Anonymous wrote:^ I'm not being a d!ck. I'm just trying to be informative. The topic is lifting weights and lifting heavy. Not what you can lift at home only. Although I do weightlift mainly at home. I never go to a gym

But squatting 40% of your weight isn't even really a starter weight. You should be able to squat more than half your weight as a beginner and then your weight intermediate and then advanced is more than your weight.

That is what lifting heavy means. If it makes me a d!ck to point this out then I'm sorry.

I'm not saying there isn't any benefit to squatting 40% of your weight. But it is not lifting heavy and that is what the post is about.

Also no professional agrees with this definition of lifting heavy. The idea that any person, regardless of size, fitness level, and experience, "should" be able to squat greater that 50% of their weight is silly. People have different bodies. That attitude, and giving that advice, is a good way for people to injure themselves.

Lifting heavy means finding the max weight at which you can perform a lift with good form for a limited number if reps, usually less than 10. That will vary by person. Telling someone "oh you need to be able to squat xxx lbs or it doesn't count as lifting heavy" is a good way to discourage someone starting out, and also is the kind of attitude that makes people sacrifice form for weight in dangerous ways.

TBH, for most, lifting heavy will mean using a barbell, not a DB.

Deadlift. Find a 12 or 16 week program to deadlift. See if you can work your way up to 185 or 225 over the next year (the good news is that you'll still be getting "newbie gains" despite the fact that you're already fit.

Back squat. You'll probably start off light. 65lbs (thats the barbell + a 10lb plate on each side). week 1 5x5. week 2 5x3. week 3 5x1 then go up in weight. Do this on leg day.

Same for hip thrusts.

Then bench press (or DB press here, I suppose), OH press. Then mix in upper body accessory pushing work. Also, be sure to mix in pulling work.

In short, those DBs you have won't do much. You'll need a lot heavier ones, if you want to stick to DB. But generally, "lifting heavy" means you need a barbell

Anonymous wrote:^ I'm not being a d!ck. I'm just trying to be informative. The topic is lifting weights and lifting heavy. Not what you can lift at home only. Although I do weightlift mainly at home. I never go to a gym

But squatting 40% of your weight isn't even really a starter weight. You should be able to squat more than half your weight as a beginner and then your weight intermediate and then advanced is more than your weight.

That is what lifting heavy means. If it makes me a d!ck to point this out then I'm sorry.

I'm not saying there isn't any benefit to squatting 40% of your weight. But it is not lifting heavy and that is what the post is about.

Calling the PP's mention of skullcrushers with dumbbells "isolation of vanity muscles" was d*ckish. That's a very common strength training exercise and triceps are a useful muscle group to isolate. Not to the exclusion of other things, but no one suggested only doing skullcrushers or even only doing isolations.

The OP specifically said she prefers to workout at home with dumbbells. For a relative novice to lifting, it is absolutely possible to "lift heavy" using heavier dumbbells, and to exercise large muscle groups. You can even do many of the same exercises you can do with a barbell, plus have the option of doing unilateral training. If OP's current max is say 20-25lb (2 10-12lb dumbbells), she could absolutely see great gains by incorporating reps with 15-25lb dumbbell sets, and this would constitute "lifting heavy" for this person, at this size, at this time.

You are making fun of people for using lower grade weights and doing strength training that is different than what you do, even though people are talking about totally valid training approaches. That's gatekeeping. Easy to do behind an anonymous message board, making it all the more important to resist if you actually care about encouraging people to pursue higher fitness goals, and don't just care about holding yourself out as better than others just because you can lift more weight. THAT is meathead behavior. Cut it out.

^ I'm not being a d!ck. I'm just trying to be informative. The topic is lifting weights and lifting heavy. Not what you can lift at home only. Although I do weightlift mainly at home. I never go to a gym

But squatting 40% of your weight isn't even really a starter weight. You should be able to squat more than half your weight as a beginner and then your weight intermediate and then advanced is more than your weight.

That is what lifting heavy means. If it makes me a d!ck to point this out then I'm sorry.

I'm not saying there isn't any benefit to squatting 40% of your weight. But it is not lifting heavy and that is what the post is about.

Anonymous wrote:^ Yes, but lifting heavy isn't just weight. It's about using big muscle groups, not isolating vanity muscles like triceps that contribute very little to overall muscle mass and metabolic burn,

DP but why are you being a d**k? The PP didn't say they only do skull crushers and other isolating exercises (though isolations absolutely can be incredibly useful for overall fitness and are not just about "vanity").

And yes, you CAN use dumbbells for exercises that utilize large muscle groups. Doing squats (including split squat and pistol squat variations), lunges, and dead lifts with two 25lb dumbbells is a fantastic way to "lift heavy" at home, especially if you are on the small side and 50lb is about 40% of your own body weight. You can also do shoulder presses, chest fly, rows, and even single arm snatches with dumbbells. All of these exercises utilize large lower and upper muscle groups and if you use heavier dumbbells, can load the body with plenty of weight in a way that absolutely counts as "lifting heavy." Especially for unilateral work, but you can also use dumbbells for bilateral work in much the way you'd use a barbell. As a PP just said, heavy dumbbells can be hard to hold for many of these exercises. Well, duh. That's the point, to do something that is hard. That's how you get stronger.

I find the attitude that dumbbells are too easy, that working out at home isn't good enough, that in order to "lift heavy" you must be utilizing certain equipment or even lifting a specific number (it is going to depend on your size and fitness level, everyone is different) to be a bunch of unnecessary gatekeeping. Attitudes like this are what keep people from pursuing fitness and especially strength training, because people like you and others are eager to talk down to people and insult training activities that are *perfectly reasonable* for their individual goals, in an effort to position yourself as some kind of weight training guru. I have worked with personal trainers who would laugh at you for this attitude because they understand that the way you help people get fit is by encouraging them at whatever level they are at, not making fun of them for not being at your specific level.

Stop being a meathead.

I’m a smidge under 5’ and I can’t lift heavy at home because I don’t have the equipment. When I was regularly weight training, I could bench about 75% of my bodyweight and deadlift about 125%. I was still adding weight at that point, but had to pause. Now I just do lighter stuff at home.

Lift heavy means I can still lift my 100lbs son and daughter in my arms

I am 45 years old, 5'4 and 120lbs. Have been lifting for a few years. I still use dumbbells for some exercises like single leg deadlifts, but the barbell is how I got to go heavier. It is tough holding heavy dumbbells.

I use the barbell to squat, deadlift, glute drops. I use dumbbells for single leg workouts. For upper body, I use 25lb dumbbells for rows and chest press, and a curlbar for biceps.

Also like the cable machine to target different angles/muscles.

Joining a gym is super helpful to get access to all this equipment.

^ Yes, but lifting heavy isn't just weight. It's about using big muscle groups, not isolating vanity muscles like triceps that contribute very little to overall muscle mass and metabolic burn,

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, heavy lifting is defined by my reps. I usually do 3 sets. Set 1 I aim for 8-10. Set 2, 6-8. Set 3, 4-6. By the last rep, I am struggling to keep my form in place.

Interesting (OP again). Someone on Reddit told me that the key to lifting heavy was to go for the amount of weight that limited your reps, so that you could "work to failure." So basically if I can comfortably do 20 reps with 8lb weights, go to 10 and see how far I can go with those, then go to 12 and see how far I can go with those.

I think one issue with dumbbells is that you are dealing with stability (much easier to create stability pressing a 30 lb barbell, than two 15 lb dumbbells) but I wonder if there is benefit to this? I feel like there must be benefit to forcing my body to stabilize dumbbells through an overhead press and keep the motion smooth and even, since that would be easier with a barbell that is naturally more stable as it distributes the weight and holds it together at the same time?

Stability comes from your core not from the the body part that is lifting.

Yes, I know that but presumably your core muscles have to work harder to stabilize two 10 lb weights than on 20 lb weight when lifting overhead, yes? So there may be benefits to working with two weights versus one if the total weight is the same.

No. Theirs is benefit to doing unilateral work, like alternating shoulder presses with dumbbells. But try holding a 60 pound barbell over your head...also requires stability and strength.

There are exercises you cannot do with a barbell though. Chest fly, rear delt raise, skull crushers, etc. As well as a ton of exercises that can be done unilaterally with dumbbells and only dumbbells, as you note (earlier today I did alternating dead bugs on my back with 10lb dumbbells in each hand -- a great core exercise but only accessible with dumbbells). And then you can also do a lot of the same exercises you can do with barbells, with dumbbells.

If you are working out at home, dumbbells are a no brainer (pun intended) and offer greater flexibility and more options, plus are easier to store. Barbells are fine if you have access to a gym and like working out there, but they are not necessary.

1. All those should be done with lower weights so yeah, dumbbells are good, but as I said, you tap out after about 50 lbs because of the load on your elbows. 2. She asked about stability using dbs as opposed to a bb. The only real benefit in that regard is the ability to do unilateral work. For compound movements, there is no more benefit to core. 3. 10 pounds is not lifting heavy by any stretch of the imagination.

This is specific to the individual and the exercise. For me, using 10 pound dumbbells to do skull crushers is currently "heavy."

12 reps is too many to assess fatigue. Really should be closer to 8-10.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, heavy lifting is defined by my reps. I usually do 3 sets. Set 1 I aim for 8-10. Set 2, 6-8. Set 3, 4-6. By the last rep, I am struggling to keep my form in place.

Interesting (OP again). Someone on Reddit told me that the key to lifting heavy was to go for the amount of weight that limited your reps, so that you could "work to failure." So basically if I can comfortably do 20 reps with 8lb weights, go to 10 and see how far I can go with those, then go to 12 and see how far I can go with those.

I think one issue with dumbbells is that you are dealing with stability (much easier to create stability pressing a 30 lb barbell, than two 15 lb dumbbells) but I wonder if there is benefit to this? I feel like there must be benefit to forcing my body to stabilize dumbbells through an overhead press and keep the motion smooth and even, since that would be easier with a barbell that is naturally more stable as it distributes the weight and holds it together at the same time?

Stability comes from your core not from the the body part that is lifting.

Yes, I know that but presumably your core muscles have to work harder to stabilize two 10 lb weights than on 20 lb weight when lifting overhead, yes? So there may be benefits to working with two weights versus one if the total weight is the same.

No. Theirs is benefit to doing unilateral work, like alternating shoulder presses with dumbbells. But try holding a 60 pound barbell over your head...also requires stability and strength.

There are exercises you cannot do with a barbell though. Chest fly, rear delt raise, skull crushers, etc. As well as a ton of exercises that can be done unilaterally with dumbbells and only dumbbells, as you note (earlier today I did alternating dead bugs on my back with 10lb dumbbells in each hand -- a great core exercise but only accessible with dumbbells). And then you can also do a lot of the same exercises you can do with barbells, with dumbbells.

If you are working out at home, dumbbells are a no brainer (pun intended) and offer greater flexibility and more options, plus are easier to store. Barbells are fine if you have access to a gym and like working out there, but they are not necessary.

1. All those should be done with lower weights so yeah, dumbbells are good, but as I said, you tap out after about 50 lbs because of the load on your elbows. 2. She asked about stability using dbs as opposed to a bb. The only real benefit in that regard is the ability to do unilateral work. For compound movements, there is no more benefit to core. 3. 10 pounds is not lifting heavy by any stretch of the imagination.

Heavy is relative. I’m 5’1 and 104 lbs but I do upper body lifts with 15,20,25,35 lbs weights. Right now, that’s heavy for me. My form is impeccable so a few sets of perfect bicep curls with 20 lb dbs is “lifting heavy.” Took me years to get here and eventually it wouldn’t be heavy for me anymore and I’d need to increase my weights. Lower body is the same but much heavier weights.

Lift heavy means use as heavy a weight as you can for that movement *with perfect form*. Once you can do a movement at a certain weight with perfect form for 12+ reps, you increase the weight and lower the reps until you build up to 12 again. It takes years and years.

I'm 5'4" 110lbs and have been lifting for awhile now. I do some dumbbell and bodyweight work, but prefer to lift with barbells. My 8-10 rep weights are:
Back Squat- 125, deadlift- 150, front squat-110, bench press- 90. With dumbbells my 8-10 rep weights are: bicep curls- 25, front shoulder raise- 15, side shoulder raise- 20, tricep kickbacks-20

These are just some sampling of weights to give you an idea of what a small framed woman who has been lifting consistently could do.

Anonymous wrote:I’m 5’6” and 132 lbs. I don’t lift regularly, but when I do, I use machines. For the muscles under my armpits, I pull around 75 lbs. I’m not that strong and that’s like level 3. I use 30 lbs for biceps and triceps.

Most people can lift more using a machine than free weights. Not criticizing, just noting this. The machine stabilizes the weight for you and can be particularly helpful during the return, where the machine "catches" the weight for you. Even if you are moving slowly so the weight is gently returning, there's a support there you don't have with free weights.