Heavy lifting

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Replies

  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    What do you consider heavy enough to fall into the lift very heavy for small reps category? I was reading a blog post about someone that started doing heavy lifting for low reps to gain muscle(a female) rather than lifting smaller weights for longer reps. Does this really work better? And at what weight do you consider it heavy enough to do heavy weight/low reps? Hope that made sense.

    Well anyway, to respond to OP's question:
    Seeing how as you want to gain muscle you want to aim for hypertrophy (muscle growth) rep ranges, this rep range is 5-15 for most people. "Heavy" lifting in this context would be aiming for 70 to 85% of your 1 RM for 5-12 reps (ideal for myofibrillar hypertrophy or actual muscle fiber growth) with 1-2 minute rest (rest times are arguable; some go for less, some go for more).

    Training purely for strength (85%+ of 1RM, 1-5 reps) is more neurological in nature, meaning you are training the speed of which your brain sends signals to your muscles. The goal when working with these rep ranges isn't size but increased strength will prove to be beneficial to future hypertrophy training.

    Hope I didn't miss anything here.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    I don't think either of you ladies are wrong. Longer rests are important for gaining strength. Shorter rests apparently (just look at Kayda's biceps) work for body building.

    Lifting for strength and bodybuilding goals are both what most people consider "heavy lifting".

    exactly.

    i personally am not working out for body building or hypertrophy. my lifting routine is primarily to retain the lean body mass while i lose 60-70 pounds. so yeah, my goals and routine is going to be different than someone else who's working out for definition. i have way too much body fat at the moment to worry about getting defined :laugh:
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I don't think either of you ladies are wrong. Longer rests are important for gaining strength. Shorter rests apparently (just look at Kayda's biceps) work for body building.

    Lifting for strength and bodybuilding goals are both what most people consider "heavy lifting".

    exactly.

    i personally am not working out for body building or hypertrophy. my lifting routine is primarily to retain the lean body mass while i lose 60-70 pounds. so yeah, my goals and routine is going to be different than someone else who's working out for definition. i have way too much body fat at the moment to worry about getting defined :laugh:

    I think, Lyle McDonald says that the strength building type lifting is what is best for muscle retention.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    I highly recommend the book "Body by Science". The weight lifting protocols are very low risk with respect to potential injuries, very efficient with respect to the amount of time you have to invest, and very effective in terms of strength development. The downside is that you cannot do this with free weights without a spotter. The good news is that you can do this properly by yourself using weight machines.
  • Hadabetter
    Hadabetter Posts: 942 Member
    Bingo!
    85%+ of your one rep max. It isn't THE best way to build muscle size, but it is the best way to build strength and some size if you are eating enough.

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