How to Use and Benefit from Micro Loading with Fractional Plates

In this blog I’ll show you ways of increasing your lifts over time using small increments of weights to help increase your lift strength.

If you are a beginner, intermediate or expert you can still make small gains that help in the long run towards larger goals and to breaking weightlifting plateaus.

Fractional plates are small metal weights, usually in increasing increments between 0.25 and 1kg loading. They’re ideal

Beginners

This will be the simplest ways to increase strength gradually.

For presses/bench presses just increase the weight by 0.5kgs every week. Start with reps between 3-5 with 90% of your best rep max or estimate it.

For squatting and deadlifting do the same increase by 1kg every week again start with 90% of your best rep max.

Once you stall with your progress move to the next small increment weight increase.

Intermediate

Keep the same sort of weights and start with your new rep max as follows.

For pressing movements Start at 90% of your new rep max and increase every second week by 0.5kg.

For squat and deadlift increase by 1kg ever two weeks from the same starting point.

Expert

Wave training
Week 1: Start with 85% of best rep range
Week 2: Increase by 0.5 or 1kg
Week 3: Increase by 0.5 or 1kg
Week 4: Increase by 0.5 or 1kg
Week 5: Drop back to week 2 and do another 4 weeks and keep repeating until your gains stall.

The Benefits

Fractional Plates offer small tangible improvements as well as moving you on when you reach a certain weight level and it’s become a real challenge to progress. They are the simple way of increasing your strength over a long time period by slow steady progression.

Whilst I’ve made suggestions above, you can adjust these ideas to suit your training regime.

Fractional plates are a long-term solution to gaining strength and should be used this way.

Other benefits of fractional plate micro loading are that it’s a safe way for your body to adapt to new loads.

As you become a more advanced lifter or are an aged lifter this can also help you continue to get stronger with the slow adoption of new training weights. Some lifters can find a 2.5kg jump huge so this why the plates play a good role in training.

Fractional plates are cheap to buy, so shouldn’t be overlooked, as they form a key part of your routine when you hit physical limits or are just short of achieving a particular weight goal.

https://powerfit.nz/equipment-accessories/cast-iron-plates?product_id=232