Lucy Pagano Dudes be like “Bro, not trying to get my bulk on, just wanna to get ripped”.
Chicks be like “I like, just wanna get toned, but not get too bulky”.
And I’ll be like
Just kidding.
But seriously.
We’ve chatted before about how running doesn’t make you sexy. And it’s not like running is bad for you. If you like running, then by all means, run! It’s just that it’s not optimal training for someone who wants to look great and doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands.
So it’s a much better idea to lift high reps for low weight. Right? I mean, we all want to get fit and sexy. Dudes wanna get ripped. Chicks wanna get toned.
Thing is, that’s not optimal either. Especially if you want to get fit and sexy on a tight schedule. And why we do it will surprise you. There are two reasons why we lift light weight for high reps:
We don’t want to get bulky or too muscular
So, for some perspective, people dedicate their careers to looking bulky and muscular. They’re called body builders. Their careers consist of eating, sleeping, and lifting. You sit in a chair everyday. You really think that lifting something heavy three times a week is going to make you look like that?
No. Just . . . no.
And we’ll talk some more in a bit about how your muscles respond to different rep schemes. You’ll be surprised as to what response high reps actually triggers for your muscles.
Lots of work in Long Periods of Time = Results
People tend to think that doing a lot of work for a long periods of time is the path towards results. If you’ve been in the office for 60 hours it’s immediately assumed that you’re a “hard worker”. But maybe what took you 60 hours could have been done in 25.
Ironically, we’re the same way when it comes to working out. Which is why we need to run for an hour to “lose weight”. Or lift 5 sets of light weight for 20 reps to look “toned” or “ripped”. We need to be logging lots of hours and lots of reps in order to get fit. That sounds like a lot of “hard work”
But you can get fit without all that. And you’ll look sexy as hell too. Sexier and more fit than when you were running for hours and completing hundreds of reps. After you’re done with this article, you’ll learn how to get fit without having to do a bunch of reps and running around too.
First, a little disclaimer. No matter how many situps, curls, running, or whatever rep your counting to won’t mean anything unless you step your nutrient game up. Abs are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. So load up on quality food.
That being said, you still need to workout. At the end of the day your workouts are what compliment your nutrition. And if you do it right, you don’t have to workout as often or spend that much time in the gym.
It’s worth noting that low weight and high reps does have it’s place in a workout routine. I won’t deny that. But for busy professionals, kinda like yourself, who just want the “goddamn, you’re sexy as hell” when the clothes come off – high reps and low weight won’t get you there. What I’m going to share below will. And it won’t block out a day and a half in your calendar.
So, if you want to get ripped, toned, fit, sexy, whatever – you need to be moving weight. This holds true for both guys and girls. The trick is finding the right rep schemes to train your muscles to get you looking the way you want: fit and sexy. So whether you’re rocking a cup or a sports bra, keep on reading to learn what it’s going to take to get you there.
- Training Different Types of Muscle Fibers
- How Rep Schemes Effect Your Muscles
- How to Spend Less Time in the Gym to Get Fit
Training Different Types of Muscle Fibers
Muscle fibers are what your muscle are comprised of. How you workout and train those muscle fibers ultimately determines how you’ll look. There are two types of muscle fibers, type I and type II. Type II can be further broken down into three categories, type IIA, type IIB, and typeIIX. We won’t cover that here, alls you need to know is the basics. Generally speaking, your muscle is made up of 50% type I and 50% type II. You can train yourself to have more of less of either muscle fiber depending on how you train.
Type I Muscle fiber or “slow twitch” fibers are efficient at:
- using oxygen to generate fuel (ATP)
- can perform muscle contractions for long amounts of time
When you think of someone who has a large percentage of type I muscle fiber, think about long distance runners or marathon runners. Durable, stable and won’t fatigue easily. They don’t have a lot of muscle but are skinny.
Type II muscle fibers or “fast twitch” fibers are efficient at:
- using anaerobic metabolism to generate fuel
- can perform muscle contractions powerfully and quickly
When you think of your type II fibers, think about sprinters. Powerful, explosive but will fatigue quickly. They’re muscular but lean.
I mention muscle fibers because when you train your body to develop more type II muscle fiber, you achieve that lean and muscular look. Not bulky, not skinny, just . . . fit. And it all depends on the rep scheme that you use to work out. More isn’t necessarily better when it comes to working out. Here’s a quick break down of rep schemes that are used and how they train your body:
How Rep Schemes Affect Your Muscles
Your muscles adapt to how they are being trained. So the number of reps and the style of workouts that you’re utilizing is ultimately how you’re going to look. Here’s a quick overview of how these rep ranges affect your muscles.
15+ rep range
When you’re lifting in this rep range, you’re recruiting Type I muscle fibers, or “slow – twitch” muscle fibers. Your end goal with this rep scheme, whether you like it or not, is endurance. Because your muscles are going to adapt for working longer periods of time instead of actually producing force. When you’re looking for efficient workouts that build muscle during AND after your workout, it’s far from optimal.
6-15 rep range
A lot of dudes and chicks think that this is the sweet spot when it comes to getting “ripped” or “toned”. It isn’t. Quite the contrary. If you’re utilizing this rep range your encouraging hypertrophy, or muscle growth. This is the rep scheme that body builders actually use to get BIGGER. Yea, that’s right. Read it again:
6 to 15 reps gets you BIGGER – NOT TONED OR RIPPED.
I’ve been waiting so long to say that! What a relief.
Okay, I’m done.
1 – 5 rep range
And just like above, a lot of dudes and chicks think that lifting heavy with less reps gets you bigger, when in fact, it makes you stronger and builds more muscle. Have you ever wondered why Olympic lifters can lift stupid weight but really aren’t that big?
It’s because they are strong. Like really strong. And if you’re really strong it means you have a lot of muscle. It’s the key to keeping you out of the gym so you have more time for other stuff you like to do, while also keeping you fit and sexy.
Now of course there are exceptions to the above. And of course there are places for certain rep schemes in everyone’s training. But for the majority of the population, and the readers of this site, what I’m going to share with you today is the ONLY thing that you have to do in order to look great all year round while spending less time in the gym.
The best part? It requires less actual work than running on treadmills or repping out light dumbbells for an entire week. But like most things in life, we’d rather do something that feels like we’re getting a workout, instead of actually getting a workout in. It’s just as much psychological as it is physical ironically. So what is the most important thing that you can do in your workouts to make sure that they are efficient and get you fit?
Spend Less Time in the Gym
Yea, that’s right – spend LESS time in the gym. Actually, spend LESS time working out.
Everyone’s like, “Sweet, less time in the gym and more time looking awesome, I want to know more”.
Okay, Okay, I got you.
Spending less time in the gym means two things.
- More weight
- More work in less time
Here’s how we go about it:
More weight
The best method of moving more weight in a workout is strength training. Which means lifting HEAVY weight. And lifting heavy is something nobody should be scared of, granted you’re lifting with good form. A sound and effective strength training workout should look something like this:
- Compound movement (like squat, deadlift or press)
- 5 to 6 reps in each set (3 to 4 per exercise)
More work in less time
Another method is literally spending less time in the gym – no joke. But within that amount of time, you have to be killing it. This is where HIIT, or high intensity interval training, comes in. A sound and effective HIIT workout should look something like this:
- Allotted amount of time for work with allotted amount of time for rest in a minute (tabata, sprints)
- As many reps as you can of a given exercise(s) in an allotted amount of time
- A certain number of reps of given exercises for time, or as fast as you can
And the benefits of implementing these workouts in your gym grind? Well, besides being awesome at your life from now until forever, you’ll also get:
- Increased focus – totally clutch during the work week
- Increased energy – say no to 5 hour energy and yes to lifting weight
- Manage chronic conditions – tell obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, #nonewfriends
- Increase your metabolism – look leaner, lose fat during and after your workout (*via MayoClinic)
How are you not loving all of this right now?
And if that’s not enough, it’s efficient and saves you time to do other stuff you like to do. Like a ladies night out, or chilling with your boys, kicking it with the family, or maybe catching up on some work. Whatever you want to do, you get my drift.
It’s funny we’re all so obsessed with a certain image, like being sexy, that we’ll spend hours and days of our lives slaving away to attain it. Even if it’s not the right advice. Even if it doesn’t work. So we’re stuck in this hamster wheel of terrible fitness advice that preaches spending so much time in the gym. We’ll run on a treadmill for hours. Count out hundreds of reps. Stay away from heavy weights. And for what? Because we’re told that that’s how to look good.
But nobody tells you what happens when we spend less time at the gym and more time eating clean and training dirty. I’ll tell you though.
You’ll feel good. You’ll look good. You’ll be fit. Now, that sounds pretty sexy to me.
