Community Article - Rep Range, Strength and Hypertrophy

[jwood]

This thread is crazy there is so much good information in here, I need to read it again and absorb more of it. I agree with you guys though, doing 5x10 is completely different then 1x50.

[BendtheBar]

Here's some more food for thought:

Muscle Fibers and Weight training

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by jslep

after reading this i'm just kinda thinkin to myself what weight could i bench maybe 50 times. i personally think if i were to train at it for a little while i could get 135 for 50 reps. now if i were to say right now my 1 rep max is 300lbs (its somewhere around that) and i can bench 135x30 and i increase that by 20 reps i don't believe my 1 rep max would increase really at all. so the question is how much stronger have i really become.

I tested this myself this year, though at lower rep ranges. By moving 275 from 3 reps to 9 reps, my bench max moved up more quickly then ever before. Granted, this was a heavy weight, but the result was surprising. On Friday I slapped 315 on the bench and was ramming out reps like they were nothing.

I'm not sure how effective ramming 135 for reps would be for bench max, but I'm pretty sure if you used a weight about 60 to 70% of your 1RM, and just tried to increase reps up to 30, that your bench max would go up faster than you think.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Here's some more food for thought:

Muscle Fibers and Weight training

I believe that rep range doesn't matter as much for beginner to intermediates with regards to strength gains. This meta-analysis is an interesting read, but I'm not sure how it applies to advanced lifters.

[jslep]

he did have the part in there where another study found that in squats,leg press, and extensions the group doin 3-5 reps had significantly increased 1RM more than those usin 9-11 reps. but size between the two groups was still relatively close. to me i take from that in beginners size increases will come with either training method but in advanced lifters i would bet that those size measurements would change if both groups stuck to what they were doin and the group doin 3-5 reps would be a h#ll of alot stronger. i kinda think of it like the hotrod in the garage. sure it looks nice but how does it do at the track. i want my body to look good, but i also want it to perform(not in the bedroom) in the gym. i like the feeling i get from liftin heavier weights than someone else in the gym who may look the same size as me.

[BendtheBar]

From an article:

1-5 Reps lead to a maximum increase in relative strength and myofibril recruitment.

6-8 Reps produce the best medium between myofibril and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.

9-12 Reps increase sarcoplasmic hypertrophy at the maximum rate.

>15 Reps you move into the range of muscular endurance where hypertrophy gains slow.

[BendtheBar]

Anyone have C&P's take on hypertrophy? I don't have time to research atm.

Edit: NM. I'm way tired right now and forgot the reference was from the C&P interview:

Next, bodybuilders need to drop their belief in the 1-5 reps for strength, 6-12 for hypertrophy, and 12+ for endurance. It’s ****ing preposterous.
Clinical evidence supports that, but the vast majority of those studies are conducted on machines, with detrained ****ers who’ve never lifted before.
Of COURSE they’re not going to get results from singles. They’re ****ing weak, they’re on machines, and they generally suck.

[BendtheBar]

My mentor back in the day ('86) instructed me to do:

2 sets @ 4 to 6 reps
2 sets @ 8 to 10 reps
2 sets @ 12 to 15 reps

Do you believe it's better to periodize these approaches, or to do them all in one workout in a more linear fashion?

[glwanabe]

The multiple rep range approach is something that has been around for a while, and I generally like the idea behind it.

I don't believe that you need to do all three in a workout, but hitting two of them is becoming something that I really like. I like going heavy, and then performing a high rep finish set.

As a way to hit all three ranges. you could do something like this.

5x5-8
1x20 finish

Start at 5x5 and add reps till your doing 5x8. Always finishing with the higher rep finish set.

I don't think this approach is something that needs to be used with every muscle, and a high rep finish number can and should vary depending on the indivdual muscle that is being used.

There are lots of ways to make things work, and you never know what might make your body grow unless you try it.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by glwanabe

I don't think this approach is something that needs to be used with every muscle, and a high rep finish number can and should vary depending on the indivdual muscle that is being used.

Good post GL. I made most of my gains using the above style. But - with a caveat - I'm not claiming that the above approach was as instrumental as my desire for more weight.