Lighter Weight More Reps vs Heavier Weight Less Reps (Which Is Better?)

What’s better? Lifting heavy weights and doing more reps, or lifting heavy weights and doing less reps. Watch this video and I will show you which is better.

The goal when you are trying to build muscle is TIME UNDER TENSION. If your goal is to build more muscle, then you want to focus more on time under tension. When you lift heavy all the time, that is going to put a lot of stress on your joints. So, make sure you are cutting back on the heavy weight training.

Especially as you get older, it is important to lift lighter and protect your joints. Lifting heavy weight is great for building strength! However, this video is for those of you who want to build muscle.

If your goal is to build muscle, you want to lift lighter weights with more reps. Aim for weight that you can do 6-10 reps per set.

This is why I came up with my TriCon Training. This form of exercise is going to have you use lighter weight, while still keeping you in an optimal time under tension. The isometric holds are the key in TriCon Training, which will help you to build muscle.

The first 3 reps are explosive reps, the next 3 are TriCon reps with isometric holds, and the last 3 reps are super slow reps. We have so many great videos on our channel with videos that focus on TriCon Training, so make sure to check those out after this video.

So to wrap up, if your goal is to build strength then yes heavy weight low reps is okay. BUT if your goal is to build muscle and protect your joints, then lighter weight with high reps is the way to go.

[LiveAnabolic]

When it comes to building muscle after 40...

Is it better to lift heavy weights for low reps... or light weights for high reps?

The answer may surprise you (watch till the end)

[raymonkravagna]

Every time I see a bodybuilder at the gym oh, they're always using lighter weights but with perfect form. And they do 20 to 30 reps. The idea is that tire your muscle out while doing perfect form

[warakanda]

I started lifting at age 60, now i sm 62. I had several times experienced hurting and injuring my joins and strain my muscles when i carry heavy managed to lift only up to six reps. Its a painful experience took weeks to recover. Now i lift moderate load that i can go up to 16 - 20 reps without injuring my joins, the good thing is that my muscles still grow.. i am happy lifting moderate load doing up to 16 reps and above in three sets for every workouts. Thanks bro..😬💪

[billbeliakoff]

I'm 58 and I switch it up depending on how I feel. If I feel strong I go heavy/low reps, if I'm feeling tired or weak it's light/high reps.

[fastted]

Truly words of wisdom. When you are OLDER and you tear something ? You may NEVER come back / repair again.

[costa]

I am using tricon training since 5 months ago and it's awesome. Even tho I am only 35, I had some injuries in my lower back and on my right forearm tendons, so I was forced to reduce the weight on many movements. Tricon helped me a looot. Till I discovered the tricon training I was pretty desperate, didn't know how to train properly. Now my pain is gone and I still use tricon because it's some kindof protection for injuries caused by heavy weight. Good job Gary, cheers

[jamesguagliardi]

I’m 57, been lifting heavy light, heavy light the best shape I ever been, do what works for you.

[aSergeantMajor]

After doing research on the strongmen of the later 19th and early 20th century I have started using stupidly light weights and ridiculously high repetitions. Those men, Eugene Sandow for example, built impressive muscle.with that programme. The techniques are laid out in books such as "5 Pound Dumbbell Exercises" by Professor Attila published in 1913 (reprints available) or a completely researched modern one "The Lost Secret to a Great Body" by David Bolton available on Kindle. At 83 I am finding that I can complete the routines and get results. As an aside I have been hanging in weight rooms off and on since I was 19 and was fit enough to be in Army Special Operations until I was 60 and retired. The techniques were first used in the first ever commercial gymnasium in Paris in the Napoleonic Era and date back to Greco-Roman times.This contravened everything I once thought I knew about resistance training but I am a convert now

[elginjohnson]

Good show, thanks, I always wondered what would be right for a 75 year old man, you even added more information than I thought of, like holding and time to hold. Ej

[sgtrpalma]

I appreciate you for breaking this down, outstanding video / instructions

[rockybalboa]

Im a fitness instructor and bodybuiilder myself ( not competeative bodybuilding ) Staying health, fit, strong and symetrically muscular. You are incorrect with your theory here. Light weights and higher reps is correct, but your rep range and theory on that is totally off! The correct approach is to lift the amount of weight that will allow you to do the rep range and complete your sets for any given exercise but that allows you to do 15-30 rep range. As you get stronger, you can increase the rep range, so that eventually you are doing set of 30 reps at a time. 2-3-4 ( max ) sets of each exercise ( muscle ) is enough. This is a lifestyle, not an event. Lifting light and doing such high reps is great for a few reasons, 1- you are completely contracting the muscle you are using when you are able to fully use that muscle in the lift, which is why you want to use a weight that is light enough to do that. And your focus is on your form! Perfect form means full contraction of the muscle. full contraction of the muscle, means, that muscle is being totally worked and after 30 reps, exhausted! almost and possibly, to failure, which we all should know means optimal stimulation and stress on that muscle, which means OPTIMAL GROWTH! BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!! : ) another benefit of working out correctly, ( light weight high reps ) is while getting all you can out of your muscles, you are also raising and maintaining your heart rate which is now elevated because youre doing 30 reps! per exercise! after 30 mins of this your body starts to burn fat! which is a good thing. And another benefit is you will be building MUSCULAR ENDURANCE! which most people dont even know anything about! The larger our bodys muscles are? the more oxygen they EACH need to function! this is why really big muscular guys are SLOW! And if they dont do what they set out to do with their power and strength within 2-4 mins? ITS OVER! they are burned out and become very weakened! Why? because they dont have enough oxygen to support their muscular effort! ANSWER? running for cardiovascular strength! and expansion of the lungs, and getting more oxygen flowing throughout your body. BUT THAT involves conditioning, on a consistent basis which is why this is a lifestyle! Not an event! And why everything i am telling you here is CORRECT! By lifting light weights, at higher reps you are building muscular endurance! Another benefit of working out correctly ( all the ways i am explaining rightnow ) is the fact that instead of wearing your joints and ligaments and tendons down and making them weaker by lifting heavy weights!? By lifting lighter weights you are actually STRENGTHENING them!!! Age does not automatically damage your body. How you live regardless of younger or older does! But obviously as you get older, and have been damaging your body since you were younger, the damage worsens and all kinds of injuries and damages come with older age! But its not just because of age! Another benefit to lifting lighter weight for higher reps, is muscularity, and definition, symmetry, muscular balance, and mass all at once!!! ( providing you work all your bodies muscles evenly ) And you will got all that WITHOUT BULKYNESS OR BEING MUSCLEBOUND TOO! You actually become more flexible when you lift correctly! ( the ways im explaining here ) There is a science and biology to our bodies. And we need to learn that, understand that, and respect that. And that is correct way to work out and Strengthen our muscles with weights! There is no other way! not without various problems . THIS WAY? THERE IS NO PROBLEMS JUST STRENGTH AND HEALTH! And isnt that what we all really : /

[wbworkout]

I so needed to hear this, answers a lot of my question and reasons for my need for longer recovery time.

[myronromero]

Believe me. I love lifting heavy. I started tricon training due to joint pain. Did 6 week cycle. For two weeks did regular reps and wow strength went thru the roof. Tricon is best work scheme I have done and will continue to do

[jayclas]

God bless you! This is exactly what I needed to hear!

[romanhernz]

Very nice 👍 I will tried....thank you for your help!

[ericparton]

Light weights have less stress on your heart.

[Revetwelve]

I tried lifting heavy weight and less repetitions and I hurt my back, ever since I do light weight I see more improvement

[duanecooper]

Great information... I just started back going to the gym and was looking for a good full body workout for 3 days a week. At 54 with a knee and back issues, your tricon training sounds perfect. How many sets, and how long of a rest period do you suggest?

[MrInsane]

I say do on n off. I do max weight maybe every 3 weeks but between less weight more reps

[rgr]

Thanks for posting Gary, very interesting. I am a 44 y/o professional stuntman and I fell out of weight training after having my first child. I need the weight training for obvious reasons. Since I started lifting for sports back as a teen, I have the 3 sets of 10 ingrained in me. So when I saw "high reps" in your video I assumed 10+ reps. I am actually not a fan of weight training but I am going to try the 6-8 reps and do something different which I hope will motivate me. Thanks again.