Buzz
The common advice to lift heavy for muscle growth is everywhere. But how much weight is truly considered 'heavy,' and how do you know if your workout meets the criteria?
There isn’t a set weight that defines 'heavy' for everyone. For example, what's heavy for a teenager lifting a dumbbell for the first time is far less than what a professional strongman might lift. (If you want to compare your lifts with others, websites like Symmetric Strength can give you a rough idea, but these comparisons are just for fun.)
Training 'heavy' refers to resistance workouts that use low reps and progressively increase in weight over time. This is the training style that leads to the greatest improvements in both strength and muscle size.
While this approach isn't the only way to build muscle, it is certainly one of the most effective. Now, let’s explore what qualifies as training heavy and what doesn’t.
How many repetitions are you performing?
Strength training typically involves doing 1-5
In reality, there's not much difference in terms of outcomes between the two approaches; gaining strength leads to bigger muscles, and growing muscles increases strength. I’d argue that as long as you’re sticking to 12 reps or fewer, you’re in the right zone for heavy training.
If you start going well beyond that—15, 20, 50 reps—you’re more focused on muscular endurance than strength. While some strength can be developed this way, it doesn’t truly count as heavy training.
How challenging does the set feel?
Let’s assume you're doing squats in sets of 8. That could count as heavy training, but only if you're loading the squats enough to make completing 8 reps difficult.
For certain exercises and objectives, you might aim for failure—pushing yourself to the point where you can't do another rep. For instance, if you're performing 8 bicep curls and can’t complete a ninth.
However, you can still train close to failure without fully reaching it. For example, when doing squats, a set of 8 might be done with a weight you could potentially manage 10 or 11 reps with if you pushed harder. This still counts as heavy training.
What doesn’t count is doing eight reps of goblet squats with a light dumbbell simply because it’s the only one available, or because you're hesitant to increase the weight. Heavy lifting involves performing the correct rep range with a challenging weight for that range.
Are you gradually increasing the weight?
To ensure the lift remains challenging as you gain strength, you must continuously increase the weight.
Take the goblet squat example: perhaps using a 20-pound dumbbell was tough when you first tried it. A week or two later, you may be able to perform 8 reps with a 25-pound dumbbell. Eventually, it might make sense to switch to front squats with a barbell, allowing you to add more weight. That's heavy lifting.
However, if you keep doing the same 8 squats with the same 20-pound dumbbell, you’re no longer effectively challenging yourself to build muscle or strength—you’re simply repeating an exercise that gets progressively easier. It’s still beneficial because it’s exercise, but it no longer qualifies as lifting heavy.
Are you allowing yourself rest between sets?
This is a common mistake, particularly among those doing home workouts or focused on burning calories during their session. The purpose of lifting heavy is not to burn calories during the workout itself, but to build muscle. Save the cardio for another day.
If you’re constantly working to keep your heart rate elevated with little to no rest between exercises, you're not training heavy. Instead, you're likely doing circuit training. Crossfit 'metcon' WODs often fall into this category, as do many home workout videos marketed as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). They’re typically not true HIIT, but that’s a discussion for another time.
If you’re skipping rest periods, it means you're not approaching each set with fresh energy. Shortening rest times makes the workout feel tougher, but it also means you’ll be lifting with less weight. This generally doesn’t align with our definition of heavy lifting. While it may still help build strength or muscle, it won’t be nearly as effective as lifting heavy.
If you’re resting for a few minutes between exercises, you’re on track with heavy lifting. Typically, you’d rest 2-4 minutes between exercises targeting smaller or fewer muscles (like curls or presses), and 3-5 minutes or more between sets of large compound lifts (such as squats or deadlifts). With the right rest, you’ll be able to properly lift heavy.
