high weight high reps?

[DanTheMan]

ok so I am looking to get a little more cut and loose about 5 pounds of fat and have been doing cardio and lots of reps with low weight. Then i got to thinking, if more reps builds endurance and tones muscle and more weight builds strength would more reps of more weight work faster? I also need some insight if lifting until exhaustion is bad because i started doing curls until exhaustion and I saw results very quickly.

-thanks

[pkatc]

You have a lot of different issues here. I'll do the best I can to address them. First of all, doing cardio and lots of reps with low weight will NOT get you stronger, faster, or cut fat. Cardio trains your heart and lungs (Good) but also trains your body to become more efficient with it's fuel, or fat (Bad). I don't want an engine that's efficient, I want it burning as much fuel or in this case, fat, as possible. Instead of cardio, do interval training such as sprints. High intensity reps, with rest periods.

You're on the right track with inreasing the weight. But the higher the weight, the LOWER the reps. The highest possible weight lifted will only be done in one rep. So, I'd keep your reps in the 3-8 range per set. This is the optimal strength range. Use whatever weight you can do in this range.

Lifting until exhaustion is called HIT or high intensity training and this method has their proponents and detractors. I'm not a big fan of it myself, but you can get a pretty good argument from strength coaches either way.

As for why you're doing curls is beyond this post. Stop the curls and do some pull ups/ or chin ups, please...

But that's just me, I'm sure others have good opinions as well. Next...

[isk8apopwar]

yeah, just strictly training your biceps isn't going to do anything, an exercise that works several muscles at once is better for you and will make you stronger such as: Bench, Incline Bench, Rows, Dips, Pull Ups/Pull Downs, SQUATS.

[drift2onr]

working until exhaustion is somewhat a good way of doing your workout. Those results you saw with exhaustion will actually occur during any form of lifting at the beginning stages of your lifting, after awhile, growth will slow down, that's when more weight, changes in routine, and possibly(supplements: nothing bad, just whey or so) come into play

[DanTheMan]

thanks for the feedback it helped but i always thought that cardio like running burnt fat? it doesnt?

[GoBucks]

Cardio burns fat short-term. It only burns fat while you're exercising. Long term, it builds the capability of your heart and lungs.

Muscle burns fat over long periods of time. Having more muscle= more fat being burned. Usually the best way to build muscle is to do sets of 6-8 reps with decently high weights.

[OldGoalie]

Start swinging kettlebells 2-3x a week for 12-15 minutes per session. Seriously.

http://bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler56.htm

"There is no better way to burn fat than with a few high rep sets of kettlebell swings, snatches, and clean and jerks. These killer ballistic exercises work your body as one unit and require a great deal of hard work. The harder you work the more calories you burn. This is why sprinters are ripped to shreds and marathon runners have a skinny-fat look."

[LiquidMercury16]

Start swinging kettlebells 2-3x a week for 12-15 minutes per session. Seriously.

http://bodybuilding.com/fun/mahler56.htm

"There is no better way to burn fat than with a few high rep sets of kettlebell swings, snatches, and clean and jerks. These killer ballistic exercises work your body as one unit and require a great deal of hard work. The harder you work the more calories you burn. This is why sprinters are ripped to shreds and marathon runners have a skinny-fat look."

1. bodybuilding.com is crap for a resource and the forums there are even worse.
2. That being said, they are slightly on the right track with this quote but not for the reasons they or you think. Outlined above is a sample of EDT (escalating density training). This is where you are taking 2 exercises that work opposing muscle groups and do as many reps in a 15 minute time span or zone as they call it. For instance:

Barbell bench
Barbell rows

Do a set of bench then do a set of rows keep going back and forth for 15 mintues trying to get as absolutely many reps as you can. This will help burn fat for a number of reasons that I will outline below (cbury, I don't think that this needs sources, I'm just giving the outline of EDT and the components behind it)

EDT will increase EPOC (Excise Post Oxygen Consumption) greatly. This means that you will be burning more calories well after you have stopped working out.

EDT will increase lactic acid levels which have been shown to increase EPOC as well as metabolism (yes I know I need a source for this, i'll find it when I have the time).

[LiquidMercury16]

ok so I am looking to get a little more cut and loose about 5 pounds of fat and have been doing cardio and lots of reps with low weight. Then i got to thinking, if more reps builds endurance and tones muscle and more weight builds strength would more reps of more weight work faster? I also need some insight if lifting until exhaustion is bad because i started doing curls until exhaustion and I saw results very quickly.

-thanks

If you are able to lift heavier weight with more reps, chances are you aren't even working your muscles much now. The heavier weight you lift you should not be able to lift more reps of it. That is physics. And do you think this more reps build enduranceand tones muscle faster is true? You can build muscle doing high reps, you can build muscle doing low reps, it's how you apply them as a whole. One way of lifting doesn't mean it strictly builds more muscle or leans down on fat.

As far as your results you say you saw for curls to exhaustion. Chances are you just had a huge influx of blood giving you a bigger pump that lasted over a longer period of time. In reality you really haven't added much size to your arms at all most likely. Wait 3 days after a workout to truly measure your arms "cold" as they say and not pumped up.

[Valaxman17]

you can't do high weight high reps
high weight depends on the person if you can do high reps with it its wouldnt be a very high weight for you eh?

[OldGoalie]

1. bodybuilding.com is crap for a resource and the forums there are even worse.
2. That being said, they are slightly on the right track with this quote but not for the reasons they or you think.

Forget that it's on bodybuilding.com (and I never mentioned the forum), the source is still Mike Mahler, an RKC certified instructor and a very experienced strength and athletic trainer who trains MMA fighters, including some UFC guys. With all due respect, I place some credence in what the guy has to say.

As for the science behind it, well, you might be right, but I'm not sure the OP cares, or that it matters a great deal. The point is, it works.

[Wooks]

High reps AND high weight doesn't make any sense

If the reps are high, you won't be able to do a high weight.
If the weight is high, you won't be able to do a lot of reps.

[Valaxman17]

exactly what i said haha

[socal laxdawg16]

well i work out until exhaustion except i do it over my entire workout. for example go from one exercise to the other as quickly as possible keeping the weight you use at the highest level you can use while maintaining at least 8-10 GOOD reps bad form and a lot of weight wont do anything for you. basically my workout routine is one big superset where i try not to take very long breaks in between each set.To burn fat and get cut i wear a sweater and sweatpants when i go to workout which makes you sweat more hence you lose more water weight and get good results.

[LiquidMercury16]

Forget that it's on bodybuilding.com (and I never mentioned the forum), the source is still Mike Mahler, an RKC certified instructor and a very experienced strength and athletic trainer who trains MMA fighters, including some UFC guys. With all due respect, I place some credence in what the guy has to say.

As for the science behind it, well, you might be right, but I'm not sure the OP cares, or that it matters a great deal. The point is, it works.

I didn't say whether or not it was a great thing but you always try to push kettleball workouts for the most part. I was explaining more the science about it. And "swinging kettleballs" around, as you said, isn't really that descriptive. With EDT you are supposed to be doing agnostic muscle groups to get the greatest benefit out of it.

Mahler isn't a bad strength coach at all but lets try and teach the kids that read this something about the why of it working then letting them be some mindless person that just believes what they read. That way they can eventually decide for themselves what is good and what is not.

[LiquidMercury16]

To burn fat and get cut i wear a sweater and sweatpants when i go to workout which makes you sweat more hence you lose more water weight and get good results.

Wearing sweatpants/sweatshirt isn't going to make you burn fat. Also working out in them continuously and depleting your body of water often isn't that great of an idea as a lacrosse player. It will leave you dehydrated and prone to cramps and injury.

[Cburylax]

This thread is out of control. There are so many different responses that go beyond the original question. Nearly all of you posted information or made blatant comments that need sources. Its not that hard, go to www.pubmed.com and enter what your are looking for the search thread. Read the abstracts and post links to them in your response. Lastly, saying you need a source but not posting it isn't going to fly. Read and follow the rules, I'm truly disappointed in how this thread turned out.

C