When it comes to exercising, there are many questions that arise about this activity, and one of them is whether it is better to do many repetitions with little weight, or few repetitions with a lot of weight.
For this reason, experts assure that this depends on the objectives that each person has, since if the ideal is to increase muscle, you can do few repetitions with a lot of weight, But before lifting a lot of weight, you must have an adaptation process in which you start with little weight and gradually increase the kilos that can be lifted.
On the other hand, if the objective is to obtain more resistance, it is recommended to increase the repetitions, but with little weight.
Thus, to strengthen the muscles, it is recommended to perform between four and eight series of one to three repetitions with a lot of weight. If the purpose is to gain endurance, the suggestion is to increase repetitions between 12 and 16 with a moderate or light weight.
In addition, when doing strength training (with weights), experts recommend resting from exercise one or two days a week and the other five days working various parts of the body. For example, if the upper body (back, shoulders, arms, abdomen) is trained on Monday, the ideal is that the lower body (legs, buttocks) is trained on Tuesday; and on Wednesday, train the upper body again, since rest is the moment in which the muscle recovers from the exercise injury and subsequently begins its growth and toning process.
In fact, it’s important to note that muscle strengthening can help build strong bones, control weight, improve quality of life, contribute to better balance and reduce the risk of falls, treat chronic conditions, sharpen intellectual skills, and more. others, according to the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit entity dedicated to clinical practice, education and research.
However, people wonder what is the best time to exercise and, for this reason, experts say that it is a matter of preference, taste and schedule. The important thing is to meet the daily goals set by the World Health Organization (WHO), which suggests perform moderate aerobic physical activities for at least 150 to 300 minutes or vigorous aerobic physical activities for at least 75 to 150 minutes, or an equivalent combination of moderate and vigorous activities throughout the week.
However, some people exceed the recommendations, do not rest and the consequences, according to experts quoted by the Panorama Web portal, are: “risk of muscle injuries and fatigue; lack of replenishment of glycogen stores and reduced production of red blood cells; increased heart rate and blood pressure; abandonment of exercise due to fatigue and accumulated effort”.
In any case, whatever the objective, the process must be guided by an expert, because learning never ends in training and it is always important to seek advice to have information that ensures good practice.
On the other hand, it should be noted that statistics from the World Health Organization show that one in four adults and four out of five adolescents do not perform enough physical activity.
Worldwide, women are less active (32%) than men (23%) and activity declines at older ages in most countries.
For this reason, the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that “physical activity is essential for health and well-being, since it can help add years to life and life to years. […]. Every movement counts, especially now that we are facing the limitations derived from the covid-19 pandemic. We all need to move every day, safely and creatively.”