How heavy is "Heavy Lifting"?

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  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    Even a light lifting session should wear you out. I start my chest workout with a light lift. 225lb 12 to 14 reps for three sets. I usually decide around the 11th rep whether its a 12 day or a 14 day. Once I am done with the 3 sets, I can definitely feel it, and since i push for 3 of the same ex, 14, 14, 14, --I don't allow myself to drop to 13 on last or second set, because its extra work to log it, thanks MFP :). By the time I'm done with the third set, it hurts quite a bit. However, its still a light lift.
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    One has to actually lift something for it to be lifting. A bicep curl or a leg press isn't a lift -- regardless of weight & reps.
    Lifting heavy is exactly that - lifting something heavy.
    Curls and Leg presses are assistance exercises that help you lift something. Lifting is where you tax your central nervous system and utilize your posterior chain in an effort to lift a weight. Lifts are things like Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Cleans, Squats, Jerks and Snatches. Most everything else is an isolation.
    Rep schemes - heavy is usually about 70-80% and above of your 1 rep max.
    Do a bunch of singles (lifts, not assistance exercises) where the weight is almost as much as you can lift is a heavy lift. Doing 5 sets of 5 where you are taxing yourself is a heavy lift - again with a traditional lift, not an isolation exercises.

    Basically, if your entire body screams out at some point when you lift something off the ground, or move it while it's on your shoulder, you've done a heavy lift.
    If only your bicep or shoulder or calf muscle cries out, then you may have used a heavy weight and gone to failure, but it's likely you didn't lft anything and simply did an isolation/assistance exercise.

    Disagree, unnecessary restriction of the word "lift". If you do a bicep curl, the bar with weights on it moves up, due to your effort, hence its a lift. If you do an exercise that involves the movement of weight against gravity, its a lift.
  • oats4breakfast
    oats4breakfast Posts: 225
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    One has to actually lift something for it to be lifting. A bicep curl or a leg press isn't a lift -- regardless of weight & reps.
    Lifting heavy is exactly that - lifting something heavy.
    Curls and Leg presses are assistance exercises that help you lift something. Lifting is where you tax your central nervous system and utilize your posterior chain in an effort to lift a weight. Lifts are things like Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Cleans, Squats, Jerks and Snatches. Most everything else is an isolation.
    Rep schemes - heavy is usually about 70-80% and above of your 1 rep max.
    Do a bunch of singles (lifts, not assistance exercises) where the weight is almost as much as you can lift is a heavy lift. Doing 5 sets of 5 where you are taxing yourself is a heavy lift - again with a traditional lift, not an isolation exercises.

    Basically, if your entire body screams out at some point when you lift something off the ground, or move it while it's on your shoulder, you've done a heavy lift.
    If only your bicep or shoulder or calf muscle cries out, then you may have used a heavy weight and gone to failure, but it's likely you didn't lft anything and simply did an isolation/assistance exercise.

    Disagree, unnecessary restriction of the word "lift". If you do a bicep curl, the bar with weights on it moves up, due to your effort, hence its a lift. If you do an exercise that involves the movement of weight against gravity, its a lift.

    That's fine by me if you disagree, none of us are going to agree on any of this because we each workout differently and have different opinions. I'm just saying those are more isolation/assistance exercises. Truth be told, I think a bicep curl is pretty worthless. Good for the beach but that's where it ends - I'd rather do chin-ups.

    Using some of this logic - if I could only do 5-6 push-ups ... would that be considered a heavy lift ? Afterall I'm moving something against gravity, to failure, only 5-6 times.
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    Absolutely. A hypothetical 300 pound guy doing 5-6 pushups to failure, yes that's definitely heavy lifting, I would think at least 95 out of 100 random people posed that question would agree.
  • SirZee
    SirZee Posts: 381
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    Let me turn this around, by your definition I have never "lifted" weights in my life. Take a look at my pics, those things didn't grow by themselves :)

    Edit: And they aren't "show" stuff either, I always trained for strength, and anyone who got to experience it always said "wow you are stronger than you look". Includes the orthopedic surgeon who did my distal bicep tendon reattachment surgery, who explained my fully torn tendon as 'your bicep produced more force than the tendon could handle'.
  • Glucocorticoid
    Glucocorticoid Posts: 867 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/categories-of-weight-training-part-1.html

    Just read that and it just confused me more. ugh

    Which part confuses you?
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
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    There were a few days early on on StrongLifts where I just did push-ups instead of bench... and they were more challenging. :laugh:
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    THanks everyone!

    Let me just clarify, I can't do 95 lbs now, lol. But now I know what to aim for if/when I decide to try the heavy lifting route. (I was getting fatigued by the end of my sets and like the look I had)
  • persilcolours
    persilcolours Posts: 92 Member
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    Oh...seems I've been doing "light lifting" for the past month. BUT IT WAS HARD! 12-15 reps until failure.

    Hmmph.
  • Titanuim
    Titanuim Posts: 337 Member
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    bookmarking for later reference
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Heavy like everyone said is relative to you.

    I see a trainer.. and he has me do most things for between 10-15 reps each time.. and when I do it on my own, I modify the weights enough so I can only make to about 10 reps. Yesterday, he had me do 4 upper body and 4 lower body exercises for 25 reps.. and he made the weight pretty heavy.. which means by like 10-12 I was struggling, 15 I was ready to quit, and 25 I was calling him every name under the sun.

    So it really does depend on the person.. some people would not say to do over 20 reps, but yet I did and am still aching from it today.
  • victoria4321
    victoria4321 Posts: 1,719 Member
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    I'm 5'3 and 134lbs. Heavy for me is 5 reps and 3 sets at around 75%-85% my max

    Right now my maxes are at
    Deadlift 220lb
    Back Squat 185lb
    Front Squat 160lb
    Strict press 75lb
    Power snatch 75lb
    Bench press 80lb (working set weight since I'm afraid to max out here without a spotter)

    I'm heavy enough to count my body weight stuff as heavy lol so for that I do
    4 pull ups, 3 sets
    4 dips, 3 sets
    10 chest to floor push ups, 3 sets
  • LJV1031
    LJV1031 Posts: 502 Member
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    Good suggestions, I often wonder this myself, though I know everyone is "different", but it is nice to see some kind of guidelines too. Thanks for posting the question. :flowerforyou:
  • Chocolickkyss
    Chocolickkyss Posts: 3,654 Member
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    Bump
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    "Heavy lifting" is typically a reference to maximal strength lifting. Because Maximal Strength training uses specific weight percentages, "Heavy" lifting does NOT vary by individual. Maximal strength training is typically using a weight that is 80% or more of your 1-rep max. For example, if you can bench press 100lbs one time then you might do sets of 3 to 5 reps with 80lbs (80% of 1RM). If you can Squat 200lbs for 1-rep then you could train with 160lbs (80% of your 1RM) for sets of 3 to 5 reps. Maximal strength training is almost most effective with compound movements such as, Bench Press (and variations), Back Squats, Front Squats, Shoulder Presses, and Deadlifts. Pick-up a copy of "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippletoe if you can.
  • ednabnana
    ednabnana Posts: 304
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    I don't follow any rules of lifting because I find rules too restraining. I'm so much of a rebel & I can't be bullied to do this & that because he/she said it works.

    I define heavy lifting by lifting anything that I can't pull or push more than 10 times. For example, I started 5 lbs dumbbell on each hand for bench press. I graduated from dumbbell & I am NOW able to lift 55 lbs using the bar (45lbs) with 5 lbs plate on each side.

    I am still at 8 reps per set. It is a hard earned 8 reps. I do 4 sets. Now, there are 115lbs, 5'2" women out there that could bench 150lbs & to them that is their definition of heavy lifting, obviously, I define mine differently.

    I also tend to do max weight then go 10-15 lbs lighter the next set & push for a full 12 reps, then back to max weight....to each their own.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    if you want to quantify it, it's based on a percentage range of the absolute most weight you can safely lift with proper form for 1 rep of a given exercise. heavy lifting (or lifting for strength gains) is anything that's like 75-100% of that 1 rep max.

    so if you can barely squat your bodyweight, then doing body weight squats is heavy lifting for you, but if you can squat with an additional 200 pounds then bodyweight squats dont cut it, and neither does 50 pounds.

    also in order to continue to have it considered heavy lifting you'd have to progressively increase your load so that you're always increasing that 1 rep max. so if you started out finding body weight squats your heavy range, then you'd have to increase the load once it became too easy to have it still considered heavy lifting


    ETA: i just essentially said the same thing as jnick. my bad :laugh:
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    I don't follow any rules of lifting because I find rules too restraining. I'm so much of a rebel & I can't be bullied to do this & that because he/she said it works.

    I define heavy lifting by lifting anything that I can't pull or push more than 10 times. For example, I started 5 lbs dumbbell on each hand for bench press. I graduated from dumbbell & I am NOW able to lift 55 lbs using the bar (45lbs) with 5 lbs plate on each side.

    I am still at 8 reps per set. It is a hard earned 8 reps. I do 4 sets. Now, there are 115lbs, 5'2" women out there that could bench 150lbs & to them that is their definition of heavy lifting, obviously, I define mine differently.

    I also tend to do max weight then go 10-15 lbs lighter the next set & push for a full 12 reps, then back to max weight....to each their own.

    Just because you define something doesn't make it so. It's fine for your own personal use but as far as correct information on these boards it's misleading and definitely not "heavy" or near maximal strength thresholds by any means.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    I'm 5'3 and 134lbs. Heavy for me is 5 reps and 3 sets at around 75%-85% my max

    Right now my maxes are at
    Deadlift 220lb
    Back Squat 185lb
    Front Squat 160lb
    Strict press 75lb
    Power snatch 75lb
    Bench press 80lb (working set weight since I'm afraid to max out here without a spotter)

    I'm heavy enough to count my body weight stuff as heavy lol so for that I do
    4 pull ups, 3 sets
    4 dips, 3 sets
    10 chest to floor push ups, 3 sets
    get it gurl, you're my shero. i cant wait to be at my goal weight and being able to push around some serious weight relative to my body weight. i'm still close to 200 pounds so blech
  • mag1c
    mag1c Posts: 36 Member
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    "Heavy lifting" is typically a reference to maximal strength lifting. Because Maximal Strength training uses specific weight percentages, "Heavy" lifting does NOT vary by individual. Maximal strength training is typically using a weight that is 80% or more of your 1-rep max. For example, if you can bench press 100lbs one time then you might do sets of 3 to 5 reps with 80lbs (80% of 1RM). If you can Squat 200lbs for 1-rep then you could train with 160lbs (80% of your 1RM) for sets of 3 to 5 reps. Maximal strength training is almost most effective with compound movements such as, Bench Press (and variations), Back Squats, Front Squats, Shoulder Presses, and Deadlifts. Pick-up a copy of "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippletoe if you can.

    This is spot on with the exception of misspelling "Rippetoe" ;) Its all about knowing and working with your specific %'s in specific rep ranges.

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