Lifting heavy not better

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  • Nataliaho
    Nataliaho Posts: 878 Member
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    The problem here for me is how they define strength-gains. For me strength gains are measured in one way, can I lift heavier *kitten* than I could previously lift. So unless they are really saying that I will get my 330lb deadlift by doing 30reps at 100lb, I'll stick to what I am doing.
  • harlanJEN
    harlanJEN Posts: 1,089 Member
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    LOL 30 reps?? How long do you plan to spend in the gym, lady?

    No kidding. That's one of my favorite parts about lifting. Not spending a huge amount of time (that I don't have) getting the "same" results!

    Seriously!!

    Not to mention you're using totally different energy systems and muscle fiber types in 5-rep sets versus 30-rep sets. Misrepresentation of a SINGLE study's results makes me...RRRAAAAAGGGGGEEEE

    ^^^^^^^ sooooooo. THIS!!!!!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Repost as posted in wrong forum initially.

    This doesn't surprise me, but it's still nice to know research agrees when faced with the constant barrage of "you must lift heavy" and "light weights do nothing" posts on these forums.

    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_125127.html

    With Weights, You Can Lighten Your Load

    Just do more repetitions, researchers say

    By Robert Preidt

    SUNDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- Doing more repetitions with less weight builds muscle and increases strength just as effectively as training with heavy weights, a new Canadian study indicates.

    The critical factor in muscle gain is pushing yourself to the point of fatigue, according to the researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

    They examined how different combinations of weight loads and repetitions affected the leg muscles of young men. The participants trained three times a week for 10 weeks doing one of three resistance training regimens: one set at 80 percent of maximum load; three sets at 80 percent of maximum load; or three sets at 30 percent of maximum load.

    A set consisted of doing as many repetitions as possible with the assigned loads -- typically eight to 12 times a set at the heaviest weights and 25 to 30 times a set at the lowest weights.

    "We found that loads that were quite heavy and comparatively light were equally effective at inducing muscle growth and promoting strength," Cam Mitchell, a lead study author and a Ph.D. candidate in McMaster's kinesiology department, said in a university news release.

    The findings, recently published online in the Journal of Applied Physiology, challenge the widely held belief that using heavy weights is the best way to promote muscle growth and boost strength.

    "Many older adults can have joint problems which would prevent them training with heavy loads," Mitchell noted. "This study shows that they have the option of training with lighter and less-intimidating loads and can still receive the benefits."

    LOL 30 reps?? How long do you plan to spend in the gym, lady?

    I've never belonged to a gym. When I do weights, I do them at home. 30 reps doesn't take that long.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    I like body weight exercises.
    It's simple really.
    And my exercises just work around my schedule and I have a mini trampoline I use while I work, and I do calisthenics all day between phone calls. Again, simple and easy.
    The key is finding ways to sneak in a workout while on the job.
    When I was an employee in an office, it was challenging, but I never missed.
    I do pull-ups in the warehouse, sit-ups in the bathroom, leg bends in the conference room...ect...
    Be creative! And have fun. Life is to be lived!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I like body weight exercises.
    It's simple really.
    And my exercises just work around my schedule and I have a mini trampoline I use while I work, and I do calisthenics all day between phone calls. Again, simple and easy.
    The key is finding ways to sneak in a workout while on the job.
    When I was an employee in an office, it was challenging, but I never missed.
    I do pull-ups in the warehouse, sit-ups in the bathroom, leg bends in the conference room...ect...
    Be creative! And have fun. Life is to be lived!

    Situps in the bathroom?? I certainly hope it is a private bathroom with a really good cleaning staff.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    I like body weight exercises.
    It's simple really.
    And my exercises just work around my schedule and I have a mini trampoline I use while I work, and I do calisthenics all day between phone calls. Again, simple and easy.
    The key is finding ways to sneak in a workout while on the job.
    When I was an employee in an office, it was challenging, but I never missed.
    I do pull-ups in the warehouse, sit-ups in the bathroom, leg bends in the conference room...ect...
    Be creative! And have fun. Life is to be lived!

    Situps in the bathroom?? I certainly hope it is a private bathroom with a really good cleaning staff.
    Hey, I will never let ANYTHING get in my way.
    There are always excuses and always possibilities.
    Make the choice.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    I don't know, actual results that I've had and I've seen from others does not prove-out the results of this research at all. If you're talking strictly beginners then perhaps there's some truth to it. I just look at my gym time as an investment and getting the most gains possible out of my time in the gym. Why limit my strength gains to higher reps?

    On one hand you see studies like this and then you read other books and references to other studies and neither study supports the other. It's funny how research works.
  • zCarsAndCaloriesz
    zCarsAndCaloriesz Posts: 348
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    I lift what I can because I would rather do that and avoid injury. I'll increase it accordingly when I feel that I can handle more weight. I do what is best for me lol. Not what other people think is best for me :p
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    I lift what I can because I would rather do that and avoid injury. I'll increase it accordingly when I feel that I can handle more weight. I do what is best for me lol. Not what other people think is best for me :p

    ^^^^This!! Well said!!
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    I lift what I can because I would rather do that and avoid injury. I'll increase it accordingly when I feel that I can handle more weight. I do what is best for me lol. Not what other people think is best for me :p

    Do you think lifting lighter for more reps makes it less injury prone? I've seen just as many soft tissue injuries from lighter-weight & higher rep methods as I have from maximal strength lifting. When it comes to weight lifting **** happens sometimes and there's no rhyme or reason to it.
  • almc170
    almc170 Posts: 1,093 Member
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    I always thought that, besides heavy weights increase risk of injury.
    Bad form increases the risk of injury, not necessarily amount of weight. If your form sucks you can injure yourself with light weights, especially if you're fatigued from doing a large number of reps.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    I do sit-ups in the bathroom
    Be creative! And have fun. Life is to be lived!

    That's just gross......
  • wolfi622
    wolfi622 Posts: 206
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    The problem here for me is how they define strength-gains. For me strength gains are measured in one way, can I lift heavier *kitten* than I could previously lift. So unless they are really saying that I will get my 330lb deadlift by doing 30reps at 100lb, I'll stick to what I am doing.

    But there is no intrinsic value in dead lifting 330 pounds that is greater than dead lifting 100 pounds or 200 pounds. The only strength gains that are really of value are those that increase my longevity and my health as I age. Anything else is just fleeting.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    The problem here for me is how they define strength-gains. For me strength gains are measured in one way, can I lift heavier *kitten* than I could previously lift. So unless they are really saying that I will get my 330lb deadlift by doing 30reps at 100lb, I'll stick to what I am doing.

    But there is no intrinsic value in dead lifting 330 pounds that is greater than dead lifting 100 pounds or 200 pounds. The only strength gains that are really of value are those that increase my longevity and my health as I age. Anything else is just fleeting.


    When I need to lift up and move heavy stuff, it doesn't matter if I can lift 10 lbs 5000 times if I can't move 200+ lbs. Functional strength is more important to me. Either/or has no superior effect on my longevity or health.
  • Bobby_Clerici
    Bobby_Clerici Posts: 1,828 Member
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    I do sit-ups in the bathroom
    Be creative! And have fun. Life is to be lived!

    That's just gross......
    It's like finding $50 under a pile of dog poop.
    Sometimes in life one must go through the bad to get to the good.
    NO EXCUSES!
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    For me, at 54 years old, strength training is important but so is safety. There's a lot of miles on this body and some 30 + years of working out. Up until about 50 I felt invincible lol. These last few years I really feel that there are some things I just can't do anymore without the risk of injury. I still strength train and lift weights (yes...more then 2 pound pink weights). But I'm going to listen to my own body!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I always thought that, besides heavy weights increase risk of injury.
    Bad form increases the risk of injury, not necessarily amount of weight. If your form sucks you can injure yourself with light weights, especially if you're fatigued from doing a large number of reps.

    With the wrong form, you can injure yourself with NO weights.

    I've never injured myself lifting. I have thrown out my back cleaning up cat puke. :blushing:
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
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    I eat little pink weights for breakfast:


    DSC03743.jpg
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    The problem here for me is how they define strength-gains. For me strength gains are measured in one way, can I lift heavier *kitten* than I could previously lift. So unless they are really saying that I will get my 330lb deadlift by doing 30reps at 100lb, I'll stick to what I am doing.

    But there is no intrinsic value in dead lifting 330 pounds that is greater than dead lifting 100 pounds or 200 pounds. The only strength gains that are really of value are those that increase my longevity and my health as I age. Anything else is just fleeting.

    ^^^^Yes! This! I'm at the age where I don't have to prove anything to anyone. It's about MY health and well-being!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    The problem here for me is how they define strength-gains. For me strength gains are measured in one way, can I lift heavier *kitten* than I could previously lift. So unless they are really saying that I will get my 330lb deadlift by doing 30reps at 100lb, I'll stick to what I am doing.

    But there is no intrinsic value in dead lifting 330 pounds that is greater than dead lifting 100 pounds or 200 pounds. The only strength gains that are really of value are those that increase my longevity and my health as I age. Anything else is just fleeting.


    When I need to lift up and move heavy stuff, it doesn't matter if I can lift 10 lbs 5000 times if I can't move 200+ lbs. Functional strength is more important to me. Either/or has no superior effect on my longevity or health.
    This. Being able to lift 50 pounds 30 times won't help me if I need to lift something 300 pounds.

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