Hey everyone. Some background Info.-Ive been working out for sometime now and doing 5 reps, 8 reps, and a little bit of 10 and 12 reps and have seen pretty good results. I know bodybuilders or people working out for looks use higher reps, and powerlifters, or people trying to get stronger use lower reps.
Now CT will most likely give the best answer, and i doubt he will read this, but What rep/set do bodybuilders use the most? 12/3 ?Well what do bodybuilders usually get the best results from?
Last question, if you go too high in reps want you lose size? Stupid last one huh.
The most quoted and and prescribed range is the 3 sets of 8-10. Since most BB er’s are on roids, what they actually do in the gym won’t carry over well to the natural trainee.
I have found what works for me. To build strength, which requires muscle, I have created the template:
5x3
for each exercise. When I can do this, I go up to 5x4 the next week. When I can do this, I end with 5x5 the “final” week. This usually takes three weeks, sometimes five. When I can do 5x5, the following week, I add weight. The trick: add reps or weight every lift. Heavy weight, low reps. I call this my max effort. I do it only once a week.
As an auxiliary, I do 3x8, 3x9, 3x10 for dynamic effort. As above, I try and add weight or reps every lift, every week.
I have attained excellent gains across the board using this scheme. But I did have to experiment a lot. I have no idea if this is optimal for hypertrophy. I’m interested in mass. FYI, I do an upper / lower split routine twice a week; one day ME, the other DE.
[quote]Mike T. wrote:
Hey everyone. Some background Info.-Ive been working out for sometime now and doing 5 reps, 8 reps, and a little bit of 10 and 12 reps and have seen pretty good results. I know bodybuilders or people working out for looks use higher reps, and powerlifters, or people trying to get stronger use lower reps.
Now CT will most likely give the best answer, and i doubt he will read this, but What rep/set do bodybuilders use the most? 12/3 ?Well what do bodybuilders usually get the best results from?
Last question, if you go too high in reps want you lose size? Stupid last one huh.
Thanks[/quote]
There is no golden #. The key to building muscle is variety. If you stick with the same rep scheme your body will quickly adapt and growth will slow. So to answer your guestion- change up the rep scheme as well as the movements you are doing.
And no, you won’t lose muscle from hitting really high reps. my rep range is between 1 and 100 reps.
Whether you do 5x5’s, 4x8’s, 3x12’s, if you follow it consistently, you will see gains for a short period of time – assuming your diet is in line. But here’s the kicker: