The simple answer: No. Many people (especially females) are afraid that if they lift weights, they will get bulky (gain a lot of muscle mass), which inevitably changes their physique into what they may view as undesirable. Weight training does one thing very reliably: it makes you stronger.
Lifting heavy weights builds muscle, but constantly upping the weight exhausts the body. The nervous system must also adjust to the new fiber activation in the muscles. Lifting lighter weights with more reps gives the muscle tissue and nervous system a chance to recover while also building endurance.
A common misconception about heavy weight training, especially among women, is that lifting heavy weight will lead to a bulky looking physique. It's true that lifting heavy will promote hypertrophy in muscles leading to a size increase. However, the idea that it leads to a “bulky” look is untrue.
You Don't Have Enough Training Volume
The more volume in your training (more sets and reps) the greater the hypertrophy response you will get (up to a point of course). If you like to stick to powerlifting specific programming this may very well be the reason you aren't seeing much progress in terms of muscle growth.
Lifting for pure strength is best partnered with heavy weights. "If you're trying for strength, or your max force output, the heavier the weight, the more strength gains you'll have, along with size gains," Tuminello says. It's also super time efficient.
Generally, exercises with higher reps are used to improve muscular endurance, while higher weights with fewer reps are used to increase muscle size and strength.
You aren't lifting heavy enough.
In the resistance training context, hypertrophy occurs when skeletal muscle tissue enlarges, because the resistance stimulus increases the size of the muscle's component cells. Achieving hypertrophy puts you in a muscle-building state, but you won't get there by lifting light weights.
If you prefer heavy weights and low reps …
What happens to your body: Heavy weights at low reps break down muscle fibers, and the body builds muscle and increases muscle mass by repairing these fibers. Increased muscle mass elevates metabolism, which helps your body continue to burn calories long after your workout.
Exercises that increase testosterone
“Research has shown that lifting heavier weights is the best form of exercise to boost testosterone,” says Dr. Jadick. “As muscle mass increases, it will trigger the body to produce more testosterone.”
How Much Weight is Considered Heavy Lifting? In general, anything above 200 lbs for upper body exercises is considered heavy, and. anything above 300 lbs for lower body exercises can be considered heavy for most people.
Anything heavier than 200 pounds for upper body exercises is considered heavy. For most people, anything over 300 pounds for lower body exercises is considered heavy. The most a person can lift is known as their one repetition maximum.
One possible reason your muscle is not growing could be that your training is more geared toward improving your strength vs hypertrophy (i.e. muscle growth). You want to fully activate your whole muscle to maximize growth. The last 5 or so reps performed in a set is where this happens.
How Often You Should Lift Heavy Weights. Experts agree that somewhere around two to three days per week of heavy lifting is enough for the average person.
Lifting weights requires more supervision and instruction for maximum benefit and avoidance of injuries than cardio exercise. Using weights alone without cardio, you will most likely develop bulk instead of a toned and streamlined body.
Sets of anywhere from 4–40 reps will stimulate muscle growth quite well, but most research shows that doing 6–20 reps per set is the most efficient way to build muscle. Bodybuilders often use the middle of that range, favouring 8–12 reps per set.
High reps build muscle and connective tissue strength, and give your body respite from the grind of low-rep sets, too. Similarly, low-rep sets build neuromuscular and CNS efficiency.
Strength, cardiovascular fitness, and anaerobic power can all be put down to a person's genetic makeup, according to the study by British scientists.
"Some people are predisposed to have more fast-twitch muscle fibers, and others have more slow-twitch muscle fibers." Fast-twitch fibers power explosive, high-intensity movements like sprinting, they're physically larger to begin with, and they also have a greater potential for growth compared to slow-twitch fibers.
A bench press repetition of 225 pounds or just a little over 102 kilograms is considerably heavy, often reaching up to 1.3x to 1.5x the actual body weight of the lifter itself.
After a year of training, the average man can lift: 330 pounds on the back squat. 215–235 pounds on the bench press. 335–405 pounds on the deadlift.