25 weightlifting goals for beginners and beyond, set by body weight

Weightlifting goals for beginners

Beginner goals are about learning the lifts and coming back twice a week. For goals outside the weights room, see the wider list of fitness goals.

• Lift 2 times a week for 8 weeks.
• Learn the squat, the press and the deadlift with an empty bar.
• Squat to full depth for 3 sets of 10.
• Add a little weight to one lift every week for 6 weeks.
• Finish a 12 week beginner programme.

Weightlifting goals by body weight

Goals set as a share of your body weight grow with you, so the same list works for a small lifter and a big one.

• Squat your own body weight.
• Bench press 0.75 times your body weight.
• Press half your body weight overhead.
• Deadlift 1.5 times your body weight.
• Squat 1.5 times your body weight.

Rep goals

Rep goals use a fixed weight, often your own body, and count how many times you can move it.

• Do 5 pull-ups in a row.
• Do 10 pull-ups in a row.
• Do 25 push-ups in a row.
• Do 10 dips on parallel bars.
• Squat your body weight for 10 reps.

Training volume goals

Volume goals count the work itself: sessions done and kilos moved. They are the ones you fully control.

• Lift 100 sessions in a year.
• Lift 10,000 kg in one session, counting every set.
• Lift 1,000,000 kg in a year. That is 100 sessions of 10,000 kg.
• Do every planned set for 4 weeks.
• Train legs every week for 12 weeks.

Milestone lifts

Milestones are round numbers on the bar. If the squat, bench and deadlift are what you care about most, powerlifting goals add them into one total.

• Deadlift 100 kg.
• Squat 100 kg.
• Bench press 100 kg.
• Add 20 kg to your squat in 12 weeks.
• Set a new best in one lift each month for 6 months.

What is a good weightlifting goal?

A good weightlifting goal is specific and a little out of reach. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Get stronger" cannot be checked. "Squat my body weight by June" can.

How often you train is part of the goal. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that novices lift 2 to 3 days a week, and the CDC advises muscle strengthening on at least 2 days a week for all adults. Two sessions a week is a real plan, not a small one.

Then write it the way SMART goals are written: the lift, the weight, the date. "Deadlift 1.5 times my body weight by 1 September, lifting twice a week."

How to track weightlifting goals

Write down every set: the weight and the reps. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that recording it beat keeping it in your head. In lifting the record also tells you what to put on the bar next time.

Sessions are a day count. Kilos lifted are an amount that adds up. A strength block of 12 weeks is close to the length of a 90 day challenge, and it is tracked the same way.

Best lifts come slowly, so count the sessions too. A picture that fills up one workout at a time shows progress in the weeks when the bar does not move.

Frequently asked questions

What are good weightlifting goals for beginners?

Lift twice a week for 8 weeks, and learn the squat, the press and the deadlift with good form. After that, a first strength target is to squat your own body weight.

What is a good weightlifting goal by body weight?

A simple ladder is to squat your body weight, then deadlift 1.5 times it. Goals written as a share of body weight work for any size of lifter, which a flat number like 100 kg does not.

How often should I lift to reach a strength goal?

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 2 to 3 days a week for novices. The CDC advises at least 2 days a week of muscle strengthening for all adults.