Gwyneth Paltrow has the fitness mantra “low weight, high reps” for lean ballerina-like muscle. We asked our Fitness Expert, Kris Abbey, about this method, and which exercises she would recommend for a Gwyneth-style bod.
For a long time we’ve been led to believe that lifting light weights over and over is the key to lean and toned muscles. You’ve been told that low weights high reps will give you toned muscles without the bulk. But it’s about time you learned the truth…. And you can handle the truth!
Unfortunately, the research is mounting against this type of training. It still has merit and is certainly much better than doing nothing, but real life and research is proving that if you do this style of training for three, six, or even 12 months, it is unlikely you will make any changes to your physique. There is very little return on your investment with this type of training.
The truth about lean muscle
Before I tell you about a better way to get those muscles defined and toned (which I think is what most people really mean when they say lean muscle), we need to address the ‘lean’ bit.
Lean muscle is muscle tissue, period! You often hear muscle described as lean muscle tissue, lean muscle mass or just simply muscle. It is all one and the same… meaning the muscles in our body.
We all have lean muscles. It’s just some of us have those lean muscles hidden beneath a comfy layer of subcutaneous fat. The first thing you need to do if you want to show off lean muscles is to lose fat. Sorry, but that’s the straight up truth.
From here on, let’s say high density muscles when we refer to taut, toned lean muscle that are akin to dancers, athletes and gymnasts.
Now, for the really good news…
The best way to get high density muscles (i.e. hard and strong, without the bulk) is much more efficient than performing tedious reps of the same exercise. It’s the ‘less is more’ mantra, quality not quantity!
How weight training works for your muscles
First of all, you need to understand the ‘all or nothing’ principle. To put it simply, each individual muscle in our body is made up of many muscle fibres. When a muscle contracts, you brain is sending an electrical impulse to these fibres to fire and work in unison with other fibres to cause the muscle to contract.
For example, let’s say your bicep is made up of 100 individual muscle fibres. Each individual fibre is either contracted or relaxed. When you lift a light weight, maybe 5-10 fibres will fire to cause a contraction, while the other 90 fibres are completely inactive.
When you lift a heavier weight, your brain sends an electrical impulse to fire off 15-20 fibres, while the other 80 or so are inactive. So muscle contraction is based upon what percentage of muscle fibres are firing off and how many are inactive. A harder contraction would indicate that your brain is sending stronger electrical impulses to the muscle, recruiting more muscle fibres. This is what you want to get definition and density.
How to lift weights effectively
Where it gets interesting is understanding and utilising the power of your mind to control your muscle contraction. You can learn to stimulate your mind to activate as many fibres as possible to really get a strong contraction – more bang for your buck.
The easiest way to increase your mind-to-muscle link is to just practice contracting that muscle as hard as possible while lifting, pushing or pulling…regardless of how light the weight. Don’t ever lift a weight or do a resistance type exercise without taking advantage of this opportunity to gain strength through stimulation. And remember, it’s not a race. Lift the weight slowly and really concentrate on the contraction to generate a lot of tension in the muscle. I repeat – quality not quantity.
Now, you can’t tell me that after 15 reps you still have your mind on the job? 10 good reps of a heavier weight with concentrated contractions will give you much greater muscle density then doing 30 reps of a light weight. I promise.
Kris Abbey’s exercise recommendations:
So put away the light weights, and use weights that you can lift no more then 10 to 12 reps. Do only two or three sets and move on to next exercise. Also, use your own body weight and do exercises like push-ups, chin-ups, lunges and squats. Don’t just go through the motions, concentrate, contract and challenge yourself.
With the time you’ll save, do something else… like maybe some cardio to help burn the fat. And my favourite combination with any good exercise program, a healthy nutritious diet! Combine the two and you’ll soon be enjoying high density lean muscle. You may not move any better on the dance floor, but you’ll certainly look like you belong there!
Kris Abbey is the publishing Editor of Better Health and Spa Life Magazines.
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