3 reps vs 5 reps for strength

[guerillaRadio]

which would help me up the weight faster?

[BoxingAthlete08]

why not try doing a bit of both?

[dan236]

which would help me up the weight faster?

5 sets of 5 reps is great for building up your strength... especially on compound moves such as bench press, etc...

[guerillaRadio]

so how is 5 reps more effective than 3 reps?
whats the difference?

[YoUnG-gUn91]

Ramp the weights on your compounds.
Do a few warm up sets then do something like 5x5 (still ramping the weight up to close to your 5 rep max on the last set).

[dan236]

so how is 5 reps more effective than 3 reps?
whats the difference?

well, strongmen train anywhewre in the region of 1-5 reps as they just want to build strength.... it has been said that 5 reps is perfect for gaining strength, anymore than that and you're working more towards growing the muscles, which is why bodybuilders rep anywhere between 6-10 or even more...

[dan236]

Ramp the weights on your compounds.
Do a few warm up sets then do something like 5x5 (still ramping the weight up to close to your 5 rep max on the last set).

agreed!.. you definitely need to do at least 1 warmup set of about 14 reps before lifting heavy... this prepares you both physically and mentally for what the body's about to endure..

[burningNun]

well, strongmen train anywhewre in the region of 1-5 reps as they just want to build strength.... it has been said that 5 reps is perfect for gaining strength, anymore than that and you're working more towards growing the muscles, which is why bodybuilders rep anywhere between 6-10 or even more...

Strongmen train in the region of 1-30 reps.

[YoUnG-gUn91]

Strongmen train in the region of 1-30 reps.

He was probably thinking of powerlifting.

[singyay4ed]

Both 3 and 5 rep systems will make you stronger provided you use appropriate weight increases but a 5 rep system will also get you more mass (provided you eat right). There's not really a better way of building strength out of the two, it's how you apply the rep system that counts.

[burningNun]

He was probably thinking of powerlifting.

Probably, but even powerlifters train higher than five reps, when we do assistance work especially. I've met a very good powerlifter who has done 19 rep deadlifts as a main movement though.

[dan236]

Probably, but even powerlifters train higher than five reps, when we do assistance work especially. I've met a very good powerlifter who has done 19 rep deadlifts as a main movement though.

not necessarily.... in the recent issue of musclemag it interviews the 5 strongest men in the world (derek poundstone, zydrunas savickas, etc..)

in an interview with zydrunas savickas who's the strongest man in the world and has been since 2003.. says that he does a lot of set of 2-3 reps..

[burningNun]

It's a bit much to suggest that Savickas is the strongest man in the world. I'm sure he does a lot of heavy sets, but I bet he doesn't train exclusively in that rep range. I know Andy Bolton doesn't, and he is stronger than Savickas.

[dan236]

It's a bit much to suggest that Savickas is the strongest man in the world. I'm sure he does a lot of heavy sets, but I bet he doesn't train exclusively in that rep range. I know Andy Bolton doesn't, and he is stronger than Savickas.

he is the strongest man in the world and has been since 2003..

he's won the IFSA 2x, and won the Arnold Strongman Classic 6 years in a row!... The Arnold Classic is the ultimate competition for strongmen

[Turbomunkey]

i tried 5x5 on bench once. Personally i dont like the kind of strain it puts on the muscles, and i get bored after about 3 sets of the same weight

[dunkalicious]

6x3

[YORK_]

5x5 has worked very well for dumbell pressing with me.

[frenchie10575]

5x5 is great, worked real well for me(personal recent experience: my bench max went up by 10lbs in 6weeks)

i would increase the weight by 5lbs for my 2last sets and start out with that the following week so it would look like:

Week1:
1st set-135
2nd set-135
3rd set-135
4th set-140
5th set-140

Week2:
1st set-140
2nd set-140
3rd set-140
4th set-145
5th set-145

[piszczel]

i tried 5x5 on bench once. Personally i dont like the kind of strain it puts on the muscles, and i get bored after about 3 sets of the same weight

Same here.

Last time I did (on flat bench)
1x10 88lbs warmup
1x7 135lbs
1x5 154lbs
1x4 176lbs
1x2 176lbs

Works fine for me.

[raffytaffy]

I use a combination of high rep and low rep exercises during workout. For instance for bench press I would do
12 / 10 / 8 / 7 / 5 / 4ish
The 12 would be the heaviest weight, then I drop the weight on each set a little. It works for me, plus I gain a little strength each time with some mass.

[burningNun]

he is the strongest man in the world and has been since 2003..

he's won the IFSA 2x, and won the Arnold Strongman Classic 6 years in a row!... The Arnold Classic is the ultimate competition for strongmen

I'm not getting into this argument between Pudz, Bolton, Savickas and a few others who stake a claim. The fact is I doubt any of them train exclusively in the 1-3 rep range. I know Bolton and Mariusz don't.

[TheWaffleIron]

triples are great for improving strength; from my understanding, the gains are primarily neuromuscular, and in myofibular hypertrophy

[Skippy_nate]

To be honest, 3 is more effective, but the thing I hate about low rep training below 5 reps is I just don't feel like I've worked out haha.

When I lifted I spent my last 4 weeks focusing around strength, when I done anything below 5 reps which would usually go to 3 reps, I would do cluster training.

I would get a weight I could do 3 reps of, but only do 2 reps, then wait 20 seconds and do another 2 reps, and I'd keep repeating this even if the next ones could only be one rep and so on until I done at least 8 reps.

Then I'd have a 3-4 minute rest until the next set.

It's hard, very mentally taxing and takes forever to finish a work out. But it gave me excellent strength gains and mass gains. I went from 156 to 162 in those last 4 weeks ^.^ I was quite happy about it since I had no goal to put on mass, and I didn't put on any fat.


That was only on movements like bench press, dumbbell presses and pull ups. If I would have done deadlifts (I never had enough heavy plates for deadlifts), then I would have always stuck to 5 reps. Maybe 4 minimally, but I think it's important always to lift with a weight you can maintain proper form with. There's just no point in lifting for 1-2 reps I feel if your forms going to lag.

If your form doesn't lag then go for it ^.^

[Apachhe2]

utilize both. personally, i find better strength gains working in sets of 5 and always have. but after multiple cycles of 5 i will drop it down to sets of 3 which is what i'm doing now.