Is It Better to Lift Heavier Weights or Do More Reps?

Anyone who hits the weight room regularly will inevitably face the question: Should you add more weight and do less repetitions or use a lighter weight and do more reps?

The debate has raged on for as long as people have argued over cake versus pie (the answer is pie, obviously), but it’s not quite that simple.

The truth behind weight versus reps lies somewhere in between, but to paint a clearer picture, you have to understand why we ask this question in the first place.

A Worthy Villain: The Fitness Plateau

Once you’ve been following a fitness program for a while, you’ll eventually hit a fitness plateau—that dreaded no-man’s land where your body adapts to your routine, and you no longer make progress. It sucks, but it’s normal, and it happens to everyone.

One way to bust through the plateau is simply to change things up. This is where lifting heavier weights, adding more reps, or doing both (called a double progression) can shake up sleepy progress.



The Case for Heavier Weights

When you pile on the pounds, you typically lift on the lower end of reps (as few as 1-5 for some people). That doesn’t sound like much, but by doing so, you’re increasing your overall maximum strength and greatly improving your ability to lift heavier weights.

Most of that newfound superhero strength is because you’re improving your efficiency at a given exercise. Think of how your bank account grows when you minimize unnecessary spending. It’s like that, and the more you practice restraint with a budget, the easier it is to save.

Lifting heavy weights feels awesome, but it’s easy to get sucked into chasing the numbers and running into a wall. Eventually, you’ll reach a point where you simply can’t add any more weight, and if you push it, you could compromise your form and put yourself at risk for injury.

“If you’ve increased your weight and now your form is breaking down, it’s best to drop the weight and then increase the number of reps you’re performing,” says Tanner Baze, a certified personal trainer.

Which brings us to…

The Case for More Reps

When you lift lighter weights for more reps, you are still getting stronger, just in a different way. You’re developing “muscular endurance,” or your ability to exert a certain amount of effort before you fatigue. Sure enough, doing more work (more sets and reps, more workouts), will help you get stronger in the long run. Busting out more reps is also a challenging workout at a high-intensity level, which burns major calories and has a greater afterburn effect.

Plus, when you hit a plateau, adding reps instead of heaving more weight allows you to focus on proper technique and form and still leaves room for additional changes to your program, if necessary.

The upside of maintaining tip-top form is you end up really working the muscle as intended, not relying on a bunch of compensatory patterns (for example, letting your quads do all the work when your glutes are too weak) or potentially hurting yourself. One downside to this technique is that it may make your workouts slightly longer, as you’ll spend more time doing more reps.

Why Not Just Do Both?

Confusion about lifting heavier weights or doing more reps still lingers in the weight room because weightlifting and its effects on our bodies are often misunderstood, Baze says. Hint: It involves a lot more than lifting super-heavy weight or banging out more reps in isolation.

You need a combination of muscle damage (that hurts-so-good soreness after a great workout), mechanical tension (the sheer strain of lifting something heavy), and metabolic stress (that “burn” you feel from your muscle really working). Both heavy-weight and high-rep training check those three boxes and will ultimately build strength. Plus, both methods require proper form, because without good technique, it doesn’t matter how much weight or how many reps you do, you could be risking injury.

“If your goal is just to generally get stronger and more fit, choose one or the other,” says Nathan Jones, a doctor of physical therapy student and strongman competitor.

For long-term progress and to keep things interesting, you can incorporate both heavy-weight, low-rep training and light-weight, high-rep training by switching up the sets and reps on different days or weeks (a technique known as periodization). “If you’ve been doing 5 sets of 5 squats and can’t add weight or get an extra rep, drop the weight and go to 5 sets of 8, or add weight and go to 3 sets of 5,” Jones says. Basically, imagine your sets and reps as a wavelength continuously going up and down.

There’s nothing inherently magical about changing things up this way. “Personally, I think it’s more psychological than anything,” Jones says. “Doing the same rep range every single time you lift gets boring. So doing something different helps you maintain motivation, and subsequently, keeps your effort high.”

The Takeaway

“There is no wrong decision here,” Jones says. When you lift more weight, add more reps, or do both appropriately with good form while keeping effort high, you’re nudging your body toward continually improved fitness and strength.

That said, when you add weight or make changes, do so in small increments. Your goal is to squeeze big results from little changes. It also helps to include a proper warm-up and cool-down.

“The single most important factor in your progress is your willingness to work hard and exert high effort,” Jones says. “So long as you’re doing more of something over time, you will get stronger.”

Mixing it up just a teeny bit to keep yourself motivated and to see progress—whatever your goal—will go a long way.

reprinted from greatist.com

7 Ways to Overcome the Mental Blocks Ruining Your Workouts

You won't see gains if you never make it to the gym
BY DANIELLE ZICKL

You've heard the saying: Performance is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. You can be in peak physical shape, but if your mind isn't in the right place, your training is going to take a hit.

These difficulties usually come in the form of mental blocks, or not being able to accomplish something you feel like you should be able to tackle.

Sound familiar? You're definitely not alone, says Lani Lawrence, Psy.D., senior staff psychologist for the University of Southern California athletics program.

"Having mental blocks are completely normal — most athletes experience them," she says.

These mental blocks are usually triggered by feeling overwhelmed, she says. This can be due to a number of things such as pressure, burnout, stress, anxiety, or the fear of trying something new.

A mental block isn't exactly the same as a motivation hit. Not feeling the motivation to keep up with your workout routine can go hand-in-hand with a mental block, but the two don't necessarily need to be related. For one, you can have the motivation to fix what's wrong, but whatever mental block is standing in your way makes any effort unable to work.

Still, some of the same tricks you can use to stoke your motivation can be used to overcome mental blocks, too, says Lawrence. Here, seven ways to get back on track so you can push past a plateau or get through the hardest part of that workout.

Split Your Overall Goal Into Smaller Pieces

One of the reasons you might be feeling overwhelmed is because you have one massive goal staring you in the face — say, for instance, you want to cross a marathon off your bucket list.

Pretty intimidating, right? Instead of trying to go straight from 0 to 100, Lawrence recommends starting small and breaking your overall goal up into a series of achievable pieces, making them easier to tackle.

"I tell my athletes: 'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.'"

Chewing off one bite at a time increases your confidence, which therefore boosts your performance, says Lawrence.

So how exactly do you go about setting these small-scale goals? Lawrence abides by the acronym: SMART. Your goals should be specific, measurable, adjustable, realistic, and time-limited. Let's go back to the marathon example. Here's what Lawrence says that could look like:

Specific: You want to finish your marathon in under four hours.
Measurable: To train, you'll run three to five days a week, beginning at two miles each run and increasing your mileage by 5 percent each week.
Adjustable: On days that you are injured or fatigued, you can either cross-train or take an extra day to rest.
Realistic: You've planned out days and times that you'll be able to run for the next three months, including all increases in mileage.
Time-limited: You'll complete your marathon training in three months.

Reconsider Your Training Environment

You may have joined a gym simply because it seemed like the easiest way to get in shape, but if you're not feeling motivated to get there, maybe it's time to switch things up.

Lawrence recommends asking yourself what type of environment you best perform in. Maybe it's one where you're completely alone, maybe it's just you and a coach or trainer, or maybe it's a group full of people. Also make note if you thrive in a calm, relaxed setting, or if you need something a little more pressure-filled to be able to get things done.

And if you realize your ideal environment isn't the one you have jotted down on your workout plan? See how you can tweak it. For example, if you realize you perform best in company, your solitary runs might not be cutting it. So instead, find a running club in your town, or ask a few friends to join you.

Ask Yourself What Motivates You

If something isn't working in your training plan, it might be time to re-evaluate the bigger picture. What did you originally set out to achieve, and is this still what you want?

Lawrence suggests asking yourself questions like: "Why did I initially take up this sport or begin working out?" "Have those reasons changed?" "Do I still find it fun?" "Is there something else out there worth seeing if I'll like better?"

By questioning your motives, you might realize your heart isn't 100 percent into the activity, which could explain why you're having trouble with it. A few ways to recognize that things aren't working include feeling irritable or frustrated during the activity, a general lack of energy, or negative thoughts throughout.

So what do you do when you realize you aren't happy with your training anymore?

"Having a plan B or even C can be really beneficial of 'failing forward' and progressing if there's a setback," Lawrence says. In other words, refocus your energy into figuring out what else you want to try, and go try it.

Imagine Your Success...

Say you've been deadlifting 225 pounds for awhile, and your trainer suggests upping your weight. You've been getting stronger and you both think you're ready, but you've been trying unsuccessfully for weeks.

In this case, your mental block might be your nerves and anxiety about failing getting the best of you. To get past this hump, Lawrence suggests picturing yourself mastering the move — down to every little detail, like bending down and putting your hands on the barbell or that breath you take before you go to lift — in your head.

"Picture what you want to accomplish and remind your brain what it's like," she says.

...But Don't Be Afraid to Fail

Okay, you imagine your success. But on the other hand, you shouldn't be afraid to fail sometimes, either.

If everything came easily, success wouldn't feel as good as it does. Not accomplishing something on the first try will ultimately make you mentally stronger because it forces you to take a step back and think about what you can do better the next time around, according to Lawrence.

So if you do fail? Reevaluate your goals, then picture success in your mind.

Focus On the Now

According to the American Psychological Association, practicing mindfulness — or awareness — can result in "improved concentration and mental clarity." And Lawrence agrees, telling her athletes that mindfulness is an important aspect of overcoming any mental blocks.

"Teach yourself to relax and be in the present," she says. "Don’t be anxious about the possible outcome of not succeeding."

That's important, because thinking negatively only furthers a mental block.

"If you had a best friend who was next to you during a workout saying how you can't do anything right, would you want to keep that friend? Hopefully not. As humans, we respond better to uplifting words and encouragement. Instead of rehearsing what we're doing wrong our time and energy is better spent focusing on what we can do correctly."

Loop In a Pro

Know when to seek outside help, Lawrence says. This can be when you've tried everything you can think of to find a solution to what's wrong, but still aren't seeing results.

"Asking for support is beneficial and nothing to be ashamed of," she says. A pro can help you develop strategies to improve your focus, boost your confidence, and deal with setbacks.

If it’s not a skill or training issue and something else is getting in the way that you can’t seem to fix on your own, talking to a sports psychologist can help you get back on track.