Home

Exercise Diet Your Body Forum Education About Me Contact Me

 
 

 

Sites to Visit

 
 

 

 
 
         
 
 
Search
This Site Web
Train with Me Online [ Login ]

 
     

Train with Me in the Atlanta Area

 
     

Ask Me A Question

 
   
View My Workout

 
 
Subscribe to Blog [?]

Popular Articles

Recent Articles

Categories

Monthly Archives

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The High Reps Myth

June 12, 2007 8:56 PM | Exercise | Comments (5)


“If you want to build muscle, do heavy weight and lower reps. If you want to tone, do light weight and high reps.” This is a declaration passed along from trainer to client, trainer to new trainer, workout buff to best friend, and big buff guy to new girl in the gym (don’t get me started on that). 

The problem is, only the first part is true. Keep reading and I’ll explain why. First, let’s talk about the word “tone”. Scientifically, muscle tone actually refers to the degree of tension in a muscle, which is part of the way it functions.

That said, whether you like the way you look or not, you already have muscle tone. When people say they want “toned” muscles, they want more muscle visibility. Meaning they want to see the shape of the muscle more so than they do now. 
 
The desired degree will vary from person to person. Some women want Linda Hamilton arms (from Terminator 2 – I know I did), others want Angel Basset arms (from pretty much any movie she’s done). Some men want Calvin Klein model arms; others want bodybuilder arms like Ronnie Coleman. To achieve any of these looks, you need some combination of bigger muscles and less fat. You can’t do one without the other and expect results. 

In order to lose the fat covering your shapely arm (or butt, etc.), you need a sound nutrition and cardio plan. 

Question: “What machine works this back fat?”

Answer: “There is no machine that works fat. You need to make it go away.”

Question: “What machine works this fat on the back of my arm?”

Answer: “There is no machine that works fat. You need to make it go away.”

If your question involves getting rid of fat, the answer is a sound NUTRITION and cardio plan. If you try to do cardio without the proper nutrition, you will be disappointed, because your body will not concentrate on getting rid of your existing body fat if it has to constantly burn of the excess fat that you are consuming. See related articles Getting Started with Nutrition and Feed Your Body Right and it will Thank You.

Now, on to the muscle. To achieve our toned look, we need to encourage our bodies to undergo muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth). In order to achieve this, you need to perform 6-12 repetitions. 12 reps or more is fine if you are looking to improve the endurance of the muscle, but it will not do much for the size or your overall look. 

Let’s compare a marathon runner and a sprinter. A marathon runner runs long distances and in doing so, performs repetitive movement for a long period of time. His muscle endurance is excellent. The sprinter uses more initial power and recruits more muscle fibers, although they can only do this for a short period of time. In general, sprinters have bodies that are envied, marathon runners do not.

Very high reps (more than 12) do not encourage your body to make the muscle bigger and stronger, especially since if you are doing high reps, the weight is too light to challenge it. Sure, you may “feel the burn” when doing 30 bicep curls in a row with 5 lbs, but that is not a telltale sign of burning fat. You’re feeling the burn because your muscle is tired. So before you rush to that “toning” class and grab a pair of light dumbbells and proceed to perform sets of 20 or more reps along with the instructor, consider this:

  • There are better (more effective) ways to burn calories (see above section on nutrition and cardio).
  • Lifting a 5 lb dumbbell over and over is doing nothing for the shape of your arm or whatever body part you want to improve. This applies to 20 million lunges, too.

High reps don’t work because you are not encouraging the muscle to get bigger, and you are not doing enough cardio at that moment to make the amount of fat smaller. You are training yourself to be able to do more reps, but if you’re looking for the types of arms you see in Oxygen magazine, you are wasting your time. Maximize your time in the gym by using a target weight training approach and challenging cardio. 

And don’t forget those eating habits when you are at home. Then and only then will you see great results.

Copyright © 2009 by A.M. Birmingham, ISSA CFT

 

AddThis Social Bookmark Button    AddThis Feed Button   

 

Don't miss my next post. Get it delivered straight to your inbox!

* Remember to check your inbox to confirm subscription.

 
   
  Recent Related News:
 
 
 
Recent Visitor Comments:
 

Comments

Nice article, and some good points on the key of nutrition in weight loss. Some people don't realise that you cant eat what want after doing a big cardio session.
Nice article. I think too many people believe the misinformation they hear on tv infomercials and gym rumors. Keep spreading the good word about fitness facts!
Staying healthy for a long period of time before starting a regular workout routine is more important than the average person may believe. Once a person has developed a healthy and disciplined diet, it is a smart decision to hit the weights.
Most of the commercial exercise equipment found at the neighborhood gym or workout center is now available as home gym equipment. Of course,some of this equipment is very large and cumbersome,so what type of equipment you can use in your home fitness center will depend to a large extent on the amount of space you have available.
Actually, lower repetitions work fast twitch muscles, which are most involved with muscle size. (example: sensation of no more strength left in exerted muscle) Higher repetitions with less weight work slow-twitch muscles, which are most involved with density. (example: sensation of burning) Bodybuilding routines for size consist of high weight with low repetitions, especially for advanced bodybuilding for size. Residual tension (emphasis on residual) is not the same as muscle density. Here are the scientific facts: http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/shane6.htm

Post a comment


 
 

 

About Us | Contact Me | Link Partners

-

 Sister Sites: mZeus.com | Insurance For Everything.com | Cell Phone Digest  | Stunster | Favors for Sale

2007 Warrior Fitness World, Inc. All Rights Reserved.