3 sets of 10, or 2 sets of 15?

chanstriste13

3 sets of 8, or 2 sets of 12? does it matter? does anyone know of any benefits or drawbacks to doing longer or shorter sets if it adds up to the same count?

erickirb

the 2 sets of 15 would be designed more to tone up and create long lean muscles. Going for 4 sets of 6 reps is designed to get stronger and build size. So it depends on your goals, what you should make sure is that whatever way you are lifting your last rep or 2 should be very hard to do with proper form, if not you are not doing enough reps or lifting enough weight. If you are doing higher reps use a lighter weight.

Hollycat

Pyramid sets are best, according to Joyce Vedral - www.joycevedral.com - her videos usually have a set of 12, with the lightest weight, then a set of 10 with a middle weight and a set of 8 with the heaviest weight. Full range of motion, nice and easy.

samseed101

the 2 sets of 15 would be designed more to tone up and create long lean muscles. Going for 4 sets of 6 reps is designed to get stronger and build size. So it depends on your goals, what you should make sure is that whatever way you are lifting your last rep or 2 should be very hard to do with proper form, if not you are not doing enough reps or lifting enough weight. If you are doing higher reps use a lighter weight.

This is partially correct. You do typically want to be fatigued by your last couple of reps, but you want to be able to do them with proper form, else you risk injury (among other issues.) But the rep ranges have different results. Also, one range isn't going to create "long and lean" muscles. it doesn't work that way. the way your muscles grow depends on what exercises you do and what your genetics are. that's not something you can change simply by altering the rep range. You get that "lean" look by lowering your bodyfat percentage, which typically comes from a combination of diet and exercise.

Typically, if you're in the 12 - 15 rep range, you are working on endurance and actually helping your body (muscles, tendons, etc) prepare for heavy loads and get used to the workout. It's also around where you want to be for hypertrophy. At this range, you will gain some strength, but the primary results will be muscle size (hypertrophy.) The rest period between sets in this range is usually 60 - 90 seconds.

If you are at the lower rep range, such as 3 - 6 reps or so, then this is typically for strength gains. However, this does not always mean you will gain size. Remember, strength doesn't necessarily equal size. Strength gains are mostly neurological in this range, especially when you are first starting out. Essentially, your body learns to adapt to more efficiently lift a given load, thus the gain in strength. Of course, there will be some size gains, but the primary result is a gain in strength. For this rep range, the rest periods will be longer, and can often approach 3 - 5 minutes.

Most people operate in the 8 - 12 rep range. This range strikes a balance between strength gains and hypertrophy gains. You won't gain as much strength as you would with lower rep ranges, and you won't gain as much size as you would with higher rep ranges. But the middle-of-the-road results are a good combination.

Of course, you will still probably want to use "progressive overload" in any rep range, else you won't see much results, if any at all. And you will want to make sure your diet is in check for the best results as well.