New Study: Light Weights Just As Effective?

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swood0114
swood0114 Posts: 43
in Fitness and Exercise
DISCLAIMER:

I have no opinion on this article. I repeat, I do not have on opinion on this article. Personally, I have started lifting heavy and it has been effective for me so far... and I will probably consider to do so. However, I thought it was an interesting article and I know it will probably start a discussion.

And go:

http://sweatscience.runnersworld.com/2012/04/light-weights-build-muscle-as-effectively-as-heavy-weights/

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  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
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    That only states that lighter weights to near failure or heavy weights to near failure has no difference in protein synthesis, not actual muscle building or strength increases. Also, the article is published in Runners World, which focuses more on the endurance athlete, not the strength athlete. It says they're still analyzing the data to see if there is a difference in muscle building.

    But then again, you show me one fitness study, I'll show you 3 that contradict it.
  • swood0114
    swood0114 Posts: 43
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    That only states that lighter weights to near failure or heavy weights to near failure has no difference in protein synthesis, not actual muscle building or strength increases. Also, the article is published in Runners World, which focuses more on the endurance athlete, not the strength athlete. It says they're still analyzing the data to see if there is a difference in muscle building.

    But then again, you show me one fitness study, I'll show you 3 that contradict it.

    Definitely true with fitness studies. They all seem to be in contradiction! I just thought it was interesting.
  • Strobins05
    Strobins05 Posts: 716
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    So funny because yesterday at my gym, our owner and trainer asked how many pounds I was doing my fly's with. When I told her 15# she suggested I go back down to 8#. NOT. Great post
  • gerard54
    gerard54 Posts: 1,107 Member
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    I love doing light weight and high reps. Ive named my workout 100s every excersise 100 times =]
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
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    So funny because yesterday at my gym, our owner and trainer asked how many pounds I was doing my fly's with. When I told her 15# she suggested I go back down to 8#. NOT. Great post

    I've noticed that with personal trainers, they encourage their clients to go lighter with little rest in between sets, which makes it cardio. On top of that, most will recommend another 20+ minutes of additional cardio (treadmill, elliptical, stair master, etc.) Since, most of their clientele are probably new to fitness, they will still make strength and muscular gains. But since they're essentially doing 2 cardio sessions, they'll lose weight quicker, which makes it seem like their $50 an hour personal training session is working, which means they're more likely to keep paying them.

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