What is the optimal repetition (rep) range for your desired muscles? I will be exploring that concept today. The types of reps are low, moderate and high reps. In each rep range, there is a specific reason for their amount of reps and their pros and cons.
Low reps
The number of repetitions in low reps are 1-5 reps with 3-4 sets and the rest period of 3-5 minutes between each set. Set is completing several reps of a specific exercise in a row. Low reps have 1RM% of 80-90. RM (Repetition maximum) is the most weight you can lift for a defined number of exercise movements. Low reps require heavy weights that push you to absolute muscle failure (when you can no longer perform a single rep with good form). This is because with /good form, there is a lower chance of injury and less muscle growth. Low reps are used to increase muscle mass, which is the amount of muscle in your body so you may get bigger muscles from working out with low reps. Also lifting heavy weight for low repetitions will increase the weight that you can lift at one time which means that there is an increase in strength. An example is when you do a very heavy deadlift that you can only do once. This type of strength training is useful in building lean muscles. The pros of low reps are more warm up sets, which increases the overall workout duration. The cons of low rep range is a greater risk of injury since people may use improper form with heavy weights and may break something. Another disadvantage is that it can lead to a greater sympathetic nervous system, which means that the person will have a high blood pressure, leading to cardiovascular disease and kidney disease in some cases. The last disadvantage is that after a set, people will need to rest for a few minutes, thus increasing the amount of time you need to stay at the gym, wasting time that could be used for something else. The pros of low reps are that it increases muscle mass as I stated before and that you won’t be as tired as doing high or moderate reps which both have less amount of time in between reps.
Moderate reps
Moderate reps have 6-12 reps with 3-5 sets and 1-2 minutes of rest after each set. Moderate reps have 1RM% of 60-80, and is also known as the hypertrophy rep range. People should use weights that they can lift for at least 8 reps for moderate reps. Moderate reps require you to push yourself until absolute muscle failure, like low reps. They target muscle growth and influence strength, and to see the best results you should always hit the targeted muscle/muscles from multiple angles. For example, when you have a push day and if you are training your chest, target those muscles by doing exercises that stretch the chest outwards, upwards and downwards. This works out multiple parts of your chest which is good since that leads to muscle growth and varied strength growth which cannot be accomplished if you are executing only one type of exercise. The moderate rep range is considered the best for muscle growth since it is in between the two rep ranges. The pros of moderate reps are that it can be included in any workouts whether you are targeting endurance or strength. Moderate reps have a shorter rest time than low reps, which decreases the amount of time you need to stay in the gym, but it also has more rest than high reps giving you a good rest before your next set. There is also a lower chance of injury and may be easier to do with proper form because you are using less weight than low reps. The cons of moderate reps are that studies are now saying that the hypertrophy rep range is actually bigger than 6-12 reps, which means that the amount of reps you do may not matter that much, but there is not that much evidence proving this yet. But we will go more deeply into this next time.
High reps
The number of reps in high reps are 12+ reps with 3-5 sets and 30 seconds or less rest in between sets. High reps have 1RM% of >40. They are also known as structural hypertrophy and targets muscular endurance. It may also improve strength to a certain degree, but not as much as low and moderate reps. Muscular endurance can increase your ability to do activities like lifting boxes or chopping wood without getting tired (daily life activities that require stamina and muscle). Low weights should be used for high reps, but you should be reaching absolute muscle failure like the other reps. The pros of high reps are that it reduces the risk of injuries since you are using comparatively lower weight. It helps you keep a healthy body weight (decreased body fat) and leads to healthier, stronger muscles and bones. High reps also have a short break so it could decrease the amount of time you spend in the gym, though this depends on your number of sets. The cons of high reps are that there is a short rest time, so you may get tired. Some people also may feel like they are doing cardio based exercises because of the number of reps and rest. Overall you have to do lots of reps and sets.
So what is the best rep range? Well, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to grow strength and muscle mass, a mix of low and moderate reps in your workout would be the most suitable. But If you are looking for endurance, then you should include high and moderate reps in your workouts. Overall it just depends on what you want. I personally do a mixture of all of them in my work out because that’s what I find best. But here's the twist. Does the amount of reps you do actually make a difference? Various studies have found that when the total training volume is the same you can build an equal amount of muscle regardless of whether you're doing low, moderate or high reps. But I will not be covering this today since I am a lazy man. So if you want to know the answer either google it right now and get about about 1,530,000,000 results and search through them and be confused or wait patiently until I write an article about it.
Citations:
Comentários