Lift light or lift heavy?

The amount that we lift is always a debate in the fitness world. Many people like heavy lifting while others like doing lighter weights. I will keep this post brief because it is going to be geared towards one side. Can you guess which one I prefer? When it comes down to it, I think doing either is better than nothing, but lifting heavy provides the best benefits. Let me explain why!

1. It is the fastest way to build strength – this is number one on the list because the entire point of lifting weights is to gain muscular strength. Common sense tells us that the heavier we can lift, the bigger our muscles have to be to be able to lift it. Meaning if we can progressively lift heavier and heavier weights, our muscle will obviously get bigger! Building bigger muscles improves our entire physique!
2. It requires less time in the gym – this is important for me to mention because many gym rats like to spend hours on end lifting weights in the gym. To be able to spend hours in the gym, they have to lift light weights for the body to be capable of lasting that long. Instead, while lifting heavy, our bodies will be tired out in no time. Spending the least amount of time in the gym is what it’s all about. Health and fitness is not meant to consume us! Plus, many of us are regular humans with other obligations. As your Health Cop, I want to provide the best advice to help you incorporate these decisions into your normal routine without becoming overwhelmed.
3. It burns more fat – many say they would like this moved to number one on the list, but I put it at number three. You may think to burn fat, you should spend hours doing intense cardio, but that has been disproved. Crazy right? It turns out that the burning of the muscles after a workout is what sheds the fat from our body. Meaning a man or a woman who lifts heavy (like 3 sets of 70% of their one rep max for 6-8 reps) will burn more fat than someone who spends an hour doing cardio. Lifting heavy is a much more efficient way to burn fat, no doubt.

In the end, these three reasons alone are why I started to lift heavy. Lifting lighter weights and spending hours on the treadmill simply do not increase our strength. The higher our strength is, the heavier we can lift! The heavier we can lift, the bigger our muscles are!

Therefore, if you have been spending a lot of time doing cardio or hours of lighter weights, cut it out. This will be the ultimate tip to transform your body. This tip is a complete game changer because it does not make things more difficult. Actually, it will be easier to work into your new shorter routine. I like to workout for 45-60 minutes, no more!

Have you heard of any evidence disproving this? I would love to have deep conversations about your specific questions, so post below! Also, I will help you adjust your new workouts so you can be the most efficient with the short time you’ll be at the gym.

Yours truly,

Health Cop