Why is common advice to lift heavy?

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VelveteenArabian
VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just curious... I see a lot of advice responses where the person suggests lifting but to lift heavy. Why lifting heavy instead of lighter weights + more reps?
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  • jmzz1
    jmzz1 Posts: 670 Member
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    Bump
  • Brad805
    Brad805 Posts: 289 Member
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    I suggest you read this. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

    It explains the pro's and cons of metabolic training vs. heavier sets.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
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    Because it's awesome.. and makes you look awesome. :bigsmile:
  • KCoolBeanz
    KCoolBeanz Posts: 813 Member
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    Because it's awesome.. and makes you look awesome. :bigsmile:

    This!!
  • Mia_RagazzaTosta
    Mia_RagazzaTosta Posts: 4,885 Member
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    Because it's awesome.. and makes you look awesome. :bigsmile:

    This!!

    +1
  • catfive1
    catfive1 Posts: 529 Member
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    Because it's awesome.. and makes you look awesome. :bigsmile:

    This!!

    ^Definitely this :wink:
  • Taterpoof
    Taterpoof Posts: 416 Member
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    Fit and strong vs. Skinny fat

    Lifting is essential if you are looking to have that fit and healthy look. Just eating right and doing some cardio will not get you there.
  • max30son
    max30son Posts: 2 Member
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    I'm 50 years old and have lifted for many years. I have very good muscle definition and have never lifted heavy weights. I go with the lighter weights and more reps to get the toned body I want, while still being strong. There are benefits to lighting heavy weights such as increasing muscle mass and strength and helping with increasing your metabolism. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. A certified personal trainer may be able to give you some additional advice. Good luck.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
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    Because it's awesome.. and makes you look awesome. :bigsmile:

    Yup!
  • She_Hulk
    She_Hulk Posts: 277
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    Fit and strong vs. Skinny fat

    Lifting is essential if you are looking to have that fit and healthy look. Just eating right and doing some cardio will not get you there.

    I agree. You can look good in clothes with just eating right and some cardio. But if you want to look good naked, you have to lift heavy.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    Nobody has actually answered the question yet...

    The only way to build muscle is to lift heavy enough weight to stimulate growth. Lifting heavy weight does just that, while also increasing your strength (the two are technically seperate)... which allows you to continue to stimulate growth.

    Just "tiring" the muscle with light weight doesn't really do anything if at all (men's and women's muscles work exactly the same, though womne's muscles grow more slowly). Really, you shouldn't be lifting weight that is light enough for you to do more than 10-12 reps at a time (more geared towards muscle growth). To effectively focus on strength though, you also need to work in the 3-5 rep range.
  • Taterpoof
    Taterpoof Posts: 416 Member
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    I'm 50 years old and have lifted for many years. I have very good muscle definition and have never lifted heavy weights. I go with the lighter weights and more reps to get the toned body I want, while still being strong. There are benefits to lighting heavy weights such as increasing muscle mass and strength and helping with increasing your metabolism. I guess it depends on what you are looking for. A certified personal trainer may be able to give you some additional advice. Good luck.

    Lifting in general is very good for you. It is recommended that when starting off, you begin with lighter weights and more reps. This is basically the "stabilization phase". It is a good way to learn proper technique and gain muscle endurance without hurting yourself lifting too heavy at the beginning. Lifting heavy is optional for sure if you want to gain muscle mass and strength. Both ways are good depending on your goals. =)

    I'm studying for my personal training certification and just started the client program chapter so that was basically from my text book, but I found it to be good advice.
  • morkiemama
    morkiemama Posts: 897 Member
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    Nobody has actually answered the question yet...

    The only way to build muscle is to lift heavy enough weight to stimulate growth. Lifting heavy weight does just that, while also increasing your strength (the two are technically seperate)... which allows you to continue to stimulate growth.

    Just "tiring" the muscle with light weight doesn't really do anything if at all (men's and women's muscles work exactly the same, though womne's muscles grow more slowly). Really, you shouldn't be lifting weight that is light enough for you to do more than 10-12 reps at a time (more geared towards muscle growth). To effectively focus on strength though, you also need to work in the 3-5 rep range.

    Progressive loading has also been proven to help bone density. A BIG thing for women in helping to avoid osteoporosis, etc. with aging.
  • rileyhunter169
    rileyhunter169 Posts: 150
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    Agreed, although; I'd like to point out that you can gain strength with "hypertrophy" rep ranges; and you can gain mass well with "strength" rep ranges. Really it's a lot about RPE, overall time under tension (which can be done doing more sets with less weight), progressive overload, good form and last but not least eating right. Intensity (% of 1RM), rep ranges are only a small factor in hypertrophy; although go too high in the rep ranges and your probably going to have break down in form and your not going to be stimulating type 2 fibers; at that point it becomes a factor. If you wanna do cardio; do that in a separate session strength training is for strength; not cardio or burning calories, you'll basically be wasting time in the gym when you could be getting outside time with stairs and intervals, and stuff. Be warned though, too much GPP increases recovery time in the short term.
  • Taterpoof
    Taterpoof Posts: 416 Member
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    Agreed, although; I'd like to point out that you can gain strength with "hypertrophy" rep ranges; and you can gain mass well with "strength" rep ranges. Really it's a lot about RPE, overall time under tension (which can be done doing more sets with less weight), progressive overload, good form and last but not least eating right. Intensity (% of 1RM), rep ranges are only a small factor in hypertrophy; although go too high in the rep ranges and your probably going to have break down in form and your not going to be stimulating type 2 fibers; at that point it becomes a factor. If you wanna do cardio; do that in a separate session strength training is for strength; not cardio or burning calories, you'll basically be wasting time in the gym when you could be getting outside time with stairs and intervals, and stuff. Be warned though, too much GPP increases recovery time in the short term.

    Yours sounds more sciency than mine.... +1
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,209 Member
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    Just curious... I see a lot of advice responses where the person suggests lifting but to lift heavy. Why lifting heavy instead of lighter weights + more reps?

    Maybe because the person giving the advice lifts heavy, and wrongly assumes it's suitable for everyone. Telling a newbie to lift heavy is like telling someone who just learned to drive to buy a racing motorcycle. It's asking for trouble. Newbies benefit from higher reps with lighter weight because 1) it's safer, since their form probably won't be perfect, and 2) higher reps improve motor learning.. in other words, mastery of a movement comes from practicing it a lot. Once they are certain their form is good, then they can lift heavier.

    The best advice for a newbie would be to follow a good lifting program (NROL, etc), because a good program explains the proper progression from light to heavy, as well as proper form, proper exercise sequencing, and other details that newbies miss when trying to create their own routines.
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
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    Thanks for the responses :) very informative!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    I suggest you read this. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/weight-training-for-fat-loss-part-1.html

    It explains the pro's and cons of metabolic training vs. heavier sets.

    Hey, now. I was going to post that link.
  • Saucy_lil_Minx
    Saucy_lil_Minx Posts: 3,302 Member
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    Nobody has actually answered the question yet...

    The only way to build muscle is to lift heavy enough weight to stimulate growth. Lifting heavy weight does just that, while also increasing your strength (the two are technically seperate)... which allows you to continue to stimulate growth.

    Just "tiring" the muscle with light weight doesn't really do anything if at all (men's and women's muscles work exactly the same, though womne's muscles grow more slowly). Really, you shouldn't be lifting weight that is light enough for you to do more than 10-12 reps at a time (more geared towards muscle growth). To effectively focus on strength though, you also need to work in the 3-5 rep range.


    This answer is the best
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Because it's awesome.. and makes you look awesome. :bigsmile:

    This!

    My *kitten* has never look this good :love:

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