“Elevate heavy shit.”
It’s greater than a slogan—it’s a name to arms. A problem. A permission slip. And for a lot of ladies, it’s the lacking piece of their coaching.
For generations, we’ve been fed a watered-down model of power: tiny pink dumbbells, countless reps, and exercises which are solely “value it” in the event that they go away us sweaty, sore, and exhausted.
It’s time to vary that. It’s time for exercises that make us stronger and extra empowered.
To do this, we have to raise heavy a number of occasions per week. So let’s break down what that really means—and why it issues a lot.
What’s Power Coaching?
First, let’s speak phrases.
Resistance coaching is a normal time period used to explain train that makes your muscular tissues work in opposition to a weight or pressure to construct muscular power, endurance, and measurement. This resistance can come out of your physique weight, free weights (like barbells, kettlebells, and dumbbells), weight machines, cable machines, or resistance bands.
Power coaching is a kind of resistance coaching the place the purpose is to extend the power of your muscular tissues. It often entails lifting heavy weights for fewer repetitions (round 1-5 reps per set), with longer relaxation durations in between units, so you possibly can preserve lifting heavy. Coaching to extend power is basically about depth – lifting as heavy as attainable for a number of reps whereas sustaining correct type.
Hypertrophy coaching is a kind of resistance coaching the place the purpose is to extend the measurement of your muscular tissues and your muscle mass. It usually entails extra reasonable weights and better repetitions (round 6-12 reps per set), with shorter relaxation durations in between units. The important thing to hypertrophy coaching is extra about quantity – doing extra work (units/reps/complete weight) in every exercise.
Whereas each power and hypertrophy coaching will lead to muscle development and power positive aspects, the emphasis is completely different. Hypertrophy coaching results in higher will increase in muscle measurement, whereas power coaching ends in bigger power positive aspects.
Your particular person targets decide which method or mixture of those approaches is healthier for you.
Typically talking, for those who’re trying to construct muscle mass and “appear to be you raise”, hypertrophy coaching could also be extra appropriate for you.
When you’re aiming to enhance practical power and energy, then power coaching is perhaps the best way so that you can go.
Coaching Power vs. Hypertrophy: What’s the Distinction?
Let’s break it down:
- Power coaching = lifting heavy weights for fewer reps (1–6), with longer relaxation between units. Purpose: get stronger.
- Hypertrophy coaching = reasonably heavy weights for reasonable reps (6–12), shorter relaxation. Purpose: enhance muscle measurement.
Each approaches construct muscle and power so a mix of each is right. And sure, ladies ought to do each.
The Science of Adaptation
Power is your physique’s response to a particular problem or stimulus—one which requires extra muscle fiber recruitment for much less repetitions. Your muscular tissues adapt to that particular stimulus by recruiting extra muscle fibers in order that the following time, the identical problem feels simpler.
Within the first 6–8 weeks of coaching, most of your positive aspects come from neural diversifications—your nervous system studying the way to recruit your muscular tissues extra effectively. Muscle acquire (hypertrophy) tends to lag behind, however it comes with constant effort.
Progressive Overload: The Key to Progress
Progressive overload means you steadily enhance the load, quantity (units/reps), or depth of your coaching over time. That’s what tells your physique, “Hey, in order for you me to degree up once more, you’ll want to up the problem and provides me a motive to get stronger.”
That is the explanation why you would possibly get superior beginner positive aspects from a exercise or exercise plan however it stops working after 4–8 weeks. Your physique adapts shortly. With out development, you plateau. However that’s only a signal that you’ll want to change one thing up – quantity, depth, frequency – to maintain seeing progress. However the magic by no means stops for those who keep constant and intentional.
What Does “Lifting Heavy” Even Imply?
A very powerful factor to know is that the time period “heavy weights” is relative. It means no matter weight is heavy for you. There is no such thing as a magic quantity you’ll want to hit to be deemed as lifting heavy.
For instance, you don’t must be squatting 2x your body weight to reap the power positive aspects out of your lifting. It merely a matter of making use of sufficient stimulus to your physique that your physique is pressured to adapt. That’s how power is constructed—your physique steadily builds the “circuitry” wanted to make it really feel simpler to do the following time you raise that very same weight.
However a 2017 examine discovered that most individuals select weights for his or her power coaching workout routines which are too gentle to maximise power. That implies that many people are leaving quite a lot of power positive aspects on the desk once we do our power coaching exercises.
So how do you be sure to’re lifting sufficient?
Many weight lifting coaches and private trainers will prescribe the load for use as a share of the lifters 1-rep max (or the utmost quantity the lifter can raise for that resistance coaching train for just one rep). Most inexperienced persons to weight coaching won’t have established their 1-rep max and that’s utterly superb—establishing a 1-rep max just isn’t one thing you’ll want to do as a beginner to weight lifting and even as an intermediate or superior lifter who isn’t competing.
So as a substitute, I like to recommend utilizing your individual expertise of the trouble as proven within the graphic beneath.
Within the RPE scale graphic, you’ll see two numbers that are each based mostly in your subjective expertise when weight coaching—they’re Charge of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Reps In Reserve (RIR).
RPE refers to how exhausting (on a scale from 1 -10, 1 being a bit of cake and 10 being completely maxed TF out) the load coaching train – with the load you’ve chosen for the prescribed variety of reps – feels to you.
RIR refers back to the variety of reps you may do AFTER you’ve completed the prescribed variety of reps for the load you’ve chosen for that specific weight coaching train. In different phrases, it’s the variety of reps you left “within the tank” if you completed your set.
Lifting heavy is usually an RPE of 8+ with not more than 2 RIR.
Due to this fact, to get most power positive aspects, I’d suggest doing 3-5 units of 3-6 reps on your lifts with use a weight that’s difficult sufficient to make every set an 8-10 out of 10 RPE with 0-2 RIR for every set.
Moreover, you need to take 90seconds to three minutes relaxation between units. This ensures that you simply’re in a position to hit these reps throughout all your units so that you’re getting the correct stimulus to maintain making power positive aspects.
NOTE: In case your purpose is power (or hypertrophy) DO NOT spend your relaxation breaks between units doing burpees. That is power coaching, not a bootcamp. You’re not right here to burn energy—you’re right here to construct power.
Why Lifting Heavy Shit Issues
- In ladies, muscle mass naturally begins to say no after age 30—by about 8% per decade. Lifting heavy (and consuming sufficient protein) can gradual and even reverse this.
- Muscle power is what permits us to carry out day by day actions with higher ease and transfer about our lives independently.
- Subjecting our bones to extra compressive forces – like holding weights whereas shifting – will increase bone density and reduces the chance of fractures from falls.
- It improves steadiness, coordination, and joint stability—all important for growing older properly and avoiding harm.
- Extra muscle = higher blood sugar management, improved metabolism, and fewer visceral (deep belly) fats.
- Power coaching helps coronary heart well being and vascular perform.
- It’s nice for psychological well being by lowering stress, enhancing temper, and rising vanity.
- And at last? Being robust is enjoyable as hell.
TLDR: Indicators You’re Not Lifting Heavy Sufficient
- Your entire units for all workout routines are for 8-12 reps. (Begin your exercise with compound strikes like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows in units of 3-6 reps to construct extra power!)
- You end your set and will simply do one other 3, 5, 8, or 12 extra reps. (Time so as to add some weight, child!)
- You’re not making the “that is exhausting” face in your final 1–2 reps of every set. (You gotta work for them positive aspects, woman!)
- You don’t want 90 seconds to three minutes of relaxation between units to completely recuperate and do it once more. (Earn that relaxation and get stronger quicker!)
The Backside Line
- Lifting heavy = difficult your self within the 1–6 rep vary (with some hypertrophy work too)
- If it feels straightforward, it’s too gentle.
- Two days every week is the candy spot.
- Relaxation is required—not elective.
- Power is the purpose. Heavy is the way you get there.
Nonetheless Not Certain The place to Begin?
That’s the place we are available.
LIMITLESS is my group teaching program for ladies who wish to practice good, get robust, and construct a physique that lasts. 👉 Be a part of the LIMITLESS waitlist
Need a extra personalised plan? Apply for 1:1 teaching at Miles To Go Athletics. We’ll show you how to raise heavy, recuperate properly, and really feel highly effective. 👉 Apply for 1:1 teaching
So go raise some heavy shit. You should really feel robust. —Alison
