It’s an age-old question in the gym; which is better lifting lighter or heavy weights? There are reasons as to why you’d pick one over the other in your fitness routine, but what exactly are they? In this blog we’ll provide a quick breakdown as to what the benefits of each are, and which you should add to your workout. So, let’s jump right in.
What Are Light and Heavy Lifts?
Before hopping into the benefits of both, we should probably outline what exactly light and heavy lifts are. A light lift is when someone performs weight training exercises using a weight that is not difficult to lift, or otherwise considered light, and allows them to do multiple reps before getting too tired. Meanwhile, heavy lifts are ones that obviously are heavier, but would put more strain on the body to exercise with, which will in turn mean less reps. The easiest way to look at them is that light lifts usually mean high number of reps, while heavy lifts equal low reps.
Which to Choose?
For people beginning their weight training journey, it can often be good to start with lighter loads as this allows you to perfect your form and find your rhythm in the gym before moving on to heavier weights. Light weights are also ideal for people looking to build strength, endurance and cardio health as the lighter weights cater for a greater range of possible exercises. On the other hand, heavy weight training is something that people who have fine tuned their form should look at as without proper form injury is far more likely to occur. Heavy loads are more useful for those trying to build overall muscle mass, endurance, heart health and more.
Benefits of Light Training:
- Increases muscle endurance
- Boosts endurance strength
- Enhances cardio health
- Grows muscle (hypertrophy)
- Improves functional strength
- Builds muscles around damaged joints or ligaments
- Good for learning form
- Very versatile and accessible
Benefits of Heavy Training:
- Builds overall strength
- Improves endurance
- Adds muscle mass
- Enhances metabolic rate
- Boosts heart health
- Increases bone mineral density
- Aids in weight management
- Helps healthy aging
What’s the Best Approach?
As you can see both types of lifting hold a whole host of benefits, so which one should you pick in your routine? As mentioned above, if you are focusing on specific fitness goals you may want to choose one over the other, such as heavy weights for building muscle mass, or lighter weights for enhancing strength. However, once you have your form perfected, we’d recommend incorporating both methods into your fitness regime. This allows you to reap all the benefits of both, while using as many muscle groups as possible for an all-around workout.
How Aura Leisure Can Help
At Aura Leisure, our gyms are packed with state-of-the-art equipment meaning you can train with light or heavy weights. Our personalised fitness programmes are also ideal for ensuring you reach your goals with Aura Fit for Life being perfect for beginners, and Aura Lean3 more catered for seasoned gym-goers. We also offer a range of fitness classes that involve weight training such as Aura HIIT Strength, Aura Kettlebells, and Aura Pump. Even better still, members of Aura get access to all of this, plus use of our incredible swimming pools, InBody analysers, and much more at no extra cost.