Someone stole my book. Right off the dumbbell rack on the weight floor where I’d left it propped open with a 2-pounder. (Because what else do you do with a 2-lb dumbbell? Use it to crack pecans? Roll out dough? Do that weird forearm exercise where you curl it backwards??) In all my years of Experimenting, I’ve left a lot of things at the gym, ranging from small stuff like lip gloss and wet towels to bigger stuff like my phone. Oh, and one of my kids. (Twice. Yes, same kid. We’ve already started a fund for his therapy.) But this is the first time I’ve ever had the lost item not show up again.
Confession: I wasn’t really sad about it. Annoyed, yes. But I won’t miss Rachel’s Cosgrove’s Lose Two Dress Sizes in Two Months book. And I definitely won’t miss toting it around the weight floor. I have my reasons.
The Gym Buddies weren’t sad to see it go either. They liked it even less than I did.
The original plan was to do the whole 3-month program as written. But since I found out I was moving to Denver (next weekend, aagggh!) and I wanted to finish this Experiment with the Gym Buddies I decided to accelerate it just a bit. We ended up doing each phase for three weeks, except for the last phase which we only did for two. (Because somebody stole my book. I’m still boggled by this. Just… why?) So keep this in mind as you read my thoughts.
“Ugh, I don’t wanna do this!” “Don’t make me do this again!” “I can’t take it anymore!” were familiar refrains during both Rachel Cosgrove Experiments but the difference is that during our first go-round with her (The Female Body Breakthrough) it was usually because it hurt. There was some tough stuff in that book but while there was some whining (let’s be honest, there always is with us – we’re all moms of toddlers and clearly very susceptible to tiny-person peer pressure), we liked pushing ourselves through it anyhow. This time however, the whining was because we were bored. As in “please do not make me do another step-up because 4 sets of 15 reps on each leg means that I’ve climbed up the Eiffel tower, minus the view and bragging rights and HOLY CRAP WHY ARE WE STILL STEPPING MAKE IT END!!!”
Don’t get me wrong, step ups (holding weights at your sides and stepping up and down on a riser, step, weight bench or box) can be a powerful exercise. Indeed, in her first book – which I affectionately called my “build a butt” workout thanks to all the glute action – step ups were a mainstay. The difference in the new book is that instead of holding heavy weights and doing less reps, this time you’re holding light weights and doing lots of reps. Which brings up an interesting and long-standing controversy in the fitness world: which is the better way to weight train? And does it matter if your goal is to get stronger versus if your goal is to “get lean” or “tone up”?
I started out hating the weights. Cardio queen that I was, I had to be dragged by my friend Nasca onto the weight floor by my hair. Once there however, she converted me to the benefits of weight training and while I won’t say that I love it like I love cardio – no way are bicep curls more fun than Zumba! – I have learned to enjoy and appreciate the iron. Since Nasca was a bodybuilder, she never let me get away with light weights (I basically started with Bill Phillips’ venerable Body For Life program) but since then I’ve tried all kinds of variations on that theme, even going so far as to do Tracy Anderson’s (in)famous workout where you never lift anything heavier than 3-lbs. (Which, I was set to think was ridiculous but when you do 100 reps, even 3 pounds will make you want to chew your own shoulder off to make the pain stop.) But after years of vacillating do you know who convinced me that heavy weights for women were best? Rachel Cosgrove. (Okay, and CrossFit. Let’s give credit where credit is due.) Her first book was all about teaching women to get strong and not fear “bulking out.”
So I was baffled when I got her new book only to discover the models using teeeeeny dumbbells in all the examples. I won’t tell you how many arguments we had on the weight floor over whether the models were doing shoulder presses with 2-lb ‘bells or 5-lb ‘bells. But they are models (and not even fitness models – just model-models) so maybe that was a good starter weight for them? I’m totally not judging anyone who starts out weight lifting with the smaller ‘bells; we all have to start somewhere! But this time there was no instruction from Rachel to lift heavy or even how to progress your weights. It was just the pictures. So the Gym Buddies and I stuck with the heaviest weight we could handle but because the sets/reps were so long, we naturally had to go lighter than before.
But just as I was setting my stun gun on Full Snark, I read this article in the New York Times about this very subject. And their answer surprised me:
If by “better,” you mean helps you gain muscle and strength without hurting yourself, then “the answer, to me, is pretty clear,” said Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. “Lighter weights!”
In a 2012 study by Dr. Phillips and colleagues, published in PLoS ONE, college-aged young men were randomly assigned to a weight training program in which they repeatedly lifted either 30 percent of the maximum weight possible for them until their muscles were exhausted; or 80 percent of their maximum until, again, their arms or legs were noodle-y. Afterward, both groups developed cellular changes related to muscle growth, meaning either routine would add similar amounts of muscle.
But lifting the lighter weights, Dr. Phillips said, also builds muscular endurance, far more so than grunting through fewer repetitions with heavy weights, and results in less risk of muscular injury. As a bonus, completing more repetitions with lighter weights also results in “a greater amount of total work” per session, meaning more calories burned than fewer repetitions with heavier weights. [emphasis mine]
Are the fitness tides changing again? After the past 5 or so years where “lifting heavy” has gained such popularity, are we seeing a swing back to the tiny pink dumbbell phase? And which does the research support? I’m honestly not sure. At moments like this my gut says to just do whatever I enjoy best and to heck with dueling researchers. But I can’t get over the bolded statement above. It seems so counter-intuitive to me. Can that be true?
I have seen an increasing amount of people talking about the greater risk of injury for lifting heavy as compared to lifting lighter. And my experience has shown this to be true. (My hemorrhoids from my one-rep max experiment are high fiving each other as we speak.) I’ve also heard a lot of chatter of late about how the emphasis should not be on “getting as strong as possible” or “getting big” but rather to have lean, functional muscle. Lastly, I’ve always had my qualms about the “lifting heavy won’t make you bulk out” assertion. Sure lifting heavy won’t make us big like dudes but it can certainly make us bigger than we like. And the people who say otherwise are generally the same people who post things like “10 exercises for a bubble butt!” (I swear I didn’t make that up). So if you can bulk your butt out then why would it not work the same for your quads or shoulders?
Anyhow, I think Gym Buddy Megan summed it up best when she said Drop Two Sizes… is really a prequel and not a sequel to Rachel’s first book. And considering a lot of people were intimidated by The Female Body Breakthrough or found it too difficult then I can see how this book would have a place.
MY Conclusion
As a seasoned weight lifter, I found the workouts boring and not progressing enough. I also question her reverting to the high rep/low weight theory (but like I said, maybe there’s a good reason for that?) But if you are newer to fitness and intimidated by traditional weight workouts this could be a great start for you. Also, if you liked her first book and are looking for a few more “Rachel” moves to add to your repertoire this is great. And hey, just the fact that somebody stole my book says something, right?
What’s your opinion about high reps/low weight vs low reps/heavy weight?
P.S. Megan wanted me to tell you that she thinks she went up a pants size during this Experiment, mostly in her quads. Allison, Daria and I all saw no change at all.
I just don’t know what to think! I DO know that I enjoy my Lotte Berke/BarMethod/Callanetics/Slim in 6 workouts. But I also like being able to lift heavier, as well as get a workout done in 30 minutes rather than 60. 🙂
Maybe it’s a combination? Doing light weights one day, heavy weights another (after a sufficient rest, of course)?
Or maybe we all find what we enjoy, what works for us, and what we’ll stick with.
And maybe the Universe took your book, telling you not to bother with a workout you weren’t enjoying, lol!
Having put myself and 100+ clients through both types of workouts, I can confidently swear that high rep workouts do nothing other than provide a cardio effect. If someone has never lifted weights before, I will often ease them into it by working with a higher rep range (10-20 reps). They will see a training effect, but the results are due to the fact that they are actually lifting weights for the first time, rather than the number of reps they are doing.
A typical female client who seeks my advice is one who has mostly done high rep workouts like Bodyrock, Tracy Anderson, etc. They all see a dramatic change when they start lifting heavy (5-10 reps) and actually pushing themselves. Combined with the fact that heavier workouts are generally shorter in duration and allow you to eat more, it is a no-brainer which option is better in my opinion!
I love this answer! 🙂
Me too! I totally agree w/ Tara!
I 100% agree with this. I spent years doing high rep low weight classes, and I recently started working with a trainer and doing heavy lifting, and in just 6 weeks I’ve noticed such a huge change in the shape of my body, and even though I haven’t lost any weight yet, I’ve gotten a ton of compliments with people asking if I’ve lost weight. I’m all about heavier weight now, though I thought I never would be.
Totally agree with Tara. The 3-pounders are fine for newbies, but then it’s time to get serious with the iron. Unless, of course, you have too much time on your hands and enjoy working out for a couple of hours.
I am so confused!
Seriously. I have no idea what to think. I doubt that doing anything with a 3 lb dumbbell will do anyone any good (unless rehabbing an injury), but I guess there are issues with lifting really heavy as well?
Maybe this is why classes like Body Pump are so popular since it falls somewhere in between. The reps are generally high, and you’re supposed to lift as heavy as you possibly can and still finish the reps. I think I normally lift 1/2 to 1/3 of my 1 RM max in a Body Pump class and it definitely burns them muscles.
So…I guess I’ll come back and see what other commenters have to say!
I tend to do lower weights with high reps because it works with my conditioning for endurance sports. HOWEVER. When I say lower weights, I mean a weight that I have to work hard to lift for 12 reps or whatever. I do not mean five-pound weights.
I want to be able to lift heavier weights, but I have to also balance it with the fact that I need my body to be capable of swimming/biking/running a few times a week, so this is what works for me. However, I would encourage anyone who is trying to get fit/in shape but who doesn’t do a sport to lift as heavy as they can.
It’s amazing what people will steal. All that work gone… completely frustrating. Maybe grab one of those pens that records what you write so you can store it on your computer too?
Hm. There has been some research done that shows that women do attain hypertrophy better at RELATIVELY lower percentages of their 1 RM. See: http://70sbig.com/blog/2012/08/20/
It seems this is because women have higher work capacity (“endurance”) and less efficient central nervous system activation (i.e., we can’t ‘coordinate’ things enough to attain our true 1 RM). That’s not a good or bad thing, it’s just female physiology, on average. However, I think by lighter weight this means working at, say, 75% of 1 RM, not… 30%, which isn’t really strength training at all. It might be hypertrophy training, though. I mean, fitness competitors do bodyweight lunges and so forth. Just straight high volume. It could be that Cosgrove is targeting people who want to attain hypertrophy.
Personally I get the best results from training in the 75-90% range for low reps (5-8 at MOST). I just hit a 176 lb back squat, so something is working. But my goals are all sprinting-related, and that’s a power sport, so it would be stupid for me to build unnecessary mass. Also, everyone is different, and perhaps for those training for aesthetics it’s a legitimate approach. (I know my arms are kind of pathetically small, though strong).
ETA: So to briefly restate: yeah, if you’re starting from an UNTRAINED STATE (which most people in these BS studies are, so whatever they do will grow them some muscle… also, wtf kind of study uses 15 people?) you can get hypertrophy from both lower and higher weights.
But if you have performance goals and want to get stronger? Heavy.
I’m in the heavy camp; personally I don’t enjoy lifting weights, and would rather get a lot done quickly. The heavier I lift, the less time hoisting, and I get way better results and feel more bad-ass to boot.
Like anything else to do with exercise, I think the best thing to do is experiment and find out what works best, both physiologically and psychologically, and the heck with what any particular study or book says!.
Absolutely prefer the heavy lifting!
I did NROLFW last year and it totally changed my perspective on women and weightlifting and was one of the most empowering books I’ve read. I’m part of a FB group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/NROL4W/) that is so supportive and all these women love to LIFT HEAVY because it is so good for the body, but also the soul! Major emotional changes happen when you start to lift heavy weights. You see physical changes in your body, but you also start to change how you think since you start to do things you have never done before. Lifting 5lbs 20 times does not sound so impressive. Lifting 50lbs 5 times is a big step up.
What is funny is that her husband is one of the writers for NROLFW; like they are trying to cover the whole market between the pair of them; those women who want to lift heavy, and those that are still stuck in archaic ways.
It’s great that you tried it out for so long to get a good idea of what it is really about, which I give you major props for doing. I would have asked for a refund once I saw the pictures as you describe. 😉
Oh man, I’m doing NROLFW right now and I looooove it so much. I’m so psyched to know there is an online group attached to the book. Thanks for sharing!
I have nothing to say about lighter/heavier weights – but only wanted to add some sympathy: about 10+ years ago, my favorite (only) Swatch watch (OK, so maybe it was a little more than 10 years ago) was stolen from an elliptical machine and I still get upset about it. It was a fancy gym in a fancy part of town (closer to work than home) and I’m convinced that each of those gym-goers probably already had gold watches galore sitting at home in fancy jewelry boxes. So why did one of them HAVE to have my well-worn, well-loved Swatch?! Good grief. Even after all these years, it still upsets and perplexes me.
Add me to the heavy lifting fans. My personal preference is working in the 5 rep range, but I do force myself to do some work in the 8-12 rep range too. Say what you will about the “dangers” of heavy lifting, but very high reps are a lot more likely to lead to tendinitis. (Repetitive motion, anyone?) Finally, I *don’t* see any disadvantage in getting as strong as possible. In my experience, it’s only made daily life easier.
I’ve done heavy lifting/lower reps, lighter lifting/higher reps, and no weights/using body weight only. I prefer the last. Even though I enjoyed it, I bulked out more than I wished to with heavy weights, bulked out of some of my clothes, gained 8 lbs, and was always wolfing down food. Lighter weights/higher reps takes too darn long and is boring. With functional weight training (like old school Bodyrock and Pilates) I always felt strong, looked lean, and felt great in my clothes. Now, with number 3 on the way, I’m doing a workout with moderate weights (5lbs./medium amt of reps) and very gentle cardio. I find it boring but useful for the time I’m at in my life. (My husband called me a bowling pin the other day. He meant it in a cute way, but, c’mon hubby!) I think you gotta just find your passion and stick with it. Heavy, light, bodyweight, as long as you’re moving and that stress is melting away, you’re good.
I’m a believer in the heavy weights after the last two years. Light weights are certainly better than no weights though! If I’m faced with the option of using my 10 lb dumbells at home or skipping a session, I’ll do that (or just use bodyweight) every time.
This argument has plagued me since I first started exercise: heavier and less, lighter and more. For a long time I subscribed to “lighter and more” just because it was easier, but I saw very little progress. Now that I’ve switched to “heavier and more” I’ve seen results, comparatively, lightening fast.
I’ve lost stuff at the gym too, but mainly its my fault because I forget about it and leave the gym without it. By the way I’m hoping you were joking about your kid and therapy.
I’ve lifted heavy weights for several years (can it really be 5?)… and I’ve recently noticed one thing: I’m strong for the short term, but have NO muscular endurance. It’s my off season from competition so I’m changing up my workouts to be at a somewhat lower weight and for much more reps. (3 sets of 12-15 is common).
It does not mean that one is better than another (and I’d never use tiny pink dumbbell), but that we need to challenge ourselves along the entire strength spectrum. People who LIVE in the endurance range need to work at the low rep/high weight range; someone like me who lives in power needs to develop some endurance too.
So I’ll do the endurance work for 2 months before I start training for my meet. Then back to the high weights/low reps range for 3 months. Back and forth. All things!
I’m certainly no expert in this kind of thing–from a scientific or practical perspective. But I do have a background in philosophy that I think might come in handy here… Maybe we need to start by “defining our terms.” Does a light weight mean 2lbs or 5? And is a heavy weight 8lbs or 20? I feel like I hear both (and other variations as well), and there feels like a vast difference between them when it comes down to the workout I get! “Light weights” are plenty for me when we are talking about the “heavier” side of them. Is this just because I’m a softy when it comes to lifting weights, or do other people have this experience too?
One word: OSTEOPOROSIS!
It has been scientifically proven OVER and OVER again, that to condition your muscles *and* your bones, you have to lift heavy enough to fatigue in 8 reps or fewer.
This is a big deal for women! It’s not just about building muscle, it’s about bone strength as well. Save yourself a future hip fracture and LIFT HEAVY!
Heavy weights!
Because even if results were exactly the same between low weights and high weights, high weight workouts take less time 😉
Also I feel like a badass with my strength increases. Low weights never did that for me.
When I first started lifting heavy, I had great results losing body fat and becoming stronger. The problem is I don’t want to/know how to keep pushing myself lifting heavier and heavier. I’m kind of happy where I’m at and so I am unsure of what to do now. Lifting heavy takes a lot out of me and makes me sore for what I love most: running. I don’t love lifting heavy, but I like the results. I love running, but I know that it’s not the best thing to do as far as my body composition goes. So for now, I do what I love: run most days of the week and do a couple of days of usually heavy lifting, but if I’m not feeling it I lift lighter/more reps. I really don’t know if I’m doing anything useful, but I’m enjoying it. 🙂
This is something that I wonder about a lot and I end up falling down the rabbit hole in reading about different perspectives/ideas.
In the end, I think you have to do what works best for you(which you have to find through trial/error) and what is sustainable/something you’re willing to do.
I’ve slogged through the body-building type workouts with heavy(for me) weight/low rep and I just got bigger, but not more defined.
For the past 3 months I’ve been doing Zuzana’s Z cut workout(with an occasional 3 mile run like once/week or less) and I have had dramatic changes in my body composition. My employees are asking me to write down my workouts because they cannot believe how much leaner I look. I’m starting to maybe sort of see abs/delts and quads.
Even my husband who had always previously sort of humored me in the fitness department(I mean I guess I can see some changes if I squint my eyes and tilt my head to the side) has told me, unprovoked that he can see changes.
Add in the fact that I can be done in about 20 minutes total, plus I can do the workouts anywhere? AND for the first time in my life, I can do real man-pushups….
It makes me not even want to go back to the gym at all.
Yes. She was the old trainer for Bodyrock.com and she’s amazing. I missed her when she went on her own, but then I found her on YouTube. Hooray!
For me, it’s all about what the workout is for the day… If I’m doing a tabata circuit, I’m definitely going lighter weight route.
Gotta say after years of doing 5-15 lb dumbell exercises in the gym followed by a total switch to CrossFit (a year and a half now), I am definitely a fan of “heavier is better.” I am usually limited on time in the gym and so it’s a lot faster for me to go big and then go home (hee hee).
I do have to say I don’t recall a single injury in my tiny weight-lifting years, and I have just recently had a minor shoulder issue with CrossFit that in a couple weeks is already almost back to 100% after resting it, getting mobility work, and correcting poor form issues.
I also would say that, while I am noticeably more muscular, my body is a smaller size and more toned (especially my abs, butt, legs, and arms…oh, wait, that’s everything!) than ever before. I have never felt so confident in shorts or a swimsuit.
I do a mix: I’ll lift a 10# ‘bell for shoulder work while watching telly or sweeping floors or some other simple chore, building up endurance in my weak shoulders, but when it comes to deadlifts, squats and the other major lifts – go heavy or don’t bother. I love the feeling of hauling a huge bar with (relative) ease, and it’s super functional when you need to pick up and move around felled trees or whatnot at my mum’s acreage. Conversely, the lighter weights many times over makes hauling my groceries several kilometres home easier (endurance work). I think a good mix is important for function, and heavy or light all the time is silly. Our lives don’t restrict themselves to under 5#s or over 50#s all the time. We need to be able to do everything as necessary.
I don’t know why I’m commenting so much on this post, but I have to say it: Charlotte, putting a little apostrophe next to dumbbell (or barbell, which do you mean) like so: ” ‘bell” is extremely annoying to me. It sounds like fluffy, ditzy, unspecific lady-mag talk (and I know you do write for some of those publications, but… still…). I respect so much of what you say, but that cutesy and confusing phrasing is driving me bonkers.
Honest – it all comes down to goals & what you want to look like. I gain easy. When I was younger, I had to be careful cause I got big with even lighter weights.
I think you can do an effective workout combining all 3 quite honestly but that is a book in itself all abut my crazy workouts! 😉
Hope the move goes smoothly!!!!
I like to lift as heavy as I can without hurting myself. I like to look lean and toned, but lifting weights for me is really more of a functional thing. My goal is to be able to move my own couch, (like I do now) when I’m 75. To that end I like to go heavy or go home. 🙂
Gaye
Linear progressive workouts using pyramid sets have always worked best for myself with the odd bit of other methodologies thrown in for variety and fun.
70% of my workout is usually going from light warm-up to 80% or 1RM on a distress day.
Then I’ll throw in some plyos, the odd drop set from the 80-1RM, super-sets etc.
That way I cover all bases from endurance to hypertrophy to strength.
BUT – I am maintaining.
Specific goals need specific programs so where a strength training (heavy weight/low reps) will work for one need the endurance based resistance will work for another.
I smell cookies.
I just have to weigh in here (ah…puns….)
I have been lifting weights regularly for about 10 years now. I started doing about 30-45 min 3x a week, without knowing a damn thing. I think I probably did 10-12 reps at whatever I could handle, but I honestly don’t really remember. I loved it. I didn’t think about it before or after the gym.
Then, I started to get into the lifting heavy thing about 4-5 years ago. Suddenly, I was ALL about the weights and proper fueling for the weights and do I do a full body 3 day week or a 5 day split week and do I apply the muscle confusion approach and where does cardio fit into all that and can I cycle weeks with lighter weights and more reps with heavy and less?
And then? I realized that I was really just splitting hairs. I mean, seriously, is a bicep curl of 10-12 reps at 15 pounds going to change my muscle that much compared to 8-10 reps at 20 or even 25 pounds? I decided to just try to chill out on the planning and just do what I felt like doing.
For the last year, I’ve had one “rule” – be active 60 minutes a day, every day. This can be walking, biking, running, swimming, lifting weights, yoga, etc. When I do lift, I don’t go in with a plan. I walk to the weights (I only use free weights though), pick one up and do some lifts until I get tired or bored. If I’ve only done 45 min, I do 15 min of cardio. Sometimes I only make it 20 min with the weights, so I grab a magazine and ride a bike or walk for 40.
My body looks EXACTLY THE SAME. Maybe I’m a genetic freak though. (Probably.)
I’ve seen the argument before that high rep/low weight builds muscle endurance and heavy lifting builds muscle. To me, endurance doesn’t sound like a bad thing, so maybe it depends on your goals. Personally? I want to be fit enough to do the things I want and need to do in my life; endurance is more likely to be what I need.
I would also argue that when you are doing the high rep/low weight type workouts, you should still be picking a weight that’s challenging. So, if you are finishing all your reps and not feeling a thing, you should bump up the weight.
Which puts me in the middle of the road. I do some workouts with high reps, and I use a weight that is low enough that I can get through the workouts, but is still challenging. Sometimes I do workouts with heavier weights as well, but what is heavy to me would probably not be heavy to a lot of people.
I pretty much always come back to this: Do what works for you! 🙂
Hey Charlotte!
I posted a little over a year ago to thank you for your Rachel Cosgrove experiment and share my results after getting over my fear of giving up excessive cardio. When I finished my first Rachel Cosgrove 16 week program I had lost a small amount of weight (less than 10 pounds) but I looked totally different. My butt was in an entirely different place! I was sold on strength training–especially since it allowed me to eat a healthy amount of calories and maintain my weight/shape.
I sort of panicked about what to do when the 16 weeks was over. I settled on 18-40 minute kettlebell conditioning circuits 5 days a week (some days were grinds with heavier bells and some days were more conditioning). Which led to focusing exclusively on training to do an unassisted pull-up, which led to trying to increase my overhead kettlebell press and snatch, which led to doing nothing else for a month but kettlebell swings. I have to say that I got the most bang for my buck from the month of kettlebell swings. That particular movement (some days were high volume, low weight and other days were low volume but VERY heavy) had a carry over effect to almost everything I did in my workouts and everyday life. My 5k time dropped and I did two back-to-back days of serious yard work and I wasn’t the slightest bit sore.
So, for myself, I’ve decided that a mix of programs–switching back and forth every 4 months or so–works best. I’ll focus on heavy lifting exclusively for a while and then I’ll do something different that is lower weight, body weight, or more conditioning focused. Nothing gave me more dramatic results than that first round of heavy lifting though.
I decided to do the Female Body Breakthrough again after the holidays. My strength gains after my summer of kettlebell and pull-up work were pretty amazing. Deadlift, squat, and especially barbell presses were much improved. No amazing transformation like last time–mostly because I think I’m where I’m supposed to maintain. And now I’m back to kettlebells for the summer.
But onto the new Rachel Cosgrove book. . . . My mom is in her mid-sixties and was interested in starting some strength training. She has always done a lot of cardio and has been in good shape. I gave her the original Rachel Cosgrove book and it was just too overwhelming for her. Then she got an awful case of shingles and was out of commission for almost a year. She kept saying, “I want to try something like that Rachel Cosgrove book but I’m just not capable of that now that I’m starting from scratch.” When I saw the new book it was clear that it was a “prequel” (as someone else has said) and that it would not be challenging for me. But the new book is PERFECT for my mom. I got her the book and the DVDs. It’s absolutely a beginner book. I don’t see how the results could be as dramatic as her first book, but I think it serves a crucial function in getting older or more sedentary people into shape and giving them the confidence to try her first book. Ideally, someone should just jump in and do her first book. But it scares a lot of people away with the barbells and having to go on the scary weight floor. We’ll see what kind of results my mom gets and I’ll let you know.
Best of luck in Denver!
I bought four copies of her first book because I was constantly loaning it out and not getting it back, but I was really disappointed with her second book. And then after her blog post about how reaching her “target demographic” was her main priority, she kind of lost me as a fan, as I’m not a 20-24 year old who’s already in great shape.
I always worked with heavier weights and got better results with regard to bulk, definition and weight loss than I realized with lighter weightstand more reps.
Lately, however, due to (age-related) joint pains — elbows, mostly — I’ve switched to high reps and lighter weights. The joints don’t hurt, but the results are mediocre with regard to bulk and definitiion.
I think it depends on your purpose. You you want to look big with no stamina or really be strong by pushing yourself to the max.
I do higher reps (like, 15-25) because I’m in my 30s and already have arthritis and other joint issues, as well as overuse injuries (from cardio, not weights). I *have* to be moderate. Sustainability is somewhat at odds with hotness, I suspect, but I’m gun-shy now and need this to be for the long haul.
Other than that, though, working in higher ranges, my muscles feel more warmed up. I never did the warm-up sets when I lifted heavier, wanting to get through just 2 or 3. Some serious lifting programs have people doing 4-5 sets for one muscle group – at 30%, 40%, etc, building up to the working set/s. When I’ve done this, I know it’s improved my capacity. But something about the psychology of doing 4×8 or whatever is more annoying than doing 2×25 or 50. (No idea, can’t explain.)
In the higher ranges, I have more opportunities for learning, for the simple fact that there are more reps. I try to stay aware of each, and correct mistakes at the next one. I feel like 15-20 lets me stay on top of proprioception, balance, control, etc, in a different way than I can with heavier loads, given the sheer grit it takes to get through them.
Finally: recovery. I like doing something every day (not always weights). Heavier loads make this difficult. Some do ‘body part’ workouts to allow this, but I hate burning out one muscle group while neglecting others – full-body workouts feel more balanced.
Anyway, thanks for your thoughtful review!