Manipulating Reps for Gains in Size and Strength
by Charles Poliquin

Perhaps the most important loading parameter in designing exercise
programs is not the number of sets, the tempo used, or even the
specific exercises employed, but the number of repetitions selected.

It is clear that the most important variable to strength training is
the amount of resistance used. The amount of weight determines the
tension put on a muscle, and how long this tension is maintained
determines the muscle’s response. In fact, subtle manipulations can
make the difference between increases in strength, increases in size
and increases in endurance.

And the wrong manipulation can make the set, and indeed, the whole exercise session, worthless.

Obviously, the number of repetitions performed determines how much the
athlete can lift, and given this fact, I have come up with 24
principles that can influence your decision, approximately half of
which are presented in this article.

Whether you design programs for others or just yourself, many of these
principles should help you in attaining your physique goals.

1. The number of reps done for a given time under tension dictates the training effect.

Training intensities can be altered in one of two ways: by having the
athlete work at a higher percentage of his max (heavier weights), or
moving the weight faster during the lifting, or concentric part of the
lift.

While the number of reps an athlete performs also influences the
training effect, it’s mandatory that the speed used to execute the
movement also be considered. It’s too bad that very few researchers
take into consideration the effects of different repetition speeds, and
even worse that few coaches take tempo into consideration.

This is where the whole “super slow” theory of training falls flat. As
far as sport is concerned, whoever produces the most amount of force in
the shortest amount of time wins. By purposely training slow, you learn
to become slow. Reducing the speed of movement just increases the time
a muscle is under tension, not the intensity. As far as bodybuilding,
however, it does not matter so much because functionality of the
muscles is not crucial. In that regard, training slow for a brief
period can lead to hypertrophy, especially if the trainee has been
lifting explosively for a while.

Generally speaking, however, sets that subject the muscles to less than
20 seconds of time under tension build strength, while those that take
from 40 to 60 seconds to complete cause hypertrophy.

2. MVC’s (Maximal Voluntary Contractions) are essential to the strength building process.

To build size and strength, it is essential to incorporate maximal
voluntary contractions. In short, this means recruiting as many motor
units as possible to develop force.

Contrary to what you might assume, an MVC does not always equate to a
1RM load. Rather, an MVC could be the last rep of a 5 or 6RM load,
where performing another rep is impossible.

Working with 1RM loads, though, enables an athlete to achieve maximal
motor unit activation (MUA). Do this enough times, and neural
adaptations and increased strength occur.

This is why the rest-pause training methodology is so valuable. For
those of you unfamiliar with it, it involves using a 1RM load, which
activates the maximal number of motor units. The athlete then racks the
bar, removes 2-5% of the load, and then repeats the lift. The process
is then repeated, for usually no more than 8 reps.

3. An athlete should use between 70 and 100% of maximum capacity to develop maximal strength.

While there is still some controversy as to the exact range of
percentages, many leading experts in strength training believe that the
best way to develop maximal strength is to use weights that allow the
athlete to perform between 1 and 12 reps at 70 to 100% of the athlete’s
1RM.

Some say, however, that anything below 75% is best suited for developing muscular endurance, while others put the number at 60%.

It is my experience, however, that the lower threshold is 70%, but
beginners, and especially women, can often make progress using loads
that are approximately 60% of 1RM.

4. The range in repetitions needed to develop strength and/or hypertrophy decreases with training age.

Training age, or the number of years the athlete has been training, influences the 1RM continuum.

While the average beginning weight trainee can often do 20 reps at 75%
of maximum, that same trainee may do 10 reps at 75% of maximum after a
year. If that same trainee is examined five years later, he may only do
4 reps at 75% of maximum.

Why is this important? Consider the athlete with a training age of one
year who can bench press 12 reps at 140 pounds, which is 70% of his
1RM. Perhaps when this trainee has been training for four years, his
new 1RM is 400 pounds. However, he may now only be able to complete 6
reps using 70% of his 1RM, which is 280 pounds.

Given that it is generally agreed upon by the strength training
community that that 70% is the minimum threshold for strength
development, it would not be a good idea to prescribe weights lower
than 70%, or repetitions higher than 6, as the weight would be too
light to promote gains in strength.

5. The 1RM continuum varies greatly among muscle groups.

If an athlete performs his 12RM (the amount of weight he can lift 12
times) in the bench press, he may only be working at 70% of maximum,
but at 12RM in the leg curl, he may only be working at 57% of maximum.

The extreme is even more remarkable when you consider certain lower
body movements that employ a high stretch-shortening cycle component,
such as leg presses. Many athletes can do 65 reps on the leg press
while using a weight that is 70% of their maximum!

6. The number of repetitions is the loading parameter that athletes adapt to the most quickly.

It’s best to vary rep range prescriptions often because the body adapts
very quickly to given rep ranges. In fact, the average athlete adapts
to a given number of reps in six workouts. When this adaptation occurs,
it’s virtually pointless to continue the same program.

One method with which I have had great success it to prescribe a given
rep bracket for 2 workouts, lower it by 1 rep for the next two
workouts, and then lower it by 1 rep yet again for one or two workouts.

Here is an example of such a progression:

Workouts 1-2: 4 sets x 6-8
Workouts 3-4: 5 sets x 5-7
Workouts 5-6: 5 sets x 4-6

7. Elite athletes must pay attention to the specificity of contraction force.

Generally speaking, reps in the 1RM to 5RM range increase maximal
strength with minimal gains in mass. Reps in the 8RM to 15RM range
produce greater gains in hypertrophy, while reps between 6RM and 7RM
produce equal changes in hypertrophy and strength.

However, when considering athletes who have several years of training
experience, low repetitions (1-5) must be used with high loads (85% or
higher) for both relative and absolute strength, while mid-repetitions
(6-12) must be used with sub maximal loads (70-84%) for absolute
strength gains. High repetitions should be combined with light loads
for strength-endurance (less than 70%).

In other words, athletes with more years of experience can train with a broader range of repetitions.

Along the same lines, periodically “straying” into unfamiliar rep
ranges can have positive training effects that are not consistent with
the norm. For instance, in athletes seeking hypertrophy, periodically
employing programs that use 1RM to 5RM ranges can lead to increases in
muscle size in addition to strength.

8. Don’t perform low reps too frequently.

Sport scientist Robert Roman has written extensively on the training of
competitive lifters and he concluded that the most successful
weightlifters tend to do most of their sets in the 3RM to 4RM range.

This observation was echoed by Canadian weightlifting coach Pierre Roy,
who believes that the average rep range for athletes should be 3.

The take home point is that if an athlete does singles or doubles for
too long, he will stagnate. This, of course, is especially true for
athletes who seek hypertrophy.

9. Each muscle group or lift responds best to a specific average rep range.

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to analyze the
training logs of the hundreds of athletes that I’ve coached. As such,
it has become apparent that the optimal rep range should be specific to
the muscle group or exercise chosen.

For instance, in the case of the elbow flexors, the best strength gains
were obtained when no less than an average of 2.5 reps per set were
performed, with a minimum total of 15 reps per workout.

Along the same lines, for hypertrophy purposes, triceps generally
respond better to fewer reps than the biceps (because the triceps are
generally more fast-twitch). Another example regards the hamstrings,
which generally require fewer reps than quadriceps, or the gastrocs,
which require fewer reps than the soleus.

10. The function of the muscle dictates the number of reps.

You have no doubt heard your physiology professor say, “Form dictates
function.” It is also my experience there are specific rep ranges that
are more appropriate for certain muscle functions.

As an example, training the knee flexors (hamstrings) with sets of 12 results in little hypertrophy. However, when training the knee extensors, sets of up to 50 reps (leg press) can induce hypertrophy.
This probably has to do with the fact that the knee flexors are used
for explosive tasks, while the knee extensors are used primarily for
maintaining posture and in the execution of certain stretch-shortening
tasks.

11. Vary reps for the upper body more than the lower body.

Recent studies confirm that using programs that employ variation in rep
ranges was more beneficial for the upper body than the lower body.

For example, if designing a program for the bench press, it’s more
important to vary the reps often than it is for movements like the
squat and deadlift.

12. High-rep training can increase capillary density.

Studies have shown that sets of more than 20 reps can increase
capillary density, and capillary dense muscle can eventually lead to
hypertrophy when one resumes more traditional rep schemes.

One such study, performed in 1973, showed that as little as one
high-rep workout was enough to double the amount of mitochondria in
muscle cells.

I think this is one reason why cyclists and speed skaters have such
large quadriceps – they expose the muscles to an extreme amount of time
under tension, thus facilitating capillary growth and hypertrophy of
lower threshold motor units.

However, from personal experience, it seems that the quads, deltoids
and lats would benefit from this type of training more than other
muscle groups.

13. Reps performed in one exercise may have a different effect than
reps performed for another exercise, even though both movements are for
the same body part.

When comparing squats against leg press, squats are far more effective
in increasing leg strength and overall strength. However, there is some
evidence to suggest that the leg press might result in more hypertrophy
of the quadriceps. One study, at least, showed that for the same number
of reps, the leg press resulted in a higher amount of Growth Hormone
being produced than squats.

As possible evidence, the leg press is the exercise of choice when it
comes to speed skating, and I have personally worked with speed skaters
whose legs made Tom Platz’s look like Woody Allen’s.

While I am loathe to recommend leg presses instead of squats, I merely present it as an interesting discussion point.

There are many more principles regarding the manipulation of reps that
I use in designing programs, but the ones I have presented here should
put you light years ahead of the average weight training pack.

Editor’s note: This article is a brief extract of some the material
presented in the Poliquin International Certification Program Level
Theory 1 Manual that can be purchased at www.CharlesPoliquin.net.

Powered by ScribeFire.