Weight Lifting (cont.)
How do I go about lifting for tone and endurance?
Tone and endurance is maximized when you keep
the weight light enough to lift 12-15 reps. Again, the principle of progressive
overload applies. That is, increase the weight when 15 reps become easy.
Lifting for strength, tone, and endurance (general conditioning)
Keeping the
reps in the eight-to-12 range emphasizes a combination of strength, tone, and endurance.
This is a realistic quantity of training for most individuals. The
recommendation in the American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand,
"Progression Models in Resistance Training for Healthy Adults," is for beginners
to lift eight to 12 reps, and for the range to widen to one to 12 reps for intermediate and
advanced training. Although research supports the eight to 12 recommendation, I believe
it's prudent for beginners to start with 12-15 reps to reduce the risk of
injury, and then the weight can be increased after a few weeks when the muscles
have accommodated. Keep in mind that strength, tone, and some mass still accrue
by training with reps in the 12-15 range, and so you don't have to lift heavier
than that if you prefer not to. You can read the entire ACSM position stand
document here: www.acsm-msse.org/pt/pt-core/template-journal/msse/media/0202.pdf.
How many days should I lift?
Beginners, because of their wide adaptive
window, will accrue significant benefits with two to three days of training. Advanced
lifters need at least three days per week, and typically more for significant
gains because they are already so strong (more benefit takes more effort). It's
not uncommon for bodybuilders and other strength athletes to train four to five days per
week.
How do I know how much weight to lift?
Trial and error is the way to
determine how much weight to lift. Select a weight that looks close to what you
think you can lift based on your goals. If general conditioning is your goal,
then select a weight you think you can lift eight to 12 reps (or 12-15 reps for
beginners). If you can lift it 25 times with ease, then it's too light,
and if you can lift it only four times, then it's too heavy. There are no
formulas to calculate this. Simply decide what your goal is so you know how many
reps to lift, take a guess by looking at the weights, and then give it a try.
You'll get good at this quickly.
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