What is heavy?
Clo747
Posts: 112 Member
Lift heavy.
I see this advice littered all over the forums and probably need a bit of help understanding this. I, just as a preface, have no idea what I'm doing. I exercise and try to eat as healthy as I know how, but recently put on a load of weight because I really thought wine could see me through any and everything! I wear a Fitbit and try to hit at least 10000 steps a day during the week. I also work out with a Jillian Michaels dvd on those five days. Its just half an hour, but I do use 2.3kg and 4.5kg hand weights as well in it... Is this heavy enough to help me strengthen and "tone"? Should I be worrying about that while I'm trying to lose weight?
I realise these questions are probably a bit silly and with enough google power, I could find all the answers on my own, but I am really struggling to understand how to get the most health for myself out of all this, so any help and advice you lovelies can offer is greatly appreciated. I defer to your greater knowledge and experience.
Cheers in advance.
x
I see this advice littered all over the forums and probably need a bit of help understanding this. I, just as a preface, have no idea what I'm doing. I exercise and try to eat as healthy as I know how, but recently put on a load of weight because I really thought wine could see me through any and everything! I wear a Fitbit and try to hit at least 10000 steps a day during the week. I also work out with a Jillian Michaels dvd on those five days. Its just half an hour, but I do use 2.3kg and 4.5kg hand weights as well in it... Is this heavy enough to help me strengthen and "tone"? Should I be worrying about that while I'm trying to lose weight?
I realise these questions are probably a bit silly and with enough google power, I could find all the answers on my own, but I am really struggling to understand how to get the most health for myself out of all this, so any help and advice you lovelies can offer is greatly appreciated. I defer to your greater knowledge and experience.
Cheers in advance.
x
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Replies
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Are you happy with your current program? Do you want to lift heavy? Do you have access to a gym with barbells? Most people recommend a heavy lifting program as a way to retain muscle mass, reduce body fat, get stronger, and look better…however, it is not for everyone and you can achieve most of that I listed with some alternate programs.0
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Www.startingstrength.com. Is a good resource. I've been following this program for 10 months and I'm getting much stronger.0
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I really enjoy weight lifting and it is very important part of my exercise.
Lift heavy for me is a weight ( dumbell, kettle bell, barbell,ect) that I can only perform 3 reps the first time.
I repeat the same exercise every week and I can increase through a period ( several weeks or months) to 5 reps, 8 reps and 10 reps. When I get to 12 reps for a weightlifting exercise is time to increase the weight.
Hope it helps0 -
socioseguro wrote: »I really enjoy weight lifting and it is very important part of my exercise.
Lift heavy for me is a weight ( dumbell, kettle bell, barbell,ect) that I can only perform 3 reps the first time.
I repeat the same exercise every week and I can increase through a period ( several weeks or months) to 5 reps, 8 reps and 10 reps. When I get to 12 reps for a weightlifting exercise is time to increase the weight.
Hope it helps
Thanks for this explanation!
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Think of heavy as a rep range rather than a set number. Because to every person "heavy" is relative
0 reps = TO heavy
1 rep = one rep max- this is VERY heavy- borederline impossibly heavy
2-5 reps= heavy
5-10 moderately heavy
10-15 = not really heavy
15-20 = not heavy at all.0 -
Thank you everyone! I think heavy is beyond my remit, at the moment. I don't have access to heavy. Maybe an investment for the future. I've never really lifted "heavy", but much prefer strength type exercises to out and out cardio, so might be something for me down the line... x0
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If you do the DVD and increase the difficulty like heavier dumbells or pausing at the bottom of push ups, doing the whole thing more slowly and deliberately that sort of thing you can achieve more strength. Strength happens when you increase the load over time. You will not increase your strength beyond a certain point if you continue to do the same things forever.0
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heavy
[ ˈhevē ]
ADJECTIVE
1. of great weight; difficult to lift or move:
"the pan was too heavy for me to carry"
synonyms: weighty · hefty · substantial · ponderous · solid · dense ·
More
NOUN
1. a thing, such as a vehicle, that is large or heavy of its kind.
ADVERB
heavily:
"his words hung heavy in the air"
Powered by OxfordDictionaries · © Oxford University Press-1 -
Thank you everyone! I think heavy is beyond my remit, at the moment. I don't have access to heavy. Maybe an investment for the future. I've never really lifted "heavy", but much prefer strength type exercises to out and out cardio, so might be something for me down the line... x
Joining a gym definitely helps with the progressive lifting, and the lifting "heavy" part of the equation - having enough equipment or the space at home may not be possible.
You mentioned "toning" in a previous post. Toning has nothing to do with lifting weights - to "tone", you need to focus on losing fat. Having lower body fat makes your muscles more defined regardless of their size. You will look more "toned" from eating consistenly in a deficit.0 -
If you're just looking to "tone" then all you need to do is lower your body fat percentage through caloric restriction. Full body exercises will help you to retain your muscle. If you are looking to get stronger then you will need to progressively lift heavier things. Starting Strength or Strong Lifts, as mentioned above, will help with that but you will need to eat more so you can gain muscle mass.0
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madhatter2013 wrote: »heavy
[ ˈhevē ]
ADJECTIVE
1. of great weight; difficult to lift or move:
"the pan was too heavy for me to carry"
synonyms: weighty · hefty · substantial · ponderous · solid · dense ·
More
NOUN
1. a thing, such as a vehicle, that is large or heavy of its kind.
ADVERB
heavily:
"his words hung heavy in the air"
Powered by OxfordDictionaries · © Oxford University Press
Cheeky.
Yes, I sorta reckoned it was gonna be that pesky "time and patience" malarky. Hopefully the resistance and weight training I'm doing now will bear fruit once the weight comes off. I'll probably be able to make a more informed decision then about what I'd like to do going forward.
Really appreciate all the responses, guys! x
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if you're just looking to "tone" then all you need to do is lower your body fat percentage through caloric restriction. Full body exercises will help you to retain your muscle. If you are looking to get stronger then you will need to progressively lift heavier things. Starting Strength or Strong Lifts, as mentioned above, will help with that but you will need to eat more so you can gain muscle mass.
Uhm, negative. My belly is walking (and jiggling) proof that being in a deficit is not going to do diddly to help you "tone". That is actually how people end up as what is referred to as "skinny fat". Caloric deficit helps you lose weight, but you can also lose muscle in the process. As ndj said above people lift to help retain muscle mass, and that is what will help make you look toned - not losing muscle along with fat while in deficit.0 -
This also drives me kind of crazy, hearing "lift heavy" everywhere. Especially when starting, for many moves, 10 lbs *was* heavy for me.
I had a trainer from my gym show me around the weight room, suggest some moves and get me started on good weights for me. Her suggestion was between 6-12 reps. If I can't do 6, it's too heavy, if I can do more than 12, I can probably do 6 of one level higher. She suggested 2 sets of each exercise per workout. I'm only 2 weeks in, but for me it's working and I appreciate the tangible advice so I know when and how to progress and can apply it to any other strength move I do.0 -
punkrockgoth wrote: »This also drives me kind of crazy, hearing "lift heavy" everywhere. Especially when starting, for many moves, 10 lbs *was* heavy for me.
I had a trainer from my gym show me around the weight room, suggest some moves and get me started on good weights for me. Her suggestion was between 6-12 reps. If I can't do 6, it's too heavy, if I can do more than 12, I can probably do 6 of one level higher. She suggested 2 sets of each exercise per workout. I'm only 2 weeks in, but for me it's working and I appreciate the tangible advice so I know when and how to progress and can apply it to any other strength move I do.
when people say "lift heavy" they mean heavy for the person. so if ten pounds is heavy for you and you are doing about 8 reps and struggling on the 8th one then you are lifting heavy for you ...
it does not mean that you should walk into the gym and start pounding 400# deadlifts.
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punkrockgoth wrote: »This also drives me kind of crazy, hearing "lift heavy" everywhere. Especially when starting, for many moves, 10 lbs *was* heavy for me.
I had a trainer from my gym show me around the weight room, suggest some moves and get me started on good weights for me. Her suggestion was between 6-12 reps. If I can't do 6, it's too heavy, if I can do more than 12, I can probably do 6 of one level higher. She suggested 2 sets of each exercise per workout. I'm only 2 weeks in, but for me it's working and I appreciate the tangible advice so I know when and how to progress and can apply it to any other strength move I do.
Heavy is relative! Your 10lbs will likely increase very quickly for many of your exercises, depending on the muscles you're working...
That said, many people underestimate their strength and don't lift as much as they probably could if they were more confident in themselves.0 -
Buff Dudes have an entire series on how to work out from home. I use a milk jug filled with water as my kettle ball.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKf0UqBiCQI4Ol0To9V0pKQ0 -
Yeah, usually you hear "lift heavy, eat big" etc when starting out. But it's all relative. Lift heavy, is whatever is heavy for you in a certain rep range. Eat big does not mean stuffing yourself because you will get fat. Eating big is just a pre determined calorie surplus above your TDEE. But that's a different thread.0
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punkrockgoth wrote: »This also drives me kind of crazy, hearing "lift heavy" everywhere. Especially when starting, for many moves, 10 lbs *was* heavy for me.
I had a trainer from my gym show me around the weight room, suggest some moves and get me started on good weights for me. Her suggestion was between 6-12 reps. If I can't do 6, it's too heavy, if I can do more than 12, I can probably do 6 of one level higher. She suggested 2 sets of each exercise per workout. I'm only 2 weeks in, but for me it's working and I appreciate the tangible advice so I know when and how to progress and can apply it to any other strength move I do.
when people say "lift heavy" they mean heavy for the person. so if ten pounds is heavy for you and you are doing about 8 reps and struggling on the 8th one then you are lifting heavy for you ...
it does not mean that you should walk into the gym and start pounding 400# deadlifts.
This. Heavy weight is different for different people but the rep ranges JoRocka gave above are good guidelines. For me, heavy squats are 80 lbs. For other people, it's 135 or 180 or 235 etc.0 -
Heavy in this context means a weight sufficiently heavy enough that you struggle to perform the last rep(s) of your desired rep range (usually somewhere between 5-15 reps in standard programmes) with good form.0
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PrizePopple wrote: »Uhm, negative. My belly is walking (and jiggling) proof that being in a deficit is not going to do diddly to help you "tone". That is actually how people end up as what is referred to as "skinny fat". Caloric deficit helps you lose weight, but you can also lose muscle in the process. As ndj said above people lift to help retain muscle mass, and that is what will help make you look toned - not losing muscle along with fat while in deficit.
You can't see definition in your abs because your BF% is not low enough. The only way to reduce your BF% is through caloric restriction. You don't need to "lift heavy" to retain muscle mass. You just need to use your muscles. Either way, on a caloric deficit you will loose both, but you will loose less muscle if you give your body a reason to keep them. Full body exercises will help to retain them. If you want bigger muscles then you need to eat more and progressively lift heavier things. That is why people go through periods of cutting and bulking. You cut weight to reduce BF% and keep up the exercise to retain as much muscle as possible. Then you eat more on a bulk and add more weight to your lifts to gain muscle. You will also put on a little fat as well during the bulk cycle.0 -
PrizePopple wrote: »Uhm, negative. My belly is walking (and jiggling) proof that being in a deficit is not going to do diddly to help you "tone". That is actually how people end up as what is referred to as "skinny fat". Caloric deficit helps you lose weight, but you can also lose muscle in the process. As ndj said above people lift to help retain muscle mass, and that is what will help make you look toned - not losing muscle along with fat while in deficit.
You can't see definition in your abs because your BF% is not low enough. The only way to reduce your BF% is through caloric restriction. You don't need to "lift heavy" to retain muscle mass. You just need to use your muscles. Either way, on a caloric deficit you will loose both, but you will loose less muscle if you give your body a reason to keep them. Full body exercises will help to retain them. If you want bigger muscles then you need to eat more and progressively lift heavier things. That is why people go through periods of cutting and bulking. You cut weight to reduce BF% and keep up the exercise to retain as much muscle as possible. Then you eat more on a bulk and add more weight to your lifts to gain muscle. You will also put on a little fat as well during the bulk cycle.
We're not even talking about bulking here, and I understand how that whole process works just from reading posts around here from reputable lifters.
I seriously doubt that doing something like 30 Day Shred is going to have the same impact on muscle retention as lifting would. Sure it helps, but it's not going to be nearly as effective. I'm by no means an expert on this, so I'm sure the others already on this thread could explain it much better and give personal experiences.0 -
PrizePopple wrote: »PrizePopple wrote: »
I seriously doubt that doing something like 30 Day Shred is going to have the same impact on muscle retention as lifting would. Sure it helps, but it's not going to be nearly as effective. I'm by no means an expert on this, so I'm sure the others already on this thread could explain it much better and give personal experiences.
But not no efficacy, right? I'm not doing Shred, but the movesets are pretty similar, I think. I'd like to avoid the skinny fat if at all possible. And I am using weights, but I guess, at that weight, they're only really having a bigger impact on my upper body and not actually adding all that much to lower body exercise?0 -
I have no idea how I managed that...sorry!
Will repost:
But not no efficacy, right? I'm not doing Shred, but the movesets are pretty similar, I think. I'd like to avoid the skinny fat if at all possible. And I am using weights, but I guess, at that weight, they're only really having a bigger impact on my upper body and not actually adding all that much to lower body exercise?0 -
I have no idea how I managed that...sorry! Will repost:
But not no efficacy, right? I'm not doing Shred, but the movesets are pretty similar, I think. I'd like to avoid the skinny fat if at all possible. And I am using weights, but I guess, at that weight, they're only really having a bigger impact on my upper body and not actually adding all that much to lower body exercise?
Focus on the level of effort you're putting out. If your arms and legs are burning and wobbly at the end, you're building strength. You may not add muscle mass but you'll do a great job of preserving most of it while losing fat. For lower body exercises, remember that you have the weight of your upper body helping out. So squats without dumbbells are more effective than bicep curls without dumbbells.
Basically, if it's easy then it's not making you stronger. If it's hard then keep going until it's easy
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This is the way I learned it: Lifting heavy means lifting about 80% of your 1-rep max for reps (typically 5 reps). So if you can reliably squat 200 lbs, for instance, for a single rep, then when you're doing a routine, like 5x5, you should be lifting about 160 lbs for five reps.
In order to know what your 5-rep weight is, you need to have some idea of what you can realistically lift for a single rep.
There are also other "heavy" lifting routines out there, like 5/3/1, etc. I mean, if you're doing 6 sets with really heavy weight, so heavy that you can only do 2-reps per set, you're lifting heavy. 80% for reps seems to be some kind of baseline floor in the literature I've encountered.
Now, all of that said, this doesn't mean you can't be effective with what you're doing. My wife runs a class 3x per week where all they have access to is dumbbells. They do all sorts of lifts that you would do with a barbell - squats, deadlifts, overhead press, etc. - plus a bunch of other stuff (it's an hour long class). Since they don't have access to barbells and can't do heavy lifting like 80% of 1RM, they make up for it with volume. Lots of sets, lots of reps. My wife is absolutely ripped... so I'd say it works.
I think the overall key is just to be consistent. Do the work, work hard, put forth maximum effort, and be consistent with your workouts. Don't skip. Consistency with diet and exercise is the key to results.0 -
Think of heavy as a rep range rather than a set number. Because to every person "heavy" is relative
0 reps = TO heavy
1 rep = one rep max- this is VERY heavy- borederline impossibly heavy
2-5 reps= heavy
5-10 moderately heavy
10-15 = not really heavy
15-20 = not heavy at all.
apparently this didn't get seen.
this is all you need to know about "heavy" or not.
that's it. There is more detail on that- but ultimately- this is all there is to it.
if it's to heavy you can't lift it- or you can barely lift it.
If you can do it 10 or more times- it's not really heavy. plain and simple. that has nothing to do with level of exertion and we aren't saying doing 30 reps of something IS or ISN'T difficult.
But it's not heavy. Period.0 -
I'll make it simple (and mostly-accurate):
"Lifting Heavy" is being unable to do the same motion with a weight more than 20 times in a row.
So kettlebells, spinning, yoga, pilates, zumba, jazercize, whatever is not lifting heavy.
Some of those might be "lifting heavy" for a period of time, but won't be eventually.
For me, pushups and pullups are lifting heavy. In a couple of months they won't be. Well, pushups at least.
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Pushups are the bane of my life! Can only do a few before I've got to go to the knees (that was unintentionally dirty sounding), but its good to know that sort of thing might qualify as "heavy".
By the sounds, I'm not lifting heavy, but should be doing enough with my deficit to retain the muscle I have while burning off the fat. I've just gotta stick with it and give it time to work, I suppose.0 -
kozykondition1 wrote: »I'll make it simple (and mostly-accurate):
"Lifting Heavy" is being unable to do the same motion with a weight more than 20 times in a row.
Not at all, that's along the lines of stability or endurance training.JoRocka wrote: »
Think of heavy as a rep range rather than a set number. Because to every person "heavy" is relative
0 reps = TO heavy
1 rep = one rep max- this is VERY heavy- borederline impossibly heavy
2-5 reps= heavy
5-10 moderately heavy
10-15 = not really heavy
15-20 = not heavy at all.
Jo's is really the best representation so far. To take it a step further it's like
(NASM guidelines)
85% - 100% is maximal strength training (heavy)
55% - 85% is considered sub-maximal and can be further broken down into...
- 75% - 85% could be considered a hypertrophy range
- 70% - 80% could be strength endurance
- 50% - 70% could be more stability type work
Of course intensity is only one of the variables needed when it comes to training. One has to be aware of their total volume and frequency as well.
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Think of heavy as a rep range rather than a set number. Because to every person "heavy" is relative
0 reps = TO heavy
1 rep = one rep max- this is VERY heavy- borederline impossibly heavy
2-5 reps= heavy
5-10 moderately heavy
10-15 = not really heavy
15-20 = not heavy at all.
Thank you; this is the explanation I've been looking for.0
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