The lifting that promote progress / "show results" is the lifting that is the following:
- makes you work. The definition of "work" is relative - but I tend to use the following as my guidance for selecting the weight I'm lifting:
-- For whatever type of lifting you're doing (this can be if you're going low rep / heavier weight or higher rep / lower weights) - define what is a "working" number of reps for you and use that to determine more or less. Here's my example if I say 12 reps is my base set:
--- if I can lift around 8 reps w/ clean form, but no more than 8-9, on my next set, I will stay there or maybe even drop the weight a bit and do my reps.
--- if I can do 12 reps , I will probably stay at that weight for my next set.
--- if I can do 15 reps and keep form, time to up the weight.
- you don't break form to lift - if your form falls apart, its too heavy.
- consistency - 2 days/week in the gym isn't going to produce much in the way of "results" in the near term. Needs to be consistent.
- Diet supports your training goals. If you're training regularly but not eating enough, you're negating your results. If you're eating too much - this is great if your goal is pure hypertrophy and strength - but depending on how much you're eating and the quality of those calories, you'll also gain fat.
- good quality recovery time supports your goals.
- managing injuries (This is obvious, but I think people frequently get so focused or caught up in reaching one particular goal or one particular approach and forget to balance things before an injury from too much weight, sloppy form, repetitive motion, etc.) "Fitness" is made up all of all sorts of "cycles" of growth time and recovery time.
The overall point is to always work towards improvement in some area - more reps, better reps, different exercise, whatever it is. Making your body work, stimulating it versus letting it adapt to what you are doing will produce results.
