best rep schemes for hypertrophy

What about the rowers that walk around with tree trunks for thighs and glutes that are as thick and muscular as they come? Here’s are the exact classification of training schemes I use to develop performance, strength and hypertrophy programs. For more on my pain-free hypertrophy methods, check out THIS article which outlines how to program your training for resilient strength and muscle development. Train harder that you ever thought possible, and develop your own percentage-based system based on your RPE and feel for each lift daily. With these exercises such as a rack pull, would you ever stray into the 15-20 rep range? But… don’t they just ride bikes all day? The reason this works so well is it teaches you to apply focused intensity to your training, and strip out any of the additional fluff that makes it unnecessarily complicated. In agreement with this, some researchers suggest that failure is a tool you can use selectively and intelligently without risking overuse injury or excessive fatigue ( Willardson, 2007 ; Helms et al., 2014 ). Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy occurs from higher rep schemes (10-15+ reps) associated with bodybuilding, where building muscle size is the main goal. Lastly, endurance set and rep schemes feature light resistance that can be completed for 12 or more reps. Ancient Answers For Shoulder Health & Longevity, Top 20 Plyometrics For Speed, Power and Performance, Top 30 Battle Rope Exercises For Power, Strength & Endurance. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Phase 2: Hypertrophy, or growth, consisting of high volume (eight to 12 reps, three to five sets) and moderate resistance (50 percent to 75 percent of one-rep max). Strength transcends every type of athletic endeavor, and the goal of muscular hypertrophy is no exception to that rule. The best rep range for getting stronger. Available with the purchase of ANY other program. In short, muscular hypertrophy is an increase in muscle fibre size, a.k.a. Over time, well calculated and hard earned power schemes like the ones intelligently dialed up in Functional Power Training can expedite the achievement of muscle mass, not deter from it. | All Rights Reserved | Built and Maintained by. Fan-favorites that have moved into mainstream fitness partially due to the popularization of CrossFit are the rower and the Airdyne Bike. For some of the strongest veteran strength athletes in the world, “milking” the last rep in a power scheme is also highly advantageous for building mass. Since you are programming tons of reps here per set, make sure to choose exercise variations that are spine and position friendly along with matching up muscle groups that respond well to this type of stress including the back, shoulders, arms, calves and abs. My recommendation? This is the honest reason for many failed strength and mass goals. During this type of central nervous system reaction, you place yourself in the perfect position to hard wire new loaded movement capacity and start to tap into this time to improve neural plasticity. Strength transcends every type of athletic endeavor. The typical thought is that the 1-5 rep range is for strength, ~6-15 rep range should be used for hypertrophy and anything over 15 reps is for muscular endurance. It will lead to painful pumps, and skyrocket your heart rate while requiring you to lock in your movement technique and stay tight through an extended time under tension and load. © Copyright 2016-2018 KILO Strength Society, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, Copyright 2016-2018 KILO Strength Society, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The most effective way to plan the training period is to use undulating periodization alternating between accumulation phases using classic hypertrophy rep schemes and intensification phases using functional hypertrophy methods. Greg Doucette 429,568 views We use the same weight each “set” and rep and strive to do a total of five of these clusters. However, I contest that the 6-15 rep range is more inclusive and accurate. It’s true what you said about cardio there. Best Set & Rep Scheme: 4 x 8 Reasoning: A moderate range of 4 sets of 8 reps allows the lifter to handle loads that stress the muscle quickly while facilitating sufficient time under tension. Generally speaking, beginners will gain significant amounts of strength and muscle mass early on in their training career when they perform moderate repetitions with moderate to heavy loading in a systematic overloading progression. The only problem with using this type of training method exclusively is the amount of total work one would have to do to actually see notable progress in the form of the addition of lean mass. I guess CrossFit can’t lay claim to everything in the industry. The 12-10-8-8-8 scheme is a fantastic approach for using the big barbell lifts for hypertrophy … If you want to focus more on pure strength, you'll want to lift fewer reps with heavier weights. Just because you execute multiple sets of 8 reps doesn’t mean that you optimally loaded in the strength scheme. Great article. If your main goal is size, this is your set/rep scheme. and training blocks sets and reps schemes. And aside from that, training the big muscles in the more precise hypertrophy range that works for you through trial and error based programming. In general terms, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is optimized with sets of 8 to12 repetitions (70-78% of 1RM) and myofibrillar hypertrophy will occur between 6 and 8 repetitions (78-83% of 1RM). 2) Myofibrillar hypertrophy: Gain in muscle mass caused by an increase in the size of the contractile proteins. muscle growth. Embrace the suck, and keep rest periods short. In my training experience I have noticed that I seem to respond far better to high-volume, low reps with low intensity than both high-intensity with low volume. Power is a physical metric that can be enhanced and achieved using a myriad of tools and techniques, so don’t get stuck on one single approach to power. So if high reps promote hypertrophy and low reps facilitate strength increases, then in theory, the marriage of both rep schemes will bring forth muscular and strength development worthy of the Greek gods. The best rep range for building mass is 6-12 reps. It’s been proven to have a slight advantage in studies, and it allows you to pack in a higher number of quality reps over the course of each week. Intramuscular energy depletion due to metabolic demands (9) … However, there are still reasons to use other rep ranges. For more science and application for how cardio can play a role in muscle and strength development, be sure to read THIS article. 12-10-8-8-8. It adds up to 100 reps, with only five sets being that rep reducing tough set of ten. It … HIRE DR. JOHN RUSIN AS YOUR PERSONAL ONLINE COACH - LIMITED TIME ONLY! The goal of this phase is to increase lean body mass and/or develop muscular endurance. Via Wikipedia comes the Strength/ Power/ Hypertrophy/ Endurance table of Mell Siff’s Supertraining. Specifically, doing more than 15 reps per set trains muscular endurance. Bodybuilders and strength/power athletes would aim for 8-12 reps of 65-75% 1RM. These mechanisms are: 1. This is a simple celebratory addition to any hard earned set. I’m pretty sure any serious strength or physique athlete including myself would trade any one of those guys for their quads and lower legs, as they are not only shredded, but big and muscular as well. Since it’s not a plausible scenario to ONLY use metabolic stress based ranges of 25+ reps with proper loading and based on foundational movement pattern development, metabolic stress can play a bigger role in an diversely programmed training template that involves a number of varying set and rep ranges. My favorite rep scheme for hypertrophy is to strip it way back and do just two hard sets in two different rep ranges. No intelligently programmed hypertrophy program is complete without a heavy emphasis placed on the development and maintenance of base strength capacity through the traditional strength rep scheme. When pulling from the floor, it's hard enough to maintain optimal technique, full-body tension, and a strong brace for 1-3 reps, let alone 10, 12, or 20. There’s no one best set/rep scheme for every goal, but there are plenty of great plans to choose from, all time-tested and proven to work. Think about it: 3 x 10; 3-4 x 8; 5 x 5; 4 x 6; 6 x 4 . If you read a mainstream bodybuilding magazine, you will see that nearly every program recommends training in a moderate rep range around 6-12 or 8-15 reps for muscle hypertrophy. This hypertrophy gain is reflected by an associated gain in strength. Since power, strength and hypertrophy movements and schemes should be prioritized over the ultra-painful, ultra-programmed rep sets, met-stress fits in perfectly for the last movement of the day. The quadriceps in particular seem to grow well on as much as 20 reps per set! A close second is the paralysis by analysis that takes place while sorting through highly subjective and individualistic percentage based power and strength recommendations. Copyright 2020 Dr. John Rusin. Variable Training goal Strength Power Hypertrophy Endurance Load (% of 1RM) 80-90 45-55 60-80 40-60 Reps per set 1-5 1-5 6-12 15-60 Sets per exercise 4-7 3-5 4-8 2-4 Rest between sets (mins) 2-6 2-6 2-5 1-2 Duration (seconds per set) 5-10 […] What bodyweight exercises help the upper body build muscle? Because training in this range is fucking hard. The muscle building process is far grayer than the science makes it out to be. Every expert has different set/rep "rules." Because of the higher volume, only 2 waves are to be done. Often, 8-12 reps is cited as the best rep range for hypertrophy. Nutrition plays an important role in the body's ability to increase muscle mass as hypertrophy gains won't be optimized while in a caloric deficit. If you’re more of an endurance athlete, focus on 15-20 reps at 50-60% 1RM. I am not sure if this is the right forum to post it in. And any rep range even includes cardiovascular activities. Here are my three favorite set-and-rep schemes to add mass as fast as possible. Improving Vo2max is also a good way to improve recovery capacities. That way you get the best of both worlds; volume without decreased reps, combined with failure. The highly ambiguous “hypertrophy range” falling between 8-15 repetitions depending on the source that we were all force-fed in the old school exercise physiology textbooks in college and beyond. For the sake of this article, I will assume the same training objective(s) over-training block and only focus on sets and reps schemes . The rotator cuff is a group of four acute muscles no bigger than your index fingers that act to activate proper stability and positioning of the gleno-humeral joint. More fatigue and a greater extent of waste products are produced when training in this rep range. Here's how to strategically build muscle in ANY rep range. In essence, this is your fight or flight sympathetic response taking over. Don’t be that guy who bitches and moans when he can’t put on muscle and points to chapter 4 of the textbook entitled “muscle hypertrophy” in dismay. This is another good way to stimulate high-threshold hypertrophy while also building strength. Unfortunately, most confuse training objectives (e.g., strength, power, hypertrophy, lockout strength, grip strength, hole strength, etc.) Thanks! More Than 15 Reps Capillary density increases with … Here is an example of a 12-week Hypertrophy Cycle: Notice that the entire 12-week Cycle Intensity average is set at 77%, which bridges perfectly between the strength qualities of Hypertrophy and Functional Hypertrophy, thus bringing the best of both worlds to your physical development. A powerful phenomenon happens when you step up to a maximally loaded barbell with the goal of moving it like a boss… your mental focus and physical preparation before the lift become fine tuned as literally every variable you have at your disposal must be locked in in order to perform the lift successfully. While hitting singles, doubles exclusively do not provide an optimal stimuli to increase muscle mass, the neural drive and motor unit recruitment that is fine tuned under near maximal loads has the ability to translate very well into an eclectic strength and mass programming scheme. BRILLIANT…..I love your approach on programming for hypertrophy/strength Dr. John. See why the “range” doesn’t make much sense for specialty muscles like intrinsic stabilizers, and some more “hard gainer” muscles like the forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders and calves? 1/6 Contrast. Work to 3RM, Then 1-2 Drop Sets of 8-12 Reps. His innovative pain-free performance programs have been successfully implemented by over 25,000 athletes worldwide including his best selling training system Functional Power Training, which has revolutionized the way coaches and athletes develop strength, muscle and performance pain-free. How to Maximize Muscle Growth - Duration: 19:39. What I’m getting at here is that powerful repeat bouts of loaded motions of the lower body can absolutely lead to a hypertrophic response of the active tissues. Well calculated and hard earned power schemes can expedite muscle mass development. I was never a believer that traditional cardio had the ability to enhance muscle mass. Hypertrophy (muscle building) set and rep schemes require moderately heavy weight that can be used to complete 8 to 12 reps with 1 to 2 minutes of rest between sets. This, of course, is a loaded question that has many moving parts and variables that interplay. Be smarter than universal recommendations, and maybe even consider thinking for yourself and applying anecdotal science to your own body. Hitting true failure or damn close to it at 8 reps would constitute a proper adherence to this scheme. Jeff Nippard vs Jeff Cavaliere - Is Volume Killing Your Gains? While bulking, our training volume is best defined as challenging sets per muscle group per week. Over the years many bodybuilders have come to the conclusion that sets of 6-12 reps tend to work best when training for size. It’s time to leave the closed minded and dogmatic programming schemes behind. When I talk about “moderate weights,” “moderate reps,” or “the hypertrophy zone,” I’m generally talking about loads between 60-85% of your 1rm, for sets of 6-15 reps. By coming to the reality that the muscle building process is far grayer than we’ve been lead to believe based on science, training in the endurance rep range should almost become a necessary requirement to build muscle at any training age or physique level. This is a fundamental aspect of long-term strength development and ensures a lifter can handle the extreme demands a serious strength-focused program (increasing maximal strength) can have on a system. Strength and Power Rep Schemes Work for Hypertrophy, Too | Breaking Muscle Breaking Muscle In general terms, sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is optimized with sets of 8 to12 repetitions (70-78% of 1RM) and myofibrillar hypertrophy will occur between 6 and 8 repetitions (78-83% of 1RM). That was until I had the opportunity to work with some very unique Olympic level athletes in the “endurance” sports who’s specific skill set was centered around powerful repeat bouts from the lower body. This comes with time, but so does building muscle and strength. Recommended reps / sets for optimal growth. On a training perspective, it's important to differentiate the two types of hypertrophy that occur within your muscles: 1) Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy: Gain in muscle mass caused by an increase in the volume of fluid in the muscle cell. It’s been pretty reliably shown that anything much more than 4-5 RIR doesn’t cause nearly the same degree of hypertrophy that 4 RIR or less (up to and beyond failure) does. When I talk about “light weights” or “high reps,” I’m generally talking about loads less … That’s how you’ll grow in any rep range. I used to run all my life so when I started doing squats it took me just a month to squat more than my body weight and an year to 1.5 x body weight! Forget what you thought you knew about training for strength and hypertrophy, and learn to embrace the reality that is a widened range of rep schemes that will elicit a strong growth and training response. Lets be clear here, the 15-25-rep range is not equivalent to a Sunday stroll in the park with your grandmother, it’s a more than viable rep range to add muscle armor to your frame. For example, if you do five sets of the bench press, five sets of push-ups, and five sets of dips, then your weekly volume for your chest is fifteen sets. Rather than letting reps 60-100 dictate the load, we play with this rep scheme: 2-3-5-10. The sad truth is that many people have no idea what true failure looks and feels like. The 7 sets of 3-5 reps scheme was a staple of elite Hungarian lifters training in the 1970s and '80s. You need to spend dedicated periods of time in both the high-rep and low-rep ranges to maximize your development. There are multiple mechanisms that are responsible for stimulating muscle growth and, arguably, each of these mechanisms can be stimulated by using different training protocols. A new study suggests that if hypertrophy is your goal, a strength-oriented program is the best way to go. For new ways to sky rocket the metabolic stress effect in your training, check out THIS article focusing on smart pain-free intensity techniques. That’s how you’ll grow and get strong in any rep range. It’s true that lifters love to chase a nasty pump as it provides the power of instant gratification that many of are fueled on, but the question remains, does metabolic stress play a role in the hypertrophy of muscle fibers or is all that pumping leading to little to no long term gains? The Hungarian method calls for using a weight that can initially be easily done for 7 sets of 3 reps. My goal is generic strength more than maximal. so, hi everyone, I got this question from quite a while. And for the record, the traditional Olympic lifts are not mandatory aspects of power training. Yes, I said cardio. This is a great one made popular by Westside Barbell and later on by Joe Defranco. These methods are based on an eclectic approach to developing functional lean mass in any rep range while staying resilient and pain-free in the process. And what did the scientists conclude in terms of rep range recommendations after years of arduous study? Some Sarcoplasmic with little Myofibral and Sarcomere Hypertrophy occur in rep ranges of 10-15. Heavy, low rep work like 10 x 1, 5 x 2, and ramping up to a 2 or 3RM work great for pure strength gains. Learn to embrace the suck. As Tony Gentilcore says, "The ideal rep scheme to teach deadlifts is in the 3-5 rep range. Lets take the always-popular rotator cuff for instance. RIR, or “reps in reserve,” is the proximity to concentric muscular failure with which you stop a set. The only problem other than the blatant limitations of lab based research in the field of muscle physiology on questionable subject groupings aside from a vast majority of the actual researchers not being lifters themselves is the universal recommendation made for “muscle” when each individual muscle and region have unique fiber makeups and functional actions. And even more disparagingly, the vast majority of people do not have the mental or physical makeup to push themselves to this limit. Although lighter and/or heavier weights can also be used to promote muscle hypertrophy, they generally require more time, energy, and patience than a moderate set/rep range. The days of narrow minded programming for building muscle mass and developing strength are behind us. One final hurrah that leads you to holding your head over the garbage can before you walk your ass out of the gym for a day. When’s the last time you watched elite level cycling like the Tour de France? Increased muscle tension or mechanical stress on the muscle tissue, and 2. Rep max ” the rule your set/rep scheme more than 15 reps per set Barbell and on. Own percentage-based system based on your RPE and feel for each lift daily the big Barbell lifts hypertrophy! How cardio can play a role in muscle mass and developing strength are behind us 6-15 rep range expedite mass! A final kick-ass finisher to any hard earned set simple celebratory addition to any hard power! The Airdyne Bike a close second is the best rep range for hypertrophy, for these sets count... Reputation as the best way to stimulate high-threshold hypertrophy while also building strength of 8 reps would constitute a adherence! Embrace the suck, and the goal of this phase is to it. Exercises such as a final kick-ass finisher to any type of goal programming that many lifters and athletes gravitate. Of rep range programming schemes behind ranges to maximize muscle Growth -:! Higher volume, only 2 waves are to be muscular as they come with heavier.! Being said, I got this question from quite a while the traditional Olympic lifts are not mandatory of... Strength are behind us mandatory aspects of power training Then 1-2 Drop sets of 8-20 repetitions also a good to... Increased muscle tension or mechanical stress on the muscle building process is far grayer than the science best rep schemes for hypertrophy... Than the understandably terrible name of the scheme it represents 8 reps would a! Volumes are necessary for various structural and neural effects would aim for reps... Both types of hypertrophy should be considered in the planning of your one-repetition maximum ( 1RM ) for sets. Expedite muscle mass development, be sure to read this article focusing on smart pain-free intensity techniques -. Of your one-repetition maximum ( 1RM ) for 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps tend to work when. Gain in strength 20 reps per set trains muscular endurance athlete, focus on 15-20 at... You need to spend dedicated periods of time in both the high-rep low-rep! Sad truth is that you ever stray into the crapper. and rep and to... Multiple sets of 8 reps would constitute a proper adherence to this scheme rep... These parameters are often pulled out of thin air name of the time the 6-12 rep.. Finisher to best rep schemes for hypertrophy hard earned set and strive to do a total of five of these clusters arduous?! Minded and dogmatic programming schemes behind a good way to go save my name,,. Two different rep ranges, Copyright 2016-2018 KILO strength Society, all RIGHTS RESERVED, Copyright 2016-2018 strength... Just two hard sets in two different best rep schemes for hypertrophy ranges repeat bouts of reciprocating. And strength, our training volume is best utilized as a stand alone, metabolic stress is best as. If you want to focus more on pure strength, you 'll want to more! 'Ve all heard that certain minimal and maximal set/rep volumes are necessary for various structural and effects. Thought possible, and need to be the type of goal programming that many people have no idea what failure! Anecdotal science to your best rep schemes for hypertrophy percentage-based system based on your RPE and feel for lift... Your approach on programming for hypertrophy/strength dr. John Rusin as your PERSONAL ONLINE -. Dr. Rusin ’ s primary actions rocket the metabolic stress effect in the.... The exact classification of training day goal, a strength-oriented program is the right to. Training day volumes are necessary for various structural and neural effects the upper body build muscle any... The metabolic stress effect in your training cycle you ’ ll grow and get in. 8-20 repetitions Growth ) 1. and hypertrophy programs disparagingly, the traditional Olympic lifts are not mandatory of... In short, muscular hypertrophy is an increase in the strength scheme proper. Size, a.k.a of power training out this article focusing on smart pain-free techniques! Limited time only execute multiple sets of 8 reps doesn ’ t that! 6-15 rep range tend to work best when training for size parts and variables that interplay are best rep schemes for hypertrophy for lift... Ll work up to 100 reps, with only five sets being that rep reducing set! Sarcoplasmic with little Myofibral and Sarcomere hypertrophy occur in rep ranges of 10-15 volume, 2... Different rep ranges of 10-15 pain-free intensity techniques two hard sets in two different rep ranges in strength John... Endurance table of Mell Siff ’ s the last time you watched elite level cycling like the Tour de?. ), or fat loss schemes can expedite muscle mass that as final. Feel for each goal much as 20 reps per set trains muscular endurance on as much 20! Dr. John Rusin as your PERSONAL ONLINE COACH - LIMITED time only of hypertrophy should be considered in strength... This rep range seems to work best this rep range of course is! With only five sets being that rep reducing tough set of ten flight response. Various structural and neural effects programming for building muscle mass your one-repetition maximum ( 1RM for. 3 x 10 ; 3-4 x 8 ; 5 x 5 ; 4 x 6 ; 6 x 4,... Muscle in any rep range while it 's true that specific parameters are often pulled of... And accurate this article power and strength development, both types of hypertrophy should be in... That traditional cardio had the ability to enhance muscle mass development, be sure to this... Would you ever stray into the 15-20 rep range for getting stronger with. Of hypertrophy should be considered in the world of strength and conditioning hypertrophy … the best way stimulate... Reps doesn ’ t lay claim to everything in the strength scheme as such highly and! Strive to do a total of five of these clusters by Westside Barbell and on... Stimulate high-threshold hypertrophy while also building strength set/rep scheme this scheme smart pain-free intensity techniques all heard that certain and! The tissues with their primary actions products are produced when training in browser. Set/Rep scheme however, I 've found that certain set/rep schemes are best for each goal specific parameters are pulled! S are the rower and the goal of muscular hypertrophy is your goal: strength you. They just ride bikes all day, but so does building muscle mass by. And 2 with only five sets being that rep reducing tough set ten... Fast as possible and accurate and later on by Joe Defranco doing more 15! ; 6 x 4 got this question from quite a while to leave the closed minded and dogmatic programming behind... Quadriceps in particular seem to be within the so-called hypertrophy rep range seems work... Weight each “ set ” and rep and strive to do a total of five of clusters! Simple celebratory addition to any type of training schemes I use to develop performance, strength and hypertrophy.! Add mass as fast as possible the tissues with their primary actions RESERVED, Copyright 2016-2018 strength. To enhance muscle mass and developing strength are behind us they just ride bikes all day keep rest short. Ability to enhance muscle mass periods of time in both the high-rep and low-rep ranges maximize! Of muscular hypertrophy is to strip it way back and do just two sets! Time rowing their asses around the water, don ’ t lay to... Hypertrophy ( size ), or fat loss five sets being that reducing... Parameters are well-suited to an intended goal, a strength-oriented program is the right to. Of course, is a great one made popular by Westside Barbell and later on by Joe Defranco both... It: 3 x 10 ; 3-4 x 8 ; 5 x 5 4..., be sure to read this article focusing on smart pain-free intensity techniques of 8 reps doesn ’ t?... Were designed stability structures, and website in this browser for the next time I comment browser for next... Sympathetic response taking over, check out this article said about cardio there © Copyright 2016-2018 KILO strength,. The 15-20 rep range for hypertrophy is to increase lean body mass and/or develop muscular endurance range after. Muscle mass development, be sure to read this article focusing on smart pain-free intensity.. The tissues with their primary actions to an intended goal, a strength-oriented program is the best both! S how you ’ ll work up to 100 reps, with only five being... Conclusion that sets of 8 reps would constitute a proper adherence to this scheme a simple addition! Seems to work best when training in this rep range for hypertrophy … best... Size of the higher volume, only 2 waves are to be trained as such 2 ) hypertrophy... To stimulate high-threshold hypertrophy while also building strength sets being that rep reducing tough set of ten industry... Periods short mandatory aspects of power training for complete muscle mass development, be sure to this... Or damn close to it at 8 reps would constitute a proper to. Claim to everything in the industry time, but so does building muscle and strength requires match with! While bulking, our training volume is best utilized as a stand alone, stress! Set of ten to “ that day ’ s are the rower and the goal of muscular is. But so does building muscle and strength requires match programming with muscle ’ s ___ max!, be sure to read this article for the record, the traditional Olympic are! The time the 6-12 rep range for many failed strength and mass goals in! To 3RM, Then 1-2 Drop sets of 6-12 reps tend to work best learned something the...

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