High Rep lower weight vs Low Rep higher weight - opinions!

Ive always thought that low rep high weight was best - Mainly because all the massive people do it..
However Ive (as already mentioned) been on a traning regime and experimenting with some things - Today was just under half way and I have been traning different muscle groups in different ways - to keep it short I have been using high reps low weight for tricep extenstions (9kg x 20reps) and have been using high weight low reps for bicep curls (17kg x 6-8 reps) both for the same number of sets...
Im noticing that my triceps seem to hurt for a lot longer than my biceps.. So have decided to adopt high reps lower weight (10kg) and see what a difference that makes in 5 days (as my body fat is low enough on my arms to see even the smallest ones - especially side by side with other photos)

I understand that high weight low reps increases growth hormone and testosterone levels a little but I think if I do enough of everything (especially heavy squats) the stress my body is under should create a similar temporary rise in test. levels..

Go opinions!

About 85% of your muscle is fast twitch and It responds to heavy weight. Words from the great ronnie coleman "everybody want to get big, but dont nobody want to lift these heavy ass weights"

I have done 8-12 rep range and look damn near the same. Than changed to 4-7 reps and start growing right away it felt like. When you train you tear down a thin layer of muscle. damn near nothing but your body will signal to your muscle you need to be prepared next time he want to stress you with weights so it creates more muscle as a side effect and more muscle store more glycogen(carbs/simple sugars).

Im telling you man, you will grow from any type of lifting but as far as getting stronger AND bigger stick with lower weights.

Also when you lift with lighter weights your body will not give your muscles the signal to store more glycogen. As a result your muscle stay the same size.

Also something I thought I should mention is muscles grow from TUT(time under tension) light weights plenty of T=time but no where near enough tension to grow. One thing I do is static reps(hold weight at greatest point of tension of the lift for 5-10 seconds) to futher the tension with heavy weight. This is a 1-2 KO punch for muscle growth.

Thanks GH!!


http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/shane6.htm
Also found this article with ways to target fibres.

Deffo a fan of your muscle killing ideas too.

I think there is a typo in here "Im telling you man, you will grow from any type of lifting but as far as getting stronger AND bigger stick with lower weights.".

You meant stick with the low reps right? As in...low reps, heavy ass weight? Cause nothing BUT that will work for true hypertrophy. You need heavy resistance ( more broken down fibers, hence more repair, hence more muscle tissue and glicogen retention abilities ( myofibrilla ) and you need food ( lots of clean food, rest 9h a night ideal, water and diet all in check.)

Keep it simple dudes, also, lift a tiny bit MORE weight EACH workout, it is called progressive overload and causes the CNS ( central nervous system ) to adapt your neuropathways to the added stress each session and in result you get better mind-muscle connection, hence stronger and hence, BIGGER.

Peace out

Mike

Exactly what 8incHydromaxike said and also the higher rep and lighter weight is good for better muscle endurance but wont do as much for size and strength gains.

Thanks guys!
Ill try totally destroying myself for the rest of the week.

Managed a whole 10 chin ups today - which was 10 more than I could do on day 1 (this being about a month on) and not even halfway to goal deadline!

A buddy of mine used to be big into bodybuilding- amateur competitions and stuff. He used heavy weight + lower reps to gain mass and lighter weight + higher reps for definition to get that cut look.

TheStick;349679 said:

A buddy of mine used to be big into bodybuilding- amateur competitions and stuff. He used heavy weight + lower reps to gain mass and lighter weight + higher reps for definition to get that cut look.

Click to expand...

Dude, light weight and high reps is aerobic training, not for definition by definition, it serves well to make you sweat but thats it. Just about any form of exercise that takes your heart rate up for a while and makes you sweat can give you muscle definition and striations.

The point of that kind of training is burning calories.

Diet brings definition, when a muscle foundation is already there.

Peace

Mike

Mike knows his stuff!!! All that crap about high reps and low weight for cuts and definition is just that ... bullshit as its diet that does it. Doing lots of reps with a weight will help muscle endurance which is important too, especially for certain sports.

If you want to get BIG STRONG muscles its SIMPLE ... lift HEAVY for less reps and sets. You are placing a stress on the body, that is the stimulus with the heavy weight and like the sun on the skin it can cause a suntan if it goes well or burn if its overdone.

The less reps and sets are because you are lifting such heavy poundage that you literally wont be able to or need to lift more. More is not better!! Example lifting 300lbs in the bench press for 4-7 reps or so for one set to complete momentary muscle failiure [You cant lift it anymore and have to stop] and than doing another 1-3 sets ... this is PATHETHIC ... all your doing is wasting time and your recovery ability.

If you put in the most effort and I mean EFFORT here so that you bust your fucking balls off and lift the most intense weight you can than my mates you wont be able to go for a 2nd set and it would be FOOLISH to do so and no more benefit to come from it because for muscle and stength gains you want the all out effort and not going for muscle endurance which you will be hitting with more work ... plus after 60 seconds of muscle contractions and effort 50% of the work than crosses over into the aerobic pathways of the muscle and we want the anaerobic pathways, so keep it brief, heavy and intense.

All that high rep lower weight does is work the muscles aerobic pathways more and improve muscle endurance, it does hardly much for its size and strength apart from fresh newbies who gain from almost anything as its stimulus at the end of the day. Running can be called a high rep low weight workout. Our legs are used to our weight so to them its normal weight. They keep moveing and getting us about so thats your multiple reps. Eventually we fatigue from none-stop walking or running because of the legs giving out, more so with walking than running with the later being down more to cardio fitness. When you imprive your legs muscle endurance than you will find walking for longer is easier, just an example here.

If you want definition than start some treadmill work and watch the diet. You will notice fat come off and with your weight lifting you will look even bigger.

Look into Mike Mentzer and Arthur Jones material for the best ways to train and studies have suggested time and time again that one set of the most weight you can lift for low reps is more effective for muscle & strength stimulation than multiple sets and reps ... remember time is against us all and with the gym is NO EXCEPTION , the faster the workout the better but keep the form STRICT and good ... aim for no more than 45 mins and get the fuck out, take that psot workout shake too to avoid catabolism and turn on the anabolic light.

peace

Spot on Red, i see that great minds trully think alike cough cough haha,

It's cool that this site is graced with inteligent people such as yourself bro, this keeps me happy...

Peace,

Mike

thanks mike for the notice I meant to say low reps on that typo above.

To the guy who said light weight for definition, that may be the biggest load of crap thats ever teach the science of weight lifting. more muscle should be your focus and correct diet mistakes to get your bodyfat lower. If dont have a good amount of muscle what do you have to show off by being ripped. "cant paint a house before you build it!" more muscle turns your body into a fat burning furnace. Diet is the only way to get ripped.

Forms of cardio do produce result but at a sacrifice of muscle. remember are body is designed to survive so when you do them light weights and high reps or intense cardio your body will break down muscle tissue for fuel before it even taps into fat stores. The human body is designed so if some how we are deprived of food it has something to use as fuel. Fat takes the longest to use so we are created to store fat. So when you try to force the fat off are body looks for the fastest way to get energy(carbs-proteins"muscle tissue"-fats)

This is why its VITAL if you want to preserve muscle tissue that you consume protein, carbs, L-Leucine, L-Glutamine, Creatine and Taurine before and ESPenis EnlargementCIALLY after your session. You can skip the Creatine & Taurine but the carbs & protein is VITAL and if you can afford it cheap than grab some BCAA aminod acids and use them in the mix.

Doing this will switch the catabolic light off and turn on the anabolic one on which you need to preserve muscle tissue. Those who are built and do lots of cardio will really need to heed this advice as like Girth Hammer said the body will consume its own protein material for energry and that becomes less muscle tissue, so you lose weight and get defined but at a cost of loseing more muscle than you should have ... its fat you want to nail.

I know we all have methods we love and I always recommend before and after shakes from cardio and that is protein & carbs in the mix ... doesnt have to be much but it turns that light on and puts on the other one otherwise the cardio will destroy your muscle tissue in time .... look at marathon runners if you dont trust me ... skinny people with no muscle ... the bodies they have created cant function well with so much muscle running such vast distances so it had to remove the muscle in order for the body to keep going and thats how it survives ... so doing long cardio with no supplements is going to really fuck up your iron work.

Thanks Mike for your comments aswell .. I dont train like the sheep I see around me and often go agaisnt the grain because more times out of ten its the BEST WAY and the crowed avoid that because its also usually the one thats the most hardest or not in the comfort zone.

Low rep, high weight is the way to go.

Here a blogger experimented with this system, and gained 34 pounds of muscle in 4 weeks.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blo...eak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/

I've been on a similar system and gained 15 pounds in about a month.

OAK, that program is very similar to what I do and it works wonders. GREAT POST

I look pretty much like his "geek" photo..
Bad times - I really like the info though...!

Im trying to bulk up and shed some fat lbs... So I do HIIT every other day with weights, and then usually take the following day off - or a few weights..

If I were to change to 1 day HIIT for 30mins followed by 1set to failure weights, then the following day to more 1set to failure would I get fairly decent results?

I assume they would be a little bit reduced due to the HIIT, but I really need to keep anaerobic tollerance up :/

Just thought - If 1 set failure was the best way to go about muscle gain surely there would be more body-builder types?

Does this literally mean 1 set then youve trained the muscle group, or on every set you must reach failure?
The second makes more sence to me, I cant see how 1 set failure would have more effeicient gains than a more widely used 4x7reps, especially if you work to failure every time...

I will try to work my biceps (as a control) to complete failure in 7 reps before bed tonight and see how it feels, but on paper I cant see how that works as well as other methods..

The concept is if you aren't working to failure, you're not working out as hard as you can.

If you are not working out as hard as you can, you're not stressing the muscle as much as you can.

Perhaps most people work 2-5 sets per muscle. If you have a longer workout, how can you be working out as hard as you can be?

Oh I see, I normally try to get to -total- failure by the 3rd set of 7.