Light vs Heavy Weights for Muscle Growth (WHICH WORKS BETTER)
Summary
TLDRThe video script discusses the effectiveness of heavy and lightweight training for muscle growth. It highlights that both can be effective depending on the application of the right stimulus and reaching true failure. The importance of a balanced approach is emphasized, with recommendations for different rep ranges for various fitness goals and age groups. The script also stresses the significance of intensity and proper execution in both heavy and light workouts for optimal muscle development and functional capability.
Takeaways
- 💪 Muscle building can be effectively achieved with both heavy and lightweight training, depending on the rep range and intensity.
- 🏋️♂️ For muscle growth, it's not just the weight but the application of the right stimulus within the rep range that matters.
- 📈 The repetition continuum includes heavy tension for low reps, eccentric overload for mid-range reps, and metabolic stress for high reps.
- 🔍 Real failure, where you can't perform another rep, is crucial for muscle growth, especially in higher rep ranges.
- 👴 For individuals over 50, a balanced approach is recommended with 50% moderate reps, 10% heavy, and 40% light reps to maintain strength and function.
- 🏋️♂️ Light weights can be beneficial for muscle growth if the set is pushed to real failure, ensuring high intensity and effort.
- 💪 Light work has a place in training, contributing to neurological preparation and strengthening weak points.
- 🏋️♂️ For strength-focused individuals, 60% of the training should be heavy, with 30% moderate and 10% light reps.
- 💪 For hypertrophy-focused individuals, a 50-25-25 distribution of moderate, heavy, and light reps is suggested for optimal muscle building.
- 🔥 High effort and intensity are necessary when performing light work to ensure it contributes to muscle growth.
- 📚 Research supports the idea that muscle can be built across a wide range of loading spectrums, up to 30-40 repetitions.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video script?
-The main topic is whether heavy or lightweight exercises are more effective for building muscle.
What is the purpose of the video clip showing Jesse's dumbbell bench press?
-The clip is used to demonstrate and compare the effects of heavy (8-10 rep max) and lightweight (20-30 rep max) exercises on muscle building.
What does the expert in the video comment suggest for muscle building?
-The expert suggests that using at least 80% of one's rep max is necessary for effective muscle building.
What does Dr. Brad Shonfeld's research indicate about muscle gain across different rep ranges?
-Dr. Shonfeld's research indicates that similar amounts of muscle can be gained across a wide range of loading spectrums, up to 30 to 40 repetitions.
What are the three main stimuli that drive muscle growth according to the video?
-The three main stimuli are heavy tension, eccentric overload, and metabolic stress.
Why is it important to understand the repetition continuum when training for muscle growth?
-Understanding the repetition continuum allows one to effectively apply different stimuli for growth, ensuring that the training is tailored to reach failure at the right point for optimal muscle development.
What is the recommended workout distribution for individuals over 50, according to the video?
-For individuals over 50, the video recommends 50% of the workout in the moderate rep range (6-12 reps), 10% in the heavy range, and 40% in the light range.
How does lifting heavy weights affect muscle fibers and strength as one ages?
-Lifting heavy weights helps maintain type two muscle fibers, which are responsible for strength and function as one ages, reducing the risk of losing strength and functionality.
What is the role of lighter workouts in a strength-focused training program?
-In a strength-focused program, lighter workouts serve as neurological preparation, helping muscles get ready for heavier lifts, and also strengthen weak points to prevent them from becoming a limiting factor in overall strength.
What is the recommended workout distribution for hypertrophy-focused individuals?
-For hypertrophy-focused individuals, the video recommends 50% of the workout in the moderate rep range, and the remaining 25% should be divided equally between heavy and light workouts.
Why is it important to include both heavy and light workouts for muscle building?
-Including both heavy and light workouts ensures that all three stimuli for muscle growth (tension, eccentric stress, and metabolic overload) are addressed, leading to the most effective muscle development and functional capability.
Outlines
🏋️♂️ Muscle Building: Heavy vs. Light Weights
The paragraph discusses the effectiveness of heavy and light weights in muscle building. It presents a scenario where Jesse performs dumbbell bench presses with different weight ranges and rep maxes. The narrator challenges viewers to determine which approach is more effective for muscle growth. The video suggests that both heavy and light weights can be effective, depending on how they are applied within a training program. The importance of reaching true failure and understanding the repetition continuum is emphasized, along with the role of different stimuli like tension, eccentric overload, and metabolic stress in muscle growth.
🤔 The Subjectivity of Failure in Training
This paragraph delves into the concept of failure in the context of high rep ranges and how it becomes more subjective. It explains that while heavy weights can easily drive tension and lead to failure, lighter weights require a higher level of intensity to achieve the same effect. The narrator uses Jesse's workout as an example to illustrate that even with lighter weights, reaching true failure can lead to effective muscle growth. The importance of not just training for stress but also for size is highlighted, and the video encourages viewers to consider a balanced approach to their training.
📊 Training Breakdown for Different Goals
The final paragraph provides a detailed training breakdown for individuals with different goals, such as those over 50, strength-focused individuals, and hypertrophy-focused trainees. It suggests a 50-40-10 distribution for older individuals, with 50% in the moderate rep range, 40% in the light range, and 10% in the heavy range to maintain strength and function. For strength-focused individuals, the breakdown is 60% heavy work, 30% moderate, and 10% light work, emphasizing the neurological preparation and strengthening of weak points. For hypertrophy, the video recommends a 50% moderate, 25% heavy, and 25% light approach, stressing the importance of all three stimuli for optimal muscle growth. The paragraph concludes with a reminder that both heavy and light training are necessary for the most effective muscle development.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Rep Max
💡Muscle Hypertrophy
💡Repetition Continuum
💡Eccentric Overload
💡Metabolic Stress
💡Failure
💡Training Frequency
💡Strength Training
💡Neurological Preparation
💡Functionality
💡Training Breakdown
Highlights
The video discusses the effectiveness of heavy and lightweight training for muscle building.
Jesse's dumbbell bench press is analyzed for muscle building effectiveness.
The importance of reaching failure in both heavy and light training is emphasized.
A study is referenced suggesting muscle can be built with as low as 30% rep max.
Dr. Brad Schoenfeld's research supports muscle gain across a wide range of repetitions.
Three main stimuli for muscle growth are identified: heavy tension, eccentric overload, and metabolic stress.
The margin for error in applying these stimuli narrows as rep ranges increase.
Real failure is defined as the point where the weight cannot be moved anymore.
Lightweights can be effective for muscle building if failure is reached.
A balanced approach to training is recommended, incorporating heavy, moderate, and light weights.
For individuals over 50, a specific breakdown of rep ranges is suggested to maintain strength and function.
Lifting heavy slowly with controlled pace is recommended for older individuals.
Lightweight training is important for functional capability and should be part of a balanced program.
The video concludes that both heavy and light training are necessary for optimal muscle growth.
A link to a video on the 'three sets of 12 mentality' is promised for further information.
Full programs and meal plans are available at aex.com for a comprehensive approach to training.
Transcripts
so heavy weighs or lightweights which
one do you think builds more muscle well
you're about to find out but not before
you're about to be tested see check out
this clip of Jesse doing a dumbbell
bench press on the left a you'll see him
using an 8 to 10 rep max performing his
repetitions and on the right side B
you'll see he's using a much lighter
weight somewhere in the 20 to 30 rep max
and all he's doing here is again
performing these repetitions I want you
to analyze and tell me which one is more
effective
for building muscle be careful with your
choice because again we're going to
grade you when this is all said and done
and here on the left hand side he's
looks like he's getting ready to reach
failure and about does it okay but he's
still going over here at rep 18 there's
19 got a little Grimace on his face over
there looks kind of
uncomfortable
202 how far is Jesse gonna go here it
might matter for those of you that think
that light might be useful
here we are he's getting at
24 will he yeah no sorry so he gets 24
to failure okay what is your answer now
I know you could probably just fast
forward until you get the answer but
that would be cheating so what I'd
rather you do is even have to pause the
video leave your answer and why you feel
that way and don't go back and change it
later I want to know your real answer
now what is my answer well I think I
have to appeal to sort of the authority
here and I'm not it because apparently
in my last video where we talked about
repetitions and how many you should be
performing there was an expert there and
he left a comment and it said to build
muscle you have to use at least 80% rep
max so easy and they went on to say
directly at me show us how much you'll
increase the muscle with only 30% rep
max stop blah blah blah clown party guy
I'm not a party guy I don't know where
that came from then he proceeded to say
a next stop blah blah publish a study
proven that with only 30% rep max you
can increase the mass if not close this
Channel and then he says show me a
natural bodybuilder training with only
with 30% of rep max and once again stop
blah blah blah and party guy with the
hat now in the past I've actually
interacted with some of these guys and
one time in particular we called him
professor dickweed this is his cousin
Professor dick wagon but I have a reason
for that because if you answered
lightweight don't feel bad you actually
could be right if you answered
heavyweight
don't feel bad cuz you actually could be
right if you answer both that's what I
answer you're going to be right but it
requires an understanding of the
repetition Continuum here because when
you understand this you can make any of
these work and before we even have to go
any further he asked for studies there's
plenty of studies and not just studies
that prove that you can build muscle in
any of these rep ranges but there's
actually real science being done on this
every single day one of my friends Dr
Brad shonfeld has done plenty and I'll
let him him explain for dick wheat dick
Wagon in his own words why this is so so
I had always thought that if you're
doing anything over 12 to 15 repetitions
it's basically glorified cardio and that
you know it's just muscle endurance
you're not going to gain
muscle um the literature is now
compellingly showed I I just there's so
much literature on the topic our lab is
uh done quite a bit of research as well
as many others and it shows that you can
gain um muscle similar amounts of muscle
regardless of the loading across a wide
range of loading spectrums up to 30 to
even 40 repetitions which is a long
that's a long set and again that's a
large amount of research that's being
done to show this but it's driven by a
few different things namely the fact
that there's different stimuli here that
drives muscle growth the three main ones
being the heavy tension high tension we
get down here in these lower rep ranges
the Ecentric overload that's very
possible as we get to sort of these
midre ranges here and then the metabolic
stress that we can get as we get all the
way up into these higher repetitions but
knowing how to apply them is really
critical if you want to see the gains
from all these rep ranges and it might
just be that the person who did comment
here never experienced any success with
those higher rep ranges because he
didn't apply them right the first thing
you have to understand is that your
margin for error when applying these
different stimuli for growth comes very
very narrow when you get up into this
range meaning there's only one
repetition that's going to matter here
in terms of its ability to produce
growth and that will be the one
repetition that you do that takes you to
failure and I mean real failure hold on
to that for a second because down here
we know that we can drive heavy tension
just by lifting the weight if we're
using a two or three rep set it's really
heavy we know that right away and then
this area here applying those slower
Ecentric like I covered in our three
sets of 12 video that you're going to
want to check out at the end of this one
becomes an easy driver of overload and
also Ecentric muscle damage that we know
can cause growth but look what happens
here when we look at this rep scale
again this way subjectivity what happens
is that the scale of subjectivity
becomes very broad as we get into those
higher rep ranges meaning no one's going
to question what it feels like when you
reach failure here again we're not
talking about training for stress you
wouldn't really be training to failure
here but if you're training for size and
you're using heavier weights you know
when you hit failure you either can or
you can't when we get into this area it
starts to get a little bit more broad
but it's still pretty clear whether you
end your set to failure at 10 11 or 12
even the research will back up the fact
that whether you take it all the way to
failure or maybe a rep or too shy of
true failure you're still going to get
the same results but when we get up here
it starts to get so muddy
because what is real failure here are
you really reaching it when it starts to
burn that's not failure that is not
failure that's not enough of a stimulus
you have to get to that really high
level of intensity and it might happen
there or it might happen here or it
might happen here but it has to be a
specific number based upon your effort
let's go back to that set from Jesse and
let's watch if he had decided to stop at
the point he's going to stop even though
he's feeling a burn here I could tell by
the Grimace on his face
is that really a stopping point there I
mean I'm sure it was difficult but no we
have to rewind that pick those damn
dumbbells back up Jesse and keep going
and I'm not saying you could evaluate
everything based on the look on his face
or even the pace of the dumbbells but I
can tell you this he's getting more
repetitions which means he did not reach
failure and I'm talking about pushing
through this extreme level of burn until
those dumbbells cannot move anymore now
he's reached failure now that set has
become an effective one for building
muscle even though it was lightweights
and so if your answer to the quiz was
that yes lightweights is my choice for
building more muscle you could be right
could be because it depends also on what
you're doing right now I think it's safe
to say that we should all be doing all
of it and that was my original answer
both why is that because all of them
serve as a stimulus that you're going to
need to adopt at some point the guys
that want to always lift heavy are going
to find that that pathway will dry up at
some point so they start to Veer into
maybe this pathway or the Ecentric
overload that works really nicely in
this rep range but that creates muscle
damage that often times elicits muscle
soreness that can sometimes decrease
your training frequency because of the
after effects of having to train with
that delade onet muscle soreness so that
starts to become an impediment to you
continuing your training so then you
have to sort of say well what else do I
have and I do have this option and it
works really really well especially you
haven't been doing doing it in a while
and that's where I want to make some
recommendations cuz I think you might
think to yourself well how much of it
should I do then well let's say we
address the guys that are over 50
because a lot of us will talk about
these are the guys that have to stay
away from the heavy weights just lift
light I know that was my answer cuz I'm
an older guy no I don't recommend that
if you look at this chart here this is
my breakdown pretty much 50% of your
workload let's see see if you want to do
it in terms of something you can kind of
grasp think about your next 10 sets of
your next workout five of them should be
in the moderate rep range and that was
in that middle range there 6 to 12 your
heavy stuff heavy yes there should be
heavy here 10% of your work should be in
that heavy range and here 40% should be
in that light range now why is that
because I believe that the overvalue of
just lightweights here is a big mistake
for men as we age because we need to
maximize our strength and hold on to
every bit that we have and if you do do
not train in these heavier rep ranges
and load up exercises appropriately
you're going to lose your ability to
hold on to those type two muscle fibers
which are also going to be responsible
for you maintaining good strength and
function as you age you know decrease
all kinds of mortality risk so you want
to do that but how do you do it I always
recommend you still lift heavy but you
lift slower you keep your pace in
control so that you can be in command of
that weight and it will still be very
healthy and when we get away from all
the Reliance on light weight here we cut
down on some of those repetitions
because I will tell you despite the fact
that yes the load could be a factor the
rotations on the tire count too if all I
do is keep even if I had no weight in my
hand I kept doing this there is some
wear and tear in the joints that will
occur especially as you get older that
if you keep relying only on lightweight
it's not going to be the path that you
really want to go down so you want to
make sure you're veing into these two
categories too but certainly there's a
good amount of lightweight here being
used the next group here the strength
Focus guys now I get it you're focused
on strength and maybe again this video
is really geared more towards
hypertrophy but if you're focused on
strength then of course about 60% of
your work here is going to be focused on
doing that real heavy strength work and
then the 30% over here is still going to
be in the moderate range but there's
still going to be a portion and a place
for that light work as part of your
overall approach even if good friend
Matt wedding has his wedding warm-ups
that he plans as part of is training
what purpose do they serve number one
they serve a neurological preparation
purpose in other words they get your
muscles ready to perform and all these
auxiliary muscles that help out the
bigger muscles in performing those big
lifts are required and they should be
ready to work for you when you need them
and that's what these do and they also
help to strengthen the weak muscles the
weak points because you're only as
strong as your weakest link and when
that weak link undermines your strength
you'll know it so you want to make sure
that you're still working on them here
and for the hypertrophy fol Focus guys
which is most of us who just want to
build muscle what should your breakdown
be again 50% I believe should be here in
that moderate range 25% an equal amount
to what we do for our heavy work should
be broken down as follows why is this
cuz what I just said you're going to
need to build yourself around all three
stimuli tension Ecentric stress and
metabolic overload if you want to build
the most amount of muscle and dancing
between these is the dance you need to
learn and you weave from one to the
other but I can tell you that having a
place in your training for that lighter
work even if it's just body weight
training is incredibly important to not
just building the most muscle but being
the most functionally capable I can do
something with the muscle I put on my
body I'm not just someone that can looks
good on stage but I actually can perform
with it you're going to need to do some
of this light work but make sure when
you do that you're doing it the right
way and you're applying that intensity
that Focus that high effort learn to
live with the burn and then go further
until you can't even sustain another rep
that being said you might get fatigued
from doing that you don't really
mentally have the focus to do that over
and over again that's fine only 25% of
it needs to be there you still got these
other areas that you can work with the
bottom line guys is if you want to build
the most muscle you must do both heavy
and light and that other video that I
promised you I will link for you right
over here where you can learn more about
that three sets of 12 mentality all
right guys I hope you found it helpful
full programs over at aex.com where we
show you how to do exactly this and
include a meal plan make sure you C
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all right guys see you
soon
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