Picking the Right Weight

The Power 90® Sculpt routines work all the major muscle groups: chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, legs, and glutes. Each muscle group is different in size, so they require different weights or bands. Biceps and triceps are the smallest, so they require lighter resistance than back and chest muscles (the largest muscles in the upper body). Shoulder muscles link the chest and back to the biceps and triceps, so they require a middle-of-the-road weight or resistance. The leg muscles are the largest muscles in the whole body, so they can handle the most resistance.

Power 90 uses your body weight as resistance for chest, leg, and butt muscles in the form of push-ups, lunges, and squats, so maintain good form to take care of those three areas. The shoulders, biceps, and triceps require weights or bands. The key to great results is figuring out which bands or weights should be used for which muscle groups. Depending on the exercise, the shoulders, biceps, and triceps need different weights or bands.

If you’re looking to build size, then you need to “max out” on rep 8, 9, or 10. The burn you feel in the muscle should build in those last 3 to 4 reps. If your goal is to do 10 reps on a bicep curl, then reps 8, 9, and 10 need to burn, with good clean form. The same theory applies to someone looking for a leaner look, except that the burn happens on reps 13, 14, and 15. If you want to burn even more calories, search for the burn on reps 18, 19, and 20.

That struggle to find your max at the end of the exercise has everything to do with picking the right weight or band. So if you’re using the same 5-pound dumbbell for every exercise for 90 days, then you will not achieve anything close to the best possible result.  – Tony Horton