I’m 19 years old and I started going to the gym on a regular basis about three months ago. I’m definitely seeing results, but I’m getting a lot of mixed messages on the optimal way to increase muscle mass.
-A friend mentioned to me that doing aerobic workouts (i.e. jogging, using the step and rowing machines) helped weight training, or at least did not impede it. I remember from my AP Bio class that fat doesn’t get “transformed” into muscle, it just gets burned away and makes the muscle appear more prominent, so my initial reaction was to agree with my friend.
-However, an employee at one of those nutrition-pill stores was arguing (with conviction, though without explaining himself very well) that someone looking to increase muscle mass should not be doing any aerobic workouts at all.
-My standard routine at the gym is to go through all of the machines, using enough weight so that I can just barely complete three consecutive sets, with 12 reps each.
-My father, who was an amateur weightlifter at my age, tells me my approach will “improve the quality” of my existing muscle, but will not help much in adding more. He instead suggests that I use much, much more weight - until I can only do one set of 6 or 7 reps, and that I should do one set, go use other machines, and come back later to do another set, and so forth.
-I’ve heard that using free weights is a more efficient way to work out than using machines, and empirical evidence (i.e. seeing that most of the really bulky guys at the gym use only free weights) leads me to agree. I’ve also heard that using machines might give one better muscle tone than free weights.
-However, my dad points out that your muscles don’t know or care where the stress is coming from - they only care that there is some amount of stress being placed on them, so I should be able to achieve exactly the same results using either method.
Does anyone have some good scientific explanation for any of these questions? It seems like there’s a lot of misinformation floating around, and I’m rather confused.
As to whether free weights or machines achieve better results, I would recommend free weights to achieve more mass.
One of the biggest differences is that machines provide stress only for the major muscle group being worked on. Free weights stress the stabilizing muscles in addition to the primary muscles. A good example is curling (bringing a weight up towards the shoulder to work out the bicep), where free weights definitely improve the tone of the forearm muscles that help stabilize the weight.
This seems to give a better all-around workout, since machines rarely stress the entire body. Plus, as you use more weight, you will begin to max out machines, and might have to switch to free weights just to continue improving.
If you want to be “cut” ie defined muscle tone then you will need a good diet and aerobic excercise program. And yes the guy at the nutrition center is right in a way; as long as you are on a diet and aerobic exercise program you will not gain muscle mass . However you will look like your gaining muscle mass becuase the fat around the muscle is shrinking, thus making your muscle look bigger.
NOw with that in mind if you just cut out the diet and cardio; you will gain muscle, but it will simply look like your just getting fatter to others becuase as your muscle mass increases; so does the fat that surounds it.
Ok so now you ask; How do I get rid of the fat and increase muscle mass? Simple first get your fat levels down by doing lots of cardio and proper diet. Once you get your fat levels down increase your protien intake. There are shakes you can buy at you local health food store. In short you will want to increase your calorie intake and protien intake but not your fat intake.
ok I wasn’t finished yet I ment to hit preview instead oif submit!
As far as free weights versus machines? Well personally I like to use free weights because I know I’m exercising both arms or legs evenly. On machines (most of them anyway) they have a universal pull arm, which means you could be using 60% on your right arm while only using 40% of your left arm to lift the weight you are trying to exercise with.
In answer to your first question, here is a direct quote from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding:
With respect to # of reps, Arnie’s suggestions range from 15 to 4. Often, he suggests starting out with 10+ for the first set, and increase the weight until you can only do 4 reps on the final set (#6 or so, he does lots of sets) YMMV
He is also a big proponent of free weights, for the same reason greyseal mentioned. However, free weights’ big strength, the fact that they don’t have a fixed range of motion, can also cause problems. You HAVE to watch your technique with free weights, because they won’t force you into the right set of motions. Make sure you know the proper technique for the exercises, and watch yourself in the mirror while you do them, they’re not just there for preening.
Agree with the free weights answers – they also work the minor muscles that a machine doesn’t. They also force you to work on balance.
Doing a smaller # of reps at a higher weight leads to more raw muscle. But it’s muscle that can’t do much for very long. In general, you get the kind of muscle that you train for. If you want muscle that can work a long time, do lots of reps at low weights. If you want muscles that just look good, do less reps at high weights.
Either way cardio should be part of your program for any number of reasons. Reducing fat, increasing endurance, heart strength, etc.
There is something to be said for low volume training (i.e., one or two sets at most). Check out this page for a discussion. I’ve been using the two-set methodology for a while now, and it definitely works. The nice thing about it is that you don’t need to hold yourself back in order to last three sets–just give it your all on the first. Maybe there’s some other way that would give me quicker gains, but I’m in this for the long haul, and not particularly concerned about speed.
As far as free weights vs. machines–well, I haven’t been able to find any definitive answer, so it seems to be a matter of personal preference. I can tell you that the largest guys at my gym use free weights, barbells, and machines, and they’re incredibly big. Some authorities (sorry, can’t remember where I read this) suggest changing exercises for a particular muscle group every two or three months, so keep that in mind as a possibility.
It is the muscular tension, not fatigue, that you should maximize in training if strength is your goal. There are plenty of studies, for instance Goldberg et. al (1975), to support this notion. The heavier is the weight you are lifting, the higher is the tension. It is that simple.
Low rep training causes minimal fatigue and muscle soreness.
Strength endurance work of the kind that you and most martial artists favour takes a lot longer to recover from that one to five rep strength work (Roman, 1962). High repetitions also make you a lot more sore. Does not it make sense to perform your conditioning in a manner which does not interfere with the practice of your fighting art?
High reps build useless tissue and break down real muscle.
One of the reasons bodybuilders are generally a lot weaker than they look is that their muscles ain’t real. Repetition lifting of a submaximal weight, the bodybuilding choice, promotes sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, or an increase in the volume of worthless jello like filler inside the muscle, while breaking down the contractile proteins, the “real” muscle (Nikityuk & Samoylov, 1990).
Heavy low rep training is the safest way to lift.
No, I have not been hit on the head a few times too many. I will give you at least two reasons why heavy, low rep weight training is much safer than lifting a light weight a lot of times. First, the stabilizing muscles get tired before the prime movers in high rep sets, which sets you up for an injury. When you do a set of twenty squats, your back gets tired before your legs and sooner or later you will get hurt! On a five rep set your legs will be first to go. Second, when you lift a weight which is heavier than eighty percent of your maximum, you can get superstrong without training to failure. Ed Coan who posted the highest powerlifting total of all time not long ago always racks his monstrous weights a rep or two short of his limit!
I’d say one thing machines have going for them is that you can take a set to failure safely without a spotter.
If you don’t have a training partner a mix of free weights and machines can be effective.
Um, I’m going to completely disagree with this. It just ain’t true. Building muscle has a lot to do with how you work the muscle and what you eat to support your muscle growth, but using glucose, pulling glycogen from muscles, and metabolizing fat doesn’t inhibit muscle growth. Cardio/aerobic training is good for you, and won’t prevent you from attaining mass-building goals.
I can also echo tsunamisurfer’s opinion about heavy low-rep, low-set lifting, at least to start. As you progress, you’ll add sets, reps, and variations, such as combo lifts and pyramids. But a good way to begin would be as much weight as you can safely handle (keeping perfect form, of course) for one set of six reps. Increase reps until 10 reps of one set is completed, and then add weight to bring yourself down to six reps again. Of course, adding occasions of high reps with low weights will also add muscle endurance, so exclusively high-weight/low rep isn’t perfect, either.
My gym would agree with tsunamisurfer.
It is supposed to be the latest and greatest gym in the area and they have a set number of weight machines where you only do up to 15 lifts. If you make 15 then the next time you go, you have 2kgs added to your weights. They don’t add on more if you can’t lift more than 12 times. So for veteran gym goers, they really only lift 6 or 7 times per machine and the slower you go the better (counts of ten).
The guys who want to look like Arnie, do the free weights, not the machines.
I like it because you can be done in 30 minutes!