Rep range question

FromHereOnOut

Me again. I'm the overfat chick who has been unable to adhere to a calorie deficit (accidental maintainer/bulker?) Thank you everyone for so much help on my other thread.


I have another question, which was where I was headed with the last thread which took a different, but good turn.

I am designing my new workout plan. What would you bulkers recommend with regard to rep range whether I am able to reel in my diet or not?

I am trying to decide between working in the 5x5 range or the 4x10 range. But I think that if I reel in my diet, 4x10 would be pointless since I can't build muscles on a deficit, so 5x5 and building strength would be better. But if I can't reel in my diet and end up at maintenance or higher some or most days, then maybe I should work in the 4x10 bodybuilding range to try to bulk the muscles up with those extra calories.


Opinions???


Thanks!

ninerbuff

Lower reps work in the strength range. Usually anything under 6. Actual muscle building reps range from 8-12 with multiple sets(16 sets or more per body part).

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ndj1979

what are your goals..strength or muscle gain?

0-5 is strength
7-10 is muscle gain ..
6 rep range is middle point between strength and muscle gain < at least that is my understanding..but feel free to correct me ..

right now I work out in 8-10 rep range, except for deadlifts and front squats which I decided to keep in five rep range….

cwolfman13

Personally I'd recommend following an already developed program rather than programming your own routine. You need a fair amount of knowledge to program your own routine...even people who do generally just use existing programs as a foundation and make tweaks here and there.

In terms of your actual goals there...I don't know...only you know. If you eat at a surplus and work in the lower rep range for strength, you're still going to put on mass, just not like you would following a body builders routine...personally I'm partial to strength/power lifting routines, but I value strength over bulking on a ton of mass.

SunofaBeach14

I squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press primarily in the 3-5 rep range, but I often add a lower weight high rep set at the end, anything from 7 to 15 reps. For accessories, I work in a range of 8 to 15. The point that I would recommend varying your rep ranges so that you're getting stronger and building muscle mass.

ndj1979

I squat, bench, deadlift, and overhead press primarily in the 3-5 rep range, but I often add a lower weight high rep set at the end, anything from 7 to 15 reps. For accessories, I work in a range of 8 to 15. The point that I would recommend varying your rep ranges so that you're getting stronger and building muscle mass.

agreed…

I go back and forth between strength and body building routine over the year….

right now doing more of the body building routine …but then in a few months I will probably go back to more strength and maybe start reincorporating some 5x5 concepts...

FromHereOnOut

I should've mentioned that i'm going to be adding a low weight burnout set to the end of every exercise either way.

I understand the rep ranges. I'm asking what would make sense for an overfat person (whose goal is to lower body fat percentage) who has been having diet adherence issues. If I continue to overeat, should I work in the bodybuilding range and go ahead and build the muscle with those excess calories, or not? Alternatively, if I manage to reel in my diet, should I not even consider the bodybuilding range because I'd be at a deficit and those sets would be a relative waste of time, since I wouldn't be capable of building actual mass on a deficit anyway, and therefore stick to strength range whenever on a deficit?

My goals are to be the best version of me possible, with regards to aesthetics, strength, power, speed, agility, everything. :-) I have no bodybuilding aspirations, but am in favor of building muscle as half of the equation to lowering my bodyfat percentage.

Thanks!

FromHereOnOut

Also, I like the idea of mixing in all the ranges. But I just came off of doing basically sets of 12, 8, 6, 6, 6, in order to hit both ranges. I was hoping to "mix it up" a bit for my next round.

SunofaBeach14

I should've mentioned that i'm going to be adding a low weight burnout set to the end of every exercise either way.

You need not lift to failure, and in fact it doesn't seem to be currently recommended as it increases recovery time. Leave one or two in the tank. That said, definitely add a lower weight, higher rep set at the end of each exercise.

I understand the rep ranges. I'm asking what would make sense for an overfat person (whose goal is to lower body fat percentage) who has been having diet adherence issues. If I continue to overeat, should I work in the bodybuilding range and go ahead and build the muscle with those excess calories, or not? Alternatively, if I manage to reel in my diet, should I not even consider the bodybuilding range because I'd be at a deficit and those sets would be a relative waste of time, since I wouldn't be capable of building actual mass on a deficit anyway, and therefore stick to strength range whenever on a deficit?

You're not going to lose weight unless you are eating at a calorie deficit, so what you're doing is attempting a recomp. Work all the rep ranges. Even if you're eating at a deficit, you want to vary the rep ranges because the goal there is to retain muscle mass as well as strength.

My goals are to be the best version of me possible, with regards to aesthetics, strength, power, speed, agility, everything. :-) I have no bodybuilding aspirations, but am in favor of building muscle as half of the equation to lowering my bodyfat percentage.

Thanks!

Then work various rep ranges and make sure that you're also working speed drills into your cardio.

SaintGiff

Last I checked, muscles can't count reps. But maybe mine are just a bit remedial...

ndj1979

Also, I like the idea of mixing in all the ranges. But I just came off of doing basically sets of 12, 8, 6, 6, 6, in order to hit both ranges. I was hoping to "mix it up" a bit for my next round.

like wolf man said…find a program - 5x5, strong lifts, starting strength, etc and go with that and then tweak the rep ranges if you want..

if you just try to build your own program with zero experience you are doing to end up "spinning your wheels"..

also, you will not lose body fat unless you are in a calorie deficit….

It is possible to do recomp but keep in mind that is a painfully slow process, and still requires a slight calorie deficit….

SunofaBeach14

Also, I like the idea of mixing in all the ranges. But I just came off of doing basically sets of 12, 8, 6, 6, 6, in order to hit both ranges. I was hoping to "mix it up" a bit for my next round.

like wolf man said…find a program - 5x5, strong lifts, starting strength, etc and go with that and then tweak the rep ranges if you want..

if you just try to build your own program with zero experience you are doing to end up "spinning your wheels"..

also, you will not lose body fat unless you are in a calorie deficit….

It is possible to do recomp but keep in mind that is a painfully slow process, and still requires a slight calorie deficit….

^ Yea, +2. Try Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5 x 5 and follow the program.