Know Your Rep Range

When training there are many different repetition ranges that can be used when pounding out the sets during a workout, but what impact does the amount of reps do?

Contrary to common opinion the rep range has a huge impact not only on muscle growth and muscle strength but also on the cardiovascular system, nervous system and skeletal system. The repetition range you use in a workout has a huge impact over the whole body in different ways.

Previously I have mentioned how power lifters use low reps and high weight to increase strength without huge muscle growth while bodybuilders use less weight on higher reps to achieve hypertrophy (optimum muscle growth). To take this a step further I have created the table below so you can see exactly what your rep range is doing to your body.



As you can see low reps (1 to 3) with high weight that power lifters use really does increase strength and power while not having a huge impact on muscle growth, but at the same time this rep range also helps improve bone density and neural adaptations.

For bodybuilders the optimum rep range of 8 – 10 not only increases muscle growth through sarcoplasmic hypertrophy it also improves bone density, neural adaptations, strength and much more.

There are many different repetition ranges a person can use as the rep range chart shows. Using this chart should really support and push your workout forward.