Less reps more weight or less weight more reps?

As much weight as you can handle for 5-8 reps to "condition" the muscle with good form. Muscle has to be challenged from overload to make it firmer. High reps build muscle endurance and doesn't raise RMR the same way. Higher RMR means higher metabolism, which means more fat burned at rest.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

less reps, more weight builds MUSCLE. less weight, more reps builds ENDURANCE. depends on your goals.

less reps, more weight builds MUSCLE. less weight, more reps builds ENDURANCE. depends on your goals.

Unless you're in calorie deficit. It's practically impossible to build muscle in calorie deficit with the exception of a few types of individuals.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

less reps, more weight builds MUSCLE. less weight, more reps builds ENDURANCE. depends on your goals.

Unless you're in calorie deficit. It's practically impossible to build muscle in calorie deficit with the exception of a few types of individuals.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Does that mean that at some point out might mean changing to maintaining calorie diet?

less reps, more weight builds MUSCLE. less weight, more reps builds ENDURANCE. depends on your goals.

Unless you're in calorie deficit. It's practically impossible to build muscle in calorie deficit with the exception of a few types of individuals.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Does that mean that at some point out might mean changing to maintaining calorie diet?

To build muscle you are adding weight. To add weight you need to be in surplus. That's why it's practically impossible to lose weight and build muscle at the same time. There are 3 exceptions to this and they are:

An athlete returning to lifting after an extended layoff
An obese/overweight person using heavy lifting in their weight loss program
A newbie who has never lifted weights before

And even then, then muscle gain will be minor.

Most people just want to reveal the muscle they already have and that comes through calorie deficit and heavy lifting to retain what muscle they have already.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Hmmm, I want to build muscle because my upper body is very weak, I have a lot more strength in my legs (I guess from carrying around 385lbs all those years) but I will almost always be in calorie deficit because of my disorder. Even if I got to the bottom of my target range then I still wouldn't be able to get my calories up that high. Do you think this is going to cause me a problem?

I will ask my doctors too but not sure they are going to be much help except to just monitor me

You can increase strength on calorie deficit. I do this with clients on weight loss programs all the time with progressive weight training. Many times they are really unaware of how strong they really are.
For instance a female who is in pretty good condition never lifted dumbells over 22.5lbs for anything. The other day I trained with her I had her hoisting 35lbs dumbells for bench press. She was shocked at how strong she really was. Now granted not every scenario is that way. I currently have a female client who can't curl more than 10lbs dumbells, but previously she was only using 5lbs dumbells for the same reps. So don't be discouraged thinking that you can't increase strength without adding muscle to do it.
Try to rely on freeweights to do this so that you can have synergist muscles activate to help you increase your overall strength.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

To build muscle you are adding weight. To add weight you need to be in surplus. That's why it's practically impossible to lose weight and build muscle at the same time. There are 3 exceptions to this and they are:

An athlete returning to lifting after an extended layoff
An obese/overweight person using heavy lifting in their weight loss program
A newbie who has never lifted weights before

And even then, then muscle gain will be minor.

Most people just want to reveal the muscle they already have and that comes through calorie deficit and heavy lifting to retain what muscle they have already.


A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Hmmm, I want to build muscle because my upper body is very weak, I have a lot more strength in my legs (I guess from carrying around 385lbs all those years) but I will almost always be in calorie deficit because of my disorder. Even if I got to the bottom of my target range then I still wouldn't be able to get my calories up that high. Do you think this is going to cause me a problem?

I will ask my doctors too but not sure they are going to be much help except to just monitor me

My legs are good, now pushing 4 sets of 20 reps at 980lb (building up to the half ton lol) but my upper body isn't. Since I've been on calorie deficit my upper body has weakened (probably as I've concentrated on cardio) and I now seem to do a good 10-20lb less than a year ago (though my muscle-fast ratio is far different).
At some point I will need to start building upper body up, but can I do this before I stop the deficit or maybe some way whilst still losing my final pounds?

Bump

Thanks for all the info here!