HOW MANY REPS SHOULD I DO TO GET BIG AND STRONG?
I’d like to first point out that you can get bigger and stronger using a variety of methods. If you’re lifting weights then you’ll get bigger and stronger with time assuming you’re eating enough and getting enough sleep. That said, each goal has an optimal amount of reps that one should pursue to make the best use of their time in the gym. This becomes even more important the bigger, stronger, and more experienced that you get.
How many reps should I do to get big and strong? The answer to that question really depends on a lot of variables. Things like what your goal is, what the exercise is, what your experience level is, and how the workout program is designed will all lead to how many reps you should do for any given exercise. This is why a good training program is hard to design. You have to consider all of these variables and more…and then develop a program that successfully incorporates each variable and still makes sense for your goal.
There are many factors that go into designing a program and determining how many reps that you should do but that’s a topic for another article. So, I’ll keep it simple and give you the easiest way to decide how many sets and reps you should do to build muscle to get both bigger and get stronger.
If simple isn’t your thing and you want the long answer with more details then check out my eBooks here.
STRENGTH FOCUS
(4-5 sets of 3-6 reps with 1-3 minutes rest in between sets)
This is best for compound exercises like your powerlifting movements (Bench, Squat, & Deadlift), but this rep range can be used on any movement where strength is the goal. We do more sets because we are doing fewer reps. This is to make sure that we get enough “volume” for the exercise to stimulate the muscle to grow. We are doing fewer reps, and resting more in between sets, because we are working with a heavier weight and focused on strength and performance. Strength can be a very advanced topic with very detailed training programs that require the use of your calculator. However, for the average person you should spend more time focused in this 3-6 rep range as you push for strength. Yes, this rep range will help you add muscle (and even burn bodyfat) but it will help you add strength more than anything. With the correct number of sets to ensure we get enough total reps in on the exercise…then this range can help you get bigger and stronger, but is still primarily focused on strength.
NOTE: It’s important to use all the proper safety gear when pursing strength. Lifting heavy weight can lead to serious injury if you don’t focus on form and use good safety equipment. For my line of strength equipment like belts, wraps, straps, etc. please check out this link here.
MUSCLE FOCUS
(3-4 sets of 8-12 reps with 30-60 seconds rest)
This rep range can be done with any movement and any exercise from free weights to machines. If there was ONE rep range that I would choose then this would be the one! This is the range that’s mostly associated with bodybuilding and adding muscle. Yes, you can get stronger here. Yes, you can burn fat here. But this range is generally considered the best one for stimulating muscles to grow. This rep range is used by both powerlifters and bodybuilders when the focus is on adding muscle mass. It will be more effective at stimulating the muscle to grow compared to stimulating the nervous system to get stronger like the lower rep ranges.
“So what do you do when you want to try and build muscle and get stronger and he same time?”
You want to do both of the rep ranges that I just mentioned. For your heavy compound movements like bench, squat, deadlift, etc. you should work in the strength focus range. For all dumbbells, machines, etc. you should work in the muscle focus range. You can design your program to have 1-2 strength focus exercises followed by 2-3 muscle focus exercises. You’ll warm up, focus on strength, then finish the 2nd half of your workout focusing on stimulating muscle growth. The two will complement each other and you’ll get bigger and stronger in the process.
I will have more articles in the future that will help you design your own workout programs, but in the mean time you can pick up my eBooks here and save some time!
Now, let’s go hit the gym!
HOW MANY REPS SHOULD I DO WHEN TRYING TO GET LEAN?
Listen, the main key to losing body fat is to make sure that you end each day in a caloric deficit. This means that you are burning more calories than you are eating. If you can do this then you can get lean with any number of reps from any program. The catch is that the more exercise that you do, the more calories you will burn…however, more exercise can lead to more hunger which causes people to overeat. More exercise while in a deficit can also lead to recovery issues. So, you better watch your diet. It won’t matter how many reps you do…if you’re eating too much then you won’t be losing body fat, and if you’re eating too little while doing to much then you might run into recovery issues. Diet matters more than anything when trying to get lean.
Another thing to consider is that we are trying to lose body fat here. We don’t want to just lose weight. The goal should always be to lose as much body fat as possible and maintain as much muscle as possible. Nobody wants to lose all of their muscle and just look like a smaller version of their fat self. Everybody wants to get leaner! So, this means we need to focus on preserving muscle mass as we focus on losing body fat.
So yea…diet matters, but let’s take an intelligent approach to design our training program to compliment the diet that we are following as we pursue our goals.
“How many reps should I do to keep my muscle and lose body fat?”
That’s a complicated question, but I’ll do my best to give you a simple answer. Anytime we determine reps, etc. we need to factor in the workout split, number of sets, amount of rest in between sets, total number of rest days in the workout split, etc. This is why a program is so important. Asking a simple question (like: “how many reps should I do?”) will help get you started on the right path…but the true answer is with a well thought out program with all factors considered.
I answer all these questions and more in my eBooks HERE.
I promised a simple answer so here it is:
ENDURANCE AND FAT LOSS
(3-5 sets of 12-20 reps with 30-60 seconds rest)
If your main goal is to lose body fat then you want to stay in the 12-20 rep range. This rep range can help increase your overall endurance too; which is nice since you’re probably doing more exercise than normal in your attempt to get lean. We keep rest periods short to keep the heart rate up and hopefully in the optimal fat burning state! Plus, we don’t use a very heavy weight when we are doing high reps and it becomes even harder when the rest periods are short. Lifting super heavy, while in a calorie deficit, and being fatigued from the diet is a recipe that can lead to injury. This rep range should, in theory, make you lift a weight that’s a little less prone to injury. We want to make a light to moderate weight “feel” heavy by increasing total reps with short rest periods. The goal here is to chase the pump and put the work in. This is enough to stimulate the muscle so that you’re preserving as much muscle as possible…and the workouts are certainly hard enough to help you increase your caloric expenditure, which helps place you in a caloric deficit by the end of the day (as long as you’re eating properly). This rep range is best to help boost your endurance (get you in better shape) and all roads lead to maximum fat loss while preserving as much muscle mass as possible.
I don’t suggest doing high reps like this with compound movements like bench, squat, and deadlift very often. That’s a good way to injure yourself or run into recovery issues unless you’re an advanced lifter. I’d stay in the bodybuilding 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps (or less) with 1-2 minutes rest on these types of movements. However, you should be able to use this rep range for almost ALL of the dumbbell and machine exercises. You can try warming up, hitting a compound movement in the bodybuilding rep range, and then finishing with 3-4 dumbbell or machine exercises. That’s how I would structure my workout.
Here is some bonus information for you…
We are focused on fat loss here and you can guess that you’ll be indirectly working your cardio with these high rep ranges and short rest periods. This is also why this style of training will help boost endurance as well as help you burn bodyfat. The bonus here is that you should be doing cardio too!
The most common cardio is low intensity (aka low intensity steady state-LISS). This is fine and you can definitely hop on a stationary bike or elliptical and knock out 20-30 minutes of low intensity cardio after your workout. There is nothing wrong with that and it will be beneficial to your goals.
If you want to MAXIMIZE your efforts then I encourage you to try High Intensity Interval Training for cardio (aka HIIT). You could do this with a jump rope, on a stationary bike, rower machine, or any cardio equipment. A short post-workout 10–15 minute HIIT session with the jump rope or rower will further assist with fat loss, help you maintain muscle, and continue to boost your endurance as well. In fact, HIIT cardio is likely to help get you in better weightlifting shape which will increase your performance in the gym too! If we can somehow increase gym performance while achieving our goal of getting leaner then that’s just icing on the cake! (Save the cake for your bulking periods though…)
If you like to train hard in the gym then you need the best gear. If you need a good belt, straps, wraps, etc. please check out my website here.
Now go hit the gym and put some of this information to work!
