How Many Reps?

    “Courage isn’t having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”

    -Napoleon Bonaparte

Are you lifting correctly for your goals?

Have you been hitting the weights more often hoping to see some gains? Or are you looking to increase your power so you can excel at other sports or hobbies? Let’s talk about goals and reps.

         Reps, or repetitions, are the number of times you complete the full range of motion in a set. Many people have heard the phrase “more reps and lighter weights for toned muscles” and “less reps, heavier weights for Muscle gains.” This is not quite accurate and can leave you falling short of your goals. The first step is to understand YOUR specific goal when lifting weights. Is it to grow muscles, gain endurance, or maximize strength and power?

The big debate on how exactly to build the most muscle leaves many gymgoers scratching their heads. According to a research study on maximizing hypertrophy (growing the most muscle possible… think bodybuilding), the sweet spot for muscle growth lies in the 6-12 rep range for about 4 sets (Schoenfeld, 2010). This means you should be able to complete between 6 to 12 repetitions of an exercise before failure. If you can do more than 12 repetitions, increase the weight. If you can do less than 6 repetitions, lower the weight.

There are a few other key points that the experts emphasize to achieve greater results. This includes staying in the 3-5 set range, with rest intervals of around one minute (Schoenfeld, 2010). However, If your goal is power (think powerlifting), you may have more results staying within the 3-6 rep range. Ultimately, for your average person trying to create a new workout plan, a combination of these two styles can be combined to enhance overall fitness.

Remember, the main rule to hypertrophy is progressive overload. This means to keep your workouts progressing. You can do this in a few ways by increasing the weight, reps, or sets or you can decrease your rest intervals. Your workouts don’t need to be complicated; they just need to be progressive and challenging. If you feel like you are still lost, a personal trainer is a great tool for helping you get started. Contact me for more information.

References

Schoenfeld. (2010). The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2857–2872. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e840f3