Training Strength Vs Size: Weight Lifting Strategies

And that’s a great thing. The advantages of resistance training are countless and thoroughly proven: It extends longevity¹, increases bone mass², reduces stress³, improves cardiovascular health⁴, and so forth (we could go on for some time!).

But in terms of the “best” strength training plan, things can get confusing. Must you lift heavier weights, or aim to do more reps and sets? How often do you really want to lift to see results? Different influencers offers you every kind of conflicting advice on what it is best to or shouldn’t do, while various ads bill themselves as the following biggest thing. For a very long time, even science looked as if it would offer murky answers.

“The research on the subject has not been all that clear with many papers sending mixed signals as as to if reps or weight matter more for developing strength versus muscle mass,” says Dustin Willis, DPT, a professor at West Coast University.

Nonetheless, a brand new, potentially landmark research paper⁵ that reviewed over 1000 studies—the most important of its kind to this date on this topic—gives us increased insight into the matter.

To begin off, the paper confirmed what’s already well-known about resistance training: In comparison with no exercise, almost any combination of sets and reps, irrespective of how heavy or how often you’re lifting, will result in increases in muscle strength and muscle size. That’s very likely not news to you!

Diving deeper, the researchers found that to extend muscle strength, the training programs that involved multiple sets or heavier weights were handiest. And people programs that included each multiple sets and heavier weights were the very best rated.

But when the goal was to construct greater muscles (what scientists call hypertrophy), how much weight you’re lifting wasn’t all that essential. As an alternative, the researchers found that multiple sets and multiple days of coaching per week had the best impact on muscle size.

What’s more, the researchers also explored the concept of “training to failure,” or doing as many reps as you may until you may’t do any more, as a way to construct muscle size. Interestingly, they found it typically made no significant difference. (Though, there was a caveat that this approach could potentially be useful for more advanced lifters.)

One other notable finding needed to do with the “minimum effective dose,” or the smallest amount you might have to lift to see some results. To achieve strength, they found you needed to do resistance training for at the least two sets or two sessions per week, while for hypertrophy the minimum effective dose was resistance training for at the least two sets and two sessions per week.

To place all of it together:

In case your goal is to get stronger, give attention to lifting heavier weights (in fact, do that in a methodical and progressive manner) for multiple sets. The minimum amount to get stronger is at the least two sets or at the least two training sessions per week, using the identical muscle groups.

In case your goal is to get greater, don’t worry about how heavy you’re lifting, but give attention to lifting weights more steadily (also in a methodical and progressive manner) for at the least two sets and two sessions per week specializing in the identical muscle groups. For those who’re a starting lifter, then “training to failure” isn’t needed but when you’re more advanced, it’s potentially useful to kickstart more muscle growth.

Apart from that, there’s no have to overthink it! Concentrate on moves you enjoy, and also you’ll see the #gains follow.