Stefi Cohen answers: Do you have to make 8-12 repetitions to grow? (2024)

FAQs

Stefi Cohen answers: Do you have to make 8-12 repetitions to grow? ›

It turns out that 8-12 reps is actually good advice. It sits in the Goldilocks Zone of reps and loading, it's time efficient in that it can maximize the number of tough reps per set, it's energy efficient in that it doesn't require too many reps to stimulate hypertrophy, or involve loads that are unnecessarily heavy.

The optimal range for improving muscle strength is 8–12 RM for a beginner and 2–6 RM for the more advanced. For example, the formula 7RM means the person can lift the weight (let's say 50 kg) seven times before the muscles are too fatigued to continue.

According to the American Council on Exercise, the eight to 15 rep range holds the most muscle-building potential. To maximize muscle growth, you should choose a weight that brings you to fatigue, but not failure, by the last rep.

Lift an appropriate amount of weight.

For most people, a single set of 12 to 15 repetitions with a weight that fatigues the muscles can build strength efficiently and can be as effective as three sets of the same exercise. As you get stronger, gradually increase the amount of weight.

Rep Schemes

5-8 Reps is used for what is known as functional hypertrophy. This is for people who are looking to gain some size, strength and speed, without too much muscular building. Here we get equal amount of strength and muscle gains. 8-12 Reps is more you're traditional hypertrophy or muscle building.

A low repetition scheme with heavy loads (from 1 to 5 repetitions per set with 80% to 100% of 1-repetition maximum (1RM)) optimizes strength increases. A moderate repetition scheme with moderate loads (from 8 to 12 repetitions per set with 60% to 80% of 1RM) optimizes hypertrophic gains.

Somewhere between 3-6 sets of 7-12 reps is a good rule of thumb. However, there are a number of different approaches to hypertrophy training that will diverge from this. For example, performing 8 sets of 3 reps rather than 3 sets of 8 reps, with less rest time, has been shown to be an effective technique.

This holds that regardless of whether you're trying to build muscle, strength, power, or endurance, performing three sets of 10 reps per exercise is a good place to start. The scheme mostly works, especially if you're just starting out with strength training—because everything works in the beginning.

It depends. If the main focus is strength training for a specific muscle group, say, with a bench press, time-based sets may not be appropriate at all. But you can mix and match time-based and rep-based sets at any time.

A 2019 systematic review published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health advises that anyone who wants to maximize muscle growth should do 3-6 sets of an exercise, with each set consisting of 6-12 repetitions. The sets should be broken up by 60 second rest intervals.

Is 2 sets to failure enough? ›

Increasing the number of sets taken to failure from one set to two, three or four provides no more benefit than doing just one set to failure. In fact, taking more than one set to failure may actually blunt strength gains. Take-home message: for strength, do no more than one set to failure per exercise.

Some researchers believe it takes between 1000 and 30,000 repetitions of an activity for it to become second nature to you. When building muscle memory, commit to it for the long haul. Your ability as a player will grow in leaps and bounds for it.

As the name implies, a 5×5 workout usually involves 5 sets of 5 repetitions. The goal is to build strength in compound movements by adding weight every time you do the workout. You'll only do these workouts 3 times a week, as the rest days in between workouts are crucial to encouraging muscle growth.

The rule that both NSCA and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommend is the “2-for-2 rule.” After a few workout sessions, you can increase the weight for a certain exercise once you can perform two more repetitions beyond your repetition goal for the last set for two weeks in a row.

Weight training not only works to reduce belly fat but also brings a lot of health benefits, preventing many diseases. Therefore, you can choose exercises and movements that are suitable for your health, and combine with a healthy diet to bring about the highest efficiency in reducing belly fat.

The take-home point here is that to maximize muscle growth, you definitely need to perform more than one set per exercise, but whether you train in the 8-12-rep range or the 20-30 range doesn't really matter as long as you take each set to muscle failure.

So, in general, low reps with heavy weight tends to increase muscle mass, while high reps with light weight increases muscle endurance. This doesn't mean that you have to rely on one method exclusively. Alternating between the two may be the best approach for long-term success. Here's why.

A Moderate Rep Range is Often Best. Sets of anywhere from 4–40 reps will stimulate muscle growth quite well, but most research shows that doing 6–20 reps per set is the most efficient way to build muscle. Bodybuilders often use the middle of that range, favouring 8–12 reps per set.