Is it better to lift heavy or more reps?

Low Reps with Heavier Weight is the traditional method for building muscle mass, for both men and women alike, is to lift heavier weights and increase the amount of weight over time. Lifting heavier weight (approximately 70-75% of your one-rep max) activates Type 2 or “fast twitch” muscle fibers, which are important in developing strength and promoting hypertrophy (muscle growth along with an increase in the size of muscle cells). The potential pitfall is that Type 2 muscle fibers have greater power, but they also fatigue quickly—and muscle fiber stimulation correlates with how long they are under resistance. For this reason, many people have found success with a more moderate approach (8-12 reps at 70-75% of your one-rep max). This allows you to lift enough weight to build strength and power, while also being able to extend the length of your set. So, in general, low reps with heavy weight tends to increase muscle mass, while high reps with light weight increases muscle endurance. Alternating between the two may be the best approach for long-term success. Lifting heavy weights builds muscle, but constantly upping the weight exhausts the body. Lifting lighter weights with more reps gives the muscle tissue and nervous system a chance to recover while also building endurance.

When lifting weights or doing strength training, our goal is usually to either gain strength or to drive hypertrophy or both. Some people preach low weight, high rep and we're talking about 15 to 20 reps per set. And some people preach heavy weight with low rep, and we're talking about anything from the one to eight rep range. Training volume is determined by what weight you're lifting, how many reps and how many sets. So with that said, you can actually build muscle mass or drive hypertrophy both through heavy weights and lower weights, as long as the volume is right. If you are competing in a strength sport or you want to get stronger, higher weight and lower reps are definitely much better for you. The benefits of lower weights with higher reps are that it's a little safer for new lifters or those who might be fatigued during the session in order to avoid injury. The most important considerations between more reps or more weight are your individual needs, preferences, training history and goals. In conclusion, this age old debate about lifting heavy or going lighter with more reps really comes down to your personal fitness goal, whether you're looking to gain strength or to build muscle mass, there's benefits to both approaches. The key is really to stay consistent, listen to your body and strive for progress.

For bigger muscles, the research has changed since a young Arnold bestrode the competitive stage. Up to around 10 years ago it was believed you had to exercise at 70-80 per cent of your one rep maximum weight, 10-12 reps for three sets and going to full fatigue so you can’t do a single extra rep. But during the last 10 years we’ve noticed that intensity is not that key. The more recent view is lighter weights can also gift you bigger muscles. Sets of 20 and up can build bulk. But what remains unchanged is that you need to get to a fully fatigued state. Professor Granacher recommends sticking with the old 10-12 rep pattern simply because it quickly becomes boring to lift a light weight 20 times. If strength is the goal with as little bulk as possible then the protocols change to very heavy weights you can only lift for one to three reps, three to five sets. We’ve been working with wrestlers and ski jumpers, and they need to be explosive, a high level of maximum strength but they don’t want to gain weight, so they train up to 90 per cent of their one rep max. The way you combine these approaches and engage your brain benefits hugely from a clear mental focus on your goal. If your programme is three sets of 12 reps, your first set, you’ve done 12 and you feel like you could have done 13, I always say, on your second set push the weight up and aim to fail before you get to rep 12. It’s possible to use the low reps strength training style and the higher reps muscle bulking approach in the same workout but the order in which you use them is important. Ideally you want to have a week of strength and perform the hypertrophy the next week.