Most everyone knows the typical hypertrophy rep range is between 6-12, which is fair enough. This also seems to be the rep range where the type 2b fibers (fast twitch) get stressed the most, and as 2b fibers supposedly have the best potential for growth, most lifters choose to stick with this rep range.
This got me thinking though, even though the fast twitch fibers have the best potential for growth, you surely don’t want to competely ignore the slow twitch fibers. Sure, they have a lower potential for growth but anybody who wants to get the most out of their training would should surely try to activate them as well. I’m also aware that there’s not really a specific point where certain muscle fibers come into play, and most will be utilised at some point anyway (not like your slow twitch fibers are gonna chill and smoke a joint while the others do the work), but higher reps can surely put more emphasis on specific fibers can’t they?
So is there a benefit to including higher rep sets in your routine, such as 15-20+ and is it worth utilising? Does anyone here use higher reps and have they made a noticeable difference to your physique?
So the 6-12 hypertrophy range is an over-simplification. The primary stimulus for hypertrophy is reaching failure, which has been shown with loads as low as 30RM/30% 1RM. Under certain conditions, like blood flow restriction, equivalent hypertrophy can be reached with loads as light as 20% 1RM.
This is because of something called the size principle:
As velocity, load or fatigue approach maximal levels, muscle fibre recruit progresses from Type 1 (slow) to Type 2A (fast ish) to Type 2B (fastest). As a result, if failure is reached, the Type 2B fibres are recruited and brought to failure. Generally speaking, Type 2B fibres are recruited above ~80% 1RM, or within 3-5 reps of concentric failure.
The reason that higher rep ranges are considered to preferentially train the Type 1 fibres, is that a set of 30 will involve completing 25-27 reps which fatigue the slow fibres, and only 3-5 that train the fast fibres.
The reasons you may do this are as follows:
For new(er) lifters, or during training periods where you want to improve recovery capacity, using higher repetition sets to failure will probably reduce the overall fatigue from each set (although they burn worse because of the local occlusion and hydrogen build-up). This can give you a bit of a runway to progress toward heavier lifting down the track. This is popular in some strength & conditioning circles and is called the 1x20 method. It pretty much involves hitting a maximal set of 20ish reps on most compounds plus a lot of isolation exercises, then dropping to 14ish reps when progress stalls, then 8ish reps when progress stalls again, and then finally progressing into conventional heavy programs. I have used it with my athletes, and have found that if you can get someone to truly push a 20 rep set to failure (and progress onwards), it is highly effective.
When training athletes, it’s common practice to alternate between neural loading days (maximum strength, power, speed and elasticity) and metabolic/structural loading days (aerobic development, general hypertrophy work, “injury prevention” [whatever that means]). So, you’ll often see neural days involving maximal sprinting, maximal lifting, olympic lifts and plyometrics alternated with structural days with circuits of strength exercises for 2-3 sets of 15+ reps, plus some long(er) run repeats and core work.
One thing I’d possibly add is I think it can be easier to go to failure for the target muscle without form breakdown in some situations (lats or quads for me).
You caught me, I am guilty of mentioning high reps. The great thing about living in 2023 is that we’re all entitled to our own conceptions of what high rep means, what heavy means and we can draw our own lines on how much we’ll pay for chicken eggs.
My astrologist and I agree that you’re a particularly unusual lifter.
There is also an important aspect to look at. Is the lifter in question natural or not.
Nattys seem to respond better to heavier weights, while enhanced guys more often are seen doing higher reps. I dont think many people would recommend 20+ rep squats for a natural, while for an enhanced guys a set with myoreps and dropsets, totaling 25-30reps is not that unusual.
I think drugs make many smaller things count as bigger things. Like metabolic failure and stuff like that probably does only damage for a natty, but for some enhanced guys that might be something that change a lot.
Magnitude of these processes, not the size of the person.
Drugs enhance different processes, so some stuff that doesnt matter much for naturals, will start to matter alot when enhanced.
The plain mechanical tension of doing straight sets, for example, will be maxed out sooner, and in order to continue progress, stuff like metabolites and different other stimuli will start to matter more.
Its kind of like oxygen. In normal(natty) conditions, its is good to have it there and it doesnt matter too much or hurt too much. But within certain chemical processes(on drugs) you can actually reach a mix of chemicals, where oxygen leads to a brutal explosion.
As you can see, in one case oxygen doesnt do much, but in another case it can blow up your face.
Basically, adding stuff to stuff changes how stuff works.
The 15-20 rep zone is great for developing Mind Muscle Connection and learning to focus and really contract individual muscles.
The weight is light enough that you can adjust your body position or the way you’re doing the lift rep by rep to really Feeeeel it.
Maybe high reps are good for your connective tissue.
In the past a lot of bad ass dudes like Kaz and Ed Coan would start their training with high reps then drop reps over the weeks as they got closer to competition. Like using high reps as a “different” way to make progress first, to avoid stalling out, later.
