for every exercise, every rep range, every time. That’s not how the body benefits—and it’s definitely not the most efficient way to exercise.

Here’s a simplified approach we use with our personal training and group training clients at Urban Athlete:

1. Match Your Weights to Your Reps

Your weight selection should reflect how many repetitions (reps) you’re doing:

• 1–5 reps? Go heavy. These are your lower-rep sets, typically designed to build maximum strength. Use your heaviest weights here—something that really challenges you.

• 6–8 reps? Go medium. These sets strike a balance between strength and muscle-building (hypertrophy). Your weights should still feel tough, but manageable.

• 9+ reps? Go light-ish. Higher reps often focus on endurance. Don’t confuse “light” with “easy”—you should still be pushing yourself, just with a weight that allows for more volume.

Using the same weight for a 3-rep squat and a 15-rep overhead press? Time to reassess.

2. Consider the Muscle Group

Your body has over 600 muscles, and they’re not all built the same. Larger muscle groups like your glutes, quads, and hamstrings can—and should—handle more weight than smaller muscle groups like your delts, triceps, or biceps.

Yet one of the most common things we see when first starting is someone using the same dumbbell weight for both a squat and a shoulder press. Spoiler alert: your legs are way stronger than your shoulders. We want you to adjust accordingly.

Strength Training Is About Strategy—Not Guesswork

At Urban Athlete, we’re passionate about helping our community strength train smarter, not harder. Whether you’re brand new to lifting weights or you’ve been training for years, knowing how much weight to lift can make a huge difference in your results and your confidence—also your health.

Working with a personal trainer in Mt. Airy is the best way to ensure you’re using the right weights, performing each movement with good form, and progressing at a pace that suits your goals and lifestyle. Our coaches guide you every step of the way—whether you're in a group training session or a personal training program tailored just for you.

Ready to feel stronger, safer, and more in control of your workouts?
Book a free call or trial training session at Urban Athlete, your go-to gym in Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, and see how personalized strength training can work for you.