Q: I’ve always thought that lower reps were for mass. Do I need high reps at all? Don’t they just deplete recovery and inject inefficiency and fatigue into hypertrophy workouts?
A: Just the opposite for most trainees. I say “most” because there are a few fast-twitch-dominant people on one end of the Bell Curve who thrive on low reps. But consider this study (Mitchell, et al. 2012)…
Trainees did three sets of leg extensions to failure three times a week for 10 weeks. And each leg was trained differently…
One leg used 80 percent 1RM (lower reps), while the other was trained with 30 percent 1RM (higher reps)…
Quad growth was excellent but not different between legs. The interesting part was…
It appeared that the heavy-load training grew primarily the fast-twitch fibers, while the light-load training increased type-1, or slow-twitch, fiber size. Remember, there was no difference in hypertrophy response…
No doubt all fiber types grew in both legs; however, heavy leans fast-twitch and lighter leans slow-twitch—because of so many preliminary reps…
Would a mix of high and low reps yield even better results? My guess would be yes…
It’s only one study, so more research is needed; however, it appears to confirm that using a variety of rep ranges can produce hypertrophy in multiple fiber types for more overall mass.
And that’s one of the key reasons I include rep ranges from 20 down to 8 in Old Man, Young Muscle over three to four sets per muscle. It works…
As I mention in OMYM (page 44), respected researcher Jerry Brainum recently said that “It’s now known that type-1 [slow-twitch] fibers are capable of showing a significant level of hypertrophy, more than previously believed.”
So including a higher-rep set or two can provide another layer of mass. And let’s not forget that a high-rep set first can trigger more fast-twitch activation on the sets after due to slow-twitch exhaustion (STX).
Sculpt your perfect physique: Get the ideal exercise for each muscle, the best add-on moves for ultimate mass, complete 35-minute workouts, exercise start/finish photos, and details on building muscle fast and efficiently in Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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