Is there any benefit to high rep / low weight?

[Wines Not Whines]

A little background: I have never really enjoyed strength training. I only do it because I have to, not because I enjoy it. For years I did zero strength training, and I only did cardio and yoga. About 6 months ago, I started taking Body Pump classes at my gym. (They use a high-rep, low-weight approach; the instructor says each class involves about 800 reps.) The classes are fun with upbeat music, they taught me proper form, and they did help me make some mild strength gains. But now I feel like I've maxed out on what they're going to give me.

I read NROLFW, and a trainer at my gym set me up with a similar high-weight, low-rep program that I can do on my own. I only have time to strength train twice a week (I also run 4x and do yoga 2x). Should I do this NROLFW approach 2x/week, or is there any benefit to also keep doing a BP class? Which is more beneficial in the long run?

[Brie]

The way I understand it, high rep/low weight is going to help with muscular endurance, and high weight/low rep is better for actually building strength.

I prefer high weight/low rep because you get more bang for your buck time-wise. It takes me less time to do 10 150# deadlifts than it does to do 100 15# deadlifts. Even though I'm moving the same amount of weight in both scenarios, I know I'll personally see more strength gains from the heavy ones, and I won't get bored out of my gourd while I'm doing them.

It really does come down to preference, though. If you like Body Pump and hate the NROLFW-style workouts, well, then, keep up the Body Pump. You can always work on increasing your weights in BP class, too--you just have to be careful not to fall into the trap of always going for the same weights, class after class, you know?

It sounds like you feel like BP's taken you as far as it can, though, so I'd give the NROLFW stuff a try for awhile. It certainly can't hurt.

[Deleted]

It depends on your goals. High rep builds endurance, low rep builds more strength, like Brie said. For general health goals, you're probably fine doing Body Pump classes and slowly increasing your weights used. Not everyone WANTS to increase their one rep max bench press. If you really don't care about that, don't train for that.

I just started a kettlebell plan that is definitely a high rep / lower weight / interval training program. It's very different than the NROL plan I did previously - but I like it. It's intense, it's quick, and I can do it at home with one piece of equipment. My goals are to improve my strength and endurance while putting in as little time as possible, so for now, this is the plan that meets my goals. My goals are not the same as most on this board.

[juangela]

Jun 7, 2012 9:33:39 GMT -5 Brie said:

The way I understand it, high rep/low weight is going to help with muscular endurance, and high weight/low rep is better for actually building strength.

This is my understanding as well. My husband typically alternates months, so this month might be high weight/low rep to build strength while next month is low weight/high rep to build endurance.

A "low weight" doesn't mean light, though. The goal should be the same whether you are hw/lr or lw/hr - you want to exhaust the muscle by the end of the last set.

[ebeth]

so is the option NROLW 2x per week or BP 1x per week and NROLW 1x per week?

I wouldn't commit to the NROLW if you can't do it at least 2x/week.

if you want to do gain strength I'd pick NROLW, but if you are conditioning for an endurance sport something like BP is probably better.

[hjohnson050711]

I personally like the high weight / low rep option for time saving reasons and for the way it makes me look. in my opinion i can get the same look doing high reps/low weights from something like yoga (which i already do) so i try to mix it up in the weight room by doing high weight low rep.

[Wines Not Whines]

Thanks for the thoughts. It seems like everyone on this board is on the NROLFW/Crossfit wagon, but I think some of you are saying that a "body pump" type of approach might work better for certain goals.

My goals right now are increasing strength and improving my running speed, and I'm not sure what type of strength training will help with the latter. I'm generally pretty good with endurance, as long as I train for it, but speed is harder for me. I normally prefer endurance events, but I'm probably not going to be running anything longer than 10 miles until next spring, because I want to work on getting faster.

Would it make sense to try higher weights 2x week while I'm focusing more on strength/speed? And then maybe go back to body pump when I'm working on more endurance events?

[Deleted]

If your goal is to improve your running speed, you should design your strength training to support that goal. Do some reading and figure out what the best exercises are - I can pretty much guarantee they aren't a New Rules style workout.
www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/a-new-approach-to-strengt.shtml
jap.physiology.org/content/86/5/1527.long
www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni7a8.htm

[psyri]

I do high rep/low weights, but that is what fits in best for me with marathon training.

[Wines Not Whines]

Jun 7, 2012 11:48:44 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

If your goal is to improve your running speed, you should design your strength training to support that goal. Do some reading and figure out what the best exercises are - I can pretty much guarantee they aren't a New Rules style workout.
www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/a-new-approach-to-strengt.shtml
jap.physiology.org/content/86/5/1527.long
www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni7a8.htm

Thanks, I'll look at these links.

[Deleted]

I've got this book:
www.amazon.com/The-Swing-Revolutionary-Kettlebell-Program/dp/0062104195/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339093938&sr=8-1

I haven't done any lifting in over a year. I need something I can do at home in half an hour or less (the first few weeks are just 15 minute workouts). This is working for me as a beginner, and it fits my goals/life better than NROL4W would right now. Or Crossfit. Or anything requiring the investment of more time/money.

Which doesn't mean that Crosfit and NROL aren't great - it just means one should never feel bad for not partaking of the flavour of the week (flavour of the year?) around here. You've got to evaluate what you want to achieve and pick something that will get you there.

[cinco]

I use high rep/low(ish) weight b/c running is my main focus, and also because I only have dumbbells/kettlebells up to 50lbs. Thanks for the links, tokenhoser. I bookmarked them to read later.