Overall, reps between 6 and 35 are likely similarly effective for hypertrophy per set. For example, yet another 2015 study from New York found in trained men performing 3 sets per exercise a session, hypertrophy outcomes were similar between training with 8-12 repetitions to failure and 25-35 repetitions to failure.
Want to grow your muscles as big as possible? Just go for the tried and proven classic, right? 4 sets of 12 reps, four or five exercises muscle group.
Training in the 6-12 rep range might be ideal for maximising muscle size. The 1-5 "Heavy" rep range will definitely make you stronger.
Somewhere between 3-6 sets of 7-12 reps is a good rule of thumb. However, there are a number of different approaches to hypertrophy training that will diverge from this. For example, performing 8 sets of 3 reps rather than 3 sets of 8 reps, with less rest time, has been shown to be an effective technique.
You can still build muscle with 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps — provided you train close to failure and progressively overload. But it isn't the most optimal, instead: Choose your rep range based on the exercise — the larger and more the muscles involved, the lesser the reps. Even then, don't venture below 3 reps or above 30.
If they are advanced, then consider 20-25 sets of chest training each week. Lifting heavy is important, but not all the time. Stay within 6-12 rep ranges using about 65-80% of your one-rep max. Hitting a new PR is great, but it doesn't mean training for 1 rep all the time.
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.
They sometimes think they can't train hard anymore, but if they just go lighter and do more reps, they can build muscle too.” Bottom line: “It's the effort you put in that matters most,” Hyson says. “Lifting heavier builds more strength, but lifting to failure with any weight can build bigger, more aesthetic muscles.”
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.
One of the key factors in muscle growth and strength development is the intensity of the workouts. The 3x12 approach often locks individuals into a specific weight range, potentially neglecting the benefits of training with heavier weights at lower repetitions or lighter weights at higher repetitions.
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 Time: 1 to 3 minutes
The classic advice for maximizing muscle growth (i.e., hypertrophy) is to rest one minute between sets of 8 to 12 reps. But recent research suggests that three minutes might be the true sweet spot.
A moderate repetition scheme with moderate loads (from 8 to 12 repetitions per set with 60% to 80% of 1RM) optimizes hypertrophic gains. A high repetition scheme with light loads (15+ repetitions per set with loads below 60% of 1RM) optimizes local muscular endurance improvements.
If you're using gym math to calculate the weight of a barbell holding 90 pounds on each side, though, you might say that the sum of 90 and 90 is 225. That's because the barbell is 45 pounds, making the calculation 90 pounds + 90 pounds + 45 pounds, which is 225 pounds.
Based on the decades of research on strength training, it appears that using light weight and high reps (reps of 12 or more) is best for boosting muscle endurance, while using moderate weight for moderate reps (reps in the 8-12 range) appears to better boost muscle size, and using heavy weight for low reps (reps of 3-7 ...
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.
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.
Around 30 reps is a great place to start for most goals, building muscle (hypertrophy), gaining strength or increasing endurance. It's how they are broken up into sets and reps that make the difference. For building muscle, an ideal split of your 30 reps is 3 sets of 10.
Recent studies have shown that while 4x8 workouts are effective for inducing muscle growth, they are not the best way to do so. The key to maximizing muscle growth is to overload the muscles with heavier weights and volumes.