How Many Repetitions are Best for Building Muscle?

The amount of repetitions you do per set can make a big difference on how much muscle you gain...

There are so many opinions out there...some say high reps, while others say low reps. Some believe in feeling the "muscle pump", while others claim that the "pump" doesn't help at all.

Just incase you don't know what a repetition is, its simply completing a lifting motion followed by a lowering motion, one time. So if you do 1 pushup, you've completed 1 repetition. Or, if you lift a pair of dumbbells over your head and then lower it, you've competed 1 repetition. A set refers to the amount of consecutive repetitions you perform for a given exercise.

The best way to discover the perfect repetition range for building muscle is to look at the science on how each repetition range affects the muscle, and more importantly, how it affects the processes that induce muscular hypertrophy (growth).

Don't let all these complicated terms confuse you...its really quite simple. In general, there are 3 basic repetition ranges:

1) 4-6 repetitions of heavy weight
2) 8-12 repetitions of medium weight
3) 15+ repetitions of light weight

The 4-6 heavy weight repetition range works different muscle fibers than the 15+ light weight repetiton range. Heavy weight (4-6 reps) typically works the fast-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for strong, explosive movements. It is understood that these muscle fibers have a very dynamic growth potential...

On the other hand, light weight (15+ reps) works the slow-twitch muscle fibers that are responsible for slow, continuous movements that require endurance. These muscle fibers are generally the most resistant to growth.

Medium weight (8-12 reps) seems to offer a balance between stimulating slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers, and thats why a lot of exercise scientists recommend this particular rep range as the most effective rep range for building muscle...

However, there are other exercise scientists that recommend variable repetition ranges, which means doing cycles of low, mid, and high reps to maximize muscle gains. This is definitely the strongest opinion due to the following reasons:

1) When you switch between low, mid & high reps, it allows you to better target the different muscle fibers, resulting in greater growth.

2) Each of the different rep ranges offer distinct benefits that should be taken advantage of. For example, high repetitions promote lactic acid build-up which in turn promotes joint and tendon health.

3) Research has shown that a muscle adapts most quickly to a repetition range. By cycling the amount of reps you're doing, you'll prevent muscle adaptation which means that more growth will occur.

The bottom-line is that you should switch off between the different low, mid & high reps to not only maximize muscle growth, but also because each repetition range offers different health benefits.

Until our next newsletter, put this into practice and watch how your muscles repond!