Why you should be lifting heavier weights

The lighter-load/more-reps combination isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, so here’s why you should be lifting heavier weights next time you hit the gym.

The myth that women lifting heavy weights will get ‘bulky’ has long been debunked. It’s physiologically impossible for women to gain muscle mass at the same rate that men do – we don’t have the right balance of growth hormones or testosterone that our male counterparts do so our muscle growth is much subtler. Unless you’re on a mission to become the next female BFF champion and are on a vigorous training and heavily supplemented nutrition plan, you don’t need to worry about bulking up.

Another misconception is that performing lots of reps with small weights will help you to ‘tone up’. There are two things wrong with that sentence. Firstly, you can’t ‘tone’ or ‘shape’ a muscle – you can only build or lose muscle, just like with fat. And secondly, lifting small weights for high reps will build endurance, but not tight, dense muscle mass. Lift as heavy as you can for fewer reps and you’ll torch fat, boost metabolism and increase bone and muscle strength, giving you the strong, sculpted body you’ve been working so hard for.

Losing weight: running vs weights

While sports like distance running are obviously brilliant for your general health, fitness and endurance, lots of steady cardio like this isn’t an efficient way to burn fat.

This is because the body uses the aerobic energy system and many of us use carbohydrates to fuel our bodies for those long, slow miles. I ran a PB at Brighton Marathon this year, finished strong and had plenty left in the tank – that’s because as well as training smart for months leading up to race day I paced myself well, started slow, and fuelled correctly, keeping my muscles topped up with glycogen by downing energy gels and drinks along the 26.2-mile course.
Strength work is an essential component to any runner’s training plan to make you leaner, stronger and keep those legs loaded with power. The great thing about weight training is the after-burn.

Lifting heavy breaks down muscle tissue and requires more energy to rebuild and repair – ie, calories. You know that all-too-familiar DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) you get the day after a tough workout? That’s your muscles regenerating, burning more calories throughout the day even when you’ve finished your workout!
A pound of muscle burns nine calories a day as opposed to just two for fat. So the more muscle you have, the more efficient your body is at burning calories. The heavier you lift, the more muscle you’ll build. It’s a no-brainer!