Lifting Heavy vs. Lots of Reps
The effect of training volume and intensity on improvements in muscular strength and size in resistance-trained men
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Lifting heavy weights with fewer reps and longer rest made men's arms stronger and bigger than doing more reps with lighter weights and short rest.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 547 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Lifting heavy weights with fewer reps and longer rest made men's arms stronger and bigger than doing more reps with lighter weights and short rest.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 547 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Mangine GT, Hoffman JR, Gonzalez AM, Townsend JR, Wells AJ, Jajtner AR, Beyer KS, Boone CH, Miramonti AA, Wang R, LaMonica MB, Fukuda DH, Ratamess NA, Stout JR
Related Content
Claims (7)
When men who lift weights start training, doing more reps with lighter weights causes a bigger short-term boost in certain hormones compared to lifting heavy weights for fewer reps. But this hormone boost gets smaller the longer they keep training.
Lifting heavy weights with fewer reps and longer breaks builds more muscle and strength than lifting lighter weights with more reps and shorter breaks in men who already work out.
Lifting very heavy weights a few times with long breaks builds more muscle and strength faster than lifting lighter weights many times with short breaks, when the total amount of lifting isn't the same.
Lifting heavy weights with fewer reps and longer breaks makes your arms stronger and bigger faster than doing more reps with lighter weights and shorter breaks, especially for guys who already work out.
For men who lift weights regularly, the body's testosterone reaction after workouts was about the same whether they did short, intense sessions or longer, higher-volume ones, and this didn't really change over 8 weeks of training.