Q: I’ve put on some muscle the past few months, but I’ve also added more fat than I care to admit. I figure now’s the time to start thinking about ripping up for spring and summer. Some guys at my gym said that I should start doing higher reps, but then I’ve heard that higher reps don’t burn many more calories and aren’t that great for muscle gains and that lower-rep sets are best to keep muscle. I’m confused! Will high reps help with cuts?
A: The general consensus these days is that bodybuilders should not do high reps for muscularity for the reasons you mentioned; however—and this is a BIG however—we believe high-rep sets, or at least longer tension-time sets of 40 to 50 seconds, will help you get leaner via two specific pathways:
- More muscle occlusion and burn, which in turn triggers growth hormone release—growth hormone is a potent fat burner.
- A bigger pump, which forces development of the endurance components in the muscles, including the mitochondria where fat is burned for energy.
Now, that doesn’t mean you should always do all of your work sets in the 12-to-20 zone. Most trainees need a variety of rep ranges to stress all the various muscle-building pathways—lower reps for max-force generation and higher reps (or drop sets) for endurance-component work. If you only do high reps, you miss stressing the important max-force characteristic and you can lose size in key fast-twitch power fibers.
If you use 3D POF, you cover all the muscle-building bases. You do lower reps, eight to 10, on the midrange exercises; medium reps, nine to 12, on the stretch-position exercises; and higher reps, 12 to 15 on the contracted-position moves—and you should slow down your rep cadence on the last exercise. (The 3D HIT program, which is outlined in our X-traordinary Arms ebook, has that approach for every bodypart built in.)
Longer tension times on contracted-position moves, like leg extensions for quads, is especially important, as those are the exercises with the most blood-flow blockage, or occlusion, so they are best for developing the mitochondria where fat is burned for fuel. Occlusion and muscle burn also trigger growth hormone release, which is a potent fat burner. But don’t neglect the eight-to-12 rep range on your midrange and stretch exercises, as that’s what keeps the fast-twitch fibers growing.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
www.X-Rep.com
Can You Protect Your Family?
Mike Westerdal is a renowned personal trainer and national best-selling physical preparedness author, but he’s also a father and a husband… who would do anything to protect his family.
He used to get pushed around when younger and spent years building up his body and becoming stronger, getting mentally and physically tough the hard way. As he got bigger, he learned to handle himself, and working in security, he learned first-hand how violence really plays out.
Some of the other guys online who show off their self-defense videos and books need to get a grip. The level of skill needed to pull off their basic moves is CRAZY for most ordinary people.
- If a defense system requires more than a few hours to master, it’s not a program.
- The only techniques you will ever use are the simple ones.
- They need to work for an ordinary person without prior training, technique, or ability.
- So even if you think you don’t have time to learn how to defend yourself…
- You don’t need to spend years training to be a martial artist.