Should a woman do higher reps?

[ElementalVirago]

Originally Posted by Off Road

Maybe you can give us an idea of what type of programming you follow.

I think I may have misunderstood the quote. I thought it was saying, in essence, "you can't expect to use the same rep range all the time and make progress"...in other words, you have to mix up your rep ranges in order to progress.

I basically lift fairly heavy, mostly in the 6-10 rep range. All the time. That's just what works for me.

I guess what I am always most concerned about is when someone asks that blanket question of "should women lift light with more reps?". I cringe when I hear that, because what it essentially tells me is that the asker has heard this drilled into his/her head because of some archaic stereotype. If the question had been something like "I'm a woman, and I want to achieve X goal. What kind of program should I follow?", that would be totally different. But when someone just narrows the question down to "should a woman X"...that alarms me, as if we're a different species altogether. That's like saying "should I put high octane gas in my car?" There's not enough information. What kind of car? How are you driving it? Where are you driving it? What kind of results do you want your car to have when you drive it? Etc.

[BendtheBar]

I know sometimes we don't consider higher rep work as valid for strength building, but I can tell you it can help. I believe high rep deadlifts and rows and benches have been very helpful as a tool for building strength.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

I know sometimes we don't consider higher rep work as valid for strength building, but I can tell you it can help. I believe high rep deadlifts and rows and benches have been very helpful as a tool for building strength.

I deliberately employ that technique with the KB jerks, go for higher reps at a very slightly lower load and once I can hit 10 reps, it seems to permit me to go to the next weightload up on the strength scale...then rinse, repeat. Then the higher load will become the next 10 rep load...etc.

[Chillen]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

I know sometimes we don't consider higher rep work as valid for strength building, but I can tell you it can help. I believe high rep deadlifts and rows and benches have been very helpful as a tool for building strength.

High reps have there place, dependent on individual circumstances, and personal goals.

Weight training is primarily carbohydrate dependent (conditional), and higher rep range work can benefit one on a very low carb diet, where the purpose is to either reduce or deplete one's glucose storage, and the goal is fat tissue loss (especially with some having some issues with fat loss, where BF percentage is already low, or stubborn areas). The higher rep range is extremely beneficial in that it burns a larger partition of carbohydrates, as compared to lower rep work ranges.

[ElementalVirago]

Originally Posted by Chillen

High reps have there place, dependent on individual circumstances, and personal goals.

Weight training is primarily carbohydrate dependent (conditional), and higher rep range work can benefit one on a very low carb diet, where the purpose is to either reduce or deplete one's glucose storage, and the goal is fat tissue loss (especially with some having some issues with fat loss, where BF percentage is already low, or stubborn areas). The higher rep range is extremely beneficial in that it burns a larger partition of carbohydrates, as compared to lower rep work ranges.

Yes. Agreed 100%. Which is why it's not enough to say "should someone do X" without knowing what their expected end result is.

[Livingitup48]

Originally Posted by Chillen

The higher rep range is extremely beneficial in that it burns a larger partition of carbohydrates, as compared to lower rep work ranges.

Help me understand because I am lost. How does this help a muscle grow?

[ElementalVirago]

Originally Posted by Livingitup48

Help me understand because I am lost. How does this help a muscle grow?

Guys, correct me if I'm wrong but higher rep/lower weight doesn't necessarily make the muscle grow. Really you're just burning calories, which can burn fat, which can make the muscles you have more visible. To me, this is what most people mean when they say "I want to look toned." They don't necessarily want the muscles to be bigger, they just want to have more definition.

If you want to make muscles grow, you have to make them work hard, and that usually means lifting heavy. Lifting heavy creates microtears in the muscle fibers, which causes your body to rebuild those tears by adding more muscle.

[Off Road]

Originally Posted by ElementalVirago

Guys, correct me if I'm wrong but higher rep/lower weight doesn't necessarily make the muscle grow.

When a heavy enough weight is used for enough repetitions, chemical messages are sent to the cells to start protein synthesis. This doesn't have to be because of microtrauma, it just has to be enough of a stimulus to send the message. Microtrauma happens when you deplete the cells and the muscles become brittle. Therefore you need enough TUT to deplete. So, you need enough weight and enough reps to make it all happen. From what I can gather, this would be a rep range between 5 and 15 total reps per set. The weight would also have to be progressive for protein synthesis to stay ahead of protein breakdown. Therefore (I like that word) you'd have to constantly try to do more every workout.

[Chillen]

Originally Posted by Livingitup48

Help me understand because I am lost. How does this help a muscle grow?

In simple terms anaerobic excersize (without oxygen,such as weight lifting) tends to use carbohydrates as the main source of energy. In the aforementioned example I used in the prior post, it isn't the intent to grow muscle, necessarily, as the focus is to lose tissue and deplete glucose stores (I.E. surrounding muscle, liver, etc, etc). The combination of higher reps/low carbohydrates can be effective combination in certain instances with certain individuals with tissue loss goals. Manipulation of the macro nutrients in conjunction with one's goals, is important, and least understood. Another example, something like this would be good for a person who has established a good muscle foundation through a bulk, and is cutting to rid the last portion of fat tissue.

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by ElementalVirago

Guys, correct me if I'm wrong but higher rep/lower weight doesn't necessarily make the muscle grow. Really you're just burning calories, which can burn fat, which can make the muscles you have more visible. To me, this is what most people mean when they say "I want to look toned." They don't necessarily want the muscles to be bigger, they just want to have more definition.

If you want to make muscles grow, you have to make them work hard, and that usually means lifting heavy. Lifting heavy creates microtears in the muscle fibers, which causes your body to rebuild those tears by adding more muscle.

When I first started with weights, I only had a max of 5kg dumbbells; I used to do 3 sets of 20 on most exercises...added 10 lbs of bodyweight and lost inches (even though I was already pretty slim). That to me indicates that muscle was built along with a bodyfat loss and the biceps certainly stood out...plus, the doctor commented about the muscles.

That info is probably better than any study or theorised info that may be out there.