Which is bette;, increase weight or rep/sets

noweightfisherj

Is it better to increase weight or is it better to do additional rep and sets? Which will give better results? Muscle gain and/or calories burned?

Jo2926

Depends. What are you trying to achieve?

AFitJamie

If you are trying to achieve muscle gain, and keeping the answer more simple than perhaps it should be...adding weight.. Remember that to have on-going gain, you need to eating as well as exercising for it - e.g. Calorie excess and ensure enough protein!

starracer23

Depends. What are you trying to achieve?

I agree....higher weight fewer reps helps build muscle. Lower weight high reps helps define muscle...So I say a decent combo of both.

But then I read somewhere recently that both pretty much have the same effect....so just lift...mix it up...keeps your muscles confused.

crisanderson27

Depends. What are you trying to achieve?

I agree....higher weight fewer reps helps build muscle. Lower weight high reps helps define muscle...So I say a decent combo of both.

But then I read somwwhere recently that both pretty much have the same effect....so just lift...mix it up...keeps your juscles confused.

If you want to look bulky...lift in the range of 8-12 reps...this causes hypertrophy (muscle gain) if you're eating in a calorie surplus, and yes you will still build some strength. If you want to be stronger, lift in the 5-8 rep range. This strengthens the muscle fibers...and if you're eating in a surplus will put on some bulk...but not like the other reps will.

And by lifting in those 'ranges' I mean lifting weight heavy enough where you will fail within that range of reps. If you do 5 reps, do 5 sets, if you do 8-12 reps, do 3 sets.

Neither will build mass on a deficit however...so I'd advise lifting in the 5-8 rep range...to gain the benefit of strength.

If you want to build endurance...go with even higher reps with lower weight.

Also...no particular type of lifting will 'define' muscle etc. That is the effect of diet ONLY.

Briski1411

Depends. What are you trying to achieve?

you wanna get leaner do high reps...
If you want to build strength/muscle do more wieght.....
Personally I do 8-10 reps and then up the weight. :glasses:

wellbert

adding weight means not spending more time in the gym. Win!

waldo56

Oy....

There are two types of hypertrophy, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic. To get big you need both.

To maximize myofibrillar gains, lift heavy, up the weights, and get strong. Stay in the 3-8 rep range.
To maximize sacroplasmic gains, work hard, do more reps and sets, and get work capacity. Stay in the 10-15 (or more) rep range.

They are synergistic, focus too much on one and you won't make ideal gains. This is why smart mass gaining plans periodize the two concepts or having you doing both in the same workout.

With the expection...weak beginners should focus on strength exclusively. You shouldn't be doing anything but getting stronger until the strength gains slow on 5x5 type systems.

waldo56

I agree....higher weight fewer reps helps build muscle. Lower weight high reps helps define muscle...So I say a decent combo of both.

It burns calories which helps you lose fat which defines muscle. It also causes some sacroplasmic hypertrophy, which makes muscles bigger. But without gaining strenth, after the initial gains this will be minimal.

Toning as most people think of it is a silly myth. Muscles get bigger, losing fat brings in details. There is nothing else.

crisanderson27

Oy....

There are two types of hypertrophy, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic. To get big you need both.

To maximize myofibrillar gains, lift heavy, up the weights, and get strong. Stay in the 3-8 rep range.
To maximize sacroplasmic gains, work hard, do more reps and sets, and get work capacity. Stay in the 10-15 (or more) rep range.

They are synergistic, focus too much on one and you won't make ideal gains. This is why smart mass gaining plans periodize the two concepts or having you doing both in the same workout.

With the expection...weak beginners should focus on strength exclusively. You shouldn't be doing anything but getting stronger until the strength gains slow on 5x5 type systems.

I agree....higher weight fewer reps helps build muscle. Lower weight high reps helps define muscle...So I say a decent combo of both.

It burns calories which helps you lose fat which defines muscle. It also causes some sacroplasmic hypertrophy, which makes muscles bigger. But without gaining strenth, after the initial gains this will be minimal.

Toning as most people think of it is a silly myth. Muscles get bigger, losing fat brings in details. There is nothing else.

Well said across the board...I was kind of simplifying. Just out of curiosity...how do you feel that a caloric deficit affects the importance of each type of strength training?

brokenartist

It also depends on your body and how it responds to the workout. There was an article I read a while back about Arnold Schwarzenegger and another guy being the 1st and 2nd place winners in the Mr. Universe competition in the early 80's where Arnold did lots of reps at lower weight and the other guy trained with few reps at a very high weight...they were pretty much neck and neck in the competition.

But the other comments are a very good general rule...to build you must break down (heavy weight) to strengthen you must build weight tolerance (higher reps lower weight)

starracer23

I am here...to pump you up!

iWaffle

If you want to look bulky...lift in the range of 8-12 reps...this causes hypertrophy (muscle gain) if you're eating in a calorie surplus, and yes you will still build some strength. If you want to be stronger, lift in the 5-8 rep range.

I guess I'm middle of the road. I do about 10-12 on my warm up sets and then I try to keep the weight at a level that 8 times is the best I can do without cheating on form and technique. Sometimes it only comes out to 6 when I'm getting tired. I just accept that for what it is and move on. Generally I always finish most exercises with lighter weights and throw in a few drop sets just for good measure. I don't know if there's much benefit to that aside from calorie burn but I like to feel that I used up the muscle as much as possible.

Although I'm at a slight calorie defect I do seem to be getting some strength improvements. Did my dips** at the end of my tricep routine last night and 3 x 10 actually wasn't too hard till the last set. Actually did a set of kick back extensions on a cable machine after that since I felt like there was still more there. Generally the dips kill my arms. Maybe it was just a good night. (I say defect but I haven't lost a pound in over a week.)

Which is better? I don't know. Depends on your goals and since I generally work out with no spotter I don't like loading the bar up to the point I can only do 4 reps. I know that lower reps makes you stronger but I don't care if I can't do 2 plates 10 times. I enjoy it more when I feel like I can keep form better and really concentrate on getting those 8 - 10 reps in correctly. Then some guys come in and load 2 plates on each side and squeak out 2 reps with the most horrible form only going half way down to their chest. Bah, not for me.


**Actual dips on a bar, no feet touching the ground.

Elen_Sia

I increase the weight regularly because of the rush I get from lifting to the point of failure.

JNick77

Oy....

There are two types of hypertrophy, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic. To get big you need both.

To maximize myofibrillar gains, lift heavy, up the weights, and get strong. Stay in the 3-8 rep range.
To maximize sacroplasmic gains, work hard, do more reps and sets, and get work capacity. Stay in the 10-15 (or more) rep range.

They are synergistic, focus too much on one and you won't make ideal gains. This is why smart mass gaining plans periodize the two concepts or having you doing both in the same workout.

With the expection...weak beginners should focus on strength exclusively. You shouldn't be doing anything but getting stronger until the strength gains slow on 5x5 type systems.

Pretty much.

Myofibrillar Hypertrophy is really in the 1 - 5RM max range and is the type of hypertrophy that will make you stronger and help you be more athletic, explosive.

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy: I've seen variations of this. I've seen 8-10, 8-12, 6-12, and 10-15 rep range. Basically the above poster is right, mix-it-up for maximal gains. Exercises in this group are typically there to not only gain hypertrophy but also help improve strength in core movements, such as the Bench Press and Squat, by strengthening supporting muscle groups such as the Triceps, Lats, Traps, Quads, Hamstrings, etc.

If you are a beginner then you probably don't need both right away, just focus on maximal strength lifting for now although I would still do chin-ups even though I don't believe many starting programs have you do them. Once you advance more you can move into some kind of conjugate method like Westside or a Westside variant which starts to include Maximum Effort, Dynamic Effort, and Repetition Effort lifting days and includes maximal strength and non-maximal strength lifting into one session.

As far as warming-up, if you're doing sets of 5 I wouldn't do warm-up sets in excess of 5, just make sure that their explosive. If you're doing 5x5 with 205 lbs then do something like,

1. bar
2. 95lbs
3. 135lbs
4. 155lbs
5. 175lbs
*begin worksets @ 205lbs

Although I think Stronglifts 5x5 has it's own recommendations for their program.