13 ms·
More weight, fewer reps works best.
- xiaoma 17y agoThis mostly agrees with my own experience growing up and doing various types of weight training for various sports. However, I'd say the very biggest thing that determines whether your weight-training leads to a big bulky physique or a lean and cut one isn't the number of reps you do. It's diet. If you eat large meals, you'll be big; if you don't, you'll be lean. It may not be possible to get "huge" without using relatively heavy weights or your body weight, but a lot of people I've known have a ridiculous fear that they'll somehow accidentally develop the kind of physique that professional bodybuilders get after spending thousands of hours in the gym and taking anabolic steroids. It's also worth pointing out that some very lean people are shockingly strong. One guy at my school weighed about 160lbs, looked nothing like a bodybuilder and could bench 350lbs with ease.
- keeptrying 17y agoThere are 2 ways you can get stronger - 1. Adding muscle mass 2. Increasing the amount of muscle that's recruited for doing something. Ie increasing your neuromuscular efficiency. Low reps increase strength by the second method. The second method also explains why you can be small but very strong
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- billybob 17y agoThat's it. Next time I work out, I'm going to grab the front of my car and lift like crazy. It won't budge, but I'll exert maximum effort. One rep - I'm done. Efficiency!
- hugh3 17y agoUnfortunately weight training works best if your muscles actually move instead of just stretching. I do wonder whether the "trying to lift your car" exercise routine would eventually build your muscles, though. The other thing I wonder is whether you can do weight training without weights by pitting one hand against the other. Try to curl your biceps on one arm while pushing down with your other hand to try to prevent it. Is there any reason this won't work? Could be a good way to build muscle while sitting at your desk.
- Psyonic 17y agoTrying to lift a car probably would eventually build some muscle, though as its not a full range of motion, it'd be weird, but I can't see how you'd be able to keep working at it without doing some serious damage to your back. Good luck maintaining proper form while attempting it! And yes, I know it was a joke :)
- matrix 17y agoIt is well established that higher rep workouts better promote hypertrophy, and heavier low rep workouts promote neuromuscular efficiency. However, average trainees get both effects from any workout. The effects really only start to matter for more advanced trainees. Whatever you do, don't rush out and start doing heavy 5 rep sets of squats without proper coaching. Heavy, low rep exercises must be done with impeccable form because otherwise the risk of injury is high. Developing good form takes time and carefully performed lighter high rep sets to train your body to maintain that form. Diet, of course is also an essential component.
- danteembermage 17y agoDo you have that backwards? Conventional wisdom is the opposite so if you're correct this is actually quite interesting.
- enjo 17y agoEverything I've read is somewhere in the middle. Higher weight (85% of max) at 8-12 reps is the sweet spot for hypertrophy. I've seen that in lots of different places.
- keefe 17y agohttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/AN00893 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/strength-training/AN00893 Agree. Also, experimentally verified.
- earl 17y agoActually, I don't think that's true -- most, if not all, studies are performed on untrained subjects. It is not at all established that methods that work for the first 6 months work the same at 5+ years.
- keefe 17y agohow about worry about 5 years after 6 months, it's a much easier routine.
- NEPatriot 17y agoI think familiarization and adaption are the enemy. You should vary workout cycles so you're never a heavy weight/low rep or a low weight/high rep person. But rather one who always varies workout variables at least every 3 weeks. These variables: reps, weight, rest duration, big body exercise (squat/dead lift), specific body exercise (bicep curl), tempo, sets, reps, super sets.
- tome 17y agoInteresting, and I agree, but not for here.
- johnfn 17y agoReally? I'm not sure if I agree or not. It's certainly not related to hacking, but on the other hand, there's always that broad "satisfies our intellectual curiosity" banner that you have to hold things to. Although it was short and to the point, it caused me to reevaluate something I had taken for granted, so personally I think it fit the bill. Plus, I have a suspicion that the overlap between people who work out and people who go to hacker news is larger than you might think. I know that jogging, for instance, helps me focus, and I've heard other coders say the same. But I think I'm getting a bit tangential.
- _delirium 17y agoJogging I can see, but body-building and "working out" to me seems sort of the diametrical opposite, something I associate more with jocks. Being healthy and in reasonable shape is one thing, but obsessing over reps, weights, and muscle tone?
- scott_s 17y agoWe are no longer in high school. We don't need to separate the world into "jocks" and "nerds."
- _delirium 17y agoYes, but it's still useful to not make HN about every possible thing. If "weightlifting is hacking your body", then "being into cosmetics is hacking your appearance", "political activism is about hacking government/society", and every possible interest is hacking something. Isn't the point of this site to be tech-focused?
- einaros 17y agoI think that largely depends on the gym. Some are really just show-off spots, I agree, but my experience is that the less mainstream, often kinda run-down joints have a much friendlier, less cocky and pretty intelligent under-tone to them.
- johnswamps 17y agoWe've known about this for a long time: just ask any weight lifter. A routine of high weight compound movements would help pretty much anyone, regardless of whether you're trying to lose weight, gain it, convert fat to muscle, whatever. Just exercise 3 times a week and eat more or less than your calorie needs according to what you're trying to do. Starting Strength is a good program to look into, but really anything with squats, deadlifts, presses, etc. would be fine.
- Oatmeat 17y agoJust exercise 3 times a week and eat more or less than your calorie needs according to what you're trying to do. Right, eat less if trying to lose weight and eat more if trying to bulk up. But what if you are trying to lose fat and gain muscle?
- gaius 17y agoBut what if you are trying to lose fat and gain muscle? One requires a calorie deficit, the other a calorie surplus. So do one at a time, but which one depends on you. What exactly are you training for?
- akadien 17y agoEat meat and veggies. Eliminate any foods that are white and come in a box or bag from the middle of the supermarket. Walk a lot in between working out, and swim from time to time.
- mcantor 17y agoSeconded. Eat less rice, bread and pasta. When you do, eat brown rice, and whole grain pasta & bread.
- pushingbits 17y agoGo for a caloric surplus (and hit proteins) shortly after you finish your workout when your muscles are rebuilding / recharging, while keeping a caloric deficit for the whole day.
- grandalf 17y agothese guys wrote a book to that effect and then realized that for some people light weights work better: http://books.google.com/books?id=eo9X8asRie8C&dq=static+contraction+training&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=0yvES9viB5XYNu3ynfMN&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCsQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=eo9X8asRie8C&dq=static+...
- swombat 17y agoStandard knowledge in the weight lifting world. You'll find this advice repeated in most decent body building books. Here's a good website to get you started with a decent programme: http://stronglifts.com/ http://stronglifts.com/
- rubyrescue 17y agothanks! the site also has an e-book and spreadsheet on the program and doesn't even ask for an email address. also there's a long answer in the book about the 'gain muscle/lose fat' discussion above.
- flog 17y agoI've had good results with the 5x5 programme. It's a good manly thing to do, not as boring as hours on a bike, and is quick to perform (I can get in an out of the gym in 45 minutes).
- pesho 17y agoor just take up an endurance sport, like rowing, for example.
- thesnark 17y agoI really enjoy http://crossfit.com http://crossfit.com
- lpolovets 17y agoDitto. Brief summary for anyone who is interested: most crossfit workouts are a mix of weights and body weight exercises, but done at an aerobic pace. A typical workout might be 15-30 minutes (+ stretching before and after), after which you feel completely spent. Crossfit scales well with different ability levels and there is a lot of variety in workouts, so you don't get bored. The WODs (Workout of the Day) are posted on crossfit.com daily, and you usually won't see the same workout for 2-4 months at a time. It's fun to do a workout, struggle, then do the workout again a few months later and find that you improved significantly and no longer struggle.
- Goosey 17y agoFrom the CrossFit Faq (http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/faq.html): "The world's most successful athletes and coaches rely on exercise science the way deer hunters rely on the accordion." I hate to say this damages my perception of CrossFit.
- jzycrzy 17y agoThis is because exercise science is doing experiments that were proven effective by practitioners years ago. In the same way you wouldn't expect to learn bleeding-edge hacking techniques taking classes at the undergraduate college level.. you'd expect to learn them from people who've used them effectively and are re-using them often.
- hackermom 17y agoWhat seems to be ignored is the difference in the muscle itself from more weight fewer reps contra less weight more reps; bigger muscles faster, contra notable endurance gain. You will always gain size by increasing weight to push the muscle and force it to rebuild as the fibers break down when their potential's limit is approached, but the only way to build enduring muscle fiber is by more reps; by tiring the muscle out entirely to the point it can't do more repetitions. A muscle can be big, bulky, and deliver explosive power, and it can be lean, "tendony", hardy and durable. It is no different to normal stamina build from typical "cardio training" like jogging - every 100 meter extra you add to your trip slowly becomes easier for your entire body - heart, lungs, muscles. Endurace is also a strength on its own.
- ahoyhere 17y agoIs there evidence for this? I know a lot of people believe that lower weight x many reps is "toning" and higher weight x few reps is "bulking" but I have found credible arguments AGAINST this idea that there is any difference. It also seems to me like people won't get very large muscles without either incredible amounts of dedications, or juicing.
- einaros 17y agoWhile true, I think there's more to the mix than that. For the last 9-10 years I've stuck with a high-weight-few-reps approach, and I've found that while my strength has increased a lot, I by no means look bulky. I'd think most people would just place me in the "possibly working out" category if they saw me in a t-shirt. Biking, on the other hand, which I for the most had a brief encounter with to shed 45 excess lbs 10 years ago, I found built huge leg muscles. My biking had much more in common with the low-weight-many-reps-strategy.
- dkarl 17y agoBiking, on the other hand, which I for the most had a brief encounter with to shed 45 excess lbs 10 years ago, I found built huge leg muscles. My biking had much more in common with the low-weight-many-reps-strategy. Same experience here. I think people get confused because of how professional athletes are built. The best long-distance cyclists are very light and lean, while the best sprinters have huge lower bodies. Same thing with runners: sprinters are very muscular, and marathoners look like coat hangers covered with a thin layer of beef jerky. That is because of selection effects and professional levels of training, though, and is a misleading way of judging the effect of casual training on normal people with day jobs.
- sorbits 17y agoI started with http://concept1010.com/ http://concept1010.com/ early 2009. This is 6 machines (back, legs, arms, breast, stomach, and neck) once a week. Each repetition should take 20 seconds (so you do it slowly, which makes it harder) and you should be able to do about 7 repetitions before your muscles give up. If you continue past two and a half minute the weight is increased. I was skeptical at first, but today I am a believer ;) I have gone from 90 KG to 72 KG and would describe myself as muscular (but certainly not bulky) and feel overall in great shape (not just raw strength and duration, but also ability to do prolonged work in front of the computer in questionable positions w/o feeling back or neck pains). Of course my weight loss can also be attributed to other factors (eating less and burning more calories), strength training alone is not necessarily giving a weight loss, but it does help increase the metabolism and ensures that eating less does not cause burning muscle tissue, plus give a nicer shape when the fat is gone.
- ulvund 17y agoLift / Eat big small big muscular 'toned' small fat skinny