Keep reps higher or weights higher during weight loss?

[christian1488]

I’ve been trying to gain more muscle in the past year and I feel like I have (with the exception of the booty, not as much gain as I would’ve liked) however my main focus right now is to drop weight/lose more fat. I’ve adjusted my macros to be 60/20/20 (C/P/F) recently, with cals at 1800 and I’m 34F 5’8 weighing 174lbs (down from 193 last year). Should I continue to use heavier weights with about a 8-12 rep range or just lighten it and do a higher rep range? I use the gym on my lunch break so I typically fit in a 35-40 minute session 5x a week (3x lower body, 2x upper body). Thanks!

 

[dawn16]

@christian1488 Firstly, I'm not a dietitian, but I do have some personal experience. Well, your weight loss or gain is driven primarily by how many calories you take in versus how many you use. Doing more reps won't neccesarily lead to any change in your weight. Typically doing sets consistently above 12 reps (they're ok sometimes) isn't really enough to stimulate muscle growth, so I don't think you'd need to change your current workout routine. So you'd want to either restrict your caloric intake to slightly lower than you currently take in. Nothing drastic. Cutting out one soft drink a day is a good start, or anything you can remove. Or, keep eating what you're eating and burn more every day. Take shorter breaks between your sets, throw in 10 minutes of intense conditioning 2 or 3 times a week at the end of your workout... most of your caloric expenditure is from just daily metabolic processes, and the greater your muscle mass, the more calories you burn throughout the day, so keep a strong muscular base even when dieting down. Basically, just doing higher reps won't burn more calories. I hope this helps a little.

 

[christian1488]

@dawn16 It does. I don’t want to stop doing weights, I just didn’t know if it mattered in so much as to not lose any muscle I’ve earned.

 

[puma150]

@christian1488 Whatever challenges you

I think a lot of people see these rep ranges and they think they’re magic. “Oh I did 12 reps, I’m gonna get so toned.” If you aren’t fighting for that 12th rep, you either need to keep going, or up the weight.

For weight loss, diet is more important. If you like lifting heavy, lift heavy, if you like chasing the pump at higher reps, go pump it up. Challenge yourself, stay consistent.

 

[tery]

@christian1488 To me, I like intensity. But either works. High intensity increases risks of injury but lets you reduce the loss of strength.

 

[jos36]

@christian1488 Make sure you’re hitting the heavy compounds (squat, deadlift, bench) because that really burns calories and helps build muscle all over. I would say on those three you may even take it to a 5x5 where the weight is enough to challenge you.