Maggie's Farm

At reader's request, I checked out that article: Lifting Lighter Weights Can Be Just as Effective as Heavy Ones

I am not surprised about the testosterone and growth hormone results. Those are good products of extreme physical stress.

A few problems with the article: First, it only went on for 12 weeks. Second, and maybe most importantly, the study had them lifting four times/week. That makes no sense.  A set of heavy deadlifts takes 4-6 days from which to recover properly. Next, you can light- deadlift 100 lbs four times a week with 25 reps if you want, but you will still not be able to lift that 200 lb. of rocks a prankster placed on your front porch. And your exercise will not be time-efficient. Part of heavy is the time-efficiency. 5 reps of heavy deads, benches, etc once a week is plenty for the average fellow to stay youthfully strong.

In any event, exercise of any sort to muscle failure is the only way to gain strength. BTW, I do do lighter-weight exercises almost weekly on off-days to failure. Squats, curls, overhead presses, etc. It's just to remind my body that it is not on vacation.