Is my friend wrong or right?

DJ7203
DJ7203 Posts: 497 Member
edited December 1 in Fitness and Exercise
I was taught that heavy weights & fewer reps is what gives your body muscle & definition. One of my guy friends keeps telling me the opposite. Here is one of our typical conversations....

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Replies

  • DJ7203
    DJ7203 Posts: 497 Member
    I completely agree with you

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    feisty_bucket wrote: »
    Anyone that uses the word "tone" re: muscles should be ignored.

    This!
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    feisty_bucket wrote: »
    Anyone that uses the word "tone" re: muscles should be ignored.

    All. Of. This.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited May 2016
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    Definition is achieved by lowering your body fat percentage. How you weight train is up to you.

    This. Your friend is wrong. End of story. He doesn't even make sense with his hard to do more reps with low weights comment. What takes more effort, is harder--lifting a 5 lb sack of flour ten times or a 40 lb bag of dog food 10 times?
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    Definition is achieved by lowering your body fat percentage. How you weight train is up to you.

    Yup. I know some pretty jacked powerlifters, oly lifters, and bodybuilders. I also know some pretty chubby lifters as well.
  • DJ7203
    DJ7203 Posts: 497 Member
    Thank you for reinforcing this. Because lifting heavy is what I was always told would give me an amazing body
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    DJ7203 wrote: »
    Thank you for reinforcing this. Because lifting heavy is what I was always told would give me an amazing body

    if i remember correctly you already have that. your diet is what's going to get you to the finish line
  • midge_m
    midge_m Posts: 1,085 Member
    shor0814 wrote: »
    I would be more concerned that he knows more about how you should look than you do.
    This.

  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    Lifting lower reps at near to 1rm will give you more strength at that heavier range, lifting a higher rep at lower weight will give you more hypertrophy but will give you more strength at that range.

    Both will change you look just in a different progression. I know a lot of lifters that run programs that incorporate both.

    Most gym rats will tell you there a some really big lifters that don't have a high 1rm because they train for hypertrophy exclusively.
  • cgvet37
    cgvet37 Posts: 1,189 Member
    I believe in switching it up often. I know guys that can bench 315 lbs., but struggle to do 20 pushups. I know guys that can do 60 pushups but can barely bench 135 lbs. I like working on all aspects of strength training. It all comes down to your goals.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Your friend is wrong as wrong can be.

    A good read which dispels many of the myths about "toning": http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/muscle-tone/
  • Ant488
    Ant488 Posts: 372 Member
    I have been told lifting lighter weight and increasing your number of repetitions will give you definition and cut / sculpting your body. Where as lifting very heavy weights give you the bulk as massive look. Obviously, you can argue the point better than some.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    heavy listing is, indeed, how to create an awesome body.
    Ant488 wrote: »
    I have been told lifting lighter weight and increasing your number of repetitions will give you definition and cut / sculpting your body. Where as lifting very heavy weights give you the bulk as massive look. Obviously, you can argue the point better than some.

    the chances of a 1 hour per day lifter getting bulky are pretty much zero. i used to lift heavy 2 hours per day for years, and never got bulky, although i did have very nice legs. the "bulky" women in bodybuilding lift 8 hours HEAVY per day and eat specifically for muscle growth, which means they eat a lot and often.

  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    Ant488 wrote: »
    I have been told lifting lighter weight and increasing your number of repetitions will give you definition and cut / sculpting your body. Where as lifting very heavy weights give you the bulk as massive look. Obviously, you can argue the point better than some.

    No. Just no. :noway:
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Ant488 wrote: »
    I have been told lifting lighter weight and increasing your number of repetitions will give you definition and cut / sculpting your body. Where as lifting very heavy weights give you the bulk as massive look. Obviously, you can argue the point better than some.

    You were told incorrectly.
  • NewMEEE2016
    NewMEEE2016 Posts: 192 Member
    What does your friend LOOK like? I'd take my advice from someone you want to emulate.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    NewMEEE2016 wrote: »
    What does your friend LOOK like? I'd take my advice from someone you want to emulate.

    not necessarily. some people look great without lifting or with very little - but that could have a lot to do with their eating habits, lifestyle and genetics.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    itsbasschick wrote: »
    NewMEEE2016 wrote: »
    What does your friend LOOK like? I'd take my advice from someone you want to emulate.

    not necessarily. some people look great without lifting or with very little - but that could have a lot to do with their eating habits, lifestyle and genetics.

    Yeah - and just because that person may have a particular look, doesn't mean he (OP's friend, in this case) actually knows how/why he got that look. He could be doing a bunch of stupid shht in the gym, but lucking into what he's ended up with.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Ant488 wrote: »
    I have been told lifting lighter weight and increasing your number of repetitions will give you definition and cut / sculpting your body. Where as lifting very heavy weights give you the bulk as massive look. Obviously, you can argue the point better than some.

    you've been told extremely wrong.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    NewMEEE2016 wrote: »
    What does your friend LOOK like? I'd take my advice from someone you want to emulate.

    That's kinda the worst way to judge someone's competence
  • Maggieba
    Maggieba Posts: 47 Member
    There are benefits to both. Check out PHUL; it's a structured intermediate program that incorporates heavy and hypertrophy.

    Also, I found this article interesting: optimizing muscle size through different training methods.

    www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kelly6.htm
  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    cgvet37 wrote: »
    Definition is achieved by lowering your body fat percentage. How you weight train is up to you.

    This. Your friend is wrong. End of story. He doesn't even make sense with his hard to do more reps with low weights comment. What takes more effort, is harder--lifting a 5 lb sack of flour ten times or a 40 lb bag of dog food 10 times?

    You can't compare 50 lbs with 400 lbs. A better example would have been 10 lbs 40 times vs 40 lbs 10 times. I think the higher reps might require more effort if you don't have the endurance so her friend had a point.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    When I think of the light weights I consider my purse. I carry it around every day. It weighs most than those little weights in the gym. It has yet to make me into a swimsuit model.

    I do a Boot Camp class where we use the under 10lb weights - it's cardio not strength training.
  • Sassie_Lassie
    Sassie_Lassie Posts: 140 Member
    I would have stopped reading after "All you will have is bulky muscle legs" and "it's harder to do more reps with light weights"
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