Why do we do the reps we do?

[SuperMaxpower19]

How do yo determine how many reps and how many setsare a good number for muscle growth and development? Is it sscientific knowledge, or it is just a tradition and people do X repsand X sets just because everyone would do that before?

 

[stevesmi]

it is through trial and error over years man. and yes there is some science involved too.. it is a combination of all of the above

in the end what works for YOU is the best for your specific goals

 

[Lev Butlerov]

Although all these numbers are a good indicator of what your aims should be like, I would not follow these numbers fanatically, because they are just that - an indicator. In real life you have to focus on yourself, and what works best for you. Try to do what you can do, not what others can or tell you to do.

 

[SteveMobsterG]

Arthur Jones of Nautilus had a go at studying it. It's to do with percentage of max. It's also been studied a bunch my exercise majors. Muscular Development magazine cites the odd line from science articles which include stuff on volume, sets and reps. 3 sets of 8-12 per exercise is, done well, enough for 90% of gym users.

 

[MasonicBodybuilder]

It really depends on the body part for me. If I am training legs I will do 7 sets of squats. I like to warm up and slowly work my way up to avoid injury. Whereas when I train biceps I can just jump in and do 3 sets of an exercise.

 

[muskate]

I am a big science guy. Research shows that the more volume you perform per exercise - the better UNTIL you reach a point of over training.

How high of a volume you can train with without over training is very individual. It is based on your genetics, age, lifestyle, diet, etc. etc. The only way you can determine it is through trial and error.

Start with a low volume approach and start adding in reps/sets until you start to feel burnt out. That's when you need to slightly back off your volume. The max volume you are able to train with without feeling burnt out is the sweet spot for your body.