Which is better?

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LolaKarwowski
LolaKarwowski Posts: 217 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Lifting heavy for only a few reps (3-4) or simply lifting many reps (10-12)?

Sorry if I didn't word this right.

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    What are you trying to achieve?
  • LolaKarwowski
    LolaKarwowski Posts: 217 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    What are you trying to achieve?

    Get stronger. Lose fat.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
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    LolaKarwowski wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    What are you trying to achieve?

    Get stronger. Lose fat.

    For strength I'd do less reps. To lose fat eat in a deficit.
  • LolaKarwowski
    LolaKarwowski Posts: 217 Member
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    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    LolaKarwowski wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    What are you trying to achieve?

    Get stronger. Lose fat.

    For strength I'd do less reps. To lose fat eat in a deficit.

    Yes, I am eating at a deficit and hitting my protein goal (whether it matters or not it's important to me). The only thing that was really bugging me from my strength training was that I didn't know which way was more affective. Going to the gym, lifting heavy, and only doing a few sets made me feel like I was doing it wrong. However, I keep reading that going to the gym and doing many easy reps does nothing to the body.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    LolaKarwowski wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    LolaKarwowski wrote: »
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    What are you trying to achieve?

    Get stronger. Lose fat.

    For strength I'd do less reps. To lose fat eat in a deficit.

    Yes, I am eating at a deficit and hitting my protein goal (whether it matters or not it's important to me). The only thing that was really bugging me from my strength training was that I didn't know which way was more affective. Going to the gym, lifting heavy, and only doing a few sets made me feel like I was doing it wrong. However, I keep reading that going to the gym and doing many easy reps does nothing to the body.

    Not true. Different rep ranges do different things to muscles. Higher rep ranges promote hypertrophy and endurance, lower rep ranges promote strength. Do a mix of ranges (e.g. 5-12) to get the full benefit.
  • DesertGunR
    DesertGunR Posts: 187 Member
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    If you are looking for strength then lift heavy at low reps. Look into programs like Strong Curves or StronLifts 5x5 these seem to be the most popular. I've used SL5x5 and its variations most of my life. Though, as a woman make sure your gym has fractional weights(0.25lb., 0.50lb., 0.75lb., 1lb.) as these will be needed to continue through the progression at some point.

    Circuit type training, low weight and high reps just will not gain you a lot of strength. They are geared more for there ability to get your heart pumping as a cardio benefit. It will build a little bit of strength, but not much. You can use it in the beginning if needed, until you can easily lift a 20kg/45lb Olympic barbell.

    Eating at deficit while strength training can be done. Though it should be noted that in the beginning, unless you have a lot of fat on you already, you will not see muscle gain. In order to get muscle growth you will need to eat at maintenance or a slight surplus. Also, you can do cardio on your rest days, allow yourself 1-2 true rest days as this is when the body will actually repair/build muscle. Also, as a woman you will not have to worry about "bulking up" since you lack testosterone. You can still grow a little bit, your muscles will still get good definition and you will gain strength. So by all means go for it.

    At some point lifting for strength the scale will not be your friend. It is best to use a tape and take measurements. These will show you the gains that the scale will not. This is because muscle is denser than fat and will weigh more by volume. Think of it like 1 pound of lead versus 1 pound of feathers. They weigh the same but one takes up much less space. So at some point you will see a stall in your weight numbers and this will discourage most beginners to weight training as they see their weight loss goal fade away, so to speak.

    Go to the top of this forum and read Fujiberry's post titled "So you want to start lifting? Great!" It contains a lot of god information for women that want to start lifting.

    Good Luck!
  • LolaKarwowski
    LolaKarwowski Posts: 217 Member
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    DesertGunR wrote: »
    If you are looking for strength then lift heavy at low reps. Look into programs like Strong Curves or StronLifts 5x5 these seem to be the most popular. I've used SL5x5 and its variations most of my life. Though, as a woman make sure your gym has fractional weights(0.25lb., 0.50lb., 0.75lb., 1lb.) as these will be needed to continue through the progression at some point.

    Circuit type training, low weight and high reps just will not gain you a lot of strength. They are geared more for there ability to get your heart pumping as a cardio benefit. It will build a little bit of strength, but not much. You can use it in the beginning if needed, until you can easily lift a 20kg/45lb Olympic barbell.

    Eating at deficit while strength training can be done. Though it should be noted that in the beginning, unless you have a lot of fat on you already, you will not see muscle gain. In order to get muscle growth you will need to eat at maintenance or a slight surplus. Also, you can do cardio on your rest days, allow yourself 1-2 true rest days as this is when the body will actually repair/build muscle. Also, as a woman you will not have to worry about "bulking up" since you lack testosterone. You can still grow a little bit, your muscles will still get good definition and you will gain strength. So by all means go for it.

    At some point lifting for strength the scale will not be your friend. It is best to use a tape and take measurements. These will show you the gains that the scale will not. This is because muscle is denser than fat and will weigh more by volume. Think of it like 1 pound of lead versus 1 pound of feathers. They weigh the same but one takes up much less space. So at some point you will see a stall in your weight numbers and this will discourage most beginners to weight training as they see their weight loss goal fade away, so to speak.

    Go to the top of this forum and read Fujiberry's post titled "So you want to start lifting? Great!" It contains a lot of god information for women that want to start lifting.

    Good Luck!

    Great information! Especially the part about not able to see a lot of muscle gain which is something else that was also bothering me. Not that I have been doing this too long (3 weeks) but because I'm such a newbie I didn't know when I should be expecting to see a difference. I'll be purchasing a measuring tape today. I don't rely solely on the scale, I also take weekly pictures. However, measuring myself will be a great tool to track my progress.

    I will be reading the sticky asap!

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