How do I progress weights if my gym doesn't have 500g plates?

How do I progress weights if my gym doesn't have 500g plates? Every beginner program I've seen suggests progressing with 1kg steps for upper body and 2kg steps for squats and deadlifts, but the lowest increases I can do at my gym are 2,5kg and I'm failing hard on upper body because of it. I'm supposed to add 10kg in 4 workouts but I can't seem to do it.
Should I lift the same weight twice, just add more reps the second time? I guess that would double the amount of time it takes to progress but right now I'm making zero so everything would be better.

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Buy microplates

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Honestly you can buy your own plates and bring them. Alternatively you can go for more reps on the same weight and try to progress anyways.

      I thought about that before, but my gym is kinda high class and I'd look like a sperg bringing plates in.

      2.5 kg is really not much.
      Just get stronger with one weight (high number of reps) then once you are feeling strong, add weight but do less reps, and so on.

      Yeah that's kinda what I was trying to get at with my question. Mayne I worded it a bit weird, apologies.

      I've been able to progress, but I feel my form is suffering a lot, I'm not really "comfortable" with the weights I'm lifting now.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >my gym is kinda high
        >doesn't have microplates

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Yes. I don't get your point.

          Most beginner programs actually progress via 2.5kg upper body and 5kg lower body. I have never seen 1-2kg progression in my life, nor do they even make plates for that.

          Microplates even add up to 1.25kg because they are half the weight of a 2.5kg plates which are half the weight of 5kg plates, etc.

          >what are 500g plates
          See pic related

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        If your gym doesn't have 500g plates its a shit gym and it should be obvious why you brought them yourselves

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Black person, my gym has 1.25kg weights, but they weigh basically nothing. I have always used 2.5kg and 5kg increments.

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Honestly you can buy your own plates and bring them. Alternatively you can go for more reps on the same weight and try to progress anyways.

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    2.5 kg is really not much.
    Just get stronger with one weight (high number of reps) then once you are feeling strong, add weight but do less reps, and so on.

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Most beginner programs actually progress via 2.5kg upper body and 5kg lower body. I have never seen 1-2kg progression in my life, nor do they even make plates for that.

    Microplates even add up to 1.25kg because they are half the weight of a 2.5kg plates which are half the weight of 5kg plates, etc.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >nor do they even make plates for that
      ok moron

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    What are your lifts currently? I'm a 30yo woman on stronglifts and progress with 2.5kg increments. The only one I've struggled with in that progression is OHP.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      It's far from impressive tbh, I'm at 45kg OHP, 67,5kg Bench, 87,5kg Squat and 105kg deadlift. Maybe u just not eating enough

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Could be psychological too. 2.5kg is just a small bag of flour, surely you can lift in addition to what you're doing.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Makes sense. I do worry a lot about these things, maybe I'm just too afraid idk

          Just increase the reps going higher. You're still lifting progressively more every workout so it's the same difference. If you're worrying about this, you're too much of a beginner for it to matter if you do high or low reps. Just progress. Once you're hammering out way over your rep range, another 2.5KG won't be a big deal.

          See that's exactly what I was trying to get at. So I could keep progressing, but not increase weight every workout. Thanks.

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Lmao, I have an home gym, and my smallest increment possible is 10kgs

  8. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Just increase the reps going higher. You're still lifting progressively more every workout so it's the same difference. If you're worrying about this, you're too much of a beginner for it to matter if you do high or low reps. Just progress. Once you're hammering out way over your rep range, another 2.5KG won't be a big deal.

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Increase weight. Do reps until you can max out at 10 or more. Repeat.

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    If you keep dividing up the weight into smaller and smaller increments you add each time, your progress becomes asymptotic and you never actually make any real progress at all

    THINK ABOUT IT

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Interesting

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Lmao dude just go up in 45lb plate increments like a real man. I used to think I could only bench 225 but then I threw 45s on each side and pumped out 5 reps of 315. It's that simple

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