You know mixed heavy and light training is beneficial for muscle growth.
Because today, I will be explaining whether you should lift heavy or light weights first.
Both the training program and the training session should start with lifting light weights first before moving on to heavier weights.
Lifting light loads will condition your muscles before they work hard on lifting the weight.
This allows you to safely lift heavy weights.
I was also confused by this problem when I started practicing.
That’s why today I want to share my research and personal experience (I managed to gain 40 pounds of muscle myself) on the question of training order.
Should You Lift Heavy or Light Weights First?The Definition of Heavy and Light Weights.Go from Light to Heavy in a Training Plan.Go Light to Heavy in Each Training.Two Ways to Lift from Light to Heavy in Training.Why You Should Lift Heavy Weights to Gain Lean Muscle. Do Bodybuilders Lift Heavy or Light Weights First?
Should You Lift Heavy or Light Weights First?
In the context of building muscle, lifting heavy weights is recommended to promote muscle growth.
Conversely, lifting light weights is ideal for warm-ups and light exercises such as bicep curls.
So should you lift heavy weights first or last?
As I said before, you should go from light to heavy (as a general rule).
In other words- should you start a 12 month training program by going all heavy lifts?
Or should you start with lighter weights, and progress to heavier weights over the course of months?
In other words- should you start a training session by finishing your heavy lifts first?
Or should you start with light lifts and progress to heavier weights during the workout?
The good news for you is that in both cases, you should go from light to heavy weights.
Definition of Heavy and Light Weight.
A weight that is heavy for one may be light for another.
So what is considered heavy and light weight in weight lifting?
A heavy weight is one that is 60 to 100% of your maximum lifting capacity, also known as 1-rep max.
In contrast, a light weight is 0 to 60% of your maximum lifting capacity.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to determine your 1-rep maximum for each exercise.
To estimate your 1-rep max, simply find your workout and information on the Strength Level website.
It will then estimate the maximum weight you can lift in one go, with a specific exercise.
From here, you can take 60-100% of your 1-rep max with a heavy weight, or 0-60% with a light weight.
This can be calculated by multiplying your 1 rep max by 0.60 to 1.00 for heavy weight, or 0.00 to 0.60 for light weight.
For example- if your average bench press 1-rep max is 51 pounds, the heaviest weight for you would be 31-51 lb, and the lightest weight would be 1-30 lb.
Find out how much weight to lift in my other article!
Going from light to heavy in the training program.
As someone who wants to build muscle, you will want to lift heavy weights (eventually).
Instead, you should start lifting light weights before you lift heavy weights.
By starting with a light weight, you can safely get used to the exercises.
And once you get used to the movements of the exercise, and your muscles have established the foundation of novice strength, you can move on to heavier weights.
So how much weight should you be lifting as a beginner, relative to your body weight?
These are lighter weights compared to someone who has been training regularly.
And this will allow you to lift heavier weights as you progress through your training program.
If you train with dumbbells, then good adjustable dumbbells like these Powerblock Elites will allow you to easily transition from light to heavy lifting.
Go from light to heavy in each workout.
During each exercise, you should also lift light weights before heavy weights.
In general, you should lift light weights to warm up your muscles.
A warm-up set involves performing the movements of the given exercise, but with lighter weights.
Once you’re warmed up, you can start your training sets.
Jay from A Workout Routine recommends this structure for the following warm-up set:
Warm-up scheme from A Workout Routine.
Once you’ve warmed up with the lighter weights, you can start tackling the heavier weights, which will be your muscle-building sets.
Powerblock dumbbells are fully adjustable and each dumbbell contains light AND heavy settings, making it a great way to improve at home.
Check out my other article for tips on how to build muscle like a hardgainer!
Two Ways to Lift From Light to Heavy Weights in Training.
I have discussed why you should lift light weights in the form of warm-up sets.
Compound exercises (also called “big lifts”) use multiple muscle groups at the same time.
They are multi-builders and it is recommended that you lift heavy on these exercises (70-80% of 1-rep max at 6-12 reps).
Isolation exercises (also called “small lifts”), in contrast, activate single muscle groups.
They are used to add volume to certain muscles, and it is recommended that you lift light in these exercises (60 -70% of 1-rep max at 10-15 reps).
Which type of exercise you choose to do first will depend on your goal.
The table below will help you decide if you should lift heavy compounds or light isolation lifts first.
You may also be interested in my other article to find out which dumbbell weights are considered light and heavy.
Heavy Compound Lifts FirstLighter Isolation Lifts First More Strength “big lifts”. More strength “smaller lifts”. Increases weight. Defines specific muscles. Improves general strength. Improves loose muscles. Benefits of lifting heavy compound or light isolation lifts first.
As you can see, whether you choose to lift heavy compounds or light isolations first, depends on your training goal.
But even so, you should still lift the warm-up sets of light weight beforehand.
So technically, you should always lift lighter weights first, and progress to heavier weights afterwards.
Why You Should Lift Heavy Weights To Gain Lean Muscle.
So why should you lift heavy weights to build muscle?
Heavy weights are necessary for building muscle because they introduce mechanical tension to the muscle being trained.
As I mentioned earlier, the best way to lift heavy weights is to start with a light weight and gradually increase the weight over time.
This process is called progressive overload, and it’s important to gain muscle.
To understand why continuous multi-loading is important, see the refresh-recovery-practice model below.
As you can see – it is important to introduce stimuli that require little by little in order for your muscles to grow.
Without continuous overload, your muscle gains would increase much faster.
And that’s not good if you want to gain a large amount of muscle!
If you are interested, you may also be interested in my other article to learn how the forward squat works with dumbbells.
Do Bodybuilders Lift Heavy or Light Weights First?
Now let’s look at how the elite build muscle – bodybuilders.
Here are Arnie’s thoughts on whether to lift heavy or light weights first.
According to this post, Arnie recommends a few warm-up sets before jumping into your heavy lifts.
To put it simply, you should always find ways to introduce new stimulus to your muscles.
So, by all means, focus on lifting heavy compound weights before light weights for separation.
But every once in a while, it can also be beneficial to lift lighter isolation weights first.
If you are interested, you can go to my other article for a home dumbbell bodybuilding workout!
Today, I explained that you should lift heavy or light weights first.
In general, you should always lift light before moving on to heavier weights in a training program.
Additionally, you should also lift light weights (in the form of warm-up sets), before lifting heavy weights at work.
After your warm-up sets, it can be beneficial to do heavy compound lifts first or light isolation lifts first.
Do you prefer to lift heavy or light weights first?
Or, download the FREE Kalibre Muscle Blueprint to find out EXACTLY how I transformed my brown body into a hardgainer!
Thanks for reading guys!