Heavy or Light Systems - Why Not Both? - George Coates (1974)

 Iron Man May 1974

Over the years controversy has raged over the various merits of heavy training versus those of light workouts and after a while most bodybuilders tend to gravitate towards one or the other for a number of reasons. After almost 20 years of lifting weights myself in various parts of the world, it is my personal belief that while light training has its value for physical conditioning, no TOP-CLASS physique has ever been produced without the steady employment of FAIRLY HEAVY TRAINING! A person can squat with 50 pounds until the legs shake like jello but light training of this nature will never produce the muscular SIZE and POWER that those “gut-busting” types of reps with heavy resistance will.  Let’s face it, Sergio Oliva could never have gotten those huge arms of his by using babyweights in his curling movements. In fact, anyone who has witnessed a champion of Sergio’s caliber working out knows just how much EFFORT these fellows put into their training. However, even the most advanced men don’t remain year in, year out on a steady diet of “heavy only” programs. You will invariably find that most well built bodybuilders keep their size and strength by using heavy or medium heavy basic movements, but to combat boredom and add more shape to their muscles, they will introduce exercise variety by including light movements to “round-off” their workout routines.

From this type of training there has evolved what many people believe to be the absolute best training system of all – THE HEAVY-LIGHT program. The basic type of heavy-light program is the kind I would personally recommend as it allows the bodybuilder to do full justice to both of the principles  involved. What I mean is it allows a person to develop in size and strength yet at the same time be able to throw in some pre-planned light or “pumping” type exercises into the program without getting into the marathon type workouts that quickly deplete a man physically and mentally.

The ideal HEAVY-LIGHT program is one that involves ONE heavy movement and ONE light movement for each major body part. A sample workout would be as follows:

SHOULDERS

1.        Press Behind Neck – 4x6

2.        Standing Dumbbell Laterals – 4 x 10

LEGS

1.        Squats – 4 x 6

2.        Sissy Squats – 4 x 10

CHEST

1.        Bench Press – 4 x 6

2.        Straight Arm Laterals Lying – 4 x 10

BACK

1.        Bentover Rowing Barbell – 4 x 8

2.        Light Lat Pulldown to Front – 4 x 10

TRICEPS

1.        Triceps Extension – 4 x 8

2.        Parallel Bar Dips – 4 x 10

BICEPS

1.        Barbell Curl – 4 x 8

2.        Dumbbell Concentration Curl – 4 x 10

 

The workout program just described would enable a person to fill the need for the heavy work so essential for progress in size and strength yet he can also experience the “joys” of a pumping movement for every muscle group. Let’s all face up to the fact that each of us is ego-prone to a certain degree and the self-satisfaction one can derive from seeing, for example, his arm pump up an inch or so in the course of a workout can be a very gratifying experience.

A variation of the basic HEAVY-LIGHT program is to super-set the two movements being used for each body part. I do realize of course that this is not always possible, as one can’t tie up too much equipment at one time especially in a crowded gym. However, working out in this manner can give the entire body a pumped appearance that neither heavy nor light work will do if used separately.  One can actually achieve an almost “Super-pumped” condition working this way especially if the rest time between sets is kept to a minimum.

One can also reverse the procedure by performing a LIGHT-HEAVY workout in which case the trainee performs the light movement first then follows it with his heavy movement. My argument against this is due to the fact that unless one performs the movements in the super-set manner described earlier, most of us tend to reduce the effectiveness of the system by using too much weight in what is supposed to be the pumping movement then not being able to use enough weight in what is meant to be the heavy movement. You see, when you perform your heavy exercise first you actually pre-exhaust  the muscle group which makes it more receptive to the lighter pumping movement.

I’m sure that if most of the readers examined their own programs they would find that they are actually doing a HEAVY-LIGHT program of sorts but in the majority of cases there will be either too many light movements or there will not be a heavy movement for each major muscle group. I repeat and I feel I must stress this point: the most important movements are the HEAVY BASIC exercises. There are the all important ones your programs must be built around. You may recall I once did a series of articles on Bill Pearl for Iron Man Magazine.

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I had in my possession during the writing of that series Bill Pearl’s personal training diaries which he has faithfully kept during over 20 years at the top. One thing stood out above everything else. While some of his programs would be considered far too much for most bodybuilders, they all involved a lot of hard work on programs in which basic heavy movements played a major part. Close scrutiny of the workout programs – and I know for a FACT that he kept records of virtually every set and rep of every exercise he has ever used as I’ve had the diaries in my possession – drove home the undeniable truth that the very top men in the bodybuilding field would build their programs around basic heavy movements which summed up simply means one thing – HARD WORK!

The heavy-light system of training is indeed hard work. One must give it all he’s got on the heavy movements, then work as fast as possible using good style on the pumping movements. Do not be tempted as so many are to use more than one pumping movement or one heavy movement per body part. The whole secret to bodybuilding is HARD WORK IN THE RIGHT AMOUNT. One must stimulate the fibrous content of each muscle group deep by using heavy enough resistance then flush with blood the same area immediately by using a light weight.

Why don’t you give the HEAVY-LIGHT system a try? You could start by doing the routine suggested at the beginning of this article. After that it’s easy to make up your own programs. Just break the exercises down to cover the five major body parts, SHOULDERS, LEGS, CHEST, BACK, and ARMS. Calf work and abdominal work to be added as desired. If that last sentence seems a little flippant it wasn’t meant to be. Writers like myself can preach what we believe in, abut the end results for YOU can only be a response equal to your own desire and subsequent action. To succeed in bodybuilding, to be told the facts is not enough; one must first possess a burning desire to succeed. I’ve yet to meet a champion bodybuilder who claimed it came easy. Granted, there are a fortunate few who inherited some natural advantages, but even they had to work hard and heavy to get to the top.