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Do You Have To Do Heavy Weight Lifting To Build Muscle?

 

There are so many myths and so much complicated or conflicting information out there about what you need to do to achieve your fitness goals. For instance, some sources say to do high numbers of repetitions and lower amounts of weight, while others say to max out the weight and do only as many repetitions as you can handle. There are many things bodybuilders should know about lifting, including the fact that you do need to do heavy weight lifting to build muscle, but light weight lifting is also beneficial.

weight liftingOne reason why it is necessary to do heavy weight lifting to build muscle, especially visually noticeable muscle, is because muscle gain is related to speeding up the metabolism. Pound for pound, muscle on the body burns two to four times as many calories as fat. Therefore, the more muscle the builder has, the more calories that will be burned while at rest, helping to get rid of fat quickly and make the muscle definition show.

For the biggest, bulkiest gains, doing low repetitions of heavy weight lifting to build muscle is the way to go. Ideally, bodybuilders want to aim for between five and seven repetitions per set. That being said, he should choose the highest poundage he can manage while still completing these repetitions in proper form. For example, such as in arm exercises, if your arm is meant to be at a ninety-degree angle in the workout but the weight becomes too heavy to raise it that high, you are using too much weight.

Additionally, if you are using heavy weight lifting to build muscle, it is important that you know that your weight is heavy enough. One way to tell if you need to increase the poundage during weight lifting exercises is if you have completed a set and you are not completely fatigued. Even if you can only do one more in perfect form, it still means you are not using enough weight and the body will not demonstrate maximum muscle gain.

So why does it help to use heavy weight lifting to build muscle? This is because muscles are comprised of two types of fibers: fast-twitch and slow-twitch. Slow-twitch fibers help the muscles to build endurance during long-winded exercises. However, fast-twitch fibers have a higher capability of more rapid and intense movement, and possess the ability to cause gain in muscle strength.

For that reason, heavier-concentrated weightlifting workouts are more effective in building muscle. Since repetitions with strenuous amount of weight require the body to use short bursts of high energy, they will use a high number of fast-twitch fibers. The goal is to use the highest number of fibers, particularly fast-twitch, because they are the fibers that are the cause of muscle growth.

In short, it is very important for a person who is looking to bulk up to utilize heavy weight lifting to build muscle. A good rule of thumb is to always use the maximum poundage possible during your bicep workouts and other workout regimens in order to see the fastest, highest-quality results. Otherwise, the body will adapt to the weight being used and muscle growth will quickly halt.

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