Strength training question.

[Dinoswearunderpants]

Hi all

Hoping there's a PT on here that can give me some advice please.

I love strength training but I'm trying to workout what is better for weight loss/toning up.

Are you better off doing high reps, low weight or low reps, high weight. Or does it work better mixing it up each session?

For example, if I plan to do barbell squats should I do 3 x 10 reps holding 60kg or should I do 10 reps holding 60kg, 8 reps holding 70kg and 6 reps holding 80kg. Or do I do one week of the former and one week of the latter?

I’m not a pt but have been strength training for 2 years - small group personal training 3x/week. I also run 3-4x week. I’ve both lost weight and toned up. To lose weight you will need to be in a calorie deficit -you will also need lots of protein- I’m 68kg and aim for 100-120g/day. This might be too little but I can’t seem to get more in!
i do basically squats, bench press or deadlifts on the three days. Programs usually start with a warmup set and then 3/4 rounds of lifting. Ie just the bar (for back squats) which is 20kg for 10 reps to warm up then progressively add weights on each round. The next week will be the same but only 8 reps, the following week only 5. The idea is you lift more and do less reps - if that makes sense? We vary the technique- with pauses/without pauses, front v back squats split stance etc. each class is 45 mins - about 20 mins is the main lifting part - the rest is made up with various ergs, pushups, Bulgarian split squats, kettle bells, bands, other dumbbell work and conditioning. There tend to be a buildup phase and then some set of deloading phase - because the body needs to recover! I’m deadlifting around 95kg, squatting 60 and bench pressing much less. We don’t do 1 rep maxes - very satisfying nonetheless. I’m sure there are programs on YouTube but I like having someone keeping a close eye on my technique because I am afraid of hurting myself!

I meant to add- I think it’s important to ‘go to failure’ also - if you are doing 10 reps, the last couple should be a struggle- you need a spotter though.

Not PT either but I am training with one and my programmes are 12 reps on as high weight as I can.

Are you following a programme of progressive overload? Is your aim to get strong?

Losing weight is about diet. Lifting heavy is about building strength.

For my age and weight, I’m somewhere between an intermediate and advanced lifter in the big 3 (squat, deadlift and bench) in terms of my 1 rep max (1rpm).

Generally a session will start with a warm up session - usually the bar (20kilos) with maybe 10 kilos of plates. 12 reps.

Then I work up,generally going heavier with fewer reps - my heaviest dead’s are at 90 to 100 kilos for 2-3 reps in a set. Ditto squats at 65 kilos for 3 reps in a set.

I'm working up to getting to a 70 k squat and a deadlift of over 100k.

Losing weight however is a different process. That’s not about how or what I lift. That’s being in a small calorie deficit - around 250-300 calories a day. And being consistent with that which I find very difficult. If lifting heavy was the main way to lose weight I’d be super skinny. But it’s not.

And yes, going to failure means that you really could not do another rep at that weight. Most people underestimate what failure is - most people generally have 2-3 reps in reserve (for) and could go heavier. It’s the only way to get higher lifts: the way I'm working on getting a higher than 100k dead is to fail at 102.5 !

Not a PT but did 6 months of lifting last year. I'd do a warm up set of 10-12. Then basically start with whatever I did last time and do 10-12 of that, then the second set I would add more and try and hit 10. Then the third set I would add more and see how many I could get.

I personally found a fair amount of variability depending on the time of the month. Some sessions would end up just being about hitting the same weight for 3 sets, and others would be like a leap up.

But each time as much as possible I would try and make sure the overall volume was higher than before.

After 5 months I hit 200kg on the leg press.

Squats and deadlifts are really slow going in terms of adding weight, I found anyway, sometimes just adding 2.5kg.

Also when I worked with a PT she got me lifting way heavier than I thought I could. You can do a lot especially legs can take it. Pushing to failure is fun.

There is a slightlyl addictive website where you enter the weight you lift and it tells you how you compare to others.

More lighter reps for hypertrophy, less but heavier reps for strength.