Reps and Weights

noahhoy

Hey squad,

Who can tell me which is better: more reps at less weight, or less reps at more weight?

Also, which of these is better: 5 sets of 20 reps, or 10 sets of 10 reps??

I'm very new to this!!!

Noah

AllanMisner

What are your goals? If you’re looking to build strength, I’d keep the reps below 8. If you want to build/retain muscle mass then I’d work in the 5 - 12 range. And if you want muscular endurance then I’d do reps in the 15 - 30 range.

In each case, the number of sets should be sufficient to give your muscles a good “worked” feeling, which depending on the individual would be 1 - 5. Also, the weight should be sufficient to allow you to work into the planned rep range with good form and then once you’re at the top end of the range for all sets, increase the weight for the next session.

SezxyStef

What are your goals? As mentioned above the number of sets/reps/weight is all dependant on that.

My preference atm is to build more strength so I do low reps high weight. Last night I OHP'd 3x67.5, 3x77.5 then 4x87.5...next week it will be heavier weights and about the same reps.

LKArgh

What are you trying to do?

RoxieDawn

This ALL depends on your goals...

Building solid muscle mass = lift heavy
Strength/Maintain/Recomp = lift light.

jim180155

noahhoy wrote: »

Hey squad,

Who can tell me which is better: more reps at less weight, or less reps at more weight?

Also, which of these is better: 5 sets of 20 reps, or 10 sets of 10 reps??

I'm very new to this!!!

Noah

More weight, fewer reps. An ideal rep range would be 4 to 6 or 6 to 8. Beginning women might feel more comfortable at 8 to 10 reps, but only because women in general tend to feel a little squeamish about lifting heavier than that in the beginning. As women get more accustomed and build confidence over a period of months, it's a good idea to move down to 6 to 8 reps and then 4 to 6 reps. There's no biological reason women can't lift just as heavy as guys.

Building strength and muscle mass is a result of progressive overload (increasing weight each time you hit the upper limit of your rep range) at the proper intensity and volume. Intensity is described above. A good volume is 60 to 90 reps per week per major muscle group. So if you're doing a four or six day split, on chest day you might do four different exercises (bench, dips, incline press, pushups), 3 working sets of each, averaging 7 reps of each, for a total of 84 total reps (4*3*7 = 84).

I started with the most complicated splits because it makes the rest of the description easier. If you're doing a more typical beginner program with a two day, upper/lower body split, or even a one day full body program, tracking total volume per major muscle group gets a bit trickier, but the concept is the same.

For a better description or answer, this is worth reading: amazon.com/Thinner-Leaner-Stronger-Building-Ultimate/dp/1938895290/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1430226025&sr=1-1

jim180155

gia07 wrote: »

This ALL depends on your goals...

Building solid muscle mass = lift heavy
Strength/Maintain/Recomp = lift light.

And sorry, but no. Building muscle mass comes from lifting heavy. Building strength comes from lifting heavy. Maintaining muscle during caloric deficit comes from lifting heavy. Maintaining strength and maintaining muscle mass during a caloric surplus comes from lifting heavy (although volume can be reduced). And recomp, generally only possible for beginners, comes from lifting heavy.

Lifting light is generally only good for endurance. It's like a cardio workout but uses dumbbells instead of an exercise bike. Lifting light is good for burning calories and passing time. It has little effect on strength and muscle growth.

kikichewie

jim180155 wrote: »

gia07 wrote: »

This ALL depends on your goals...

Building solid muscle mass = lift heavy
Strength/Maintain/Recomp = lift light.

And sorry, but no. Building muscle mass comes from lifting heavy. Building strength comes from lifting heavy. Maintaining muscle during caloric deficit comes from lifting heavy. Maintaining strength and maintaining muscle mass during a caloric surplus comes from lifting heavy (although volume can be reduced). And recomp, generally only possible for beginners, comes from lifting heavy.

Lifting light is generally only good for endurance. It's like a cardio workout but uses dumbbells instead of an exercise bike. Lifting light is good for burning calories and passing time. It has little effect on strength and muscle growth.

^^^^^^ This x1000000000

kdiamond

I have days where I do both. On strength days, I lift heavy at low reps. On endurance days, I lift lighter at high reps. I switch it around here and there. Right now I am maintaining in prep of a bikini vacay though - if I were bulking or trying to build muscle I would only be doing low reps and heavy weights.

jim180155

kdiamond wrote: »

I have days where I do both. On strength days, I lift heavy at low reps. On endurance days, I lift lighter at high reps. I switch it around here and there. Right now I am maintaining in prep of a bikini vacay though - if I were bulking or trying to build muscle I would only be doing low reps and heavy weights.

That's not a bad plan. I took a quick look at your profile and based on that I'm going to assume that you've found something that works for you. So I'm not talking about you in particular on this next part.

First, women don't build muscle as easily as men, and men have to work really hard to build muscle. So for any women afraid that they'll bulk up as a result of lifting heavy, just stop. You won't. Testosterone builds muscle, and women produce something like 1/12th the amount of testosterone that men do. So ladies, don't fear muscle growth. It's not going to suddenly show up one day. You are going to have to work your butts off for just a fraction of the muscle mass that a guy would get given the same work and diet.

Using a combination of heavy and light lifting is something that advanced lifters do to maximize their size. The reason for it is that there are two types of muscle fibers, slow twitch and fast twitch, or type 1 and type 2. Slow twitch or type 1 are endurance muscle fibers. They're the fibers that make bike rides or endurance runs possible. Fast twitch or type 2 are power muscle fibers. They make sprints or weight lifting (heavy) possible.

Most sedentary people have a roughly equal, 50/50 split between the two types. Genetics can favor one type over the other. Further development can cause one type to change into the other. A marathon runner might have over 90% slow twitch fibers, while a weightlifter might have over 75% fast twitch fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers are larger in diameter than slow twitch fibers. That's why a weight lifter with 75% fast twitch fibers looks huge standing next to a marathon runner with 90% slow twitch (or only 10% fast twitch) muscle fibers. If you want to maximize relative size and strength, lift heavy to maximize fast twitch fibers.

Advanced weightlifters who have already neared the peak of natural muscle development can get a little added boost by also working their slow twitch fibers. For the rest of us, focusing on lifting heavy is the easiest and most efficient way to realize our goals.

cajuntank

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9SQ97rfyO4

Cherimoose

noahhoy wrote: »

Who can tell me which is better: more reps at less weight, or less reps at more weight?
Also, which of these is better: 5 sets of 20 reps, or 10 sets of 10 reps??
I'm very new to this!!!

If you're new, don't try to design your own program - follow a proven, pro-designed lifting program. It explains about reps.. plus all the other details you need to know, like which exercises are best, the order of the exercises, how to progress in weight, good form, yada yada. Popular programs here are NROL and Stronglifts - or work with a personal trainer. If you have no strength equipment, let us know - there are bodyweight programs for that.

By the way, it's good to state your goal whenever asking questions, since answers are often goal-dependent.