Light weights for strength training? Many would say nonsense to such an idea. I would agree that it would be very difficult to maximize your strength by only using light weights. Some heavy lifting should be done for maximum strength gains. On the other hand, you may be able to benefit from the proper use of light weights when you combine it in a strategic manner with heavy lifting. Notice I said, “proper use of lights weights,” because it is easy to misuse light weights and hinder your training progress.
The proper use of light weights can produce the following benefits:
Light weights provide the best means for Increasing training volume and metabolic stimulation without overtraining (high volume with heavy weights is a good way to over-train). An increase in training volume and metabolic stimulation can lead to an increase in muscle growth in those whose training is lacking in volume, and those who need metabolic stimulation.
Light weights can be used to Increase strength endurance (this is different the aerobic endurance).
Light weights can be used to Increase explosive speed and power.
Light weights can be used to Increase recovery ability.
Light weights can be used to keep the nervous system stimulated for better muscle contractions.
There are several methods that can be used to incorporate light weights into your training in a beneficial way. Let’s take a look at some of these methods.
The Extended Warm up
Not all of the strongest powerlifters or bodybuilders use an extended high volume warm up, but some do. I recommend watching a full workout of one of Richard Hawthorne’s training sessions. Don’t just look at his heaviest work sets, but look at his entire workout, including his warm up sets.
Richard is pound for pound the strongest deadlifter in the world. Perhaps he just lucked out with good genetics, but I think smart training has contributed to his success, and Richard does an extended warm up with tons of sets and high reps. He starts out with 135 pounds on his first warm up set. This is very light in relationship to his strength level as it is about 22% of his single rep max. If you are a 300 pound deadlifter, this would translate into 65 to 70 pounds for your own warm up.
Richard is not the only one who uses an extended warm up with high reps, Eric Spoto is an elite bench presser who does a lot of light warm up sets, and so does Charles Staley. If you want to see the type of training volume that starts out with light weight while working up to heavier lifting, I recommend the following videos.
CHARLES STALEY ACCUMULATES TRAINING VOLUME
ERIC SPOTO USES LIGHT WEIGHTS AND LOTS OF REPS FOR WARM UP SETS
If you have never done a high volume warmup, you can try the following sets and reps scheme using the percentages listed. The percentages are based on your single rep max for basic lifts such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, cable rows.
2 x 20 20%
2 x 10 30%
2 x 10 40%
1 x 8 50%
1 x 8 60%
1 x 6 70%
1 x 5 80%
The workout listed consists of ten sets and a total of 85 reps. It starts out light and easy and gets progressively harder, but in the process, a lot of training volume is accumulated. You don’t have to train with this much volume in every workout. High volume and low volume workouts can be alternated, or you can set up a training block consisting of a high volume warm up followed by a training block that utilizes a low volume warm up. When high volume workouts are followed by low volume workouts, the muscles often super-compensate with added energy storage (of glycogen or creatine phosphate and protein synthesis). The result is added strength and muscle size.
Bottom Up Progression
If you decide to use an extended warm up consisting of a lot of sets and reps with light weights, it gives you the opportunity to make use of bottom up progression. This simply means that sometimes you will find it easier to keep your heaviest set at the same weight for several workouts or several weeks while slowly adding weight to your warm up sets during that same period of time. Don’t assume that the only way to get stronger is to add weight to your heaviest set. You would be surprised at how you much progress you can make if you give yourself time to add weight little by little to your lighter sets before trying to add weight to your heaviest sets.
I refer to the lightest set as the bottom set of your workout and your heaviest set as the top set. If you start a training cycle by adding weight to your bottom (or lightest) sets first, then you are using bottom up progression. This often works better than top up progression if you have been stuck at the same strength level.
Explosive Rep Speed Training
Another way to incorporate light weights into your training is to use light weights in conjunction with explosive speed training. This is usually done with 40% to 60% of your single rep max for 8 to 12 sets of 3 reps. Keep in mind, you can do many more reps per set with light weights, but you stop at three reps to avoid fatigue in order to maximize speed and explosive power. The following video gives an example of how this can be done while using fairly light weights.
EXPLOSIVE REP SPEED WORKOUT WITH LIGHT WEIGHTS
Recovery Workouts
Light weights can also be used for recovery workouts on your off days. If you prefer one hard workout per week for each body part, light recovery workouts can be used in order to keep your nervous system fired up so that you are at full strength when you come back for the next workout. Of course the weights should be very light. Light means less than 30% of your single rep max. I recommend ten to fifteen reps for two to four sets of each exercise. Some people have unique exercises that they use for recovery workouts, but I believe you can simply do the same basic barbell and dumbbell exercises that you always do, but just do them lighter. The same type of workouts can be used if you are recovering from a mild injury. Simply start out with very light weights and add little by little as you are able to do so without any pain, discomfort, or restriction in range of motion.
ACTIVE RECOVERY WORKOUT WITH LIGHT WEIGHTS
Be Cautious About Going for the Burn With Light Weights
Some of the most current weight lifting science indicates that light weights are as effective as heavy weights for building muscle size, although they don’t work as well for building strength. Even so, one study showed that regular light lifting plus a max effort lift with the heaviest weight possible once every three weeks will work as good for building strength as someone who lifts heavy all of the time.
According to Stuart Philip’s research at McMaster University, the key to effective training with light weights is to push to a point of fatigue by training nearly to failure. In my own experience, this has been counter-productive for strength training, whereas using light weights for ten sets of three reps or using an extended warm up have proved beneficial. If your main objective is strength training, I don’t recommend pushing to the point where you must struggle to keep doing reps when using light weights, instead, perform your reps forcefully and stop a set before your muscles start to burn.
Throughout most of my weight training career, I believed that the use of light weights would hinder strength gains because I always misused light weights by burning myself out. After decades of training, I have injured myself enough with heavy weights that I have been forced to rely much more on light weights. In the process, I discovered that the correct application of light weights can play a useful role in the strength building process. The methods that I recommend are discussed in this article and I believe you can benefit from them if you use them. Best of training to you.