Heavy or Medium Weights? Both Work for Women New to Lifting
The Effects of Moderate- Versus High-Load Resistance Training on Muscle Growth, Body Composition, and Performance in Collegiate Women
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Heavier weights didn't lead to more muscle or strength despite higher total volume load.
Contradicts the common belief that lifting more total weight (volume) should yield better results.
Practical Takeaways
Focus on pushing to failure in your sets, whether using heavy or moderate weights, for optimal gains.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Heavier weights didn't lead to more muscle or strength despite higher total volume load.
Contradicts the common belief that lifting more total weight (volume) should yield better results.
Practical Takeaways
Focus on pushing to failure in your sets, whether using heavy or moderate weights, for optimal gains.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
Year
2017
Authors
J. Cholewa, F. Rossi, C. MacDonald, A. Hewins, Samantha Gallo, Ashley Micenski, L. Norton, B. Campbell
Related Content
Claims (6)
For women who don't usually lift weights, doing lots of lighter reps or fewer heavy reps both build similar muscle size and make you stronger after two months.
When young women who don't usually exercise start lifting weights, their bodies lose some water inside their cells and overall, which might mean their muscles are holding less water, but it doesn't affect the water outside their cells.
In simple terms, this means that doing resistance training with either medium or heavy weights leads to about the same amount of fat loss in young women who are new to exercise over 8 weeks. Both types of workouts can help you lose fat.
For young women new to weight training, lifting weights until you can't do more reps (either 5-7 reps per set or 10-14 reps per set) three times a week for two months gives about the same muscle growth and strength gains, no matter which rep range you use.
When young women who don't exercise start lifting weights, using medium or heavy weights didn't make their arms grow differently, but their legs did grow more with one type. This might be because they did more leg exercises than arm exercises.