| Hi Friend,
Always lifting heavy can be a "slippery slope," often leading to stalled progress, overtraining and injury. But here's the thing… this tricky track is easy to navigate when you follow a super-simple strategy.
The solution?
You gotta lighten the load.
So here is what you do:
At your next workout, cut all your training weights by half.
Scared you're going to lose strength and size by going light? Don't be. All the latest research shows mixing up your loads and rep ranges not only aids the recovery process, but helps you add muscle too.
You see, everyone knows lifting heavy weights is key if you want to elicit a growth hormone response. But what few lifters realise is how high-rep sets done at 50% rep-max triggers a superior growth hormone response.
That’s why seasoned trainees commonly dial back their training poundages every so often — experience in the trenches has shown them this protocol flat-out works.
The Value of High-Repetitions
The value of high-repetitions has been demonstrated time and time again. This is also why the advice you hear about adding a lighter “finisher” set at the end of your workout makes perfect sense.
Research published in the ‘Journal of Strength and Conditioning’ firmly backs this up:
Japanese scientists took 17 male students and had them follow a traditional hypertrophy program for 6 weeks (they all experienced satisfactory gains).
For the following 4 weeks, these students were divided into two groups where they both performed 5 heavy sets at 90% of their 1 rep-max. However, one group, in addition to their heavy sets, finished their workout with one high-rep set at 50% of their 1 rep-max.
And the result?
While both groups showed a positive GH response, the group performing the high-rep “finisher” set elicited a superior growth hormone response.
What does that mean?
In very simple terms, more GH means more muscle growth.
To learn more about training with lighter loads, see our article below…
Higher Reps for Size and Strength
Until next time,
Squat for Glory!
Lee
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