Have you seen the Geico insurance commercial — the one where the “bro” gets bigger as he lifts heavier weights?
As funny as that is, you don’t need to lift heavy weights to build muscle.
Research at McMaster University in Canada shows you can use lighter weights as long as you lift them enough times to tire out your muscles.
That’s the opposite of what we were told years ago. Less weight with more reps was how we were told to build longer, leaner muscle, not bigger stronger ones.
“We found that loads that were quite heavy and comparatively light were equally effective at inducing muscle growth and promoting strength,” says researcher Cam Mitchell.
The research, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, challenges the widely accepted dogma that training with heavy weights — 6 to 8 repetitions before fatigue — is the best avenue to muscle growth.
“Many older adults can have joint problems which would prevent them training with heavy loads,” says Mitchell. “This study shows that they have the option of training with lighter and less intimidating loads and can still receive the benefits.”
Less weight with more repetitions also gives you a benefit similar to interval training, so you get the best of both worlds in one workout with weights.
One thing that many fitness “experts” and doctors fail to tell you is that the journey to strength and fitness is just as important as the destination. Dr. Michael Cutler, author of The Part-Time Health Nut, would argue the journey gives you even greater benefit.
He says, “All you have to do is enough to get your metabolism started and pointed in the right direction, and your body will do the rest of the work. You just have to maintain it part-time.”
There’s no need to be obsessed with the end result. Anything you do along the way is beneficial, whether it’s heavy duty or light weight.
This approach is the reason Dr. Cutler wrote his Part-Time Health Nut guide. There are tips and tricks in the book you won’t hear from other doctors. To follow Dr. Cutler’s recommendations from The Part-Time Health Nut, just click here. It’s the easiest, best path to your best health ever — for life.
