read some conflicting articles about this topic just wondered if anyone can shed any light on it,,, do u get more muscle growth from heavy sets or light reps doing them both to failure,, thanks guys :tu:

huh?

heavy set and light reps? as in weight terms or repetition?.. always low reps and heavy weights... (where set and light reps came from i have no idea).

from what i've heard heavy weights and fewer reps is better for muscle building than lighter weights and more reps.

yes, when u use low weights its like you are doing cardio instead of weight training. And you don't see people getting huge off the eliptical machine only

If you want to get big, go heavy. No pain, no gain! :D

Both because you can stimulate muscle growth in more than one way. But at least from my experience it´s more important to lift heavy weights and do few reps. If you intend to always train the same way that will be the best alternative.

I think it would be even better to cycle your training though. Do more reps week1 using medium weight. Fewer reps week2 and heavier. And as heavy as possible week3 with perhaps only 3-4 reps. Then repeat and start a new week1...

Regards

i like sets of 8 reps

What has worked for me building muscle...aim for good form for 8 reps...if you can do a 9th rep with perfect form..the weight is too light for muscle building.

Don't forget to eat lots of good (for you) food!!! (aka. not the Monster Thickburger from Hardee's)

There is no definite answer to this question.

However, certain bodyparts respond differently to different rep ranges -and it changes from person to person.

In general, the legs respond best to high repetition/high weight training (15-20 reps). You don't have to exchange weight for reps though. By performing squats in rest-pause fashion, you can squeeze out high reps with a weight you are used to doing for 8-12 reps. Check out everything you can on the old fashion 20 rep squat programs, i promise that you'll get some good results.

For all other bodyparts- Keep it in the 6-12 rep range. Below 6 reps and your really focusing more on strenthening your nueroligical pathways than building mass.

The most important thing that you have to focus on, even more important than rep range is progression. No matter what rep range your working in, you have to strive for continuous progression in order to make a difference. You can't expect to just find a "magic" rep range, and lift the same amount of weights in this range. it wont work.

I hope this helps

What has worked best for me is changing things up. Try heavy(4-6 reps) for a while, then medium(6-8 reps) then light (10-12 reps). Your body is smart and often simply changing things up will stimulate growth.

Jason

Notice he pops in ask a question and is gone. He is a good conversation starter.

I think we should always use the heavest weight for our set/rep program. you should perform exercise in good controlled form. The amount of weight is based on your capability.

I go for the 8-12 rep range because it covers the rep area that the majority of studies feel is best. Because it is a range it allows for progressive change in intensity.

You attempt to do as many reps as possible, when you can do 12 or more, you increase weight 5 to 10 lbs and start over at 8 reps. One way to estimate 8 rep level is to determine your max 1 rep weight, then decrease it to 70-80% of 1maxrep. It gives you a scale to follow without going to extremes of reps.

Sets are still up in the air. A summary of studies found the majority choose 1-2 sets to be effective. Remember I think most studies are junk, but since this agrees with my present thinking, it looks good. Seriously the fewer sets you perform, you can use more weight and speed up workouts.

When you use more weight, you stimulate your fast twitch muscle. Stimulating these muscles will make the larger portion of your muscles much stronger, although they won't look "pretty." When you use less weight, you stimulate your slow twitch muscle. Each muscle has both fast and slow twitch. The slow twitch part is what you use every day. When you go to lift the remote to watch tv, that's slow twitch. If you use the slow twitch, and exercise it, you won't notice tremendous mass gains. You will burn some fat. Using fast twitch muscles requires you to move roughly 90% of your max (obviously this number is pretty flexible... the idea is though that its close to your max).

It's very possible I just completely switched slow and fast twitch muscles... the principle remains the same though. More weight = more mass gains = more strength gains; less weight = more "cut-up" look = loss of bodyfat which may result in loss of mass (but it in a good way)

When you use less weight, you stimulate your slow twitch muscle.

You'd have to use a ridiculously low weight to stimulate only slow twitch muscles for most muscle groups. I'm assuming we are not talking such low weights that you could bust out a set of 25+ reps.

I agree with the all the variations below 12 reps from 1 set of 12 to 1 set of 1 to 5 sets of 5 etc..

1-4 reps you are training the CNS and trying to fire all the muscle fibers (Type I and II) at once. This is important because you can add muscle but if you can’t ever get stronger (or train the CNS), you won’t be able to add weight as quickly and are more likely to plateau in the long run.

6-12 reps you are only using some fibers to start with, but as you progress in reps or sets and these fibers get fatigued you will use other ones. Thus you will fatigue as many Type II fibers as possible by the end of the exercise, thus you will get more hypertrophy.

Now exactly how many reps and sets are optimal probably depends as much on you own experience and physiology as anything else. Whether you go to failure etc.. will also have an impact. For instance if your CNS is not highly trained sets of 12 might be better because although you will only use a few fibers at any one time your CNS is not capable of firing many at once. As you progress sets of 8 or 6 might be better becuase you can still fatigue all fibers through the set/sets while lifting heaver weights.

For beginners I would start with the higher reps and concentrate on form. Then I would use some form of periodization, changing more often as you get more experienced.

Anyone who says 'there is only 1 way to build muscle' either has no idea how to build muscle or has only tried 1 way - or is just repeating what someone else said. Now ther may be an optimal way for you, but it may not be optimal for someone else.

More weight = more mass gains = more strength gains; less weight = more "cut-up" look = loss of bodyfat which may result in loss of mass (but it in a good way)

I have to ask how long you have been weight training?

Lower bodyfat = 'cut-up' look

I have to ask how long you have been weight training?

Lower bodyfat = 'cut-up' look

3 and a half years. Is there something inaccurate in my post?

If a person has 6% bodyfat, does that person not look more "ripped" than a comparably sized person who has 20% (comparably sized meaning similar height, similar shoulder width)?

Then again, if you are 6' 0," 2% bodyfat, and you weigh 120 pounds, you probably don't looked so ripped. That's more of the starved/emaciated look. Is this to what you were referring? Because in this case, it certainly is not 'cut-up', it is purely unhealthy and really scary.

the principle remains the same though. More weight = more mass gains = more strength gains; less weight = more "cut-up" look = loss of bodyfat which may result in loss of mass (but it in a good way)

Not where I come from. Body fat loss is 90% diet. Any loss of muscle is bad.

Would you suggest someone curl 2 lb dumbbells for 8 sets of 200 reps for the more "cut-up" biceps?

As far as slow and fast twitch muscle fibers go...

your slow twitch muscles are used for endurance like activities while fast twitch are more for explosiveness...

If you happen to fatigue your slow twitch muscles, your fast twitch muscle fibers which are shorter and thicker do have a tendency to become involved to assist your slow twitch fibers.

If you want to get big, go heavy. No pain, no gain! :D

Amen brotha :tu:

Not where I come from. Body fat loss is 90% diet. Any loss of muscle is bad.

Would you suggest someone curl 2 lb dumbbells for 8 sets of 200 reps for the more "cut-up" biceps?

No I certainly wouldn't... did I say I would?

I think you should measure appropriate weight in terms of your max. However, finding your max can be dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. If you happen to max out at 10 pounds for a dumbbell curl, then I would suggest using 6 pounds to curl 10-15 times per set, if your intention was to cut-up.

I'm not saying that if you use 60% of your max for all exercises you will burn all the fat off your body. I'm not saying that if you use 90% of your max you will be the next Strongest Man. All I meant with my original post was to give a general direction.

I didn't include numbers because the original poster did not either. He asked a fairly simple question. I gave a little background, threw in some extra info, and gave a really basic version of how things can go.

If you have a particular inclination to further grill me, or for me to back up anything I have said, I believe it would be more appropriate to continue this in private message fashion as we are deviating from the purpose of the original post.

Otherwise, I still stand by what I said. As a general (that's the key word - "general") rule of thumb, more weight and less reps tends to build more strength than less weight and more reps. Varying your exercises will help tremendously in both strength gains and looks. Varying weight, sets, and reps will also help. As a second general rule of thumb, if your intention is not to make incredible gains in strength and you are rather concentrating on making yourself look better, less weight and more reps is a better way to go than more weight.

No I certainly wouldn't... did I say I would?

As a second general rule of thumb, if your intention is not to make incredible gains in strength and you are rather concentrating on making yourself look better, less weight and more reps is a better way to go than more weight.

High reps and low weights increase endurance not muscles. The only "better" you might look is better than doing nothing. I have no plans to continue any conversation with you. :gl:

I would love to know their sales figures for those.

(aka. not the Monster Thickburger from Hardee's)