Repetitions don't matter
do the exercises and you will successfully build muscle no matter how many reps you do.
Low number of repetitions or high number of repetitions? Just repeat until you're tired.
Mechanical stress stimulates muscle growth. Research shows that lifting a light load to failure leads to an increase in muscle size, similar to that achieved when lifting a heavy load to failure.
Scientific data on the REP range tells us that there is no magic REP range for maximizing muscle size. You can use both heavy approaches with a low number of repetitions (1-5), and approaches with a medium load and a high number of repetitions (15-20+), if you want.
But many people who aim to build muscle are usually not interested in using weights so heavy that they can only do five or fewer reps. And this is normal. Performing some approaches in the range of 6-8 reps is a good middle ground.
But keep in mind the quality of the technique! the
weight you use also determines the quality of the reps you perform. If the load is too high, you will not be able to perform good and high-quality repetitions.
However, at any given time in any gym, you will see at least one guy doing bicep bends or shoulder lifts, and he will have to push his lower back every time he lifts a weight.
Making this mistake is easy. After all, you're in the gym to lift weights, and everyone knows that heavy loads are an effective incentive for muscle growth, right? At least, they think so.
Training to maximize muscle mass does not mean becoming a "weightlifter", as many people think. It's about using weight as a tool to increase muscle size. Simply using as much weight as possible to impress people is an inefficient approach.
Here's what happens when you use too heavy weights:
1. you reduce the time spent under (mechanical) stress, because you have to use inertia to facilitate (sharply raise or lower, or fall sharply, which makes it easier for you)
2. You can not lower the weight slowly and controlled, which further reduces the time spent under (mechanical) stress.
3. you engage more muscles, which reduces the accumulated pumping (metabolic stress) in the muscles you are trying to affect.
Training for maximum muscle gain is not just about moving your weight from one point to another, like lifting weights. It's about managing weight across the entire range of motion.
The point of each repetition is to avoid lifting weights or making it easier for yourself by using other parts of your body to move the weight.
