what does lifting light weights actually do to your muscles?

[LeeJunFan]

Obviously when you lift heavy weights your muscles increase in size over time but what happens, over time, when you lift lighter weights (8-10 rep range) because your muscles don't get any bigger?
Thanx!

 

[wnt2bBeast]

heavy is relative..Johnnie jackson is one strong mofo yet he says he does heavy bench for 15 reps well for him thats not really heavy if hes getting 15 reps..when the average gym rat sees him benching 405 for 15 they say damn thats heavy..i dont see why you wouldnt be able to increase your size using 8-10 reps..unless you using a weight that is too light and you can really get 15+ reps with..whether or not people agree with this it has to do with the different types of muscle fibers...

 

[LeeJunFan]

take bruce lee for example, I have pictures of him before he touched weights and he was really skinny but the same size as he was when he was ripped, so what happened to his muscles over the years he did weights, did they get more density or does it just seperate you muscles?
Thanx for the reply!

 

[halfaclue]

take bruce lee for example, I have pictures of him before he touched weights and he was really skinny but the same size as he was when he was ripped, so what happened to his muscles over the years he did weights, did they get more density or does it just seperate you muscles?
Thanx for the reply!

I'd bet Bruce was doing curls with 10lbs but doing 50 reps...he doesn't seem like the type of guy who would stop lifting because he reached a number.

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Lifting weights will have the same general benefits regardless. If you progress in load, then there will be an increase in muscle size and strength. Like wnt2b said, heavy is relative. If you can squat 200 for 15 reps one year, then the next 270 for 15, don't you think you must've gotten bigger as well as stronger? Maybe it's not so cut and dry, but I don't see any reason to complicate it.

 

[Synpax]

*sigh*

Strenght training 101:

Muscles grow because you tear them, and your body overcompensates by repairing more than was there in the first place. If you aren't lifting heavy weights, you aren't tearing your fibres as much.

High volume / lower weight is good for muscle endurance.

 

[LeeJunFan]

ok let me rephrase the question, forget I said heavy, if your muscles aren't getting bigger then what is happening to them, does your body rebuild them the same size and if so what is the piont of that?
The thing I wanna know is why my mate has a body fat of something around 4%-5% yet you can't see any of his muscles, he is about the same size as bruce lee and you can see all of bruces muscles, am I making any sense?
Thanx for the info!!!

 

[Synpax]

The thing I wanna know is why my mate has a body fat of something around 4%-5% yet you can't see any of his muscles, he is about the same size as bruce lee and you can see all of bruces muscles, am I making any sense?
Thanx for the info!!!

Cause' he hasn't developed them.

Do you know what doing 50 curls with a 10lbs db is good for?

Doing curls with a 10 lbs db.

Each time your muscles are torn and rebuilt, the rebuild stronger, so it takes more weight to tear them. Comprende?

 

[Tom Treutlein]

Right, thus, progressive load will give size gains, even in the higher rep ranges. Progression is key.

 

[TheOak84]

lee - u consider 8-10 reps lite? lol.. i did a set today, of squats with 315 for 10 reps, that was my failure point and it was by no means light i felt like ed corney in pumping iron when he fell down after squatting, which i think was 315 for 11 reps.

my thoughts - like tom and everyone else is saying, progression of weight that continues to tear down the muscle = new, bigger and stronger muscle tissue.