More weight or more reps?

[Riprorin]

What are the pros and cons of doing more reps versus adding more weight?

 

[geno]

The common idea is that more weight = more size, more reps = more definition... dunno how true it is though

 

[Kelemvor]

That's right. More weight, fewer reps = bigger, bulkier muscles.
Less weight, more reps = toning down, losing fat, getting in good shape.

 

[ScottyB]

More weight = shorter, bigger muscles
More reps = longer, leaner muscles

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: geno
The common idea is that more weight = more size, more reps = more definition... dunno how true it is though

Myth. The only reason to do more than 10 reps on most exercises is specific muscular endurance. Definition is achieved with diet and cardio.

How big your muscles get is determined by your diet. Eat big to get big, eat small to stay small. Higher reps do NOT mean smaller muscles, they simply mean a waste of time and energy best spent doing other things... like cardio.

 

[yobarman]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: geno
The common idea is that more weight = more size, more reps = more definition... dunno how true it is though

Myth. The only reason to do more than 10 reps on most exercises is specific muscular endurance. Definition is achieved with diet and cardio.

How big your muscles get is determined by your diet. Eat big to get big, eat small to stay small. Higher reps do NOT mean smaller muscles, they simply mean a waste of time and energy best spent doing other things... like cardio.

He's right. Higer reps don't do anything except build endurance for those muslces. In my opinion, higher weight is always the way to go because your digestive system becomes more efficient with muscle gain.

 

[z0mb13]

Koing where r u??

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: ScottyB
More weight = shorter, bigger muscles
More reps = longer, leaner muscles

That sounds a lot like toning to me, which is in most ways a false myth...

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: yobarman

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: geno
The common idea is that more weight = more size, more reps = more definition... dunno how true it is though

Myth. The only reason to do more than 10 reps on most exercises is specific muscular endurance. Definition is achieved with diet and cardio.

How big your muscles get is determined by your diet. Eat big to get big, eat small to stay small. Higher reps do NOT mean smaller muscles, they simply mean a waste of time and energy best spent doing other things... like cardio.

He's right. Higer reps don't do anything except build endurance for those muslces. In my opinion, higher weight is always the way to go because your digestive system becomes more efficient with muscle gain.

Agreed.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: yobarman

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: geno
The common idea is that more weight = more size, more reps = more definition... dunno how true it is though

Myth. The only reason to do more than 10 reps on most exercises is specific muscular endurance. Definition is achieved with diet and cardio.

How big your muscles get is determined by your diet. Eat big to get big, eat small to stay small. Higher reps do NOT mean smaller muscles, they simply mean a waste of time and energy best spent doing other things... like cardio.

He's right. Higer reps don't do anything except build endurance for those muslces. In my opinion, higher weight is always the way to go because your digestive system becomes more efficient with muscle gain.

Agreed.

 

[miniMUNCH]

Not to upset previous posters...but your muscles don't get more lean or toned by doing more reps nor do they get bigger by doing more weight.

Muscle tone (i.e. that ripped appearance) is based upon shear muscle mass and body fat (or lack thereof, rather).

I use to work out religiously and read sports training journals, talked with training experts, etc (I'm married and in grad school now so I'm not so religious anymore). If you want to gain muscle mass and definition you need to basically do two things:

1) eat a healthy diet which is high in protein -- like at least one gram of protein per day for pound of lean body mass...numerous clinical tests have shown that up that ratio to around 1.5 will put your body into a 24hr anabolic state (which is good) so if you really want to gain muscle mass you should up your protein a little more.

2) workout consistently in a manner that stresses your muscles...thereby stimulating your body to build muscle strength and endurance to better cope with the stress. Now there are a lot different opinions of how to best do that...more weight versus less reps, how often to work out a particular muscle group, what excercises combine to provide the best workout on a given muscle group and so forth, how much of the range of motion to use for a given excercise (i.e. for bench press, should I bring the bar all the way down to my chest or stop somewhere above my chest and should I lock out my elbows or stop before lock out?). The key is to keep "stress" on your muscles by varying your workout. Also, depending on what kind of muscle fibers (fast twitch versus slow twitch) you have in your various muscle groups you may find that higher rep / lower weight gives you more bulk than low rep / higher weight...it depends upon the person.

I usually switch back and forth every month or two between high rep and low rep workouts to keep my muscles off balance.

Tone is all about body fat...the closer to 0 your body fat gets, the more ripped you'll look. But anything below about 6% is unhealthy especially if your playing real sports...then you might not want to even drop below 8 or so.

 

[ScottyB]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: ScottyB
More weight = shorter, bigger muscles
More reps = longer, leaner muscles

That sounds a lot like toning to me, which is in most ways a false myth...

I am talking about the shape of the muscle.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
Koing where r u??

Don't worry, he'll be here soon

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: ScottyB

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: ScottyB
More weight = shorter, bigger muscles
More reps = longer, leaner muscles

That sounds a lot like toning to me, which is in most ways a false myth...

I am talking about the shape of the muscle.

Again, myth. The shape of the muscle is determined by genetics and the amount of body fat covering it, not in how you lift weights.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Amused

Originally posted by: ScottyB

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: ScottyB
More weight = shorter, bigger muscles
More reps = longer, leaner muscles

That sounds a lot like toning to me, which is in most ways a false myth...

I am talking about the shape of the muscle.

Again, myth. The shape of the muscle is determined by genetics and the amount of body fat covering it, not in how you lift weights.

Yep...with the exception of building it improperly (like just the front of lats for instance), a rep range certainly can't make a muscle build large and "beefy" vs. another one building "lean".

Working out to "tone" has always subscribed to the idea that you can build a better quality looking muscle with higher reps, whereas a lower rep range will give you large undefined muscles, but as minimunch and others have alluded to, how a person is toned depends on the size of their muscles and the bodyfat they have (my little caveat being that shape can also affect it if your muscles are developed improperly).

I think the toning myth continues to be perpetuated in great part by magazines like men's health (not saying they do anymor), muscle and fitness, etc.