Can You Use a Light Weight to Experience Muscle Growth?

For as long as we all can remember, we’ve been told that you need to lift heavy to build muscle. What if all those years we were lied to? How defeating would that be, right? Well, the truth is, you can use a light weight and experience muscle growth. It’s true!

Have you been told that using a light weight and increasing your reps is only good for muscle endurance and not beneficial for muscle growth? And that you need heavy compound movements like the squat, bench press, military press, and deadlift in order to get bigger and stronger? If you’ve heard that before, you’re not alone. 

Now, that’s not to say that you’re being lied to in the sense that lifting heavy doesn’t add size to your frame, but it’s simply not the only way to accomplish that goal. The advantage of using a light weight to enhance muscle growth is that you don’t need all the unnecessary wear and tear on your joints by having to go heavy on all your lifts. 

In this article, we will dive deeper into how you can use a light weight and the research that proves it can help increase muscle growth.

Build More Muscle Using a Light Weight

Here is what the research has shown regarding your ability to use a light weight and achieve amazing muscle growth without going heavy and potentially putting yourself in a position that increases your risk of injury.

1. Reach Muscular Failure

The first study that backs the use of light weight is from Ontario, where participants who utilized lighter weights were able to experience the same amount of muscle growth as those who were stronger and used much heavier weights.

What was the reasoning behind this finding, according to the researchers? They claimed it was due to reaching muscular failure each set when using a light weight. Furthermore, the study went on to say that achieving muscular failure when using a light weight stimulates muscle growth in both type I and type II muscle fibers. 

2. Focus on Volume

To take things a step further, there are two studies that result in similar findings when it comes to the use of a light weight over a heavy weight for muscle growth, and they both highlighted that volume was the driver. 

One study looked at the growth of quads in men who utilized a heavy weight versus those who used a light weight. What they found was that both groups experienced muscle growth in their quads regardless of the weight used.

The second study backing the use of a light weight showed the same result where muscle growth was equal in both a group that used a light weight and another that used a heavy weight.

Researchers from both studies concluded that the use of a light weight or a heavy weight both lead to similar results of muscle growth and that volume was the equalizer. You can see similar muscle growth when total volume is equated for and when each set is taken to muscular failure.

3. Use a Full Range of Motion

Many times when people go heavy on certain exercises, they only do partial reps since they can’t manage the weight properly. Perhaps they only go halfway down on their squat or let the bar drop down and bounce off their chest when benching rather than moving through a slow and controlled movement. This does not allow the muscle to go through a full range of motion and doesn’t allow for full activation of muscle fibers needed for muscle growth. 

A study looked at how range of motion comes into play with muscle growth and found that going through a full range of motion using a light weight can help increase both the size and strength of muscles when compared to using a heavy weight and short range of motion.

Is Light Weight Better Than Heavy Weight?

The evidence above proves that you don’t need to go heavy to achieve muscle growth. That said, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to change up your training methods every once in a while to keep things fresh, fun, and challenging. Go heavy on some workouts to help build overall strength while leveraging workouts using a light weight to keep the joints healthy and still experience muscle growth and see progress through your time in the gym.

‍