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- Strengthening Your Legs
- Working Out on Empty Stomachs
- Making Cardio Less Painful
- Avoid Crashing
- Coping With Sweets
- Increasing Metabolism
- Organize Your Training
- Eating Habits
- Visceral Belly Fat
- The Best Running Shoe
- Strength or Aerobic Capacity?
- Toning Legs with Cardio
- My Doctor's Scale is Off
- More Reps and their Effects
- 04/24/08: Newsletter
- 1-08-08: Newsletter
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- 10-03-07: Newsletter
- 8-29-07: Newsletter
- 6-20-07: Weight Loss
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- 5-08-07: Friendly Pressure
- 4-27-07: Running Routines
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- 4-10-07: Back Injury
- 4-03-07: Lunges Quads Butt
- 3-27-07: Running Off Fat
- 3-27-07: Runners Diet
- 3-23-07: Eating Late
- 3-13-07: Abs for the Obese
- 3-07-07: Supplements
- 2-21-07: Carbs Weight Gain
- 2-14-07: Accurate Bodyweight
- 2-07-07: Weight Fluctuations
- 1-30-07: Best Oatmeal
- 1-21-07: Winter Cardio
- 1-14-07: Training Children
- 1-10-07: Sick Bay
- 1-03-07: Shin Splints
- 2006: Archives
- 2005: Archives
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12-21-05// Start
Heavy
Should I lift light to heavy?
Chris:
I enjoyed your article last week about weight training for
marathons. It was really good. I run on a regular basis and
also lift weights. The only thing I didn’t understand
was how to arrange the sets for each exercise. I usually
do my first set of a particular exercise with a lighter weight
first. I increase the weight for my second set. I then finish
with the heaviest weight that I can handle with good form.
Is this the correct way? Should I start light and go heavy?
Should I include a warm up in addition to these sets?
Chico B.
Dear Chico:
Let me start by saying that everyone should warm up before they
start to lift weights. This means doing a couple of light sets
before you begin each exercise. Warming up allows the muscles
to stretch and get prepared to lift heavier weight. It also
allows your nervous system a chance to get ready for the trauma
that you are going to put it through. Studies have shown that
warming up before lifting helps prevent injuries. It also improves
your overall performance. In other words you will never reach
your potential without properly warming up.
I have found that most people don’t understand the concept of a warm up. Warm ups are designed to get you ready for your workout without tiring you out. Therefore warm ups should be between 20-35% of the weight that you plan on lifting. Anything more than that would be too heavy and might affect your work out -if you plan on going up to 100 pound on the bench press you shouldn’t warm up with anything more than 35 pounds. Remember warm ups are used to get your body ready to lift. They are not to be counted as normal sets. When you are finished warming up you can get down to business and start your work sets.
You mentioned that you usually start your first work set with light weight. You then work from light to heavy until your sets are complete. In my opinion lifting light to heavy is counterproductive. You are using up valuable energy stores before you get a chance to fatigue your muscles. By the time you get to your heaviest set you are already tired. Therefore you never reach your potential during your workout.
Try doing your heaviest set first. You should choose a weight that you find very challenging. Then drop the weight only enough to complete the required amount of repetitions for the second set. Repeat the same process for the third and final set. This technique will insure that your muscles are fatigued before you burn your energy stores. It usually takes about 3 weeks to figure out what weights to use. It’s basically trial and error. You will know when you get it right because you will be exhausted.