Mass squats number of repetitions. The required number of repetitions for muscle growth. A small but very important digression from the topic

Are low rep exercises effective? Do exercises with high repetitions but low weight produce results? There are a lot of questions and it’s not so easy to figure it out... let’s try to do it together!

I remember the day I first picked up a bodybuilding magazine, wanting to know how to properly train and build muscle. I didn't know anything at all, but I was ready to absorb all the information this magazine could give me.

It contained training plans for the most muscular guys I've ever seen - these were pros from IFBB(World Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness), I don’t remember their names. The magazine detailed their training patterns and why those patterns became their favorites.

One of the phrases gave me the answer to a question I had been looking for for a long time! One of the famous bodybuilders said the following:

“When I want to build muscle, I do low rep sets with heavy weights, but when it comes time to get more ripped for performance, I do high rep sets with light weights. It really helps burn fat.".

I believe that this scheme did work for him, but only after he had already become pumped up and ripped.

In the process of “immersing” myself in the world of bodybuilding, I heard this “nugget of wisdom” over and over again. But thanks to my inexhaustible thirst for knowledge, I quickly became convinced that this mantra - few repetitions for mass, many repetitions for relief - was simply wrong.

The truth is that no one really knows anything about it!

I work with clients from a wide range of backgrounds. Some have been competing for years and have reached the top, while others have just started their journey into the world of fitness. It is shocking to me that no matter the level of the athlete, this fairly simple information remains underappreciated.

But enough about that. I want to clarify this issue. This may not be revolutionary information, but it is something every athlete should know.

Low rep sets

Low rep sets typically involve 1 to 5 reps per set. Many argue that such approaches develop fast muscle fibers , and approaches with a large number of repetitions - slow. This is another misconception. The truth is that low-rep sets develop the entire muscle—slow-twitch, fast-twitch, and even intermediate muscle fibers.

The body engages muscle fibers as needed, from slow to medium to fast. When muscle strain occurs slow fibers are the first to start working. If the slow fibers cannot cope with the load, the body begins to engage the medium muscle fibers.

If slow and medium fibers do not “hold” the load or get tired, then fast fibers are activated. If the fibers are included in the work, then they work in full force, but not half-heartedly or “a little bit.” If muscles contract, they contract completely, which means full workout slow and fast fibers when working with heavy weights.

Low rep sets help myofibrillar hypertrophy. Myofibrillar hypertrophy is an increase in the amount and size of actin and myosin in muscle fibers. In other words, myofibrillar hypertrophy involves an increase in muscle fibers, in which more myofibrils appear, contracting and generating tension in the muscles. Myofibrils become denser and this gives a greater increase in strength

This type of hypertrophy is accompanied by an increase in strength because it increases the number of muscle tissues involved. This is important because the state of progressive load is one of the key factors for long-term and continuous growth. muscle mass.

As the above suggests, using super-heavy weights in combination with low-rep sets vital for maximum muscle growth .

Medium rep sets

This type of set usually involves 6 to 12 repetitions. Study after study confirms that medium-rep sets produce superior muscle gains. The reason for this efficiency is that in such approaches all muscle fibers are trained evenly.

This means that the benefits of low-rep training and high-rep training are combined—relatively heavy weights stress the muscles for a long time. Increased load time stimulates.

Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is an increase in the content sarcoplasma and other non-contractile proteins in muscle cells, predominantly caused by the use of light weights in high-repetition sets. This increase in muscle mass, which usually does not accompany strength gains, is the main reason why bodybuilders are more muscular than athletes involved in strength or speed training.

Medium rep workouts are great for pumping muscles. Although a pump is often perceived as a short-term effect, it can lead to sustainable muscle growth. Research shows that with such training, connective tissue grows, which both leads to improved protein synthesis and prevents its destruction.

Let's summarize briefly:

1. Low-repetition, heavy-weight workouts are the most stimulating. myofibrillar hypertrophy(increase in the volume of muscle fibers due to an increase in the volume and number of myofibrils).
2. High reps and low weight stimulate better sarcoplasmic hypertrophy(increase in the volume of muscle fibers due to a predominant increase in the volume of sarcoplasm, i.e., their non-contractile part)
3. The average number of repetitions supports balance between stimulation of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. The results achieved with medium rep sets make them indispensable in the training process.

High rep sets

High rep sets usually involve 15 reps or more. There is a lot of debate that high rep sets are not necessary because low rep sets train all muscle fibers while medium rep sets improve sarcoplasmic synthesis. At first glance, this sounds convincing, but one very important factor is not taken into account. This important factor is influence of glycogen on protein synthesis.

Glycogen is essentially carbohydrates stored in muscle tissue. Glycogen is water soluble, which is why muscles increase in volume, since every gram of glycogen absorbs 2.7 grams of water. I understand many of you are thinking: “Why do I need my muscles to be filled with water?” Because there is a fact according to which water, in addition to increasing muscle size, also improves protein synthesis in them.

Most people don't realize that cellular hydration is an extremely powerful anabolic initiator. Protein synthesis is very often dependent on the water content of muscle cells. In response to increased cellular hydration, cells initiate a series of signals that cause muscles to grow in self-defense.

So what about high rep sets?

Such approaches lead to depletion of glycogen stores. At first glance this may seem counterproductive, but the body responds to this by increasing glycogen stores. This allows the cells to stretch, which leads to increased muscle growth and the release of anabolic hormones.

In addition to the benefits described above, performing high-repetition sets helps to retain blood in the muscles, thereby stimulating muscle growth by creating a favorable environment for the growth and development of associated tissues.

What is the best number of repetitions for muscle growth?

Now you know how each type of approach works, but that's not all. To put this knowledge into practice, you need to be able to apply this information correctly.

Let's look at this information more carefully.

For now, we can only conclude that high-rep sets are not that necessary, that low- to medium-rep sets are best for training, and that the emphasis in training should be on continually increasing the load. Recent research has shown that this is not entirely true.

Invited for the study 15 young men who performed an exercise on a leg curl machine. Two experiments were carried out.

The subjects did 4 approaches with 90% by weight to failure (low number of repetitions) and from 30% by weight to failure (high number of repetitions).

The response to protein production was studied. According to the results, higher rates of protein synthesis were observed after sets with a higher number of repetitions. This means that the previous statement - few repetitions for strength, many repetitions for relief - are completely wrong.

There is another problem with high rep sets that cannot be ignored. As stated earlier, high reps do very little to build strength. Constant weight gain is indispensable for muscle growth and this leads us to a certain conclusion. Approaches with high number of repetitions work well over a short period of time, the absence of a constantly increasing load ultimately leads to a stop in muscle growth.

However, there is a way out.

By working with low to medium reps, you can increase strength over time. This increase in strength in the 1-5 rep range will have a sort of trickle-down effect. If a bodybuilder increases the weight from 100 to 140 kg in a one-rep set, then you can be sure that there will also be improvements in a 20-rep set. This is what is meant by the "trickle down" effect.

Therefore use various types repetitions and loads will have a synergistic effect. The approaches are not independent of each other. Improving some muscles leads to improving others. Such interchange is important for understanding what is happening as a whole.

Conclusion

From all this information, two conclusions can be drawn:

1. Each type of approach leads to muscle growth, but in different ways. Therefore, each type of approach can be used, no matter whether you are gaining mass or achieving relief;
2. Don't use high rep sets to lose fat. Exercising at any weight improves your metabolism and helps you burn calories. No one type of approach has an advantage over another for burning fat. Diet and cardio exercises are the main tools for losing fat and getting ripped. Let weights build muscles and diet build definition;

As you may have realized, there is no type of approach that will magically shed fat or give you slightly more muscle mass than another type. Also, the idea that high rep sets won't give you definition is not credible. If you are on a diet in preparation for a performance and are simply trying to lose a kilogram or two or your goal is to build muscle, then use different types repetitions and loads in combination with each other.

When working with weights among new athletes, the most common mistake is not knowing the effective number of repetitions in a set.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that it is not possible to give an unambiguous answer, since the number of repetitions depends on the purpose of performing a particular training element. So before you find out how many sets and reps to do you need to have a clear idea of ​​“what to do?

The main goals of gym visitors are to increase muscle mass and develop strength and strength endurance. It will not be possible to get everything at once, so the process of achieving the set goals is divided into several stages, each of which will have its own effective sequence of approaches and repetitions.

How many reps to do for weight?

The most controversial recommendations relate specifically to muscle building training. In the specialized literature you can find 8, 10, 15, and even 25 repetitions, while most practicing instructors will give advice - to perform an average number of repetitions. What is it and how is it determined? According to sports physiology, it is not the number of repetitions that has a profound effect on pumping muscle fibers, but the execution time, up to 40 seconds. In this time interval, it is possible to perform from 6 to 12 repetitions until a state of positive failure is achieved. These extreme numbers are what you should focus on.

If during the execution of a training element less than 6 repetitions were performed, the working weight must be reduced, if more than 12, it must be increased. As befits any rule, this physiological arithmetic has its exceptions, which relate to exercises with a short amplitude of execution (rising on the toes, bending the wrists, etc.). For them, the optimal repetition value is in the range of 15-25. In bodybuilding, they usually do 3-4 sets of 6-12 repetitions when working on mass.

How many reps for strength?

Intense training aimed at maximizing strength development involves performing fewer repetitions per set. During the same period of time, it is necessary to perform 1-6 repetitions until a state of positive failure is achieved. When working on strength, they usually use the 5x5 system, that is, 5 sets of 5 repetitions, this is a standard lifting scheme. Peculiarity strength training is not only to reduce the number of repetitions in one set, but also to reduce the total number of approaches: the more sets, the less strength. Endurance, on the contrary, involves working with light weights with a large number (from 15) repetitions and with a rest break of up to 1 minute, the same number of repetitions when working on relief.

Short:

When working on weight, 3-4 sets of 6-12 repetitions

When working on strength, 5-6 sets of 3-5 reps

Work on relief and endurance 3-4 sets of 15-20 repetitions

Is it possible to grow muscle without lifting heavy weights? How many repetitions of an exercise should you do for your muscles to grow? Some say 8-10 times and use heavy weights, others say 15-25 (and lift lighter weights). At the same time, both muscles have muscles, which completely confuses beginners. Who is right and what is the best way to train?

In order for muscles to grow, they need to be loaded more than they are used to, and the load must increase over time. These are two fundamentally important points for muscle growth. There are other factors, but this is the most important thing. If you use the same weights as six months ago, the muscles get used to it: if the load does not change, there is no reason for the muscles to change either. From this point of view, it doesn't really matter whether you do eight reps with a heavy barbell or 20 reps with a light barbell. If you exercise your muscles and increase the load over time, they will grow.

The second factor is the time that the muscle is under load during one approach. It’s not the number of repetitions that matters, but the number of seconds the muscle works. Repetitions are used for convenience.

The optimal range for growth is considered to be 20-60 seconds. And this automatically includes a very different number of repetitions, although 8-12 repetitions performed at a moderate pace are considered “ideal” in terms of the ratio of weight and time under load.

How muscles grow

At high magnification, it is clear that the muscles consist of many small threads. Each “thread” is a separate cell, very long. Muscles become larger when each cell becomes thicker. And they can become thicker for two reasons.

1 Inside each cell there are even smaller “strings”. They run parallel to each other and are called myofibrils. They contract inside the muscle cell and provide movement.

2 Myofibrils inside each cell are surrounded by a liquid nutrient medium - sarcoplasm. It accumulates and supplies them with energy for work. Sarcoplasm can also increase in volume, as if inflating the cell from the inside and making the muscles visually larger.

High repetition training with light weights is very energy intensive and uses up a lot of energy (glycogen). In response, the body will try to accumulate it in reserve. This stretches the muscle cells over time, creating the appearance of "bloated" muscles (which are thought to "deflate" quickly if you stop exercising).

Training with higher weights and lower repetitions increases the number of contractile proteins - myofibrils.

This is where the idea came from that high-repetition training with light weights only gives “false” muscle growth, and heavy weights are the only thing that grows real muscles, which is wrong.

Many studies confirm that there is no difference in growth between both approaches (, , , , ,). There is an assumption that the increase in fluid in muscle cells stretches the cell membrane. This is perceived by the body as a threat to the integrity of the cell, so it responds with anabolic signals, which triggers (under other conditions) muscle growth.

Another complaint about high-repetition training is that it works on “slow” fibers, which are resistant to fatigue and are unable to generate great strength and they grow poorly. And they do not include “fast”, well-growing fibers. But heavy weights include fast-twitch fibers, so they are better for muscle growth.

There is some truth to this, but it's not quite as strict: high-rep training can also turn on fast-twitch fibers, but only when you work to real and complete failure. As the slow fibers get tired, the fast fibers are activated.

So, you can build muscle with high reps and light weights, but you'll have to train to failure on every set, and the intense burning sensation in the muscle isn't the most pleasant feeling.

conclusions

You can work in any rep range as long as you work the muscles more than usual and progress in the load.

Usually, few people are faced with a choice: either heavy weights or high repetitions. If you want to gain muscle as quickly as your genetics will allow, lifting fairly heavy weights (60% of your one-rep max and above) should be part of your training. But adding higher reps can improve results because you'll be developing all the fibers and using all the muscle growth mechanisms.

26 April

While some people are foaming at the mouth and proving that 12 repetitions is still a lot of weight, and 13 is already a tough cut, their opponents brush it off and recommend doing it “like a pro,” using exclusively multi-repetition sets in any situation. Naturally, all participants in the discussion know 2 arguments:

• They (opponents) are all on pharmacology
• The technique has been proven over the years

In search of an adequate scientific basis, a person comes across ten-volume books with graphs about micro- and macrocycles, sighs sadly and goes to do 8-10 repetitions.

First of all, there are many factors for muscle growth. And they came up with plenty of them. Acidification, microtrauma, the formation of hydrogen ions, the magical power of a scream, the brutality of facial expression when performing an approach, the number of photographs from the locker room.

As a result, some train “for acidification”, others increase their “depot of free creatine”, others do negative repetitions to achieve micro-fractures. But all this is actually secondary. The main indicator is the number of recruited muscle fibers.

Muscle recruitment is the number of muscle fibers recruited. For a bodybuilder, of course, 100% engagement from the first rep is ideal. This, contrary to myths, is absolutely accessible to the muscles of at least the upper body. And an indicator of fiber recruitment close to 100% has been measured for a long time.

To do this, scientists use the MSIS (maximum conscious isometric contraction indicator), which is approximately equal to the one-repetition maximum in power types sports. The body increases the recruitment of muscle fibers to produce a force equal to approximately 80-85% of 1RM (this is where the first of bodybuilding's magic numbers comes from).

When we use a weight equal to 90-95% of 1RM, the number of fibers involved does not go to 110% or 147%. Here the body turns on another method - increasing the “coding speed” or neuromuscular connection in Kachkov’s terminology.

If the weight reaches 50-75% of 1RM, then recruitment of all muscle fibers from the first repetition is possible in two cases: if you train the eye muscles or thumb muscles and if you are unique. In most other situations, from half to 80% of the muscle fibers are recruited, the rest are recruited as the “previous” ones become tired, but cannot achieve failure in the usual approach, since acidification of the tired half interferes. Here you have to use complex sets, pre-exhaustion and other tricks.

Using the cunning mathematical method of average arphimetic and gymnasium-empirical it was established that this indicator for the average person corresponds to the weight that he can “take” for 5-8 repetitions.

But, firstly, unfortunately (or fortunately), our muscles do not have intelligence and cannot count repetitions. But they can feel the weight. And secondly, there are a lot of exercises in bodybuilding, everyone has different biomechanics, the number of muscles involved and, accordingly, a different number of required repetitions. Someone will squat 100 kg for one rep, and 80 for 6 reps, and someone will squat these 80 kilos for all 12 repetitions.

As a result, not knowing their 1RM and not being able to calculate 80% of it, bodybuilders begin to dance with a tambourine and publish clever articles like “the bench press does not ensure muscle growth” or “working for 80 repetitions is our everything.”

Conclusions:

1. For muscle growth, it is effective to perform approaches with a weight of 80-85% of the maximum. The optimal number of repetitions required to recruit muscle fibers is determined by finding your 1RM, multiplying it by 0.8 and performing a set with this weight to failure.
2. If the likelihood of getting injured when performing an exercise “one at a time” is high (and it’s much easier to get injured this way, performing a concentrated biceps curl, rather than deadlift) - it’s worth doing it only for fun. Once again: we do - we count - we do again.
3. What should you do if the weight does not increase at that same 80-85% of 1RM? It’s logical to increase either your 1RM (or at least 90% of it). It is periods of strength training in the range of 1-5 repetitions that improve the neuromuscular connection and help break through the plateau.
4. Performing sets with a weight of 50-70% of your repetition maximum in most cases only improves the ability to lift and lower a barbell many, many times (the so-called “CrossFit”) and nothing else. It is impossible to increase your strength or muscles in this way. There may be exceptions to this, but not in all muscles of the body. And training the “lagging behind” is a separate story, which makes sense only for competitive purposes, but for “naturals” and amateurs in general there is no particular point.

Associate the number of repetitions with a specific training goal. It is generally accepted that 4-6 repetitions develop strength, 8-12 - muscle mass, and 15-20 - allow you to burn fat, i.e. dry. Alas, not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. The first two ranges can really give an increase in strength and muscle volume, respectively, but from 15-20 repetitions or more you will not get the coveted relief. First of all, it should be remembered that the percentage subcutaneous fat is largely determined not by training and exercise, but by diet. It is nutrition that allows you to adjust the amount of fat in the body. A small daily calorie deficit will only help you get ripped muscles, and nothing more. From both a theoretical and practical point of view, there is no specific number of repetitions that will allow you to burn fat. As soon as you pick up a weight, aerobic work turns into anaerobic, even with the smallest weight of equipment. Anaerobic contraction of muscle fibers occurs due to various energy resources. Initially, creatine phosphate and ATP are consumed, then glycogen - stored glucose - is involved in the process. Its breakdown causes a by-product - lactic acid, which, when accumulated in excess, contributes to the inhibition of muscle function and neuromuscular signals arriving at them. This is why a person is not able to perform a huge number of repetitions with a relatively large weight. Acidification with lactic acid occurs, which leads to temporary incapacity. This fact applies to any burden. Even dumbbells weighing 1 kg will produce such an effect over time, but for this you will have to perform a little more repetitions, from 50 to 150 or more, depending on the fitness of the athlete. Any weight is anaerobic work, and it is strictly limited in time and is only possible thanks to the reserves of glycogen, ATP and KrP. Oxygen is not needed here, as a result of which this process is called the prefix “an”. Aerobic muscle contraction occurs largely due to the oxygen that we inhale with our lungs. Oxygen allows the production of huge amounts of ATP, but it does not have a high delivery rate. Roughly speaking, muscular intensive work with weights requires a huge amount of resources that must be mobilized in a timely manner and quickly. Oxygen does not meet these criteria, since the body needs time to deliver it. All this is necessary for a reason. The fact is that fat molecules can only be broken down under the influence of oxygen - ordinary oxidation occurs with the release of energy. That is, no oxygen - no oxidation. Therefore, any anaerobic weight lifting cannot by definition burn fat, and this is true. High reps in no way can, since muscle contractions occur thanks to the anaerobic resources of the body. But stereotypes do not arise out of nowhere. Indeed, training for 15-20 repetitions can help in drying the body, but fat burning will not occur during training, but during recovery processes.

To gain relief, you need to maintain a slight calorie deficit in your diet. Such actions can easily burn your muscle fibers, since in conditions of energy deficiency they are a kind of ballast. To prevent this from happening, you need to increase the overall training tonnage, i.e. literally the number of barbells lifted. Let's take the bench press as an example. Let’s say an athlete can press a barbell weighing 100 kg for 10 repetitions. He performs 4 working sets, this is: 10 * 4 * 100 = 4000 kg - the tonnage of one exercise. At the same time, with a weight of 70 kg, he can perform 15-20 repetitions in the same 4 approaches: 15 * 4 * 70 = 4200 kg. As you can see, the total load volume is as much as 200 kg more with multi-repetition training. Thus, the muscles do more work, as a result of which the body is forced to conserve muscle fibers. Also, this type of training consumes more calories, therefore, their total daily amount may be higher, i.e. it becomes easier to follow a diet. In general, we can say that 15-20 repetitions are needed when drying the body for the so-called relief, but you must remember: reducing the percentage of subcutaneous fat is A complex approach, and training in this format does not burn fat.