I've always read that under 5 reps will be best for strength gains, but between 6 to 12 are the best ranges for hypertrophy.
Apart from maybe some neurological adaption that occurs when beginners start lifting, how is it that lower reps will produce greater strength gains, but less muscle gains then higher reps?
How else can a muscle increase it's power/strength other then to undergo hyperplasia or hypertrophy?
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Thread: Low reps for strength . . . ?
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10-30-2010, 02:05 AM #1
Low reps for strength . . . ?
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10-30-2010, 02:42 AM #2
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10-30-2010, 02:48 AM #3
There is some stuff you could look at, at Defrancos Why All Muscle Was Not Created Equal
Originally Posted by Defranco
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10-30-2010, 02:49 AM #4
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10-30-2010, 04:01 AM #5
The equation is heavy weights for strength NOT low reps. All low reps means is that you are, in fact, lifting heavy weights.
If you do enough total repetitions and eat then you should gain muscle.
High rep sets do not necessarily mean hypertrophy as the weight may be too light, but higher reps sets also means more time under the bar which increases fatigue. Another thing to consider is bodybuilding exercises such as tricep kickbacks and curls, which does mean higher reps, unless you specifically want to try a 1 rep max cable curl or some crap like that.
So it's better to think in terms of time under the bar and weight used as opposed to high or low reps, which doesn't tell you anything. If you do too few total repetitions with heavy weight you have to increase workout frequency but for best results you should not spread volume out too thinly, hence the popularity of scheme such as 3x5 or 5x5 3x per week. If you try to increase weight all the time you will get stuck, which is why it's important to do more reps or increase volume keeping weight and total reps balanced rather than sticking rigidly to one or the other.Last edited by creb; 10-30-2010 at 04:16 AM.
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