| > Even though in the early days you don't notice much physical difference People who do weight training always leave out the fact that you feel sore after a lift. Even the next day. This can feel like pain to the unaware and can be scary or off putting enough to become a deterrent to keep at it. It can leave you feeling weak, but often the soreness is surface level and in fact you are still stronger even with the soreness and fatigue. > (other than the steady increase in weight you're able to lift) “Steady” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Maybe you could argue that in the beginning, but adding more and more weight is more logarithmic than linear; otherwise, everyone in the gym would be benching 3 tons. I recommend ramping up weight after you can do a full 3 sets of 10 reps at your current weight. Introducing the new weight to the first set, then dropping the weight for the next two. Once comfortable with that try the new weight for 2 sets and then finally 3; then repeat. |
Heavily depends on the movement. 3x10s are fine for accessory exercises but will be too much volume for compound movements (if strength is the focus) and can actually retard progress in later stages (because training for strength is incredibly taxing once you go heavy enough).
That said, literally anything will work when you're just getting started, so this retardation won't show up until later (when you're unbelievably sore all of the time but are not progressing on the lifts).
Most strength programs are developed around 3x5 for the core lifts, as this is a good balance between strength and recovery. In fact, you will likely do even less than this once you're advanced enough (1x5 super heavy deadlifts, once a week, for example) so that your muscles have time to recover and build.