Do you need more reps or heavier weights to get stronger? Fitness expert settles the debate

It’s an age-old debate for fitness junkies. What is better for building muscle: lifting heavier or more often?

Now fitness professionals have tried to solve the issue of reps versus weight for good.

According to Amanda Place, a personal trainer and founder of the British coaching company Sculptrition, a relatively short workout is sufficient if you want to increase the size and strength of your muscles.

But it won’t be easy.

She explains, “If you want to maximize muscle size and strength, lifting heavier weights with fewer reps is preferable as this promotes hypertrophy and significant muscle growth.”

Ali Malik, a personal trainer and founder of British boutique gym Fitness Labs explained to Stylist that this is a ‘fundamental principle in strength training and exercise science’.

“It involves gradually increasing the demands on your muscles, usually by lifting heavier weights or increasing resistance over time,” she says.

This leads to muscle hypertrophy or growth.

According to the University of New MexicoThe tension associated with lifting heavy weights causes small tears in your muscle cells, which the body immediately repairs.

When your body repairs these tears, it adds new tissue on top of the old, slowly growing the amount of muscle mass you have over time and making the entire system stronger.

Malik adds: ‘Progressive overload (increasingly heavier weights) also requires increased joint stability and muscle activation, which can help protect against joint injuries and improve overall joint health.’

You need to increase your weight to as much as you can handle without compromising your form, Malik explained. Discomfort is okay, but if you feel intense, sharp pain, it could be a sign that you are seriously hurting your body by lifting with poor form.

“The effects of gaining weight without proper form can result in serious injuries, especially with strength-building exercises that can stress your spine,” said Malik.

But increasing the number of reps has several benefits and is also an important part of weight training, experts say.

“Working in a higher rep range helps improve your muscles’ ability to perform for a longer period of time,” explains Ali Malik.

‘Performing more reps with shorter rest intervals can also increase your heart rate and improve cardiovascular fitness.’

By doing fewer reps with a higher weight, you can build bigger muscles

The real sweet spot is a combination of both, because that way you can get cardiovascular benefits from the high-rep workout while increasing muscle mass.

This concept, known in the research community as periodization, has been around since the 1950s and can help you achieve weight loss and muscle gain without hitting a progress plateau, according to George Mason University.

To find a balance between heavy lifting and high reps, pay attention to when your workouts start to feel too easy, Malik said.

If you’re powering through it, reaching the top of your rep range during your sets with proper form can be a sign that you’re gaining weight, he said.

Some of the common endurance exercises you can include in your training

Some popular heavy weightlifting exercises are barbell squats, bench press and shoulder press.