Go Hard or Go Home: How hard should I train?
A discussion about training to failure, heavy weights + fewer reps, light weights + more reps.
It’s generally considered that the hardest worker in the gym will get the most gains. But what is the truth in that? Should we train to failure? Should we lift heavy weights with fewer reps, or light weights for more reps?
Until recently, I believed that how much weight you lifted and the reps you did it for were very important - you had to be in the rep range of 6-15 to have muscle hypertrophy (posh word for muscle growth). I was wrong - sort of.
Here’s why.
Training to Failure: How Hard is Too Hard?
Generally speaking, training to failure every set is probably not the best way to go about lifting. If you workout for an hour or longer, chances are you’ll burn out quickly, risking injury. This is especially applicable to compound movements (more on them here), where multiple muscle groups are failing.
The general consensus is that you should leave between 1-3 reps “in the tank” for most sets - that being, 1-3 reps before failure. This way you conserve your energy throughout the workout, so you can train at constant intensity and reduce risk of injury.
If you are going to train to failure - which can be beneficial, especially if training for strength - do it on the last set for a certain muscle group. For example, if you’re training your chest, you might go to failure on your last set of chest flyes, if that’s the last chest exercise you do for the rest of your workout. It’s probably not a good idea to push to failure on compound lifts unless you have a spotter (I’m sure you’ve seen the videos of people getting stuck during bench press), but even then, be aware of the risks.
“Yeah buddy, light weight baby!”
Should you use heavy weight for few reps, light weight for many reps, or moderate weights for moderate reps?
The TLDR is, it doesn’t make much of a difference in regard to hypertrophy.
Two studies by Schoenfeld Et Al compared the effects of heavy, short sets and lighter, longer sets on muscle hypertrophy, in addition to moderate weight and moderate reps.
In 2014, they compared the effects of one group doing 10 reps with moderate weight against another doing 3 reps with heavier weight.
A similar study in the following year was carried out, at 8-12 reps at moderate weight and 25-35 reps at light weight.
The studies concluded that all groups saw about the same level of muscle growth.
However, the lower rep and heavy weight groups saw more strength gains.
However, this is not to say that you should just do loads of heavy weights and short sets for every workout, for the reasons covered previously. There’s pros and cons to going lower and higher in rep range.
On the lower end, whilst you will gain more strength, you have an increased risk of injury. In the first study, there was a higher rate of dropout in the 3 rep group due to injury or inability to handle the training than in the 10 rep group. It can also be difficult to get lots of volume in - you’ll have to do lots of sets to meet the same volume as someone using 10 reps, making workouts long and gruelling - the 3 rep group had to do seven sets, whereas the 10 rep group only had to do three.
However, because you will gain more strength, you’ll be able to lift more weight in moderate rep ranges, theoretically resulting in more gainz because you can go harder. Definitely add in some.
On the higher end, you will gain more endurance, but the drawback is increased fatigue, especially on compound lifts where you’ll get lactic acid buildup in multiple muscle groups. You’re gonna be sore after that. But because you build up endurance, it gets a bit better, and you’ll be able to train in a shorter rep zone without getting as tired. In addition, higher-rep exercises build up more metabolic stress, a process thought to drive muscle growth, so it’s good to include a little bit of high rep exercises.
Personally, I dislike high rep sets, simply because I tend to lose count. But you might be better at counting past 15 than me, so add some in.
Generally speaking, a good ballpark is to have most sets in the “Goldilocks zone” of anywhere between 6-15 reps. Make this about 3/4 of your training, and then have the other quarter consisting of high and low rep stuff, to get the best of all worlds.
Conclusion
I’ve personally never been a fan of training for endurance, nor ever really pushed to do heavier training like 1RM training. But, having learnt all this just recently, I think I’ll give it a go when I can get back in the gym.
I hope you’ve found this useful. For more on the topic, definitely check out Jeff Nippard’s Fundamental Series on YouTube (It’s where I got the majority of this post from!).
Do you train heavy or light? Will that change after this? Let me know in the comments, or on my Instagram or Twitter.
Train smarter and harder!
- Tom
Sources:
https://youtu.be/3JOEZb46-dM
DISCLAIMER
The content provided in these posts are designed to be educational and informative. I am not a medical doctor, psychologist, therapist, nutritionist, or registered dietitian. The contents of these emails should not be seen as medical, psychological, dietary, nutritional, or healthcare advice of any kind. Always consult a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.