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London: Eager to have a body like
Hollywood action hero Sylvester Stallone or Bollywood
hunk Salman Khan? Here’s an advice if you are planning
to hit the gym — go for light weights rather than heavy
weights, says a new study.
This is because light weights are more effective
than heavy weights when it comes to building muscle,
according to researchers at McMaster University in
Canada.
In their study, the researchers found that carrying
out more repetitions of light weights could build muscle
mass just as effectively, if not more so, than lower
reps of heavy weights, The Daily Telegraph said.
The study’s lead author Nicholas Burd said, “Other
resistance protocols, beyond the often discussed
high-intensity training, can be effective in stimulating
a muscle building response that may translate into
bigger muscles after resistance training.”
There is a catch.
Trainers must still carry on pumping iron until they
can do no more — known as reaching fatigue — in order to
build muscle mass. With lighter weights that could mean
staying much longer in the gym to achieve similar
results, say the researchers.
However, Burd said the lower intensity workout could
be better at building muscles because the higher
repetitions “sustained the muscle building response for
days”.
The study has been published in the Applied
Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism journal. |
