Heavy/light training

[Wildone]

Heavy week, light week training..

Seen a lot of this being spoke about lately

anyone recommend it? 

What sort of rep ranges are used?

is it a week each or is it like 2 weeks heavy 1 light etc... 

 

[Gator]

There are endless ways you could implement this mate...a lot of it will ultimately depend on how you train and the frequency/volume/intensity you're working at.

As a quick example; let's say you train 3 days per week on a push, pull, legs type split or the classic chest, shoulders, triceps day 1, back day 2 and legs day 3...etc.

Week 1

Chest, Shoulders, Triceps (Heavy)

Back (Light'er)

Legs (Heavy)

Week 2:

Chest, Shoulders, Triceps (Light'er)

Back (Heavy)

Legs (Light'er)
 

That's obviously a very basic example - but the general idea is that you vary the loading/volume..etc. on each training day.

I'd say a traditional heavy/light system would be better suited to those who are training with a higher frequency though.  So for example; if you train legs twice a week, it's a good idea to vary the intensity/volume each of those sessions for recovery reasons.

If you are only training 3 days per week as I described above, I'd be inclined to just keep ONE exercise heavy and then kind of progress to lighter/volumizing stuff - in other words, I probably wouldn't bother with a heavy/light system but may not perform every exercise super heavy. 

So for a back session, you might start off with one or two basic exercises where you really focus on mechanical tension/lifting heavy - deadlifts and rows for example - then you might add in a couple of other exercises where you focus more on blood volume/pumping.

Like I said, there are a bunch of ways to implement this style of routine design/programming and it mostly depends on those factors I described above - how often you're training, what sort of weights you're handling, how much total work you're doing in those sessions...etc.

Rep ranges would again vary depending on the goal.  For someone who is more interested in powerlifting/strength - they could also use a heavy/light system (check out starting strength for example), but the key difference isn't the rep range, it's the intensity (load on the bar). 

If you're a bodybuilder, then I'd say 6-8 reps is a good range for the heavy days and maybe 12-15 on the lighter days.

The popular Y3T training is actually based on a similar premise of alternating intensities/training volume over a 3 week period.  It's certainly not a new concept and like any system of training - it can work well as long as it's applied in the right context.

 

[Mukit]

There are endless ways you could implement this mate...a lot of it will ultimately depend on how you train and the frequency/volume/intensity you're working at.

As a quick example; let's say you train 3 days per week on a push, pull, legs type split or the classic chest, shoulders, triceps day 1, back day 2 and legs day 3...etc.

Week 1

Chest, Shoulders, Triceps (Heavy)

Back (Light'er)

Legs (Heavy)

Week 2:

Chest, Shoulders, Triceps (Light'er)

Back (Heavy)

Legs (Light'er)
 

I agree with you. I am also following almost similar workout on weekly basis.

 

[Ernst]

Anything that is different to your usual workout will be beneficial for growth. I've had amazing gains going super light, doing 30+ reps per set.