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Gym overlays say that the repetition range determines whether you will build strength, muscle or endurance.
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However, load, speed and ‘time under stress’ are more important than the number of repetitions.
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Your body responds best to what’s new, so it’s worth using different exercise styles.
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Lifting weights is, as endless research shows, an amazing way to get stronger, build muscle, burn fat, increase endurance, relieve stress and improve a variety of health markers.
But the term “lifting weights” covers all sins – there are many ways to do it.
Fitness overrides determine that the range of reps you choose determines the outcome for your body: to work in sets of three to seven repetitions is to build strength, eight to 12 is the ball for hypertrophy (muscle growth), and 12 or more is endurance. or “toning.”
The repetition range you choose, of course, requires you to scale down weights: you can lift heavier weights if you do fewer repetitions.
Rep series are not as clear as many people think
According to Adam Bishop, the strongest man in the UK, the rep-rank rule is “just not true.”
“If you exercise intensively, it does not matter,” he told Insider. “You’re going to get some kind of hypertrophic effects, whether you practice high or low repetitions.”
In terms of volume, performing three sets of five squats with 80 pounds is the same as three sets of 10 squats with 40 pounds.
But do both have the same effect on the body?
Some people argue that it does not matter which exercise style you choose, as long as you exercise until almost no muscle adjustment.
“While rep series are a useful guide, we need to keep in mind that training our bodies is a physiological process that depends on adapting to a specific stress,” said Luke Worthington, a personal trainer and human- motion specialist, told Insider. “It is the quantity and quality of that stressor, and subsequent recovery, that determines the progress, rather than a specific number of repetitions.”
Rep series is not as important as people think
Tax (the weight you pick up), speed and ‘time under stress’ are more important than the number of repetitions, Worthington said.
For building power, the weight you pick up is the most important, and it is logical to say that three to six repetitions are correct, provided the load is sufficient.
To build muscle, it’s time under stress – how long you work – that matters most.
“Training for hypertrophy requires that ‘metabolic damage’ is caused to muscle cells and then supplemented with an excess of amino acids. [through protein] and calories to lay down new muscle tissue, “Worthington said. Metabolic damage is more closely correlated with time under stress than the number of repetitions. “
Ideally, you should work 60 to 90 seconds per set, and the number of repetitions you perform in that time depends on your pace. Worthington recommends 12 to 15 reps to reach the time-under-tension point.
Lifting heavier weights for fewer teams does not provide as much time under stress, so it is less ideal for muscle growth.
It is often said that 12 to 15 repetitions is the “toning” series, but “toning” does not exist – you can not “show” a muscle. Worthington said the performance of 12 to 15 teams with moderate weight is likely to be the sweet spot for hypertrophy.
As for the ‘endurance’ requirement of higher rep training, it is a misnomer.
“Endurance for runners or cyclists, etc., is built by running and cycling,” Worthington said. “A runner will take tens of thousands of steps in an event, so a weight training set of 15 teams will be relatively insignificant for them. To build endurance, I would say, focus on strength to give you the strength to endure your endurance. to build in your actual event. ‘
Your body responds best to everything new
If you are an experienced weightlifter, you can look back longingly on your early days in the gym and dream of getting the so-called newbie profit again. If you are not resistant, your body responds well and you can make impressive progress quickly with strength and muscle growth.
“Do you remember going to the gym for the first time and lifting yourself up, and then being able to pick up more the next session? It’s a neural adaptation, while your body gets used to being able to use the car units,” he said. said Bishop.
Although it does slow down, you can mimic the effect to some extent by changing your normal repetition range.
If strength is your goal, Bishop recommends practicing in the classic strength and hypertrophy series.
“You definitely need to do a higher amount of exercise from time to time to make sure the muscle gets bigger,” he said, adding that performing reps aimed at stability and form is also important.
“With the low repetitions, your form can improve a lot more when the load is right. That’s why I advocate a mixture of the two. This is the whole point of what we call ‘periodization of training’, which trains different things at different times. concentrate on the end goal. People have to practice through a lot of rep schemes. “
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