There are many reasons to train with light weights, from safety concerns to personal preference, you may have your own factors guiding you to make the choice to train light. Don’t worry, you can still build significant muscle mass as some great bodybuilders, and scientific research, have proven. The question is, do you need to train to failure with light weights in order to build muscle?
Building muscle using light weights is not only possible, but in many ways preferable. Depending on you as an individual, your results may be even better than if you had trained with heavy weights. But you will almost certainly need to train to failure on work sets. The principle of progressive overload is a requirement to see muscle gains, and this can be achieved either by increasing the load, or by trying to increase the maximum number of reps you can achieve with a given load. If you don’t want to push yourself to failure, there are some ways you can still build muscle with light weight, by reducing your rest times and doing insane amounts of volume. But in general, you need to strive to increase output in one way or another, so to keep the gains coming, you’ll need to train to failure if you choose to train with lighter weights.
Are there any ways around training to failure? How many sets do you need to go to failure on? First let’s define what we mean by light weight.
What is considered light weight?
The terms light and heavy are pretty relative and will vary in different minds. When we talk about light weight, we are generally talking about 25-40% of your one rep max in any particular exercise. So this means that, for example, if you can curl 100 lb one time, you would be using 25-40 lb as a light weight.
The rep range with this weight will be 12-20 per set, possibly a little higher. But if you are doing rep counts above this, then you need to add some weight to bring you back into this range. Before you add weight, try slowing your reps down and making sure you are using perfect form. 20+ cheat curls can be cranked out in 15 seconds or so, but if you are working at a controlled, slow pace, you’ll take a minute or more to do 20 reps.
Whether you prefer to stay within the lower or higher end of these rep and weight ranges is a matter of personal choice and goals.
Can you build muscle using light weights?
Building muscle with light weight is not only possible, but also preferable for many people. Using heavy weights can really wear down your joints and increases your overall risk of injury substantially. This is especially true for those who have trained with heavy weights, non-stop, year after year. Most people eventually reach an age where all the heavy lifting has caught up with them and they no longer desire to train this way.
Alternatively, a new trainee or someone who is older, may want to start doing resistance training but not want to go heavy due to fear of injury, failure, or embarrassment. This is a wise move.
Whatever the reason, don’t worry, you can still build plenty of muscle training with reasonably light weights.
The key is to work the muscle to exhaustion, and to do slow, deliberate reps. Since you’re not lifting the heaviest weight you can possibly lift, you will need to do as many reps as you possibly can. This means that on each exercise you will do 1-2 warm-up sets, then 1-2 work sets to complete failure.
That means, keep going until you cannot do another complete rep, and maybe squeeze out a couple of partial reps. Your muscles will burn, you’ll probably get a little sore the next day or two, but you will grow.
Remember, you’ll still need to add weight once you can do more than 20 reps before reaching failure.
For an example of a mass-building workout using relatively light weight and high reps, check out the training methods of Serge Nubret, one of my favorite classic-era bodybuilders who rarely went heavy.
How many sets to failure should you do?
The answer to this will depend on how advanced you are in your fitness journey. If you are a new lifter, or young (teen), you should probably do 1-2 warmup sets and 1 set to failure on each exercise. As you progress, you can add additional sets. A good rule of thumb is to add 1 set to failure for every year you have been training, or whenever you don’t feel any soreness at all or feel that your progress has slowed or stopped.
So if you feel as though you are not being challenged, perform additional sets to failure. Once you are doing 3 sets to failure on a given exercise, it may be time to add an additional exercise that targets the same body part.
Should you train with light weights?
Training with light weights is great for most people, including:
- Beginners
- Younger (teenage) trainees
- Older trainees
- Those with a history of injuries
- Those who desire a shorter recovery time
- Anyone who wants to gain muscle!
Even an advanced lifter with years of training under their belt can continue to see muscle gains as long as they keep increasing the weight and/or amount of volume.
Using a lighter weight for a higher number of reps will generate an incredible pump in the muscle being trained, but will usually require less recovery time than a heavy workout. This means that you can work out more frequently.
The need for a spotter is barely an issue for most exercises when using light weights. That being said, it is still wise to use a spotter when going to failure on exercises such as bench press or any other exercise where you may require assistance racking the weight.
Training with light weights can be highly beneficial, and comes with substantially less risk to your safety than heavy training. Your individual results will always be unique, so try out some high volume, light training and see how impressive your results can be – and make sure you go to failure!
It is important to track your progress with other metrics besides just weight and what you look like in the mirror. The scales will not tell the full story of what’s going on with your body composition. I highly recommend you track your body fat using a body fat monitor, and use a retractable tape measure to keep track of the size of your waist, hips, arms, and legs. This will give you a more complete picture of your progress.
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Should I Bother With Bodyweight Calf Raises?
Although calves often respond best to heavy weight training, bodyweight calf raises are a great way to maintain and even grow your calves. They are also excellent for improving and maintaining ankle mobility. You’ll need to employ a lot more volume than you would with heavy weights on the calf exercises you can do at the gym, so start thinking about rep ranges in the high 2-digit to 3 digit range. Sets of 50 or more will certainly get your calves burning, and can lead to an increase in calf size, strength, and improved overall ankle health and durability.
Are 20lb Dumbbells Enough To Build Muscle?
For anyone other than the most advanced lifters or athletes, there are hundreds of exercises that can be performed using just one or two 20 lb dumbbells. There are exercises available to you that train every muscle group and many of these can be modified in a way that maximizes the usefulness of this limited amount of weight. Light weights are easier on your joints, and have been shown to be nearly as effective as heavy weights for muscle growth. With a range of intensity-enhancing techniques, such as giant sets, super slow reps, and many others, you can definitely continue to build muscle and improve your physique while working out at home with this simple and affordable equipment. Of course, if your goal is to be a great powerlifter or weightlifter, training with a pair of 20s will not do you much good. But if you simply want to train for health and to continue to improve your physique by building muscle, there’s plenty you can do with these dumbbells.
