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High Reps, Low Reps - Which Rep Scheme Is Best - Bodybuilding
High Reps, Low Reps - Which Rep Scheme Is Best - Bodybuilding
High Reps, Low Reps - Which Rep Scheme Is Best - Bodybuilding
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MAXIMIZE GROWTH
AND DEVELOPMENT
A lot of people get stuck in middle ground training in which they neither gain the
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/high-reps-low-reps-which-rep-scheme-is-best.html
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muscle size nor the strength they want. There's a fix for that.
Bodybuilders and strength athletes stop making progress
for one reason: They stop coercing their body to adapt.
Note how I intentionally use the word coerce, not a
connotatively weaker action verb like force. The reason is
that once you've been in the training game long enough,
your body grows wiser and you realize that you can't
simply force it to do anything anymore.
When you continue to push and grunt with no concrete
strategy other than "hard work," you get injured or beat-up.
Few things devour reasonable progress faster than what
we'll call "middle ground" training. That is, always training
with the same set or rep scheme and with the same
intensity. If you default to training in the 8, 10, or 12 rep
range, I hate to break it to you, but your growth is simply
wallowing in no-gain's land.
Fortunately, there are tools in the training toolbox that will
sharpen up your training. Let's start with a brief overview
and then move on to how these can be applied to your
own programming to maximize growth and development.
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Before your eyes glaze over, let me explain. If you're chasing more metabolic (i.e. hypertrophic) gains,
your, say, squatting program might look something like this:
4 sets of 10 repetitions
Tempo: 3 seconds down, no pause in the bottom, 1 second up
60-90 seconds rest between sets
On the other end of the spectrum, where you might be chasing more neural (i.e. strength) gains, your
program might more resemble this:
5 sets of 3 repetitions
Tempo: As fast as possible
3-5 minutes rest between sets
Are we clear on the layout of the neural-metabolic continuum? Good, now let's look at why you need
to spend time in both ends (and not the straight middle) to maximize your growth and development.
DEADLIFT
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High reps deliver big gains, right? Well, low reps have a place, too!
The low-rep zone can be defined as anything between 1 rep with near-maximal effort and 5 reps in a
set. They're often viewed as being geared more for powerlifting or Olympic lifting, but if you really
want to make high-threshold motor units work, you will need to push some serious weight!
This focuses on making your nervous system more efficient. If you switch from sets of 10 to sets of 3,
you coerce your body to unfamiliar, shocking stressors, especially since low rep ranges encourage
the use of much heavier weights. Every movement requires more "tightness" and a more intense
focus. Further, more motor units and muscle fibers are recruited, and your body gets better at turning
off antagonists (or opposing muscle groups) as well.
The result is that you'll get jacked, but in a slightly different way. Since the goal is more on strength,
your body composition will greatly differ from someone who performs exclusively high-rep sets.
Powerlifters are strong as hell and can move jaw-dropping weight, but probably lack a bit of the size
and definition of a well-trained bodybuilder.
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As you can see, I'm not trying to move the same weights or loads on a week-to-week basis.
In week 1, I build a base and get a good weight to build my base from. In week 2, I push the limits of
my volume. In week 3, I deload. Basically, that means I lower the intensity and volume to make it an
"easier" work week, allowing my body to recover and supercompensate. Finally, in week 4, I go for
broke with regard to my intensity. Try using this for your squat sometimeit works great!
"YOU CAN'T EXPECT TO GO AT 110 PERCENT INTENSITY EVERY TIME YOU TRAIN. YOU'LL ONLY BURN YOURSELF OUT."
You could also do something far simpler, which yields amazing results when you just get started:
Week 1 - 3 sets of 10 reps @70%
Week 2 - 3 sets of 8-10 reps @75%
Week 3 - 3 sets of 8 reps @80%
Week 4 - 2 sets of 8 reps @70-75%
In this example, I use a stair-step approach to prepare you for week 3. After that, you deload and get
ready to run the cycle again on week 5.
With these examples, the point I'm driving home is that you can't go hard every single week. Instead,
"wave" your intensity and build up to a series of big workouts, then back off to allow your body time to
recover.
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smart. By training on both ends of the neural-metabolic continuum and incorporating undulating
waves of intensity into your training cycle, you'll not only see better results but you'll incur fewer
bumps and bruises along the way.
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