Low Reps vs High Reps
I get asked this all the time, what is better – low repetitions or high
repetitions? I personally say: Do both!
Here’s why:
Lower repetitions (<6) help
develop power and as a result – myofibril hypertrophy; these are actual
contractile protein which move the muscle. This is the so-called
“functional” muscle mass. Your body uses ATP (adenosine-3-phosphate) as a
primary fuel source for working out with minimal glycogen usage. You need
lower repetitions in order to build strength and muscle density. Once you
get stronger you will be able to handle bigger weights for your long sets
and this way cause a stronger sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Getting stronger
is an incremental part of success for the natural bodybuilder. It is
important to constantly get stronger in order to force your muscles to
grow and adapt. If you stop getting stronger you put a substantial part of
your muscle building potential on stop.
Higher repetitions (>10) help
mostly with increasing sarcoplasmic hypertrophy –these are the energy
reserves of the working muscle. When you do higher repetitions the body
turns into glucose as a primary source for energy and thus the body
demands for glucose rise dramatically following such high-repetitions
training protocols. It is important to load with carbohydrates well after
training in order to charge the muscle and restore their glycogen stores
and performance potential. Higher repetitions lead to increase in muscle
size, which is not proportional to the increase in strength.
To sum up, I suggest mixing both training protocols for optimal results.
Depending on my goal and current period I can do higher reps or lower reps
or a mixture of both. I recommend you don’t do less than 3 reps in your
training, since 1 rep maxes are not optimal for training and may lead to
injury. I believe the best way is to do between 5 and 15 reps depending on
the exercise and current training goal in mind. Higher repetitions help
burn more calories and are thus more suitable for fat burning period. In
order to preserve muscle during fat burning it is also important to lift
heavy, so make sure that you include both rep ranges in your training
routine.
