The Importance of Lifting Heavy

Whether you’re a man or woman seeking muscle gain or muscular “tone”, lifting heavy should not be unfamiliar to you. However in some cases, many will shy away from this harder task in belief that it will not produce the desired results that they are looking for. Of course lifting heavier weights will bring strength gains, but a typical bodybuilder-in-training will focus more of his attention on gaining size, not strength.

I’ve seen guys well under 200 lbs bench pressing upwards of 315lb with ease, and on the other end I’ve seen men around 275 pounds of solid muscle struggling with the same weight. Regardless of your goals of obtaining that sought-after physique, heavy weights will only benefit you!

The reason this is, is because training with only hypertrophy gains in mind will leave you continuously lifting weights in the 8-12 rep zone. This, in short will hinder you from progressing as fast as you can. Lifting heavy weights will ultimately increase your body’s capacity for muscular growth. With the normal weights your body is used to lifting, doing 4 sets of 8-12 reps, your potential for strength gains is limited. You MUST include routines of heavy power movements to gain size and strength respectively.

Like I said before with cardio, there are many different ways to go about losing fat, however some are just faster than others. The same principle applies here. There are many ways to gain muscle, but the fastest way is to incorporate heavy weights into your training regimen ALONG WITH hypertrophy training.

Look at it this way:

If a person was to train solely for muscle gains (hypertrophy), they most likely might hit a plateau on their bench press at 225 pounds with 15 reps (just an example). Now if a similar person were to incorporate heavy power training into their weekly routine, their bench press may most likely increase to 275-315 pounds for 15 reps.  So who do you think will make the most gains over the long haul? The person lifting heavier weight would because they have increased their muscular threshold to bear more weight, therefore recruiting more muscle fibers (muscle gain).

Try designating a week or so each month just for heavy lifting. This will tremendously help increase your lean muscle mass. Having a training partner during this time is a great idea to ensure safety and to help on those last couple reps!

-Mitch Muller

CPT – MindsetFitness.net

Sources: Dr. Layne Norton, Mega Feature: Layne Norton Training Series + Full Power/Hypertrophy Routine (Updated 2011)