What Does Lifting Heavy Imply for Ladies? A No-BS Information to Getting Stronger

“Carry heavy shit.”

It’s greater than a slogan—it’s a name to arms. A problem. A permission slip. And for a lot of girls, it’s the lacking piece of their coaching.

For generations, we’ve been fed a watered-down model of strength: tiny pink dumbbells, limitless reps, and exercises which might be solely “value it” in the event that they depart us sweaty, sore, and exhausted.

It’s time to vary that. It’s time for workouts that make us stronger and extra empowered.

To try this, we have to lift heavy just a few instances per week. So let’s break down what that truly means—and why it issues a lot.

What’s Energy Coaching?

First, let’s speak phrases.

Resistance coaching is a basic time period used to explain train that makes your muscle tissues work in opposition to a weight or drive to construct muscular power, endurance, and measurement. This resistance can come out of your physique weight, free weights (like barbells, kettlebells, and dumbbells), weight machines, cable machines, or resistance bands.

Energy coaching is a sort of resistance coaching the place the purpose is to extend the power of your muscle tissues. It often entails lifting heavy weights for fewer repetitions (round 1-5 reps per set), with longer relaxation durations in between units, so you’ll be able to preserve lifting heavy. Coaching to extend power is basically about depth – lifting as heavy as attainable for just a few reps whereas sustaining correct type.

Hypertrophy coaching is a sort of resistance coaching the place the purpose is to extend the measurement of your muscle tissues and your muscle mass. It sometimes entails extra reasonable weights and better repetitions (round 6-12 reps per set), with shorter relaxation durations in between units. The important thing to hypertrophy coaching is extra about quantity – doing extra work (units/reps/whole weight) in every exercise.

Whereas each power and hypertrophy coaching will end in muscle development and power positive factors, the emphasis is totally different. Hypertrophy coaching results in larger will increase in muscle measurement, whereas power coaching leads to bigger power positive factors.

Your particular person targets decide which strategy or mixture of those approaches is healthier for you.

Usually talking, when you’re trying to construct muscle mass and “appear like you elevate”, hypertrophy coaching could also be extra appropriate for you.

For those who’re aiming to enhance useful power and energy, then strength training is likely to be the best way so that you can go.

Coaching Energy vs. Hypertrophy: What’s the Distinction?

Let’s break it down:

• Energy coaching = lifting heavy weights for fewer reps (1–6), with longer relaxation between units. Objective: get stronger.
• Hypertrophy coaching = reasonably heavy weights for reasonable reps (6–12), shorter relaxation. Objective: enhance muscle measurement.

Each approaches construct muscle and power so a mix of each is good. And sure, girls ought to do each.

The Science of Adaptation

Energy is your physique’s response to a particular problem or stimulus—one which requires extra muscle fiber recruitment for much less repetitions. Your muscle tissues adapt to that particular stimulus by recruiting extra muscle fibers in order that the subsequent time, the identical problem feels simpler.

Within the first 6–8 weeks of coaching, most of your positive factors come from neural variations—your nervous system studying methods to recruit your muscle tissues extra effectively. Muscle achieve (hypertrophy) tends to lag behind, but it surely comes with constant effort.

Progressive Overload: The Key to Development

Progressive overload means you steadily enhance the load, quantity (units/reps), or depth of your coaching over time. That’s what tells your physique, “Hey, in order for you me to stage up once more, it’s good to up the problem and provides me a motive to get stronger.”

That is the rationale why you would possibly get superior beginner positive factors from a exercise or exercise plan but it surely stops working after 4–8 weeks. Your physique adapts rapidly. With out development, you plateau. However that’s only a signal that it’s good to change one thing up – quantity, depth, frequency – to maintain seeing progress. However the magic by no means stops when you keep constant and intentional.

What Does “Lifting Heavy” Even Imply?

A very powerful factor to know is that the time period “heavy weights” is relative. It means no matter weight is heavy for you. There isn’t any magic quantity it’s good to hit to be deemed as lifting heavy.

For instance, you don’t have to be squatting 2x your body weight to reap the power positive factors out of your lifting. It merely a matter of making use of sufficient stimulus to your physique that your physique is compelled to adapt. That’s how power is constructed—your physique steadily builds the “circuitry” wanted to make it really feel simpler to do the subsequent time you elevate that very same weight.

However a 2017 examine discovered that most individuals select weights for his or her power coaching workouts which might be too gentle to maximise power. That implies that many people are leaving plenty of power positive factors on the desk once we do our power coaching exercises.

So how do you be sure to’re lifting sufficient?

Many weight lifting coaches and private trainers will prescribe the load for use as a share of the lifters 1-rep max (or the utmost quantity the lifter can elevate for that resistance coaching train for just one rep). Most novices to weight coaching is not going to have established their 1-rep max and that’s utterly wonderful—establishing a 1-rep max isn’t one thing it’s good to do as a beginner to weight lifting and even as an intermediate or superior lifter who isn’t competing.

So as a substitute, I like to recommend utilizing your individual expertise of the trouble as proven within the graphic beneath.

Within the RPE scale graphic, you’ll see two numbers that are each primarily based in your subjective expertise when weight coaching—they’re Charge of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Reps In Reserve (RIR).

RPE refers to how onerous (on a scale from 1 -10, 1 being a bit of cake and 10 being completely maxed TF out) the load coaching train – with the load you’ve chosen for the prescribed variety of reps – feels to you.

RIR refers back to the variety of reps you would do AFTER you’ve completed the prescribed variety of reps for the load you’ve chosen for that individual weight coaching train. In different phrases, it’s the variety of reps you left “within the tank” whenever you completed your set.

Lifting heavy is often an RPE of 8+ with not more than 2 RIR.

Subsequently, to get most power positive factors, I’d suggest doing 3-5 units of 3-6 reps to your lifts with use a weight that’s difficult sufficient to make every set an 8-10 out of 10 RPE with 0-2 RIR for every set.

Moreover, it’s best to take 90seconds to three minutes relaxation between units. This ensures that you simply’re capable of hit these reps throughout your whole units so that you’re getting the appropriate stimulus to maintain making power positive factors.

NOTE: In case your purpose is power (or hypertrophy) DO NOT spend your relaxation breaks between units doing burpees. That is power coaching, not a bootcamp. You’re not right here to burn energy—you’re right here to construct power.

Why Lifting Heavy Shit Issues

• In girls, muscle mass naturally begins to say no after age 30—by about 8% per decade. Lifting heavy (and consuming sufficient protein) can gradual and even reverse this.
• Muscle power is what allows us to carry out every day actions with larger ease and transfer about our lives independently.
• Subjecting our bones to extra compressive forces – like holding weights whereas transferring – will increase bone density and reduces the danger of fractures from falls.
• It improves steadiness, coordination, and joint stability—all important for ageing properly and avoiding harm.
• Extra muscle = higher blood sugar management, improved metabolism, and fewer visceral (deep belly) fats.
• Energy coaching helps coronary heart well being and vascular operate.
• It’s nice for psychological well being by decreasing stress, bettering temper, and growing shallowness.
• And eventually? Being sturdy is enjoyable as hell.

TLDR: Indicators You’re Not Lifting Heavy Sufficient

• Your whole units for all workouts are for 8-12 reps. (Begin your exercise with compound strikes like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows in units of 3-6 reps to construct extra power!)
• You end your set and will simply do one other 3, 5, 8, or 12 extra reps. (Time so as to add some weight, child!)
• You’re not making the “that is onerous” face in your final 1–2 reps of every set. (You gotta work for them positive factors, lady!)
• You don’t want 90 seconds to three minutes of relaxation between units to totally get better and do it once more. (Earn that relaxation and get stronger sooner!)

The Backside Line

• Lifting heavy = difficult your self within the 1–6 rep vary (with some hypertrophy work too)
• If it feels simple, it’s too gentle.
• Two days per week is the candy spot.
• Relaxation is required—not elective.
• Energy is the purpose. Heavy is the way you get there.

Nonetheless Not Positive The place to Begin?

That’s the place we are available.

LIMITLESS is my group teaching program for ladies who wish to practice good, get sturdy, and construct a physique that lasts. 👉 Join the LIMITLESS waitlist

Desire a extra customized plan? Apply for 1:1 teaching at Miles To Go Athletics. We’ll assist you elevate heavy, get better properly, and really feel highly effective. 👉 Apply for 1:1 coaching

So go elevate some heavy shit. You need to really feel sturdy. —Alison