What Are The Biggest Debates In Weightlifting?

Everyone seems to have an opinion when it comes to weightlifting, which can often be a little overwhelming if you are just starting to take your strength training regimen seriously.

After all, when you are staring at the Olympic bumper plates on the barbell, it is best not to overthink your form and technique. Train within your limits, and you will help to extend them over time.

There are some principal elements of weightlifting which are fairly essential to follow, such as training consistently, eating cleanly and sleeping well to aid your recovery, but there are also just as many elements which are more open to interpretation.

With that in mind, here are some of the most interesting questions in the weightlifting world and the cases for and against.

Should You Train On An Empty Stomach?

Should you eat to fuel your body before a workout, or should you eat to help recover and refuel after one? This is a very difficult question, and ultimately the best answer is whichever makes you feel most comfortable and thus able to train more intensively.

Generally, if you exercise on an empty stomach, you will burn more fat as a result, as your body will tap into your fat reserves rather than the carbohydrates from whatever you eat.

However, because you will not be able to burn as many calories overall, you may not get the same intensity of workout as you would if you had a meal beforehand.

There are similar debates about when to eat after a workout as well, with some bodybuilders swearing that you need to eat within a certain “anabolic window” (typically within 30 minutes of a workout) to recover and build muscle most effectively.

The scientific consensus appears to debunk this theory, but it is also ultimately harmless, and many people who do not eat before exercising do so soon after.

Do You Have To Lift Heavy?

A common piece of advice for newcomers to the gym is to “lift heavy”. Rather than maximising the number of reps you do, instead lift as close to your limits as you can to encourage your muscles to microtear and build back stronger.

This is not entirely untrue; the concept of progressive overload means that the only way to continually get stronger is to keep increasing the weight of your exercises and continually challenge your body to adapt.

However, the problem is that “lifting heavy” is far more complex than the two words suggest. It really means “lift heavy for you”, and even with that in mind, your limits will fluctuate over time.

You have to be careful when lifting heavy; build closer to your limits, but try to do so gradually, as going beyond your limits if you are not ready can lead to injury setbacks.

Should You Do Strength Work Before Cardio Exercise?

Many people mix strength and cardio work on the same day, whilst others prefer to keep them separate. But if you prefer to do a session on the treadmill as well as a session with weights, which should you do first in order to get the best results?

Ultimately, whichever you do first will always affect the other, with shaky legs affecting your running form if you go for weightlifting first and boosting your heart rate and feeling more tired if you do cardio first.

There is no real preference here; if you cannot do both on separate days, prioritise the exercises that bring you closer to your fitness goals.

Should You Train Every Day?

Outside of the now-infamous 2008 debate, which became an argument about how many days there are in a week, the idea of taking no days off from your weightlifting regime is one that can itself be disputed.

Ultimately, your body reaps the rewards of strength training through recovery, and overtraining can cause some long-lasting problems of its own.

There are also diminishing returns once you train more than four days a week, as well as the risk of burnout. You should listen to your body and allow yourself time to rest between sessions.

Should Your Reps Be Slow And Steady Or Fast And Explosive?

In general, it is better to start slowly when doing your exercises to warm up your muscles and ensure you are using the proper form, but should you do all your reps slowly to maximise the amount of time your muscles are under tension?

However, you do also need some explosive exercises, and once you feel comfortable doing certain exercises with a particular weight with the right form, try doing so using a more explosive motion.