I think every guy who lifts, at some point, looks around the gym and wonders what the hell everyone else thinks they're accomplishing. They're using too much or too little weight, or doing useless or dangerous exercises, or have terrible form.

A lot of times the person looking around doesn't have any better idea than the people he's wondering about. (I speak from experience; I felt much more superior before I knew what the f*** I was doing than I do now.)

But now there's evidence that gym newbies really are clueless, at least when it comes to the weights they choose to lift.

Key graphs:

"A recent study showed that many inexperienced weightlifters don't come close to pumping enough iron to change the shape of their muscles, or really get any benefit at all.

"The study, done by exercise physiology professor Stephen Glass of Grand Valley State University in Michigan, was based in part on previous research that said people must lift no less than 60 percent of the maximum weight they can lift to increase the size of their muscles."

Glass took 30 newbies (17 men, 13 women), and told them to pick their own starting weights. Then he tested their one-repetition maximum (the most weight they can lift once with good form) and discovered that none of them had started off with 60 percent of their max.

I'm not sure that Glass' research is anything more than a snapshot of a bunch of people their first day in the gym. I mean, would these people use the same weights in subsequent workouts? There's no way to know.

Strength training is intimidating to a lot of people, and it takes a while to feel like you know what you're doing in a gym. I've been doing it almost 35 years now, and I still feel disoriented when I walk into a new gym.

Still, I think it's important to get the word out there that the weights you lift have to be at least moderately heavy.

I mean, there's nothing more pathetic than a guy feeling superior to everyone else in the gym when he isn't even lifting enough weight to get the results he wants.

Trust me, I've been that guy.

Tags: strength