Lifting heavy or light weights builds muscle the same if you push to failure

Can 3-5 Reps Truly Maximize Growth? (New Study)

House of Hypertrophy

When you lift weights until you can't anymore, you build similar muscle size no matter how heavy the weights are, but lifting heavier weights makes you stronger and faster at moving them than lighter weights.

Switching between heavy and light weightlifting every two weeks doesn't build more muscle or strength than sticking with either heavy or light weights alone in young male athletes over two months.

When young male athletes lift weights until they can't anymore, it doesn't matter much whether they use heavy weights or lighter ones—both ways build about the same amount of muscle after 8 weeks.

Lifting heavy weights for fewer reps and lighter weights for more reps both build muscle about the same in young men when you push yourself to the max, showing that the total work done matters more than how heavy you lift.

Lifting heavy weights until you can't lift anymore makes young male athletes much stronger than lifting lighter weights over 8 weeks, showing that heavier loads train muscles and nerves better.