How Many Reps To Build Muscle?

Have you ever wondered how many reps you need to do in a workout or for a certain exercise to build muscle? This question is asked often, so let's answer it below!

First, You're Asking The Wrong Question

There has been a lot of new research lately showing that in terms of muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth), the reps and load don't actually matter directly.

So what does? Total volume.

Volume has long been known to be the main driver of muscle growth. However, it was believed that increasing volume in the 8-12 rep range using a 70-80% 1RM load created the greatest hypertrophy in the past. However, this recent research has shown that when volume is equated, the load and rep range don't actually matter as any load will create muscle growth.

So What's The Right Question?

With this in mind, the right question is "What rep range creates the most quality volume?". Notice how it says "quality" volume. This is because a minimal threshold needs to be met to activate our Type II muscle fibers. With that in mind, the answer is……well, it still seems to be the 8-12 rep range using a load of 70-80% 1RM.

One of the main reasons is its efficiency in creating total volume quickly but still using heavy enough weights to activate these Type II fibers. For example, this study put a bodybuilding routine using a 3x10 rep scheme against a powerlifting routine of 7x3. The total volume was the same. While the total hypertrophy was the same, the bodybuilding routine took 17 minutes, while the powerlifting routine took more than an hour!

Why Does It Matter?

So why does it even matter to distinguish between the two? For starters, it's good to have the correct information, even if the outcome is the same. Secondly, it can alter the way you view some training practices.

 A common thought with some bodybuilders is that lifting heavy with low reps is worthless for hypertrophy. This causes them to keep lifting heavy out of their program altogether. If they knew that it actually does contribute to hypertrophy, they might add some into their program. This would add a ton of benefits in strength development and other adaptations (Even if it didn't add to hypertrophy, you should still have some heavy lifting in your program).

Anything Else?

It seems that training muscle groups multiple times a week works best as it allows for quality volume. This is due to fatigue that builds up when you try to train a muscle to death and get all your volume in on one day. Cutting the training for a muscle in half and continuing on another day allows you to train harder, getting in MORE VOLUME! Again, the key is maximizing quality volume!

Special sets such as drop sets and sets to failure, for "non-enhanced" lifters, don't seem to be as effective as many claim them to be (Don't confuse a muscle pump with actual muscle hypertrophy). For example, a meta-analysis just examined programs that worked to failure and those that didn't. They found that the improvements in hypertrophy were basically similar. While training to failure doesn't hurt muscle hypertrophy, it doesn't seem to help either.

 Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. Depending on your level, train each muscle group with 10-20 sets per week, use progressive overload, and you'll be good to go.

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