Well, the most important thing is that you are challenging yourself! Remember this over everything else. Meaning that if you have the reps and sets chosen; then heavier is better (This is what would make it more challenging).
When choosing the actual weight there are two routes you can take with this:
1. Gauge that on a day to day basis (Some days you’re stronger than others). You’ll know right away if you’ll be able to go heavier when you’re doing your warm-ups and the weight feels heavy or light!
2. One week out of every month dedicate it to performing a one rep max (ORM) on the big movements (Squat, Deadlift, Benchpess, Shoulder Press, etc.) and during your regularly scheduled workouts base everything on these numbers. A good rule of thumb is as the rep number increases the percentage of ORM decreases and vice versa. So for 5 reps I’d say do around 80 - 90% of your ORM (depending on your strength/endurance), and for 10 reps somewhere more like 40 - 60% of your ORM.
Either way, experiment to see what works for you and take it from there. Just remember KEEP IT CHALLENGING!!
Good luck, and have fun!
The most important thing is that you are challenging yourself!
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