Lifting heavy.
My experience: Over the past month, I have been told by some people at the gym that I should lift heavy. Even 1 rep for 8 sets. Although when I usually lift heavy now I like to stick between 3-5 reps, I gave 1 rep for 8 sets a try a few times over the past month for some different workouts. What I noticed is that after about the third set my muscles started to feel like when I would do 15-20 reps of a light to moderate weight. This surprised me, after the third set (third rep as well) I was feeling my muscles popping, and noticing it become nearly impossible to do each set after that. I also noticed while doing this, that I would start lifting heavy for other exercises as well to build strength. I never really went for PR's until I started lifting heavy, but since then I have been able to squat heavier, bench more, and increase weight on almost every single workout of mine in general.
I don't do 1 rep maxes more than once per week per body part because my muscles would get used to it and most days I just want to work on mastering my workout routine for building 10 pounds by December 1, 2018. I do love implementing one rep maxes into my workout about once a week or once every two weeks to build up strength and to make sure I am progressing in my key lifts every week or 2 instead of staying the same or getting weaker.
What others say: I will share what is the most beneficial to you according to an article on Healthline.com.
One of the main benefits that people have noticed (myself included) when lifting heavy is that they got stronger and were able to lift more.
Something that I didn't know was that you may be able to get an "after burn", where you are burning more calories for a few hours after the workout, which can help you lose fat.
You also are able to have better brain function since lifting heavy increases the production of beneficial hormones to the brain.
The last point I am going to mention here is that heavy lifting can help prevent injury. I think this is beneficial because so many people including myself are in some kind of constant pain in our body. Many people suffer from back pain and lifting heavy could help you with relieving that back pain you suffer from.
You can go more in depth by clicking here to read the full article.
Lifting light.
My experience: I have focussed on lifting moderate-light for a while. While I mostly stick to moderate weight for 8-12 reps, sometimes I will go light and lift 20-30 reps for a pretty light weight. What I noticed was the my muscles would have a huge pump and would be popping like crazy.
The downside I found is that I didn't have as much energy after my workout as I would have if I did heavy lifting. Not to say I wouldn't have energy, but I could defiantly tell the difference in energy levels and my mood compared to if I lifted heavy.
I have found that lifting light for a lot of reps is great at the end of a workout for a burnout set, or if I pair a heavy lifting workout with a light lifting workout. Lets say I am working out my biceps, I would do heavy concentration curls for 3 reps then go straight into alternating hammer and bicep curls until failure with a light weight.
What others say: By lifting lighter you are more likely to be hitting the muscle group you want to hit. Sometimes when we lift heavy we will do cheat reps and use other muscles in our body to do the exercise. So using light weight will help you focus more on the muscle you are working out.
Growth is another one. Growth is something I have noticed to be a huge part of light weights as well, as you are able to focus on the full range of motion as well as shock the muscle with high reps.
Click here to read the full article on advantages of lifting light.
Closing thoughts.
For my practice right now I am currently mixing heavy with light weights to see if that will provide the most muscle growth. I would love to hear your thoughts on heavy vs. light weights, feel free to share your thoughts below!
Make the best of today,
Brian
No comments:
Post a Comment