One of the common misconceptions with training is that there are exercises that create size. One of the biggest fears for some women when they start lifting weights is that they are going to become bulky or have a more masculine appearance. I take these times as opportunities to educate them on how the body works and dispel any anxieties, they may have about entering a strength training regime. I thought I would share an approach that has served me well throughout the years.
The first thing you need to understand is that one doesn’t become the other. Fat doesn’t transform to muscle and vice versa. You can increase your lean muscle mass and decrease your fat composition. It’s not uncommon for someone who has never experienced resistance training to increase their muscle mass before dropping body-fat. The stimulus of load training can quickly do this. Enhancing your body’s metabolism of fat tends to take longer. On the other side of the coin, the longer you perform resistance training the more challenging it becomes to make continued gains. Just ask any competitive powerlifter or Olympic lifter. Meets in these sports are won sometimes when a lifter increases the load of their lift by 2 ½ lb.
Research has proven that the gains in strength during the first 4-6 weeks are from improvements in neural and motor control. I’ve observed this myself. I get a new person at the studio. We take their bodyfat with a skinfold caliper on day 1. After 4 weeks, we re-check and there isn’t a change, but they are lifting heavier loads. I tend to use lighter loads with novices, because the initial goal is the teach the movement pattern, or “grease the groove”.
It’s after you see movement competency when you can add load. The protocols I tend to use are as follows:
Power: 2- 8 repetitions
Strength: 5- 10 repetitions
Hypotrophy (increase size): 8- 15 repetitions
The next consideration is the weight of the load. This is commonly ignored. When performing a power exercise where speed and acceleration are big components, you need to work with heavy loads. You need to know what your approximate maximum weight is in that exercise, (what you can perform with 1 repetition in good form). In power exercises, it’s ideal to work with a weight that is 70- 90% of that load. A good example I can provide is the deadlift. This is a power exercise. If you can lift 200lbs in this exercise, performing sets of 5 repetitions with between 140 and 180 is a good way to improve your overall power in this drill. The lower repetition scheme doesn’t promote size increase.
The strength phase is where I tend to spend most of my time with people I train. The range of 5-10 repetitions is ideal for building solid strength. I have also observed that the muscle gained during this type of training tends to take on a denser appearance. I believe the term “hard-body” came from people with this appearance. Loads tend to be between 60- 80% of 1 rep maximum load. An added benefit is that the increase in muscle also helps drop body-fat. Muscle requires calories, fat doesn’t. As people increase their lean muscle mass, it’s not uncommon to see body-fat levels decrease without the addition of any cardiovascular exercise. You will experience some hypertrophy because of the overlap in reps (8-10).
The third range is the hypertrophy phase. This form of training is for those looking to build a physique for body-building. The loads are lighter because you need to complete more repetitions. The big factor with this type of training is the volume of sets. Volume tends to be much higher. It not uncommon to perform in excess of 20 sets for a specific muscle group. Your training will also need to be more single joint and isolated if this is your goal. A good example of this is the seated leg extension machine, popularized in gyms for years. I tend to work full-body routines with most people to avoid this. If you are performing 1 squat type movement, 1 hip hinge type exercise (deadlift/swing), and 1 lunge type movement you are less likely to experience this. This explains why years ago the workout routine of legs trained on 1 day, chest and shoulders on day 2, and back and biceps on day three was popular. It took a lot of time to complete. This style of training was popularized in magazines such as Muscle & Fitness and Flex.
I agree that being strong has taken the place of being skinny and I’m happy to see woman coming to gyms to get stronger. I will also maintain my position that there isn’t a population (kids, teenagers, adult, senior, handicapped, etc.) that being strong is a detriment. Go pick up that weight and get strong. I promise you’ll fit into your jeans.