Stuck between weights? From adding repetitions to making smaller increases, here’s how to keep progressing without sacrificing your technique
Words: Faye James Pics: Getty Images
The 4kg dumbbells no longer feel particularly challenging. You finish your set, check your workout plan and decide it’s time to move up. Then you pick up the 6kg pair and suddenly your shoulders are shrugging, your arms are wobbling and the final repetitions seem impossible.
It’s a familiar frustration, particularly with upper-body exercises, but being stuck between dumbbells doesn’t mean your progress has stalled.
Moving from 4kg to 6kg is a 50 per cent increase in weight. That’s a substantial jump, even if the numbers on the rack look modest. Your muscles may be ready for more work without being ready for that much extra load. The answer is to build a manageable bridge between the two.
Check whether it’s really time to move up
A weight feeling easier is encouraging, but assess the whole set before reaching for something heavier.
Can you complete every planned repetition through a consistent, comfortable range? Are the final repetitions controlled? Could you manage another couple without swinging, shortening the movement or changing your position?
If your first set feels easy but your last requires considerable effort, the current weight may still provide a useful challenge.
Compare sessions under similar conditions, too. An exercise performed first in your workout may feel easier than the same movement after several demanding sets. Record where it sits in your routine alongside the weight and repetitions.
Build repetitions before adding weight
A repetition range gives you more room to progress than one fixed number. For example, instead of always completing three sets of eight, you might work within a range of eight to 12 repetitions. Keep the same weight and gradually add repetitions as your technique allows.
That could mean eight, eight and eight in one session, then nine, eight and eight the next. You don’t need to improve every set at once.
Once you can comfortably reach the top of your range across all sets on repeated visits, try the heavier pair and return towards the lower end. This combines two recognised ways to increase training demands: more repetitions and more resistance. If you still can’t manage the lower end with good technique, the jump remains too large.
Look for a smaller step
Before assuming you must move straight from 4kg to 6kg, check what else is available. Some gyms have intermediate dumbbells tucked away in another rack. Adjustable dumbbells may offer smaller increments, while a cable machine can sometimes provide a more manageable increase for a similar exercise.
Ask an instructor about your options, a change of equipment also changes how the movement feels, so start conservatively rather than assuming the displayed weights are equivalent.
If you train at home, smaller increments are worth considering when choosing adjustable dumbbells. They can make progression more practical for exercises such as curls and shoulder presses.
Introduce heavier work gradually
You don’t have to use the same weight for every working set. If you can safely complete the bottom of your repetition range with the heavier pair, try one heavier set after warming up, then return to the lighter dumbbells for your remaining sets.
For example, you might complete eight controlled repetitions with the heavier weight, followed by two lighter sets of 10 to 12 and record each separately.
Only use this approach if the heavier set remains comfortable to set up and technically sound. If you’re struggling from the first repetition, forcing your way through won’t solve the gap.
Make your current repetitions count
Before adding more work, check whether you’re rushing what you already do. Lower the weight under control, avoid bouncing and use a consistent range rather than cutting the movement short as you tire. Better execution makes your training easier to assess.
You can use a brief pause to practise control where appropriate, but increasingly slow repetitions aren’t a guaranteed shortcut to better results.
Nor must every set end with you unable to lift again. The American College of Sports Medicine’s latest review found that training to muscular failure wasn’t consistently necessary for the average healthy adult.
Give each exercise its own timeline
You may progress quickly in a dumbbell squat while taking considerably longer to increase a lateral raise, treating each movement separately.
Keep a simple log of weights, repetitions and how the final set felt. An extra controlled repetition or a more consistent range gives you useful evidence of improvement, even when the dumbbell stays the same.
The next pair will still be there, build towards it through changes you can manage, and let your technique decide when you’re ready.
