Around 80% of your one repetition maximum is often defined as “high intensity” or heavy lifting. Around 40% or less of your one repetition maximum is often defined as “low intensity”. In other words, lifting 80% of your one repetition maximum would allow you to do about eight reps.
The NSCA recommends doing 1-6 reps for strength, 6-12 for muscle growth, and more than 15 repetitions to build endurance. If lifting heavy weights to build strength or muscle mass, aim to lift heavier weights and complete fewer repetitions - anywhere from one to six per set.
If strength and power is your aim, Veal recommends one to five repetitions per set at a higher intensity (around 85-100 per cent of one-rep max). If you're trying to build size, up it to 8-12 repetitions per set at a moderate intensity (around 65-85 per cent of one-rep max).
The 6-12-25 Protocol is a powerhouse training protocol that harnesses the intensity of giant sets to pack high-volume work into a short period. By targeting one muscle group or body part per set, this method takes you through three different exercises with minimal rest, hitting 6, 12, and 25 reps in quick succession.
There is no definitive answer to this question as it depends on factors such as the person's goals, the intensity of the workout, and the person's level of fitness. However, as a general guideline, performing more than 20 reps per set is generally considered too many and may lead to muscle fatigue and injury.
In 2016 a study at McMaster University in Ontario, USA found that lifting relatively light weights (about 50% of your one-rep max) for about 20–25 reps is just as efficient at building both strength and muscle size as lifting heavier weights (up to 90% of one-rep max) for 8-12 reps.
We suggest you stick to five to seven reps per set for heavier, compound movement and between eight and 12 reps per set for smaller muscles and single-joint exercises. Your intensity and effort during each set are as crucial as the rep range.
Up to 30% of your muscle's size is attributed to the sarcoplasm, so focusing on this type of hypertrophy helps build overall size (i.e., increased cross-sectional area of the muscle). If you're looking to get bigger: Target a rep range of 6 – 12 reps per set. Aim for 3-5 sets.
Now that you know how to get a pump, it becomes clearer why “pump training” centers around sets of 12-to-20 reps, with around 30-to-90 seconds of rest between each set (or less), for as many sets as possible (or until you get a pump).
Strategies to Gain Muscle Mass Quickly
Exercise Regularly: Focus on exercises like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Gradually lift heavier weights to build muscle. Eat Healthy Foods: Fill your meals with protein, carbs, and good fats. Choose foods like chicken, eggs, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Strength-training workouts that employ low weights and high reps are good for your heart and lungs as well as building muscles. This includes high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, which entail alternating between pushing your body hard and taking short breaks.
Rest between set durations should be based on sets/exercise (volume), and not load or training goal. General recommendations include moderate (2 min) rest between sets if performing 2 sets/exercise, long rest (3 min) if performing 3 sets/exercise, and very long rest (> 4 min) if performing 4 sets or more/exercise.
WHAT IS HYPERTROPHY? Muscle hypertrophy (known simply as hypertrophy) is an increase in the size of a muscle, or its cross- sectional area attributed to an increase in the size and/ or number of myofibrils (actin and myosin) within a given muscle fiber.
Research suggests lifting smaller weights and doing more repetitions (or, in gym parlance, “reps”) can have a role to play – but it all depends on your goals. In short: if your goal is to build serious strength and bone density, lifting heavy is an efficient way to do it.
All your muscles are made up of tiny individual fibers, and those fibers can be grouped into two different types: Type I (slow-twitch) and Type II (fast-twitch). “Type I muscle fibers, which are slow twitch, respond better to high rep training because they're more resistant to fatigue,” says Adrian.
If you're looking to build muscle mass and size, hypertrophy training is the way to go. This type of weightlifting involves lifting moderate weights for higher repetitions.
Sets & Reps: Rules To Follow To Get Ripped
Ideally, you would train each muscle group with both lower and high rep training: Performing 2-5 sets of 5-10 reps per muscle group with heavier loads, per week, may be enough to help retain strength during the diet phase.
A muscle pump is an incidental part of working out; there is nothing wrong with a session that doesn't result in one. You don't necessarily need to train with the intent of achieving a muscle pump. It isn't permanent and not worth any overexertion! However, there are a few benefits to consider when it does occur.
A great approach is the 40-30-5 method. It's simple. Use an interval timer and program a work duration (set length) of 40 seconds, a rest time of 30 seconds, and 5 intervals (sets).
This holds that regardless of whether you're trying to build muscle, strength, power, or endurance, performing three sets of 10 reps per exercise is a good place to start. The scheme mostly works, especially if you're just starting out with strength training—because everything works in the beginning.
It means when we are looking at 6, 12, 24, we are looking at 24 being the most important set. We are setting up our nervous system and muscular system to be as successful as possible with our set of 24. We want to use as heavy a weight as possible for all 24 reps.
The study found that the muscle size results for both groups were similar. However, for strength gains, the subjects using higher weights and lower reps saw the most benefit. When it comes to gaining muscle, as long as you're working close to failure, the weight you choose becomes less important.
Medium vs. Heavy Weights. For beginners, Ben recommends trying five to 10 pounds for light weights, 10 to 20 pounds for medium weights, and 15 to 30 pounds for heavy weights—or simply starting with five-pound weights for each exercise and working up from there.
“For strength, how close you push to failure doesn't seem to matter as much.” The researchers suggest that individuals who aim to build muscle should work within a desired range of 0-5 reps short of failure for optimized muscle growth or while minimizing injury risk.