No need to strain yourself with back-breaking weight-lifting sessions involving heavy barbells. Muscle mass can be achieved just as successfully using small weights, a new study shows。
The research revealed a similar degree of muscle-building can be achieved by using lighter weights as with bulkier ones, suggesting the secret to building muscle mass is to pump iron until you reach muscle fatigue。
“Rather than grunting and straining to lift heavy weights, you can grab something much lighter but you have to lift it until you can't lift it anymore,” study researcher Stuart Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University, said in a statement. “We're convinced that growing muscle means stimulating your muscle to make new muscle proteins, a process in the body that over time accumulates into bigger muscles.”
He noted that while the study's findings have practical significance for gym enthusiasts, they are especially important to people with compromised skeletal muscle mass, such as the elderly, patients with cancer, or those who are recovering from trauma, surgery and even stroke。