Lifting weights hevay vs. Light?

bride2012tobe

I have always lifted weights doing the traditional 3 sets of 8-12 with the heaviest weight that I can do to accomplish 3 sets. I was speaking to a PT at a party and she said she would do 3 sets of 25 at the heaviest weight you can do to accomplish 3 sets of 25. My ultimate goal would to be tone and strong. I still have another 10-15 pounds to lose.

Thanks

Bluechina222

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_lifting-weights-hevay-vs-light?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:7d51f5a3-3cbd-4bdf-b205-54a7e19f5aaePost:ff825845-b043-4ebe-bc9f-545083a02fa0">Lifting weights hevay vs. Light?</a>:
[QUOTE]I have always lifted weights doing the traditional 3 sets of 8-12 with the heaviest weight that I can do to accomplish 3 sets. I was speaking to a PT at a party and she said she would do 3 sets of 25 at the heaviest weight you can do to accomplish 3 sets of 25. My ultimate goal would to be tone and strong. I still have another 10-15 pounds to lose. Thanks
Posted by bride2012tobe[/QUOTE]


What you are doing is good the 3 sets of 8-12 if you want to tone and gain strength. If you do this regularly you should increase the weight about every 2 weeks give or take. When you do 3 sets of 25 you are going to be increasing your endurance more than to tone and gain strength just because you would have to use less weight. Either way as long as you are working out regularly and staying active you will loose the weight you need. just remeber 95% of loosing weight is nutrition no matter how much you work out. Hope this helps

Windsor81

HEAVY WEIGHT!  I once saw a statement that said "There's no point in lifting any weight that's lighter than your purse".  So true.

Building muscle will help burn fat, and you'll do that better with the heavier weight than with the lighter weight.  Yes, 80% of weight loss comes from nutrition, but if you're repeating the same exercise over and over again with piddly weights you're probably not going to see the results you're hoping for either.  Eventually, it becomes more of a cardio routine rather than weight lifting and there's some evidence out there that only doing cardio not only DOESN'T help you lose weight, it may cause you to retain weight as well (thus why HIIT training is so valuable). 

Plus, who the heck wants to sit around for 25 repetitions?  I've got places to go and things to do :P  If I can get as good of a workout in 45 minutes as I would in 1 1/2 hours, I'll take the 45 minutes any day!

Ori13

Lift like you want to gain mass.... Eat like you want to be shredded!!! I go by the policy that as long as I'm eating properly and getting my cardio in - I get that muscle definition and actually see results and benefits from my training when I lift heavy. Be an athlete and go for the gold!!!

sparent2010

I would say more reps than 8-12. More like 15-20. You can do the reps quickly, but if I am doing 3 sets of 15 versus 3 sets of 10 I can feel a difference.

You have to make your body uncomfortable to make it change. If you are struggling to do it (while keeping good form) it is better then blasting through 10.

Another good thing to remember is control. Do a set of reps in counts o f 4,6, or 8.

maribeth721

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_lifting-weights-hevay-vs-light?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:7d51f5a3-3cbd-4bdf-b205-54a7e19f5aaePost:c580d680-586e-46a2-aa33-32a986742ef8">Re: Lifting weights hevay vs. Light?</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>HEAVY WEIGHT!  I once saw a statement that said "There's no point in lifting any weight that's lighter than your purse".  So true</strong>. Building muscle will help burn fat, and you'll do that better with the heavier weight than with the lighter weight.  Yes, 80% of weight loss comes from nutrition, but if you're repeating the same exercise over and over again with piddly weights you're probably not going to see the results you're hoping for either.  Eventually, it becomes more of a cardio routine rather than weight lifting and there's some evidence out there that only doing cardio not only DOESN'T help you lose weight, it may cause you to retain weight as well (thus why HIIT training is so valuable).  <strong>Plus, who the heck wants to sit around for 25 repetitions?</strong>  I've got places to go and things to do :P  If I can get as good of a workout in 45 minutes as I would in 1 1/2 hours, I'll take the 45 minutes any day!
Posted by Windsor81[/QUOTE]

All of this!

Heavy weights!!! 20-25 reps is way too many reps for one set. This will increase your muscle endurance but not doing much for gaining strength. Being strong is how you look toned.  8-12 reps is probably a good place to stay in between. I try to stick between 10-15 reps per set. You will not bulk up. We do not have the same hormones as men and do not have enough testosterone to be bulky. So by lifting heavy don't be worried that you will end up looking like you training for some body building competition - you wont. Definitely heavier weights, less reps.

Firsttimers will probably comment on this if she sees it - she's a great person to get advice about lifting from!

blubuilding

Heavy weights! How heavy? Heavy enough to make the last 2 reps of each set HARD.

maribeth721

Heavy enough to where you can barely complete the last rep. So if your goal is 12 reps. You should have a hard time getting thru that 12th rep in each set - almost to the point where you would have to sacrifice form to get the full rep in. The point I think really is to almost exhaust your muscles.

planingweddinggirl

Heavy! Light weights are, in my opinion, useless, unless they are supplementary to a workout (ie running with 3 lb dumbells or weights on ankles). I hate the fact that most of my gfs are afraid to lift heavy because they don't want to gain muscle weight... I want to slap them sometimes haha! Muscle helps burn more fat and calories, and it only starts to add weight if you are already in the best shape of your life. So I think what you're doing is great! Listen to your trainer! Good luck with your workouts!