Exercising with light weights is an alternative method of muscle training. Canadian specialists have published the results of studies in the Journal of Applied Physiology, in which they compared the effectiveness of muscle training with light and heavy weights. The conclusions are surprising.
Exercising with light weightsis one of the recently fashionable training methods. Their use is considered by many people - both those who want to start training, and those who are already advanced. Canadian scientists decided to checkwhat is the effectiveness of this type of training compared to training with heavy weights . They just publishedthe results of their research .
Exercise your muscles with small weights. How effective is it?
An article by Canadians in the Journal of Applied Physiology suggests thatlight loads during exercise have the same effects as lifting loads several times greater . - The effect is the same - says the lead author of the research, prof. Stuart Phillips from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
In this way, scientists refuted the popular dogma that in order to gain greater strength and greater muscle growth, it is necessary to use heavy weights during training. Currently, the most commonly used method is to check the maximum capacity of the trainee, and then it is recommended to train with a weight, which is 80-90 percent of his capacity. This person should lift this weight 8 to 10 times during one exercise session.
However, many people findstrenuous strength training too exhausting for them , which makesquickly discouraged from it . Prof. Phillips, as a specialist in kinesiology, decided to see if a similar effect could be obtained by exercising with lighter weights.This was already indicated by the research he conducted in 2010 . However, they were considered unconvincing as they were performed on a small group of only 25 men.
New research methodology
A larger group was recruited for the new study - 49 volunteers, who were divided into two groups. Some of them practiced according to the previous methodology, using heavy weights. They were selected so that they accounted for 75-90 percent of what they could bear. They performed as many repetitions with them as they could. Usually around10.
The second group consisted of men whose training consisted of exercising with weights that accounted for 30-50 percent of their maximum capacity. They kept lifting them until their strength was exhausted, usually around 25 repetitions.
Volunteers in both groups exercised regularly four times a week for three months. Before starting the exercises and after the end of this period, all of them were thoroughly tested.
The results confirmed the conclusions of the previous study.The increase in strength and muscle size in both groups was identical . The bodies of men from both groups also had similar levels of hormones: testosterone and growth hormone. According to prof. Phillips' training methods are equally effectiveand one cannot speak of the superiority of one over the other.