Rep Scheme

I did 10 x10 on holiday recently (in a pretty hopeless hotel gym....) and it made a real change and a different kind of challenge. Enjoyment can be a goal too of course.

10 x 10 x 7 exercises got my fitness work in as well - the aircon was of the "open window on a hot day" variety so cardio was out.

Normally I do pyramid style 12 or 10 working down to 3, light to heavy. That seems to have gone out of fashion but it works for me and prevents injury.

I like experimenting with different reps. I'm finding that I like 6-8 reps for squats, then 6-8 for bench and OHP but followed with a couple of higher rep sets, and still 3-5 for deadlift. But then I like 12-15 for goblet squats and a few isolation exercises.

Do both!

For my main movements / primary exercise of the day, I do 3 sets of 3-5 reps. Then you can do similar accessories, or a lighter load of the same main lift at a 3 sets of 8-12.

I.E. Bench 3 sets of 5, then lighter bench or incline bench at 3sets of 8-12.
Or Squat 3 sets of 5, then pause squat or front squat 3 sets of 8-12. etc.
This is of course when you are finished your full body beginner routines and move on to intermediate programs (i.e. upper/lower split). If you are doing full body, you don't want to gas yourself out only on 1 body part. The split allows you to hit the upper or lower body harder and get both strength and hypertrophy in.


And P.S. when moving maximum weight, rest 3-5 minutes, not just 2 minutes as you wrote. After 3 minutes, approximately 80% of your muscle’s ATP has been replenished, at 5 minutes, approximately 95% is back in the game, and at 8 minutes ~ 100% is there. If you are going for a PR, don't go in with 80%. If you can go in with only 2 minutes rest, you really are not pushing yourself as hard as you can.

Main Lifts: 3-5 minutes between sets
Secondary Lifts: 2-3 minutes, I usually superset something in there to save time.
Accessory lifts (i.e. curls, single muscle exercises): 1-2 minutes, superset to save time.

I know the article subject is about hypertrophy, but has great data on results of varied rep ranges http://strengtheory.com/hypertrophy-range-fact-fiction/

Especially like this chart showing what people think and what is actual. It lends evidence to following what you enjoy or prefer based on goals, as while it might not be as optimal on paper (1-5 reps for strength, 8-12 for size, etc...), the actual gradations offer pretty close to the same results if you go a little outside of those "hallowed numbers".

I just do whatever my programmer programs in for me. Which is anywhere from heavy max singles to max reps.

I have a definite preference for reps under 5, but respect the need to sometimes improve my work capacity with higher reps on shorter rest (although I'm still mentally swearing over yesterday's attempt at sets of 10 on 90 seconds rest at 80%). I got all my reps in although rests got extended out and I needed two extra sets to get it done.