Lift HEAVY
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songbyrdsweet
Posts: 5,691 Member
Okay, I know that we've all been told to do high reps, low weight to 'tone'.
Aside from the fact that 'tone' and 'muscle definition' aren't the same thing, and that high reps build up lactic acid and cause GH to promote muscle growth, and that weight that is too light won't do *anything*, that statement is true.
So in other words...it's total bunk.
Tone refers to the quality of muscle contraction, or how many muscle fibers will contract when nerves send the signal to do so. We don't ever recruit all of our muscle fibers, but if we train them correctly, we can recruit a LOT, resulting in an increase in strength and muscles that feel 'hard'.
High reps are NOT what we use for this. High reps create the need for energy in an anaerobic environment, which causes lactic acid to build (the burn). This promotes GH release to make the muscle cells grow in order to fit more energy-producing organelles in the cell. This, our muscles get bigger.
When we want to increase strength without size, we have to teach our existing muscle fibers to react more readily to our nerve signals. We do this by lifting really heavy in order to uninhibit the neurons that innervate our muscles...basically, we make it easier for them to fire and make the muscle cells contract. This takes such a short time that it uses very little energy because we do LOW reps. This does not promote GH release or growth because that's extra work the body doesn't need to do. (Ironically, heavy lifting is what produces 'tone' because it improves muscle contraction. Go figure.)
When you look at an athlete and see 'bulk' (this goes for football players, powerlifters, shot-putters and similar athletes that sometimes aren't lean) it's because they have TOO MUCH BODY FAT. It is not related to their muscle size. If someone looks sloppy, it's because they ARE sloppy. I know some incredible powerlifters who don't care about being lean, think Pop-Tarts are a great energy source, and reflect that in their physiques.
My point is....too many people (notably women) think that they have to do dozens of reps to get smaller, 'toned', 'long and 'lean'....all terms that mean 'lose body fat and have some muscle definition.' Well, NO weight lifting will make you smaller; only fat loss does that. But when you stimulate the correct systems and promote the correct adaptations, you can increase your strength and feel harder, and when you lose the body fat, you will see the muscle definition.
And to back me up: Barbie Barbell, the 120 lb powerlifter. :bigsmile:
http://www.barbiebarbell.com/main/index.html
*Disclaimer: Certain individuals with medical conditions obviously won't be powerlifting, and I'm not promoting activities outside of what is safe for a person based on their fitness level/age/etc. But most people are capable of lifting something too heavy to perform more than 6 repetitions with, and almost everyone can handle reps of 8RM.
Aside from the fact that 'tone' and 'muscle definition' aren't the same thing, and that high reps build up lactic acid and cause GH to promote muscle growth, and that weight that is too light won't do *anything*, that statement is true.
So in other words...it's total bunk.
Tone refers to the quality of muscle contraction, or how many muscle fibers will contract when nerves send the signal to do so. We don't ever recruit all of our muscle fibers, but if we train them correctly, we can recruit a LOT, resulting in an increase in strength and muscles that feel 'hard'.
High reps are NOT what we use for this. High reps create the need for energy in an anaerobic environment, which causes lactic acid to build (the burn). This promotes GH release to make the muscle cells grow in order to fit more energy-producing organelles in the cell. This, our muscles get bigger.
When we want to increase strength without size, we have to teach our existing muscle fibers to react more readily to our nerve signals. We do this by lifting really heavy in order to uninhibit the neurons that innervate our muscles...basically, we make it easier for them to fire and make the muscle cells contract. This takes such a short time that it uses very little energy because we do LOW reps. This does not promote GH release or growth because that's extra work the body doesn't need to do. (Ironically, heavy lifting is what produces 'tone' because it improves muscle contraction. Go figure.)
When you look at an athlete and see 'bulk' (this goes for football players, powerlifters, shot-putters and similar athletes that sometimes aren't lean) it's because they have TOO MUCH BODY FAT. It is not related to their muscle size. If someone looks sloppy, it's because they ARE sloppy. I know some incredible powerlifters who don't care about being lean, think Pop-Tarts are a great energy source, and reflect that in their physiques.
My point is....too many people (notably women) think that they have to do dozens of reps to get smaller, 'toned', 'long and 'lean'....all terms that mean 'lose body fat and have some muscle definition.' Well, NO weight lifting will make you smaller; only fat loss does that. But when you stimulate the correct systems and promote the correct adaptations, you can increase your strength and feel harder, and when you lose the body fat, you will see the muscle definition.
And to back me up: Barbie Barbell, the 120 lb powerlifter. :bigsmile:
http://www.barbiebarbell.com/main/index.html
*Disclaimer: Certain individuals with medical conditions obviously won't be powerlifting, and I'm not promoting activities outside of what is safe for a person based on their fitness level/age/etc. But most people are capable of lifting something too heavy to perform more than 6 repetitions with, and almost everyone can handle reps of 8RM.
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Replies
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Okay, I know that we've all been told to do high reps, low weight to 'tone'.
Aside from the fact that 'tone' and 'muscle definition' aren't the same thing, and that high reps build up lactic acid and cause GH to promote muscle growth, and that weight that is too light won't do *anything*, that statement is true.
So in other words...it's total bunk.
Tone refers to the quality of muscle contraction, or how many muscle fibers will contract when nerves send the signal to do so. We don't ever recruit all of our muscle fibers, but if we train them correctly, we can recruit a LOT, resulting in an increase in strength and muscles that feel 'hard'.
High reps are NOT what we use for this. High reps create the need for energy in an anaerobic environment, which causes lactic acid to build (the burn). This promotes GH release to make the muscle cells grow in order to fit more energy-producing organelles in the cell. This, our muscles get bigger.
When we want to increase strength without size, we have to teach our existing muscle fibers to react more readily to our nerve signals. We do this by lifting really heavy in order to uninhibit the neurons that innervate our muscles...basically, we make it easier for them to fire and make the muscle cells contract. This takes such a short time that it uses very little energy because we do LOW reps. This does not promote GH release or growth because that's extra work the body doesn't need to do. (Ironically, heavy lifting is what produces 'tone' because it improves muscle contraction. Go figure.)
When you look at an athlete and see 'bulk' (this goes for football players, powerlifters, shot-putters and similar athletes that sometimes aren't lean) it's because they have TOO MUCH BODY FAT. It is not related to their muscle size. If someone looks sloppy, it's because they ARE sloppy. I know some incredible powerlifters who don't care about being lean, think Pop-Tarts are a great energy source, and reflect that in their physiques.
My point is....too many people (notably women) think that they have to do dozens of reps to get smaller, 'toned', 'long and 'lean'....all terms that mean 'lose body fat and have some muscle definition.' Well, NO weight lifting will make you smaller; only fat loss does that. But when you stimulate the correct systems and promote the correct adaptations, you can increase your strength and feel harder, and when you lose the body fat, you will see the muscle definition.
And to back me up: Barbie Barbell, the 120 lb powerlifter. :bigsmile:
http://www.barbiebarbell.com/main/index.html
*Disclaimer: Certain individuals with medical conditions obviously won't be powerlifting, and I'm not promoting activities outside of what is safe for a person based on their fitness level/age/etc. But most people are capable of lifting something too heavy to perform more than 6 repetitions with, and almost everyone can handle reps of 8RM.0 -
i have actually read in WOMENS HEALTH* that it is better to do low weight more reps for arms, but more for legs.....0
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i have actually read in WOMENS HEALTH* that it is better to do low weight more reps for arms, but more for legs.....
Well, that depends on your goals. I do perform higher reps for my arms than for my legs because I want bigger biceps and deltoids. I have ready plenty of silly crud in fitness mags though. They are not muscle physiology texts, though; they will promote whatever is the fad at the time so more people will purchase their material.0 -
In actuality, since the majority of us on this site are looking to lose weight and improve health, the best practice is a combination of heavy weight/low rep, moderate weight/medium rep and low weight/high rep. This way you are working all three types of muscle fibers to best improve your body image.
See article below for explanations:
The amount of repetitions you do per set can make a big difference on how much muscle you gain...
There are so many opinions out there...some say high reps, while others say low reps. Some believe in feeling the "muscle pump", while others claim that the "pump" doesn't help at all.
Just incase you don't know what a repetition is, its simply completing a lifting motion followed by a lowering motion, one time. So if you do 1 pushup, you've completed 1 repetition. Or, if you lift a pair of dumbbells over your head and then lower it, you've competed 1 repetition. A set refers to the amount of consecutive repetitions you perform for a given exercise.
The best way to discover the perfect repetition range for building muscle is to look at the science on how each repetition range affects the muscle, and more importantly, how it affects the processes that induce muscular hypertrophy (growth).
Don't let all these complicated terms confuse you...its really quite simple. In general, there are 3 basic repetition ranges:
1) 4-6 repetitions of heavy weight
2) 8-12 repetitions of medium weight
3) 15+ repetitions of light weight
The 4-6 heavy weight repetition range works different muscle fibers than the 15+ light weight repetiton range. Heavy weight (4-6 reps) typically works the fast-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for strong, explosive movements. It is understood that these muscle fibers have a very dynamic growth potential...
On the other hand, light weight (15+ reps) works the slow-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for slow, continuous movements that require endurance. These muscle fibers are generally the most resistant to growth.
Medium weight (8-12 reps) seems to offer a balance between stimulating slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers, and thats why a lot of exercise scientists recommend this particular rep range as the most effective rep range for building muscle...
However, there are other exercise scientists that recommend variable repetition ranges, which means doing cycles of low, mid, and high reps to maximize muscle gains. This is definitely the strongest opinion due to the following reasons:
1) When you switch between low, mid & high reps, it allows you to better target the different muscle fibers, resulting in greater growth.
2) Each of the different rep ranges offer distinct benefits that should be taken advantage of. For example, high repetitions promote lactic acid build-up which in turn promotes joint and tendon health.
3) Research has shown that a muscle adapts most quickly to a repetition range. By cycling the amount of reps you're doing, you'll prevent muscle adaptation which means that more growth will occur.
The bottom-line is that you should switch off between the different low, mid & high reps to not only maximize muscle growth, but also because each repetition range offers different health benefits.0 -
Well, I can get into periodization if you like, and while I agree with some of the article (it leaves out hormones which are the most important part), my point was to present the facts on lifting heavy rather than letting myths propagate.0
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