Originally Posted by
bblair
I have no reason to doubt this and did quickly read the blog. And this very small "study" , and more precisely the conclusions, were of dubious value to me. For one, the control group, as I understand it, was endurance athletes doing their training only vs endurance plus heavy lifting. There was no mention of heavy vs light so any conclusions there are speculation.
Next, the statment of "never go more than 72 hours....." maybe that is observation or tradition but I am not sure how his claim of strength loss was arrived at.
Also, his assertation that if you can do 2 reps of a given weight, you need to increase. That seems, to me, a recipe for injury.
So that is why reading these kinds of Gym Bro articles is entertaining, it does not really prove anything. I watch videos from Dylan Johnson who backs up every idea with citations from academic literature. That is how I was trained in real life and I think you have to apply that to athletic training as well
I didn't post the link for the studies, I posted it because it points out why it's good for us to lift heavy. And those were NOT Gym Bros. BTW, I think Gym Bros, especially the Body building types are why so many, especially runners and cyclists, are turned off on lifting weights; however, that trend is turning now, but still some stigma in the running/cycling world about "Pumping Iron".
All the points made are sound points; however, that's not to say there is no place for doing high reps with lower weights, I do at times, simply because we cannot improve every time we workout, regardless if that is with weights or cardio. When I feel like I can't get past a point with a certain weight, then I back off and do something else, because that's what the body needs and sometimes that is lighter weights at higher reps.
All the article is saying is that you should NOT be
only doing light weights at higher reps. All that is doing is working your slow-twitch muscle fibers and if you do that enough, then it's not strength training, it's endurance training. We do enough endurance training on the bike, don't need to be doing it when we're supposedly working on the musculoskeletal system. It's like the first time one went on a run or a bike ride. Many people end up with sore legs, that was a form of strength training, but as we do more and more our legs stopped hurting, because then the activity switched mostly to an endurance event. The same thing is true if all you do is lift light weight at high reps -- it becomes an endurance event, not strength training.