# What do you prefer. High or low reps to gain size ?



## Keyser Soze (May 19, 2013)

Hi to you all. Know you guys training in different ways. But what do you think is the best way to realy gain size ? Now thinking about high or low reps. If i have a spotter do i like to do 4-6 or 6-8 reps. Training alone do i have to mix things up and love to do high reps. Now thinking about 14-20 + i might have 30 seconds to 1 min break and i hit it again. I feel realy great training like this. Getting the PUMP,BURNS and it feels like i realy tear the muscle down. 

What about Monday to Sunday ? Do you train chest every Monday or do you switch things up ? After listening to Rich Piana about training do i agree to many things. So now days do i never train the same muscle group on same days. I just hit what ever i feel like doing. Lets say your back hurts and you are really sore. Why even think about doing back that day ? When you might need some days to recover.. This might not be the way to do things right. but switching things up makes me feel good. Just been training like this for 3 weeks + now. So i hope to see some results.


----------



## 69ingchipmunks (May 19, 2013)

Rich is a smart guy and I respect him loads, but if you were not on the amount of shit he's on I wouldn't listen to him. I like watching him as his upper body is ridiculous, but he doesn't do quads so he can train upper body more, if he trained legs this would make his training so different. I do what he does however, feel like something is lacking so I train it. I don't do roids so my recovery won't be as quick as his so I can't do arms everyday but I'm young so I recover fast for maybe every other day. My point is that if you're not on the shit he's on I wouldn't recommend training sore as a natural, recovery it is very different. He can train chest one day, and roids help him recover to train again the next day. That is why people on roids get big because then train everyday with high intensity like Rich does.

And reps ranges, low for strength, high muscle mass and definition


----------



## Keyser Soze (May 19, 2013)

Rich Piana is new to me. But from what i see and hear do i give my thumbs up for him !! The way he talks about diet,training,roids and supplements make me wake up and realy think for my self. Im not a gay but i love this guys in a strange way :-@  Lol !


----------



## bigbill69 (May 19, 2013)

high = muscle
low= strength lots of it


----------



## Dr.G (May 19, 2013)

both high and low reps will get you muscle and strength. training for strength relies more on low reps than training for bodybuilding. to really progress as far as size is concerned you should train with excellent form and use as your basic training repetition range from 8 to 20 reps and you can add few sets of low rep 4-6 reps from time to time or even go for a low rep workout. A true high rep workout till failure is harder than a low rep workout. 
you need enough repetitions ( enough time) with enough load to target all the muscle fibers within a muscle group. training only with high reps or only with low rep will make you reach a plateau in size and strength.
As what works for me as a rough estimate i would say med to high rep (8-15 reps) is 80%  of my workout and low rep ( 4-6 reps) is about 20% but  i am 52 and i don't care about strength anymore and this is working fine for me as size and shape.


----------



## 69ingchipmunks (May 19, 2013)

Keyser Soze said:


> Rich Piana is new to me. But from what i see and hear do i give my thumbs up for him !! The way he talks about diet,training,roids and supplements make me wake up and realy think for my self. Im not a gay but i love this guys in a strange way :-@  Lol !



Yeah he's a smart fella, he at times however appears to be a bit of a meat head. Listen to some of the some the stuff he; says but remember he's not that good to write a bodybuilding bible; a lot if what he says is very subjective


----------



## Powermaster (May 20, 2013)

Something about his size and lack of definition says "synthol" to me but I could be wrong. Anyway, yeah what he says is pretty much right on if you want size. Lighter weight, reps, lots of food, & throw in some drugs and the nutrients go to the right places.


----------



## pwloiacano (May 24, 2013)

There are more and more studies that are proving that in order to gain muscle mass, you need to increase the time under tension that the muscle is exposed to.

Higher reps, negative reps, and giant sets.  I have been doing some workouts with the 30-20-15 format.  Do 30 reps, rest 40 sec, then 20 reps, wait 40 sec, then 15 reps.  Then two rest pauses where you do a count of ten and go to failure on each. Your muscles will be screaming!!!  The point is that you do not have to go heavy and pound your joints all of the time.  In the beginning this was difficult for me because I like to go heavy.  But once I gave this a try, I loved it because you can feel that deep soreness in your muscles with lighter weight and your joints will thank you.

I still do go heavy every 4-5 weeks or so to mix things up.


----------



## heavylifting1 (May 24, 2013)

I prefer higher reps with a good amount of weight!


----------



## Dr.G (May 24, 2013)

pwloiacano said:


> There are more and more studies that are proving that in order to gain muscle mass, you need to increase the time under tension that the muscle is exposed to.
> 
> Higher reps, negative reps, and giant sets.  I have been doing some workouts with the 30-20-15 format.  Do 30 reps, rest 40 sec, then 20 reps, wait 40 sec, then 15 reps.  Then two rest pauses where you do a count of ten and go to failure on each. Your muscles will be screaming!!!  The point is that you do not have to go heavy and pound your joints all of the time.  In the beginning this was difficult for me because I like to go heavy.  But once I gave this a try, I loved it because you can feel that deep soreness in your muscles with lighter weight and your joints will thank you.
> 
> I still do go heavy every 4-5 weeks or so to mix things up.


 exactly as i explained in other threads it is not only the load but load and time: in order to recruit all the muscle fibers withing a given muscle, there should be a given load with enough time and reps. light loads require more time, heavy loads require less time. however for better results one should not go to extreme cases: too light and too much time or too heavy and not enough time, this will bring other parameters into play.


----------



## usmarine (May 26, 2013)

Typically higher reps will pump u a little more and great for endurance and causes muscles to apear bigger but it is temporary. Low reps will get u stronger and build more solid muscle stick I like to keep btw 6-8 reps personally


----------



## Kenny Croxdale (May 27, 2013)

usmarine said:


> Typically higher reps will pump u a little more and great for endurance and causes muscles to apear bigger but it is temporary. Low reps will get u stronger and build more solid muscle stick I like to keep btw 6-8 reps personally



*"The Pump"*

"The Pump" actually creates an anabolic environment in which muscle growth takes place. 

While every pump never comletely last there is a residual effect, some size will remain in place. 

*Bodybuilding Protocol*

The traditional method by bodybuilders creates "The Pump".  

1) Moderate Reps, 8-12.  However, more repetitions can be effective, as well. 

2) Short Rest Periods, 30 seconds to 2 minutes.  

3) Training Load of approximately,65 - 80% of 1RM (Repetition Max). 

Low Rep Limit Strength Training

While the emphasis for bodybuild need to be on "The Pump", implementing lower reps with higher load has a synergistic effect.  In the long run, it will help with increasing muscle size. 

Kenny Croxdale


----------



## skel1977 (May 30, 2013)

New to lifting weights.  I was under the impression that high reps is for muscle endurance and low reps is for strength/size. Everything I have read up until now has basically been the same. So i am becoming confused.


----------



## Powermaster (May 31, 2013)

skel1977 said:


> New to lifting weights.  I was under the impression that high reps is for muscle endurance and low reps is for strength/size. Everything I have read up until now has basically been the same. So i am becoming confused.


There are basically three types of training:
High reps "pump training"
Tension training
Strength (power) training - low reps/ high weight

You'll get hypertrophy to various degrees with any single method of training but looking at Kenny's post above shows whats most hypertrophy specific.


----------



## skel1977 (Jun 3, 2013)

Powermaster said:


> There are basically three types of training:
> High reps "pump training"
> Tension training
> Strength (power) training - low reps/ high weight
> ...




Thanks powermaster. I understand what hypertrophy is. I had to look up pump training, basically muscle endurance workout?
Tension training would be like arm wrestling against someone?  Basically your muscles stay in an isometric position using muscles against each other without weights? 
Do i have all of that right or am i way off base

Ive basically been doing 6 to 10 reps with fairly heavy weight(for myself) doing 4 to 5 sets and working specific body parts on certain days.


----------



## Booby (Jun 3, 2013)

I just cover all the bases in my workouts by doing both...My bench routine is like this...After a propper warm up i start off with heavy weight for my first set of 10 reps, then heavier weight for a second set of 6-8 reps, then heavier weight for a third set of 4-6 reps, then my last set ill drop the weight down to 225 and do a final burnout set of 30 reps or more but to complete failure....I use this style routine for every body part and it defenitely packed on alot of muscle mass, strength and endurance...Bottom line is you have to find what works best for you, everyones body is different, and has a different chemical make up, different body mechanics, different amounts of slow and fast twitch muscle fibers, different genetics, etc.


----------



## skel1977 (Jun 3, 2013)

Thanks Booby. Since I am just starting out I see no reason not to try that out.


----------



## LAM (Jun 4, 2013)

skel1977 said:


> New to lifting weights.  I was under the impression that high reps is for muscle endurance and low reps is for strength/size. Everything I have read up until now has basically been the same. So i am becoming confused.



the most effective way is to utilize a variety of intensity (the load as a % of the 1RM), rep schemes/ranges (4-8, 8-12, 15-25, etc.) and tempos or time under tension (TUT) for all the major muscle groups.


----------



## skel1977 (Jun 5, 2013)

LAM said:


> the most effective way is to utilize a variety of intensity (the load as a % of the 1RM), rep schemes/ranges (4-8, 8-12, 15-25, etc.) and tempos or time under tension (TUT) for all the major muscle groups.



This morning was actually my first real day in the gym. I have been going for a week but was kind of intimidated to get into the weight room with all the gorillas walking around. I decided to go early at 5AM and i basically had the place to myself.
I was actually scared to get on the bench because i had no spotter but i wound up doing just fine.  Im trying to mix up what I do. Warm up first set, increase weight, increase weight again, lower the weight and rep till failure. I do my best to go slow after each rep leaving my muscle under tension.  I dont know if this is the best strategy but i could barely buckle my seatbelt by the time i was done in the gym

Ill probably switch up my tempo and weight and routine every month or so. My main problem this morning was lack of energy.  Coffee just isnt enough for me this early in the morning and i felt myself become extremely tired after only 3 sets. I have some white flood coming in soon so hopefully that helps me out a bit


----------



## heavylifting1 (Jun 5, 2013)

Great information on pumps!



Kenny Croxdale said:


> *"The Pump"*
> 
> "The Pump" actually creates an anabolic environment in which muscle growth takes place.
> 
> ...


----------



## futureMrO (Jun 5, 2013)

chest/arms 2x a week and every thing else 1x i star my workout heavy and compound and then move to light concentration type lifts.


----------



## Dr.G (Jun 5, 2013)

yesterday i had back rear deltoids  and biceps with an emphasis on back ( 12 sets back 6 sets rear deltoids  and 8 sets biceps) so with my back workout  and especially the pull downs and machine rows i did the following. I started each set with light weight for about an easy 8 reps get the blood pumping in the muscle then directly hit it with heavy weight 4-5 reps and continue with medium weights about 6 reps (till failure) so the set was about 18-20 reps but the first 8 were just to get the blood pumping.
I can tell you that today i feel good


----------



## LAM (Jun 5, 2013)

skel1977 said:


> This morning was actually my first real day in the gym. I have been going for a week but was kind of intimidated to get into the weight room with all the gorillas walking around. I decided to go early at 5AM and i basically had the place to myself.
> I was actually scared to get on the bench because i had no spotter but i wound up doing just fine.  Im trying to mix up what I do. Warm up first set, increase weight, increase weight again, lower the weight and rep till failure. I do my best to go slow after each rep leaving my muscle under tension.  I dont know if this is the best strategy but i could barely buckle my seatbelt by the time i was done in the gym
> 
> Ill probably switch up my tempo and weight and routine every month or so. My main problem this morning was lack of energy.  Coffee just isnt enough for me this early in the morning and i felt myself become extremely tired after only 3 sets. I have some white flood coming in soon so hopefully that helps me out a bit



when you wake up the body is in a hyperglycemic state (low blood sugar) this is not an optimum environment for high intensity exercise.  you need to eat something or drink some type of shake that has a variety of complex carbs and simple sugars like maltodextrin or dextrose.  believe it or not shakes mixed with a little bit of oats in them do not taste that bad as long as they are cold.

early am training take a while for the body to adjust proper nutrition here is imperative in order to have the energy to complete high intensity training at this time of the day.


----------



## ItzLouGunz (Jun 5, 2013)

All the info here is great.  I've just started implementing lower weight with higher reps as a warmup before I go heavy with higher weight and I gotta say the "pump" is great and Ive noticed I can get in an extra 2-3 reps with the heavy weight due to all that blood rushing though my veins!  Great feeling!  Stay swole!


----------



## futureMrO (Jun 5, 2013)

LAM said:


> when you wake up the body is in a hyperglycemic state (low blood sugar) this is not an optimum environment for high intensity exercise.  you need to eat something or drink some type of shake that has a variety of complex carbs and simple sugars like maltodextrin or dextrose.  believe it or not shakes mixed with a little bit of oats in them do not taste that bad as long as they are cold.
> 
> early am training take a while for the body to adjust proper nutrition here is imperative in order to have the energy to complete high intensity training at this time of the day.



couldnt agree more


----------



## slownsteady (Jun 5, 2013)

I think mixing it up from time to time is fun. Heavy compound movements seem to build more muscle for me.


----------



## skel1977 (Jun 6, 2013)

LAM said:


> when you wake up the body is in a hyperglycemic state (low blood sugar) this is not an optimum environment for high intensity exercise.  you need to eat something or drink some type of shake that has a variety of complex carbs and simple sugars like maltodextrin or dextrose.  believe it or not shakes mixed with a little bit of oats in them do not taste that bad as long as they are cold.
> 
> early am training take a while for the body to adjust proper nutrition here is imperative in order to have the energy to complete high intensity training at this time of the day.



Thank you for the information. Im going to try the oats in my shake. I think ill try low fat chocolate milk, banana, muscle milk, and oats and if i can stomach it maybe some peanut butter in my shake. Or maybe just a slie of bread with peanut butter on it and the shake  Does this sound about right?


----------

