What do you want? If you want to know how many reps you should do, first tell me what your goal is. Lifting weights can take several forms: strength training, bodybuilding, powerlifting, weight lifting, strongman, …
Sprinters have different needs than marathon runners. Rock-climbers have different needs than weight lifters. How many reps should you do? Let’s see what the different goals are.
Reps & Training Goals. Reps can be used to develop many abilities:
- Strength: lift a maximum weight.
- Speed: move fast.
- Power: accelerate, explode.
- Endurance: lift for extended periods of time.
- Muscle Mass: gain muscle.
Typically, a bodybuilder wants muscle mass. A strongman strength & endurance. Weightlifters power & strength. By manipulating the rep range, you can control the outcome.
Reps & Muscle Gains. Lifting weights always builds muscles. However, how many reps you do will influence the type of muscle. You have 2 kinds of muscle gain:
- Myofbrillar Hypertrophy
- Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
Myofibrillar Hypertrophy gives less muscle mass than Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy. You can develop Myofibrillar Hypertrophy by doing 1 to 3 reps at high intensity. Training with 10 reps at lower intensity develops Sarcopasmic Hypertrophy.
How Many Reps You Should Do. This is an overview of the different rep ranges & their outcome:
- 1-3 reps: Strength & Myofibrillar Hypertrophy
- 3-5 reps: Power
- 10 reps: Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy
- 20 reps: Endurance
Note that any rep range develops strength, speed, power, muscle & endurance. But some rep ranges develop one more than the other.
5 Reps: The Magic Rep Range. The Beginner Strength Training Program uses sets of 5 reps. Looking back at the how many reps you should do, you can clearly see why. 5 reps:
- Builds Strength.
- Builds Power.
- Builds Muscle Mass.
By doing 5 reps you get a mix of anything. This works well for beginners. As you advance, it’s a good idea to vary the rep ranges.
More info:
Rippetoe-Kilgore, Mark and Lon. 2006. Practical Programming for Strength Training.
Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M. 1995. Science and Practice of Strength Training.
