How heavy is heavy?
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THeADHDTurnip wrote: »You could always find out what your 1 rep max is then work on 85%+ of your 1RM, then it's heavy for you.
https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/other7.htm
Problem is a 1RM max for a novice lifter is pointless and technically non-existent because a new lifter will get stronger every session. So if a novice "tests" a 1RM on Monday, by Wednesday that same lifter can lift more. That's not even factoring in that a novice has form issues ussually and just by minor tweaks they can lift more.
This is why it's recommended that a novice add weight every session, because they will and can adapt to a weight optimally opposed to a percentage of a 1RM that is vague.
A 1RM cannot be utilized in any capacity for a novice.
OP, heavy is relative to the individual. The point of lifting is to cause enough stress to the muscle so with proper recovery they will adapt and you can add more weight and so forth.
One can achieve that stress in countless rep ranges and weight combinations. Though it might seem random, it is best to follow a program such a Starting Strength that is proven and optimal.3 -
I go to the gym and work out with dumbbells and the bar. How heavy is heavy? You hear about women lifting heavy to burn fat, tone up and generally improve strength and fitness. For example at the moment I'm doing 15kg (33lb) on chest press without struggling and also 80kg (176lb) on squats. Obviously with eating plenty of protein. Limiting carbs and fat. Is this about right? Age 25 and 5ft 9 (179cm) views on how it will change my physique?
Heavy typically describes the rep range you are working in more so than the actual weight...the weight that is heavy for one may or may not be heavy for another. "Heavy" is typically in the 1-5 or 6 rep range lifting at a high % of your 1 RM where your last rep in the set is going to be pretty close to fail, but not to failure.1 -
I just wonder when do you start getting bulky? Obviously the heavier you lift the bigger the muscle?
You start getting bulky after very long, hard months/years of eating in a caloric surplus and training hard and consistently on a program which is specifically designed and intended to produce hypertrophy (muscular growth). And in some cases, taking anabolic steroids.
It doesn't happen quickly and it doesn't happen accidentally. For most women (and even most men), there's basically zero chance of getting bulky if you didn't specifically intend (and train/diet) to do so. There is an absolute zero chance that you're suddenly going to wake up one morning and discover that you've become huge and bulky overnight.3 -
It isn’t making your arms look bulky haha. If you’ve found the secret to accidentally building bulky arms you’d be richer than you can imagine. Chances are they’re inflamed from working out/water retention. It’ll subside in time.
If you want to lose weight. Eat in a deficit.
Heavy is relative. What’s unbearably heavy for one person will be light for another.4 -
Mr_Healthy_Habits wrote: »If you can get more than 8 reps, it's too light, less than 4 and it's too heavy...
That being said, there are advantages to training above and below these thresholds
Not true at all.
I have triples days. Singles. 5x5s. 4x12s 2x15. All different schemes all for a different purpose.
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I just wonder when do you start getting bulky? Obviously the heavier you lift the bigger the muscle?
A lot of strength gains come from neural adaption and recruitment of existing muscle...at some point you will hit a wall and need to further grow the muscle to continue making strength gains, but that's pretty far down the line. You can also have good muscle growth without actually getting "big" or "bulky"...my wife lifts and has done so for years now...she looks well defined when she's leaned out and athletic and sexy...not bulky.
Getting "bulky" is a purposeful act...it doesn't happen by accident. It requires a high volume hypertrophy routine and lots of food to put you in a calorie surplus and the right genetics...most women don't have enough testosterone to truly get bulky without the aid of steroids.1 -
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I wouldn't go so far as to say you look *nothing* like the women on the right, lol. You've made great progress and are living proof of the great results you can get from strength training without magically turning into a "she hulk" from it.5 -
Liftin heavy for me is almost not liftin it.0
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I wouldn't go so far as to say you look *nothing* like the women on the right, lol. You've made great progress and are living proof of the great results you can get from strength training without magically turning into a "she hulk" from it.
Thank you. I am having one of those days where I still feel like I look small and disproportionate, especially in the upper body.. gonna have to reel it in for the remainder of this cycle.0 -
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@sardelsa you're a huge inspiration - and your upper body is amazing. I'd kill for your shoulders! If only building muscle was as easy as people thought and you could do it by accident......
Thank you so much @jayemes I appreciate that! It's just frustrating when you have been lifting for years and certain areas don't show as much progress (partially my own fault).1 -
@sardelsa you're a huge inspiration - and your upper body is amazing. I'd kill for your shoulders! If only building muscle was as easy as people thought and you could do it by accident......
Thank you so much @jayemes I appreciate that! It's just frustrating when you have been lifting for years and certain areas don't show as much progress (partially my own fault).
As the saying goes, “The day you started lifting was the day you became forever small”.
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RPE 101
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i'm not as expert as others in the how-it-all-works thing, but i did notice something that seemed anomalous. did you really mean 33 pounds for bench press or was that a typo?
because that seems a little odd. this isn't a judgement, because it's more about relative strength across your own range. you're benching so much lower than your squat, and yet it's the muscles most affected by benching that you feel are bulky.
idk your body weight so there's no way to compare it as percentages. for example though: say you weigh 140 pounds yourself. in percentage terms, you'd be benching less than 25% of your body weight, yet you'd be squatting 125%.
everyone does have a range across the different lifts, and lower percentages are common for women between upper and lower-body work. even so, i do think that's wide. i just skimmed that for-example weight of 140 in strength-standards charts, and it puts your bench well below novice level while you're squatting about halfway between intermediate and advanced.
this is assuming you are squatting at least to parallel, which is a lot harder than just going part of the way and coming back - but since you're working with a trainer that seems like a fair assumption to make. [here's a link to the table i used]
there's sure to be a reason for it, i'm just curious because there wasn't enough info in your posts for me to guess at what it is. are you deliberately limiting your bench press?
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canadianlbs wrote: »i'm not as expert as others in the how-it-all-works thing, but i did notice something that seemed anomalous. did you really mean 33 pounds for bench press or was that a typo?
because that seems a little odd. this isn't a judgement, because it's more about relative strength across your own range. you're benching so much lower than your squat, and yet it's the muscles most affected by benching that you feel are bulky.
idk your body weight so there's no way to compare it as percentages. for example though: say you weigh 140 pounds yourself. in percentage terms, you'd be benching less than 25% of your body weight, yet you'd be squatting 125%.
everyone does have a range across the different lifts, and lower percentages are common for women between upper and lower-body work. even so, i do think that's wide. i just skimmed that for-example weight of 140 in strength-standards charts, and it puts your bench well below novice level while you're squatting about halfway between intermediate and advanced.
this is assuming you are squatting at least to parallel, which is a lot harder than just going part of the way and coming back - but since you're working with a trainer that seems like a fair assumption to make. [here's a link to the table i used]
there's sure to be a reason for it, i'm just curious because there wasn't enough info in your posts for me to guess at what it is. are you deliberately limiting your bench press?
A lot of women have big upper/lower body discrepancies. I can hip thrust 75kg but can only bench 25kg.2 -
A lot of women have big upper/lower body discrepancies. I can hip thrust 75kg but can only bench 25kg.
15 and 80 though . . . ?
i've always assumed that the 'strength standard' sets already took that into account. but admittedly i wouldn't know, because my own squat is so borked i usually bench at or above what i can squat. that's partly why i do refer to standards sometimes, to see whether i'm lagging anywhere.
i was curious here because the op asked about correlation between 'heavy' and 'bulk', yet the area she feels she's bulking up is not the one where she seems to be going heavy. that made me wonder if she was intentionally limiting herself on bench to avoid the bulk that concerns her.
however, it's true i don't know how heavy actually is heavy to her, for bench press.1
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