Rep schemes: What are they? How do I use them?
by Michael Beiter ACE AHFS (mike@nutrisportFPT.com)
Anyone who has been in the gym and participated in resistance training has heard it. 3 by 10, ready…GO! This of course refers to the universal standard number of sets and reps to perform for any given exercise. If you’ve ever stepped outside the box and researched new workouts, or hired someone to whoop you around the gym, then you know 3 x 10 isn’t the only way to get things done. I’m here to talk about the different schemes for prescribing the number of repetitions to be done during each set, and to show you how to utilize ALL of them!
Reps
1-5: Increase in strength and power
6-8: Muscle building (hypertrophy)
8-12: This is the most common range. Combines benefits of hypertrophy and increases in muscular endurance.
12-15: Here you begin to transition to an increase in endurance with a decrease in hypertrophic effects.
15+: Endurance. Once you cross over to this range you can typically consider the set to be of the “high rep” nature.
As you can see there are benefits to each range. But now you may be wondering: “How do I decide which to use?” If your goal is simply to get stronger or increase endurance then the answer would appear to be simple. However, most people would agree that seeing improvements in each area would be a good thing. So here are 2 different ways you can utilize each rep range to change up your workout
Method 1: Include every rep range during a single workout.
Example: Squat: Increase weight with every set
2 sets 15 reps
2 sets 10 reps
2 sets 6-8 reps
2 sets 3-5 reps
Leg Press: 3 sets 20 reps
RDL: 3 sets 6-8 reps
Single leg hamstring curl: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Standing calf raise: 4 sets 15+ reps
As you can see throughout the workout you work in every rep range to illicit improvements across the board.
Method 2: Periodize your training
Example: Weeks 1-3: All sets performed with minimum of 15 reps
Week 4: Deload/ Active recovery
Week 5-7: All sets performed with 6-8 reps
Week 8: Deload/ Active recovery
Weeks 9-11: All sets performed with 1-5 reps
Week 12: Deload/ Active recovery
This method is popular with athletes and those involved in performance sports. Each month long training period can be considered a block where you focus on making improvements in a specific discipline i.e. strength or endurance.
THE GOLDEN RULE: So all the information covered thus far would be completely irrelevant if it were not for the following:
In order for you to see improvements in the area you are targeting with your rep schemes, YOU MUST CHOOSE A LEVEL OF RESISTANCE THAT CHALLENGES YOU ON THE FINAL 2 REPS OF EACH SET.
Simply put: If I am doing a set of 15 reps and I complete the entire set with little difficulty then I need to increase the resistance until the 14th and 15th rep are HARD. The same holds true for any set done with any number of reps.
I really can’t stress the importance of this enough, so I dubbed it…THE GOLDEN RULE!
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