The Bodybuilding Professor

QUESTION: Dear Bryan, I started lifting while playing football in high school. Back then, my coaches always told me that low reps were for strength and high reps were for bodybuilding. Now I just want to put on more muscle size. So should I skip the low reps and stick to 12-15 reps per set?

ANSWER: Saying that low reps are for strength and high reps are for muscle building is not true. Let me explain. It isn’t really possible to completely separate strength gains from size gains. The effect of any given load (or rep range) is determined by the condition of the muscle you’re training. It’s the relative heaviness of the weight itself that determines how your body will respond to it. If you’re a bodybuilder who trains consistently with heavy weight loads like say 6-10 reps, switching to lighter weights that allow higher reps isn’t always going to cause a sudden increase in muscle size. In fact, the opposite is likely going to happen because you’ve reduced the load the muscle is exposed to. You dropped the heaviness and thus have reduced the potency of the set. What I’d recommend (assuming you’re just getting back at it) is to start using a rep range of 12-15 for the first 3 weeks. After that, increase the weight and decrease your reps to 10-12 for another 3 weeks. When you find a sweet spot where you’re making good gains, go ahead and stay with that rep range until your results begin to slow. After that, go ahead and increase the weight even further and decrease the reps to about 6-8 and squeeze out all the growth you can for a few weeks. After that, take two weeks off and then hit it again with higher reps. 

Bryan Haycock, is a well-known writer and authority in the fitness and bodybuilding industry and has gained an exceptionally strong reputation for his expertise in the field of nutrition and fitness. Haycock, a physiologist and NPC judge, holds certifications with the NSCA, ACE and is also a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. Haycock has been bodybuilding for 24 years, and is currently the Editor in Chief of www.ThinkMuscle.com. To contact Bryan Haycock, email him at: bryan@hsnhst.com

PHOTO CREDIT: JASON BREEZE