You can still make gainz with light weights at home

We are all out of sorts right now due to our limited access to gyms and heavy weights, but do not let that deter you from continuing to get after it with lighter weights.

One study on the effects of high reps and low reps on muscle growth compared sets performed with weights at 80 percent of one-rep maximum (1RM) to complete muscular fatigue with sets performed with weights at 30 percent of 1RM to complete muscular fatigue. Turns out that the weight of the load is not as important. Instead, what matters is whether a muscle is worked to complete fatigue. This study demonstrated that high reps and light weights can stimulate just as much muscle growth as low reps and heavy weights.

For example, you can build your chest by doing a few sets of high-rep push-ups to complete failure. This is a potent tactic you can apply right now in your living room.

In another study, super-slow lifting at 55 percent to 60 percent of the participant’s 1RM increased both muscle thickness and maximal strength just as much as standard-speed lifts performed at 80 to 90 percent of the participant’s 1RM.

In yet another study, both heavy lifts of eight to ten reps and light lifts of eighteen to twenty reps activated the genes involved in muscle growth. Research has also demonstrated that 25 to 35 reps with lighter weights leads to the same gains in muscle size as 8 to 12 reps with heavier weights. Even in seasoned weight lifters, 20 to 25 reps with a light weight leads to the same muscle growth as 8 to 12 reps with a heavy weight.

Ultimately, if you want to add muscle mass during this time, you should incorporating one of these modalities because you can still build muscle with light weights and high reps—and, incidentally, research suggests this approach is particularly effective when training legs.

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1. Cameron J. Mitchell et al., “Resistance Exercise Load Does Not Determine Training-Mediated Hypertrophic Gains in Young Men,” Journal of Applied Physiology 113, no. 1 (July 2012): 71–77, https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00307.2012.

2. Michiya Tanimoto et al., “Effects of Whole-Body Low-Intensity Resistance Training With Slow Movement and Tonic Force Generation on Muscular Size and Strength in Young Men,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 22, no. 6 (November 2008): 1926–1938, https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e318185f2b0.

3. Brad Schoenfeld et al., “Effects of Low- vs. High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Hypertrophy in Well-Trained Men,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 29, no. 10 (October 2015): 2954–2963, https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000000958; Bent R. Rønnestad et al., “Dissimilar Effects Of One- And Three-Set Strength Training On Strength And Muscle Mass Gains In Upper And Lower Body In Untrained Subjects,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 21, no. 1 (February 2007): 157–163, https://doi.org/10.1519/00124278-200702000-00028; Hanssen et al., “The Effect of Strength Training,” 728–739, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2012.01452.x.

lean and strong: Am I Doing it Wrong?

Who doesn’t want to look lean and have the strength to back it up?

There is plenty of research to show that aerobic exercise, or cardio, produces negligible results when it comes to fat loss whereas anaerobic modes of exercise such as strength training and sprint interval training are exponentially better tools for optimizing body composition because they burn fat and build muscle. Yet it is still a common practice for people to go for a nice jog. Why is that? In order to avoid the continued confusion, the following four points clarify how to use different types of exercise to achieve the best results.

#1: Aerobic training can only help you lose fat if you are just starting to exercise or significantly overweight.

This isn’t the most effective type of exercise for fat loss but if you are just starting out, this is better than nothing. However, the window of results for this is relatively short; you can expect to see composition changes for about six weeks, beyond that progress tapers rapidly.  

A recent study from Duke University took sedentary, out of shape, overweight people through a fairly intense (roughly 80% of max heart rate) aerobic exercise for 40 minutes 3 times a week for 8 weeks and they lost a significant amount of weight. The total weight lost should be examined as sustained aerobic training is detrimental to strength and muscle gain (which helps burn fat). So yes, they lost weight, but how much of that weight was wasted muscle?

The key to getting results with aerobic training if you are a novice is to be consistent and monitor food intake to make sure you don’t compensate for the exercise by eating more. Additionally, adding a strength training program to your routine will help you keep off any fat you lose after those first six weeks.

#2: In the long run, aerobic training is useless for fat loss (pun intended).  

In the Duke study the aerobic group only lost an average of 3.5lbs of fat and they weren’t able to build any muscle to keep that fat away, which is where we begin to see the faultiness in this method. By decreasing their body weight and improving their “fitness” the aerobic group actually lowered metabolic rate (ie how fast we burn calories). They were “in shape” and thinner but no less frail and in turn decreased their resting energy expenditure. In order to maintain that fat loss, they would need to eat less, change their ratio of fats/carbs/proteins proportions accordingly or exercise longer and more intensely. No fun!

In a 2006 study of runners, it was found that only the runners who tripled their weekly mileage from 10 miles/week to 30 miles/week did not gain fat over the 9-year study. That’s a huge increase, in not only mileage but time spent training.

#3: Anaerobic training burns fat quicker, while building muscle so that you raise your metabolism. 

In a study of women that compared an anaerobic training program with an aerobic protocol, those that were in the anaerobic training program who lifted moderately heavy weights, lost nearly 10lbs of body fat, gained about 6lbs of muscle and had a dramatic increase in strength. The women who did the high rep, aerobic-style lifting program with the light weights had no change in body composition, and no increases in strength.

The benefit of building muscle is that your hard work lasts longer if you quit exercising. A study that tested what happens when subjects stopped exercising for a period of 3 months after doing a cardio/endurance or a resistance/strength training protocol found that the resistance training group maintained improvements in strength, muscle and cardiovascular fitness longer than the endurance training group.

The benefits of resistance training are even more pronounced in people who are in shape. In trained male athletes, a 6-week heavy load strength training program with multi-joint lifts (deadlift, squat, military press, chin-up and bench press) allowed them to lose 1% of body fat, while gaining 1.3% muscle mass for a dramatic improvement in body composition.

If we compare that to the Duke study: the aerobic group lost 1% of body fat but gained no muscle, resulting in less than favorable body composition change.

#4:  The bottom line is to lift weights and do anaerobic intervals to improve your physique.

It’s pretty simple really, focus only on an anaerobic style of training and give it all you’ve got. It will not only take you significantly less time to accomplish but the results are exponentially greater.

Resistance training paired with anaerobic intervals, or sprint training, appears to be the most effective way to not only look good naked but to develop your strength optimally. A popular 20-minute sprint cycling workout has been found to lead to between 3-5lbs of fat loss in the overweight, untrained men and women. This is the protocol that was used: 8-second sprints with 12 seconds rest. Its very simple, but grueling. Try it!

More experience trainees will benefit from running sprints on a track. A Canadian study found that trained individuals who did six 30-second all-out sprints with 4 minutes rest lost an impressive 12.4% body fat after spending less than 45 minutes of actual work. Compared to an aerobic group only lost 5.8% body fat but they spent a total of 13.5 hours training:

Suggestions for developing the best resistance program include the following:

• Multi-joint lifts such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, split squats, step-ups, chin-ups and chest presses in every training session.

• Training with a higher volume – work up to more than 4 sets per exercise. Shoot for between 20 and 30 total reps per training session.

• Train with a higher intensity – include some training in the 70-85% of your one rep max range.

• Include short rest periods (30-60seconds) and count tempo for every lift so that you apply a specific amount of tension to the muscles. In general, opt for longer than (4-seconds) eccentric tempos and short or explosive concentric tempos.

• Shoot for 3 to 4 hours of total training time per week, which includes resistance training and a few short sprint sessions.