ARE LONGER WORKOUTS MORE EFFECTIVE? How To Grow Your Muscles!

"I think many people shy away from resistance training because it’s never really felt good lifting super heavy. I'm here to tell you that resistance training is important but it’s not always about the number on the dumbbell. If you choose lower loads, you can see great results while still feeling good in your body!"

Raise your hand if you used to think that workouts had to be long and gruelling in order for them to be effective. ME TOO.

Thankfully the tides are turning, and we now know that results don't come from the amount of time spent or calories burned in a workout. But more so the 'quality' of each workout.

With a lack of time being among one of the top reported barriers to exercise, how can strength training be most effectively carried out in a time-efficient manner, while getting enough to stimulate muscle growth?

Let's discuss! 

Your Goal: Muscle Growth

For muscle growth to occur, your muscles need to be repeatedly challenged. The mechanical load, or the physical stress that you place through your muscles, is what causes your muscles to grow in size, not the amount of time spent in a gym.

But remember, not all exercises are created equally and at MOVEHAPPY, our job is to pick the exercises that optimally load the muscles with less strain on the surrounding structures, such as the joints. 

What The Research Suggests  

How Much Load or Resistance Should I Use?

Yes, you can achieve muscle growth with higher loads and low reps, but you can also achieve it with light to moderate loads and higher reps. 

Increases in muscle growth can be achieved through a wide variety of loads (resistance), and if low loads are being used (doing 15 reps or more), training should be performed at or close to muscular failure, i.e.,the point when your working muscle is fully fatigued and you can no longer complete another repetition. Using this strategy of low loads and high repetitions, can specifically be useful in situations where exercise equipment is limited, such as exercising from home.

How Many Sets Should I Perform?

Research suggests that each muscle group should be trained with at least four sets per week, with a maximum of 10 sets. Once again, if lower loads or weights are being used, higher repetitions and training to muscle failure is suggested.

Rest is Essential for Muscle Growth

Exercise is only a portion of the equation - rest is absolutely essential if you're trying to build more muscle, along with adequate protein intake (which we'll dive into another day). 

During a workout, our muscles are broken down (exercise creates microscopic tears in the tissues). When we rest, cells in the body known as fibroblasts, repair your tissues, which results in stronger muscles.

So quite simply, during exercise are muscles are broken down and when we rest, they're repaired and built up! 

At MOVEHAPPY, we suggest a minimum 2 days of rest to avoid overtraining and to enhance muscle growth. If you're a member and follow the weekly schedule, I plan all of this for you so you don't even need to think about it! 

MOVEHAPPY classes & Muscle Growth 

Each workout at MOVEHAPPY fits together like a puzzle piece - each week they are strategically designed along with lots of attention to the exercise selection.  

Our full-body and joint-friendly classes aim to work each muscle group 1-2 times per week, which allows for at least 48 hours till a muscle is worked again. 

What we do at MOVEHAPPY, is we generally train with light to moderate resistances for 60-90 seconds, encouraging members to train close to muscle failure by the end of the set. We focus on moving slow and controlled, which probably ends up being close to 15 reps.

Are mini classes enough?

This is a very good question! 

MOVEHAPPY minis are classes that 25 minutes or less and as I always say, a little bit is ALWAYS better than nothing - being consistent is what matters the most, not the length of a workout or the intensity! 

Mini classes are also great if: 

• you're short on time
• travelling 
• have a full and busy lifestyle
• easing in after being off exercise for a prolonged period of time 

Mini classes are also great for building motivation! I know a lot of the time members will do one, and by the end of it, they're motivated to turn on another one.

Keep in mind if your goal is to build muscle, then your best bet will be to follow our weekly schedule so you can ensure to work each muscle group with the appropriate amount of reps and sets it takes to stimulate muscle growth.  

In Summary 

You don't need to spend a ton of time working out in order to grow your muscles or to be "fit" 

You can use lower loads to stimulate muscle growth, as long as you're aiming for higher reps and working close to muscle failure. 

Rest and recovery is just as important as exercising.

And lastly, if you'd like to join a program that shows you the ropes and supports you week-to-week with your fitness goals, then we'd love to have you at MOVEHAPPY! Come try our 14-day trial 💕

References 

Vegard M.Iverse, Martin Norum, Brad J. Schoenfeld & Marius S. Fimland: No Time to Lift? Designing Time-Efficient Training Programs for Strength and Hypertrophy: A Narrative Review (2021)