@@25johnloweI’m pretty sure it’s just cause most people train with low reps so switching to high reps hurts. If you tried lifting heavy and low reps you probably wouldn’t enjoy it much
@@rocklee1488 I do both to be honest. Go through periods of heavy lifting with mostly 5-10 and when that plateaus swich it up to high reps and back again. Also mox in pyramid sets to hit both too.
@@josephnguyen1543Yes. Muscle does not know what it’s moving. As long as you’re very close to, or actually hit failure, you will grow. That said, pushups eventually start having less effect, solely because you get so good at em that it takes forever to truly fail, and you usually stop from lactic acid pain, rather than being anywhere close to failure.
I recently decided to take my health and fitness seriously. At 44, I find high reps to be much better, as it feels like the risk of injury is much lower, joint strain is much lower. But man pushing to failure at 30 reps hurts like hell. The pump is incredible though.
Yup. First time in 6 years i finally got a propper high volume program and it's hell but I love it. 2 months in and I'm already seeing results. But damn does it hurt. I keep telling people : I'm not fighting the weight, I'm fighting the pain. Ps: try some weed before training to numb the pain and also a bit of microdosing with shrooms. It's fucking great! 😂
@@fuzzy8504 I used to have joint problems with high rep counts, but it turns out that that’s often a form issue rather than an issue with the rep count itself. If my form is good, I can do more reps comfortably. Then again, good form also allows me to work with heavier weight. (My issue is that my joints are hyper-mobile and go out of alignment easily.)
I was a gym rat for over a decade and didnt gain a pound, I got stronger but no muscle growth. Going a little lighter and slowing it down with a pause at the bottom and doing strict form to failure and cheating some more is how I grew. I also got strict on the rest periods and started wearing a watch doing 1 minute rest periods. Every set was to failure!!! Never rack it if the last rep was comfortable.
Stopped ego lifting years ago. Went high rep to failure, stayed injury free, got fitter and stimulated growth faster. High rep drop sets with minimal rest make you leave the gym feeling like you’ve been in a major incident 😂😂
This is what gets me. Sometimes going for longer than 12 reps really starts to burn and I end up ducking out early. I really need to try hanging on and pumping hose reps out until the very end of failure.
Don't actually get to failure. The closer to failure you get the more cortisol you release and that'll inhibit muscle growth. 3-2 reps away from failure is more ideal. Less fatigue allows for more volume too.
I wouldn’t mind high reps, it just adds up to a significant time difference. I like to spend as little time in the gym as possible, so going heavier usually works better for me in achieving that
@grischad20 i think you're just wrong on recuperating slower after high reps with the high reps your primarily using a ton less weight which causes less stress on the joint also lower chance of injury
@@Backlash00z89 2 different kind of recuperations. short term recuperation between sets is a lot faster when you don't have to wait for your muscle to get rid of all the lactic acid from a long set. so your stay at the gym is that much longer.
I like relatively heavier weights because A) it’s easier for me to maintain focus for only 5 to 12 reps as opposed to more where I tend to unavoidably get bored and B) a preponderance of evidence suggests that you can stimulate maximum hypertrophic stimulus with lower reps and heavier weights with a couple reps in the tank, but with very high reps, it seems you have to take it to or extremely near failure just to equal that stimulus. It’s just personal preference. Some people like me like to hyper focus with lower rep sets and pour 100% intensity into that; others are able to maintain that concentration with higher reps and are able to conjure up just as much sustained intensity. It depends on how you’re psychologically wired and your mindset. I don’t think one way is necessarily better than the other in terms of results and injury prevention as long as the programming and recovery is all dialed in
My strategy is to do drop sets past failure on every set. You can go super heavy at first, then move to lighter. You get the benefits of strength training while also getting the benefits of higher volume.
Doing those reps is a waste of time if you're actually training for hypertrophy and trying to get as big as possible. Training in those really high rep ranges only works if you're on steroids
@@CalvinPowell4737 sorry, i really respect your opinion but I don't believe that. Studies show that the range of 6 to 30 reps can cause the same hypertrophy, even on naturals.
@@luismatias5051I respect your opinion but no It can provide a similar muscle group but not the same. If you want the best, 6 to 12 reps is the way to go. Anything over 12 reps is cardio in my opinion and you don't need to be doing more cardio than going on a run and walking on the treadmill. I can understand that rep range if you're dealing with injuries, but other than that if you want to train to get as big as you want and build muscle, 6 to 12 reps is the way to go.
My philosophy has always been high sets over reps, it builds power and endurance and overall I've always been intuitively sure the resultant muscle growth is more potent (based of the fact that I've trained with both styles).
The most important thing is you have to STRETCH those muscles when your lifting. If you're just powering through the weights but not giving your muscles that full stretch in, you're losing out on gains. A full range of motion is always better than more reps and heavier loads
I used to go heavy in order to get strength and muscle gains, but training heavy on every set has you beat less than halfway into your workout. I start heavy, then keep it lighter with each exercise, and it works way better.
I think that the 5-8 rep range is the best bang for your buck (hypertrophy and strength wise, of course if these reps sre taken to or close to failure)
You also need into take into account that lactic acid build up and the reason why it’s happening. If you aren’t getting sufficient oxygen to your cells, glucose will still break down into pyruvate, but instead of going to the Calvin cycle and electron transport chain (where ATP (your cell’s energy) is made and required for everything including rebuilding muscle), pyruvate can be stored and later turned back into glucose and be stored as fat. So if you don’t breathe correctly and feel the lactic acid “burn” in your muscle, you may not get much gains, AND may gain fat as well.
I tried going to 20 reps for a chest workout last night. It feels different but lifting heavy is more fun. I was convinced to try it out after seeing a video of Jake Cutler saying if you're stuck on a pr take 2 weeks doing 15-20 reps and then try heavy again and you'll see a difference.
This is really helpful for me. Makes me feel less lame! A guy starting out using light dumbbells until I can find cheap upgrades. Skinny 40yr who doesn't like eating. 5'7 130 normally, 8lb dumbbells and bodyweight and now I'm 142 heaviest of my entire life. 5ish weeks. Thanks Dr Mike you've helped me feel my best.
I find higher rep ranges easier as a beginner regarding the precision and control and consistency of the movement. My cardio also slacks and at very heavy weight I can get out of breath.
I can’t imagine going to 30 reps. But I did listen to Mike and I lightened the weight enough to go from 6 reps to 10 really slow reps with a couple in the tank. I’m making gains, and my aching joints love it.
I’ve heard this before from Dr. Mike and I guess I failed to really internalize what he said. So I ended up needlessly injuring my elbow during curls. While your muscles like to push heavy weight, your joints hate it and they’ll punish you for it. Lighter weight with higher reps is easier on the joints (as Dr. Mike has said before).
I don't know if that's necessarily true, as long as your technique is on point you are prob even safer doing heavier weights and less reps over the course of years/decades, since athleanX also pointed out wear and tear on tendons, ligaments etc is chronically accumulating much more with light weights and more reps. But I havent seen any proves or studies on this, neither from Dr Mike or Jeff Cavaliere, so both ways it's prob just a thesis
@@cix9420 It really depends if you're used to that weight or not. If you haven't done your 6 rep max in months on something like a bicep curl, that's a recipe for disaster. I'd slowly increase the weight from a 15 rep max to a 6 rep max by increasing the weight gradually.
@@Megabear90 I’m also unsure and it‘s prob not proven with certainty in any direction, also bc it’s not easy to generalise, speaking from person to person but also from joint to joint. Swimmers for example are in risk subacromial complications due to repetitive but very low impact motions. Same goes for tennis or golfers elbow. Would someone with a tennis arm have gotten a tennis arm earlier or later in life with a heavier racket and less hits or with a lighter racket and more hits…
I've been training this way for a couple years. My progress skyrocketed when I did this. I like long lifts, so it's not am inconvenience. And, in my experience, has helped a whole lot with my stabilizers
5 reps RPE 8 is a completely different game than 20 reps RPE 8. Needs to be like a % scale. So - 5/7 = 0.714 then 0.714 x 20 = 14.28. The equivalent of RPE 8 at 5 reps would be RPE 5 at 20 reps. Dig?
@@michaelbelanger2861 5 reps at RPE 8 is a very productive set. 14 reps with 6 more in the tank is a warm-up set. Doesn't matter tho, nobody who's doing high reps is counting RPE. Just go to failure and don't overcomplicate things. RPE was developed and is mainly used by Powerlifters for Squat, Bench and Deadlift. I hope you're not out here doing 20 rep Deadlifts.
I just simply do high or low rep ranges depending on the exercise. Lateral raises, calf raises, tricep extensions, bicep curls I go at least 10-12, aiming for 15. Bench, Lat pulldowns, log press/military press I go heavier for 5-7. I don't wanna injure my shoulders (again) from doing stupid heavy lateral raises, or wear out my elbows with overly heavy curls/extensions, but I also really enjoy Strongman style movements like Log press.
The difference is, heavy weight, when you cant lift it anymore will cause injury, light weights wont injure you but it takes a long time to get to failure causing more time
@@Aeturnum.Sir injuries happen in the gym some of the greatest strongest people known to man have gotten injured in the gym while they preach perfect form lol
@stanimirivanov4052 you're just wrong. I mean even larry wheels lifting partner tore his pec doing heavy lifting lmao actually bench specifically but either way it's not a chest ripping issue it's the strain it puts on your shoulders and elbows
I try to stay lean and cut as I can. A ton of cardio and high rep pullups and dips after. I think there's absolutely a connection between high reps and the best muscle tone.
I am not good at many things but I was genetically gifted in the speed, strength, and ability areas. Got hurt in a car accident and joined the military. I got hurt in Iraq and now I can’t lift heavy weights anymore. People ask me all the time what my 1 rep or 5 rep max is. I haven’t done that in years but I look big. 15-18 reps, 3 sets, and I keep my workouts under a hour.
@@Zekschwein they again, old untrained people are so far in the beginner zone that the benefits will be insane. I'm not talking about gains, but actual functional Mobility, as in getting out of a chair etc. It does hurt a little to see someone basically throw away a good workout by simply not trying hard though, no matter the age.
1-5 for strength 6-12 for size 13-20 for fullness 21-30 for shape 31-50+ for endurance Strength and endurance are on a spectrum And size and shape also are on a spectrum Which is why most professional bodybuilders use the 12/13-20 range because you get a balance of everything. But not as strong as a weightlifter or as fit as an athlete/fighter.
The biggest issue I have with low waight and high reps is that compared to sets of 5 to 8 is the timle you have to spend in the gym. Not all of us are pro's and have other jobs/comitments. I love the low weight up to high (30) sets when recovering from an injury. You can stop at 18 or anywhere for that mather and not damage your recovering body.
Clients struggle greatly w/ hitting failure in both rep ranges. Most just don’t have it in them. Some of this can be overcome w/ volume but once that has limits, it’s long plateaus 😮
I don't get it. If it takes 20 reps to get to the hard part, then why not just skip to the hard part (where the damage happens, which leads to rebuilding, which is the gains)?
Because they are regarded. No need to go above 8 reps maybe 10 depending on the exercise. There is no way in hell someone training exclusively in the the 15-30 range can make the same progress as they would training in the 5-10. It’s impossible. The fatigue will simply rack up way too quick, dramatically impairing each subsequent set in the workout worse and worse and leave you under recovered like a mofo due to all the muscle damage.
@@positivelynegative9149 Muscle damage doesn’t stimulate muscle growth, it blunts it. Mechanical tension and progressive overload is where the gains are at.
Two months into Ryan Humiston's: fu*ked from the start high volume training and it's pain... So much pain... Never thought I'd grunt in pain from doing db lateral raises with 15s lbs . But results already showing so it's worth it.
I went on the broccoli and collflower diet and very light weight for about 3 weeks! I believe it helps with not having injury of ligament and tendons. Now I do two twenty very light sets, one as heavy as I can stand. And descending there after.
Light to moderate weight is much easier on your joints. Figure total amount of weight moved is going to be similar if you go to safe failure, able to rack the weight without dying. 15 or so reps, 5 or 6 sets is pretty good.
I only had light weights when I started 5 months ago so I took this advice and it actually worked. Still bought heavier weights, both to save time and to avoid the prolonged pain
Reverse pyramid has been my go to recently 👌🏽💪🏽 I rep 3plates/side but was barely able to finish my last few sets with only 25s on each side for bench... Felt like I could barely wipe my forehead when I was done
I like doing 15 to 20 reps as a warm up to working sets. Go heavier, 12 to 15 reps, add weight until I can only do 1 within 3 to 4 sets with 30 to 60 second rest. Then maybe do some drop sets. All the while, slow eccentric, being mindful of good form and breathing. And stop if there's any joint pain. I'm an older dog with a mixed bag of injuries. Stay Healthy and keep pushing. Peace
It depends on the body type and the genetic makeup of the person. If you have crap genetics you will need to push heavy weight. I know because I followed the less weight high rep's thing because I did not want to injure myself. I got nowhere. I started lifting heavy and started seeing results. Everyone is different you need to experiment and find what works for you. I have to work 10 times as harder than most people to get the same results thay get.
I think the trx rows are great for back growth- not super heavy but you can get some great stretch/contraction and slightly vary the angle to grind out a last rep
compounds 6-8 go up to max 10 and isolations do the same or you could go up to 12-15 depending on what muscle. For me lat raises i go much higher in reps before progressively overloading so say after hitting 15 id up the weight and do 12 and get back to 16. Same with flies. Do what feels good if you are a natty and not competing
I have some chronic pain in both arms and hands, so while doing high reps my grip strength limits me before I even reach my max rep. So I have been doing sets of 4…5 reps, controlling the negative slowly and pushing or pulling as hard as I can. The pain is still there but that way I can actually gain more strength and build some muscle. For those that say high reps are hard because it’s boring, try some kind of breathing exercise, if you already have perfect technique, look at some fixed point in front of you and pay attention only to your breathing, in and out, time passes way faster that way.
I love doing high rep volume to progressive overloaded because I get to listen to the best parts of each song when I'm lifting. If I go low rep with heavy weights, let's say 5 × 5, it becomes a waste because the set ends so quickly and then I have to rest like 3 minutes so the best songs that I played become wasted but with the high rep, low rest time sets, I get to jam with my music and enjoy the pain and suffering of the set
As someone that used to squat singles, doubles, triples, and sets of 5 at close to or at my max for each consistently - all of those were easy compared to the occassional 20 rep max me and my training partners would occassionally do together. It. Was. AGONY.
Very very good advice, I believe. If you’ve ever done a drop set with bench press, by the time you’re on the last set and it’s only the bar your muscles are done….the bar alone is as heavy as ever 😂 …..
This is good to know. I don't think I am getting a ton of muscle growth tbh, but I specifically try to keep weights light because I workout at home with limited weights and without anyone there to spot me or save me if the weight ends up being too heavy for me 😅.
Lee Haney gave the best advice. Stimulate don't annihilate, if you're not taking PED's. And you do what this man is suggesting even with light weights all you will keep doing is pumping your pump.
Yeah but you could take that saying the other way as in stimulate lower weight hitting reps instead of annihilate the muscles with big heavy weight like dorian & coleman did. As to my knowledge he never actually went into detail about that saying
@@Sjr475 Just passing on what Mike Mentzer taught in his books on training. When you use light weights and do the exercise properly in a slow controlled motion, and only do 1 set like MM say's. By slow, the pull should be a 5-8 count, squeeze in the contraction for a 4 count and then return to the home position, the negative with a 5-7 count. 1 set to failure. You will be amazed; the book is Heavy Duty. And don't forget MM trained some of the Olympia winners, and he was one himself. He stated the year he won the O, He worked out only 1x the week before the contest for 20 min!!!! His words.
I used to have a rep competition with a friend of mine, on bench, at a weight of just 135. Oddly, my 1 rep max jumped from about 285 to 315 in that time. But because of rushing the early reps my tendinitis flared up too.
Ah so now that's something interesting for me who somehow cannot get my lats to grow With assisted pullups. Now I have a clear way to know how to improve! Thanks doctor Mike!
Light /high reps saved me, I have shoulder problems, but exploring online , and try out high repetitions, wow 😳, a new gym world opening for me …. But , when I go early to the gym , always high repetitions, because I just woke up, and later in the evening, heavyweights… I like them both… my body had become, I would say “tighter “ best of both worlds 😉
I tend to use high-rep sets for isolated leg exercises just so I can try and get past that systemic fatigue, but man I'll tell you, when that acid starts coming in at rep 8/15 for leg extensions, and you have to fight through the agony until those last 3 gorgeously painful reps, the absolute RELIEF and ENDORPHIN RUSH from finishing is enough to make me giggle like a schoolgirl every time I finish a set
My sweet spots are the 3-5, 10-12, and occasionally 15-20. My only biggest issue is the eating. My buddies keep dogging on me because I'm always under my calories, and not enough protein. I get it, I'm not eating "like a man", so i haven't grown that much. But I just love the feeling of training, the pain, the exhaustion, all of it! I'm just venting guys, but i will start eating proper to my goals in time, i know I will! 😢
I like to do sets of 20 and the muscles stop burning after a while, not like I'm not reaching failure or increasing the weight but the burn is much more manageable, it's also good for mind muscle connection and technique, so after a while they become like the 5-10 rep range burn wise you just need to choose the right load
I like to kinda mix it up. I do 3-4 sets where i get my 7-8 reps in ( making sure to push myself to the point where i cant anymore ) but after. 4 sets i am so exhausted and i don’t want to rest for ages ( i rest between. 2-3 minutes, so,5 sets take me like 15 minutes ) so i start pushing myself for the last set and everytime i hit failure i decrease the weight, push to failure, decrease again, push again. I am new in the gym ( 1 year ) but this has been the kind of workout that felt the best for me so far, made me really exhausted and i could really feel it afterwards
If you're referring to the Brad Schoenfeld study, it demonstrated that you can train as low as 30% of your 1RM, as long as you train to failure. Yes, it did show muscular growth, but no strength increases.
Getting to failure is the main objective but also having your body adapt to heavier loads is also important I usually tain somewhere in the middle heavy but something I can at least get a good 8 reps out of
I train moderate weight, 5-10 reps on compound movements, 10-15 on iso movements. Example i go 15 lbs for 15 reps for 3 sets twice a week on lat raises. My shoulders have doubled in size since i started training (i added maybe 1 inch lol)
As a 49-year-old man with a torn rotator cuff, it is not even in my world to go heavy so I am bound by lightweights and high reps. And I tell you what's that stuff burns! I feel like it does get good results but it takes longer to get there. But again I have no choice I can't ego lift and have to take the rep road.
I do 18 reps And almost all of my exercises, by the time I hit 18th rap. I am burning up but I figure. The lower weights will save my joints and tendon.
I did this thing we're on accessory lifts, I would do 2 sets of 15 reps and then on the 3rd set, if I could get more than 25 reps, I'd increase the weight. I stopped because I hated those high reps. It just made the set feel like it took forever. I've reduced the reps to 12 for the first 2 sets and then an amrap for the 3rd and upped the weight.
Doing 30lb hitting 35 to 48 reps with slow motion control on the lowering with some 5sec pauses. Love the pump 💪 but wondering if I'm over training. Felo brother's I'm in need of knowledge.
I learned doing 20 reps at 80%-85% max builds muscle endurance and strength. I learned this by trial and error later on in my life training. I got the most growth and strength that way
I love burnouts. Reach failure at 20 reps. Decrease weight. Reach failure again. Decrease weight. Go until you’re doing 5 lbs, reach failure. You’ll actually see pretty good muscle growth and you’ll have DOMS like crazy the next day. Plus if you’re starting out this is way better for your joints and ligaments to adapt and decreases risk of injury. I would do this before starting heavy sets if you’re just starting out 100%
I think that’s why they say 8-10 rep range is optimal for muscle growth. It’s tough to keep that kind of mind muscle connection and form for 20 reps. And heavy weight is tougher on the joints. 8-10 is a happy medium if you’re going to failure
I don’t go heavy for ego, it’s cause I’m too lazy to do high reps.
I'm currently trying to increase my strength, not necessarily my size, so I'm lifting heavy. Departure from my previous methods but it's paying off
And I can't count while lifting, too focused on not dying.
because*
"Cause" means something very different.
@@OriginalPuro It means because colloquially
Same!
I don't mind the pain, but I do not have the patience for these high-rep sets. Boredom is worse than pain.
Boredom IS pain. 😄
Patience for 12 reps?
@@LK25278 Yeah, not just rushing through the first half of the set and doing them properly takes a lot of patience
@@LK25278 He was talking 20-30 reps...
@LK25278 You don't even have the patience to write a full sentence
Those high rep ranges are just mental as fuck.
It's mental and physical torture for me
why? can you explain? I don't find sets of 20-30 bad at all, and i push till failure and sometimes beyond.
@@25johnloweI’m pretty sure it’s just cause most people train with low reps so switching to high reps hurts. If you tried lifting heavy and low reps you probably wouldn’t enjoy it much
@@rocklee1488 I do both to be honest. Go through periods of heavy lifting with mostly 5-10 and when that plateaus swich it up to high reps and back again. Also mox in pyramid sets to hit both too.
@@25johnlowe I think it's good to do both. They're kinda different training, one focuses more on endurance and the other strength.
Finally someone in the muscle industry that speaks like they know how to read. Good work
Hey watch your words, someone might hit you in the neck!
Derek from More Plates More Dates is great too. Lots of good information from him
@@JorisWeima There's that guy but there's also that high pitched double faced dude although he seems tame... For now.
@@w花b hahaH who do u mean?
@@w花bMario??
I've trained light weight til failure my entire life and you're absolutely right
“All the weights are light”
lightweight, baby
Does this apply to calesthenics where you do 40 pushups to failure or something and get muscle hypertrophy?
@@josephnguyen1543Yes. Muscle does not know what it’s moving. As long as you’re very close to, or actually hit failure, you will grow. That said, pushups eventually start having less effect, solely because you get so good at em that it takes forever to truly fail, and you usually stop from lactic acid pain, rather than being anywhere close to failure.
@@thetowndrunk988 I see, that's when the more difficult variations of pushups come to play I assume?
I recently decided to take my health and fitness seriously. At 44, I find high reps to be much better, as it feels like the risk of injury is much lower, joint strain is much lower. But man pushing to failure at 30 reps hurts like hell. The pump is incredible though.
Yup. First time in 6 years i finally got a propper high volume program and it's hell but I love it. 2 months in and I'm already seeing results. But damn does it hurt. I keep telling people : I'm not fighting the weight, I'm fighting the pain.
Ps: try some weed before training to numb the pain and also a bit of microdosing with shrooms. It's fucking great! 😂
i’m taking note of that, i’ll give it a shot because my joints aren’t the best when i use high volume when working out.
@@fuzzy8504 I used to have joint problems with high rep counts, but it turns out that that’s often a form issue rather than an issue with the rep count itself. If my form is good, I can do more reps comfortably.
Then again, good form also allows me to work with heavier weight.
(My issue is that my joints are hyper-mobile and go out of alignment easily.)
@ noted 👍
😂😂 your just scared and looking for excuses not to lift heavy 😂😂
I grind even harder whenever I see Dr Mike's huge, bulging, veiny head.
Thats called lust man
@@robothug6688 lmfaooo
which head
@@SeedOilFitnessOfficial the big one
@@SeedOilFitnessOfficial Both are glorious, either is acceptable gym psych-up material
I was a gym rat for over a decade and didnt gain a pound, I got stronger but no muscle growth. Going a little lighter and slowing it down with a pause at the bottom and doing strict form to failure and cheating some more is how I grew. I also got strict on the rest periods and started wearing a watch doing 1 minute rest periods. Every set was to failure!!! Never rack it if the last rep was comfortable.
Stopped ego lifting years ago. Went high rep to failure, stayed injury free, got fitter and stimulated growth faster. High rep drop sets with minimal rest make you leave the gym feeling like you’ve been in a major incident 😂😂
@@WJW2272 you know it was good when your shirt is tighter and you get an endorphin release ROFL
I'm at the same point as you were. Thank you for your comment, it helps a lot 🙏
What's the ideal rest time? I rest like 20-30 seconds. Is that alright?
Hell yeah brother! One more for the emperor!
This is what gets me. Sometimes going for longer than 12 reps really starts to burn and I end up ducking out early.
I really need to try hanging on and pumping hose reps out until the very end of failure.
it blows you up like a balloon feels great
One more rep!! For the emperor!
I only get this with leg extensions. The burn is crazy and actually makes me mad 😅
Don't actually get to failure. The closer to failure you get the more cortisol you release and that'll inhibit muscle growth. 3-2 reps away from failure is more ideal. Less fatigue allows for more volume too.
@@DJ_Mooseknucks is there any proven study about that?
I wouldn’t mind high reps, it just adds up to a significant time difference. I like to spend as little time in the gym as possible, so going heavier usually works better for me in achieving that
not only does the set take longer, recuperation also take longer.
@grischad20 i think you're just wrong on recuperating slower after high reps with the high reps your primarily using a ton less weight which causes less stress on the joint also lower chance of injury
@@Backlash00z89 2 different kind of recuperations. short term recuperation between sets is a lot faster when you don't have to wait for your muscle to get rid of all the lactic acid from a long set. so your stay at the gym is that much longer.
@grischad20
I still don’t think that’s true, heavy low reps make me take a long time to recover
Good point.
I like relatively heavier weights because A) it’s easier for me to maintain focus for only 5 to 12 reps as opposed to more where I tend to unavoidably get bored and B) a preponderance of evidence suggests that you can stimulate maximum hypertrophic stimulus with lower reps and heavier weights with a couple reps in the tank, but with very high reps, it seems you have to take it to or extremely near failure just to equal that stimulus. It’s just personal preference. Some people like me like to hyper focus with lower rep sets and pour 100% intensity into that; others are able to maintain that concentration with higher reps and are able to conjure up just as much sustained intensity. It depends on how you’re psychologically wired and your mindset. I don’t think one way is necessarily better than the other in terms of results and injury prevention as long as the programming and recovery is all dialed in
My strategy is to do drop sets past failure on every set. You can go super heavy at first, then move to lighter. You get the benefits of strength training while also getting the benefits of higher volume.
I love 20 - 30 reps, you can feel burning the muscle and mind muscle connection is great.
Doing those reps is a waste of time if you're actually training for hypertrophy and trying to get as big as possible. Training in those really high rep ranges only works if you're on steroids
@@CalvinPowell4737 sorry, i really respect your opinion but I don't believe that. Studies show that the range of 6 to 30 reps can cause the same hypertrophy, even on naturals.
@@luismatias5051I respect your opinion but no It can provide a similar muscle group but not the same. If you want the best, 6 to 12 reps is the way to go. Anything over 12 reps is cardio in my opinion and you don't need to be doing more cardio than going on a run and walking on the treadmill. I can understand that rep range if you're dealing with injuries, but other than that if you want to train to get as big as you want and build muscle, 6 to 12 reps is the way to go.
@@CalvinPowell4737 thank you for share but I will continue with my preference. It works for me and training has a big individual component too.
@@CalvinPowell4737 That might be your opinion but science says otherwise
My philosophy has always been high sets over reps, it builds power and endurance and overall I've always been intuitively sure the resultant muscle growth is more potent (based of the fact that I've trained with both styles).
The most important thing is you have to STRETCH those muscles when your lifting. If you're just powering through the weights but not giving your muscles that full stretch in, you're losing out on gains. A full range of motion is always better than more reps and heavier loads
I used to go heavy in order to get strength and muscle gains, but training heavy on every set has you beat less than halfway into your workout. I start heavy, then keep it lighter with each exercise, and it works way better.
I think that the 5-8 rep range is the best bang for your buck (hypertrophy and strength wise, of course if these reps sre taken to or close to failure)
You also need into take into account that lactic acid build up and the reason why it’s happening. If you aren’t getting sufficient oxygen to your cells, glucose will still break down into pyruvate, but instead of going to the Calvin cycle and electron transport chain (where ATP (your cell’s energy) is made and required for everything including rebuilding muscle), pyruvate can be stored and later turned back into glucose and be stored as fat. So if you don’t breathe correctly and feel the lactic acid “burn” in your muscle, you may not get much gains, AND may gain fat as well.
I tried going to 20 reps for a chest workout last night. It feels different but lifting heavy is more fun. I was convinced to try it out after seeing a video of Jake Cutler saying if you're stuck on a pr take 2 weeks doing 15-20 reps and then try heavy again and you'll see a difference.
Try 10-15 instead of 15-20 then. Thats what I did, and coincidentally it was after i saw that same jay cutler vid a few months ago
@@Uzi16_29 oh nice, did you lift heavy again after?
Now you two kiss
The respect is amazing this is what boxing is about true warriors
This is really helpful for me. Makes me feel less lame! A guy starting out using light dumbbells until I can find cheap upgrades. Skinny 40yr who doesn't like eating. 5'7 130 normally, 8lb dumbbells and bodyweight and now I'm 142 heaviest of my entire life. 5ish weeks. Thanks Dr Mike you've helped me feel my best.
Run conjugate and you'll get big, fast and strong as all get out.
Everybody is different .its all down to the individual. Experimeng with both then get best of both worlds😊
I did low rep for a long time. Switching to 15 and higher feels great.
I find higher rep ranges easier as a beginner regarding the precision and control and consistency of the movement. My cardio also slacks and at very heavy weight I can get out of breath.
Thanks, Mike good to know
Tare to max repair and relax (for bulk). Lights over time leaves weakness behind (for strength). Words to live by.
I never lift too heavy. Good to know you can still grow muscle.
U can never lift too heavy
@@obitouchiha3974 I have scoliosis
I can’t imagine going to 30 reps. But I did listen to Mike and I lightened the weight enough to go from 6 reps to 10 really slow reps with a couple in the tank. I’m making gains, and my aching joints love it.
I’ve heard this before from Dr. Mike and I guess I failed to really internalize what he said. So I ended up needlessly injuring my elbow during curls. While your muscles like to push heavy weight, your joints hate it and they’ll punish you for it. Lighter weight with higher reps is easier on the joints (as Dr. Mike has said before).
I don't know if that's necessarily true, as long as your technique is on point you are prob even safer doing heavier weights and less reps over the course of years/decades, since athleanX also pointed out wear and tear on tendons, ligaments etc is chronically accumulating much more with light weights and more reps.
But I havent seen any proves or studies on this, neither from Dr Mike or Jeff Cavaliere, so both ways it's prob just a thesis
I mean doing 6+ reps on curls should be okay if it isnt ur joints might be weak
@@cix9420 It really depends if you're used to that weight or not. If you haven't done your 6 rep max in months on something like a bicep curl, that's a recipe for disaster. I'd slowly increase the weight from a 15 rep max to a 6 rep max by increasing the weight gradually.
@@imensm10 I'm very unsure if the statement made by athleanx is true.
@@Megabear90 I’m also unsure and it‘s prob not proven with certainty in any direction, also bc it’s not easy to generalise, speaking from person to person but also from joint to joint. Swimmers for example are in risk subacromial complications due to repetitive but very low impact motions. Same goes for tennis or golfers elbow. Would someone with a tennis arm have gotten a tennis arm earlier or later in life with a heavier racket and less hits or with a lighter racket and more hits…
I've been training this way for a couple years. My progress skyrocketed when I did this. I like long lifts, so it's not am inconvenience. And, in my experience, has helped a whole lot with my stabilizers
5 reps RPE 8 is a completely different game than 20 reps RPE 8. Needs to be like a % scale. So - 5/7 = 0.714 then 0.714 x 20 = 14.28. The equivalent of RPE 8 at 5 reps would be RPE 5 at 20 reps. Dig?
That's not how it works.
@@batataandshawarmalover it?
@@michaelbelanger2861 5 reps at RPE 8 is a very productive set. 14 reps with 6 more in the tank is a warm-up set.
Doesn't matter tho, nobody who's doing high reps is counting RPE. Just go to failure and don't overcomplicate things. RPE was developed and is mainly used by Powerlifters for Squat, Bench and Deadlift. I hope you're not out here doing 20 rep Deadlifts.
@@batataandshawarmaloverthat’s MY point.
I just simply do high or low rep ranges depending on the exercise. Lateral raises, calf raises, tricep extensions, bicep curls I go at least 10-12, aiming for 15. Bench, Lat pulldowns, log press/military press I go heavier for 5-7. I don't wanna injure my shoulders (again) from doing stupid heavy lateral raises, or wear out my elbows with overly heavy curls/extensions, but I also really enjoy Strongman style movements like Log press.
The difference is, heavy weight, when you cant lift it anymore will cause injury, light weights wont injure you but it takes a long time to get to failure causing more time
if you get injured doing heavy weight then your lifting wrong
@@Aeturnum.Sir injuries happen in the gym some of the greatest strongest people known to man have gotten injured in the gym while they preach perfect form lol
Especially at the bench press. How many videos of ripped of chest muscles when doing heavy. Never. Only high reps, and they also keeps you more agile
@stanimirivanov4052 you're just wrong. I mean even larry wheels lifting partner tore his pec doing heavy lifting lmao actually bench specifically but either way it's not a chest ripping issue it's the strain it puts on your shoulders and elbows
I try to stay lean and cut as I can. A ton of cardio and high rep pullups and dips after. I think there's absolutely a connection between high reps and the best muscle tone.
I am not good at many things but I was genetically gifted in the speed, strength, and ability areas. Got hurt in a car accident and joined the military. I got hurt in Iraq and now I can’t lift heavy weights anymore. People ask me all the time what my 1 rep or 5 rep max is. I haven’t done that in years but I look big. 15-18 reps, 3 sets, and I keep my workouts under a hour.
Facts, form over everything, I throw in high resistance cardio machines like the elliptical or row machine or something like that in between workouts
I guess another benefit is that its technically much safer?
That’s what I was thinking as well. Especially people ages 40-70 why risk it with heavy weights if they can grow same with lighter…?
@@Bitcoin-Busa a lot of old people train with like 15 RIR and at that point it's just good for them to be doing the movements, not much else
@@Zekschwein they again, old untrained people are so far in the beginner zone that the benefits will be insane. I'm not talking about gains, but actual functional Mobility, as in getting out of a chair etc.
It does hurt a little to see someone basically throw away a good workout by simply not trying hard though, no matter the age.
@@Megabear90 but unlike most other people their age they actually showed up
1-5 for strength
6-12 for size
13-20 for fullness
21-30 for shape
31-50+ for endurance
Strength and endurance are on a spectrum
And size and shape also are on a spectrum
Which is why most professional bodybuilders use the 12/13-20 range because you get a balance of everything. But not as strong as a weightlifter or as fit as an athlete/fighter.
The biggest issue I have with low waight and high reps is that compared to sets of 5 to 8 is the timle you have to spend in the gym. Not all of us are pro's and have other jobs/comitments.
I love the low weight up to high (30) sets when recovering from an injury. You can stop at 18 or anywhere for that mather and not damage your recovering body.
I just can get over his blink it looks like he is in pain everytime
Clients struggle greatly w/ hitting failure in both rep ranges. Most just don’t have it in them. Some of this can be overcome w/ volume but once that has limits, it’s long plateaus 😮
I don't get it. If it takes 20 reps to get to the hard part, then why not just skip to the hard part (where the damage happens, which leads to rebuilding, which is the gains)?
High reps means low weighs, which is better for your joints and probably your tendons
Because they are regarded. No need to go above 8 reps maybe 10 depending on the exercise. There is no way in hell someone training exclusively in the the 15-30 range can make the same progress as they would training in the 5-10. It’s impossible. The fatigue will simply rack up way too quick, dramatically impairing each subsequent set in the workout worse and worse and leave you under recovered like a mofo due to all the muscle damage.
@@Netherlands031 Heavier weight are better for your tendons because they actually cause them to stiffen and become more resilient as you make gains.
@andrewsmith5512 "regarded" 🤣
@@positivelynegative9149 Muscle damage doesn’t stimulate muscle growth, it blunts it. Mechanical tension and progressive overload is where the gains are at.
Two months into Ryan Humiston's: fu*ked from the start high volume training and it's pain... So much pain... Never thought I'd grunt in pain from doing db lateral raises with 15s lbs . But results already showing so it's worth it.
If you can do 30 reps of a given weight, you're doing cardio.
I think it would depend how you're lifting them, but even if it also counts as cardio, it's also grows muscle...
Appreciate your content
I went on the broccoli and collflower diet and very light weight for about 3 weeks! I believe it helps with not having injury of ligament and tendons. Now I do two twenty very light sets, one as heavy as I can stand. And descending there after.
Bookmarking this for the next time a bro at the gym has unsolicited advice 😅
Sharing. Appreciate you
I'm down 18 lbs , fun new veins as a fat guy.
I don't have any supplements but went 306lb to 240lb for a while, hit 219. It's go time.
Light to moderate weight is much easier on your joints. Figure total amount of weight moved is going to be similar if you go to safe failure, able to rack the weight without dying. 15 or so reps, 5 or 6 sets is pretty good.
I only had light weights when I started 5 months ago so I took this advice and it actually worked. Still bought heavier weights, both to save time and to avoid the prolonged pain
Reverse pyramid has been my go to recently 👌🏽💪🏽 I rep 3plates/side but was barely able to finish my last few sets with only 25s on each side for bench... Felt like I could barely wipe my forehead when I was done
Jay cutler 8 to 12 , and staying injury free has been my best and most effective gym split weekly routine 5 days a week
I’ve had back & neck issues so I like to go with a lower weight and higher reps, and it seems to work for me💪🏽👑
Needed to hear this as gonna be working out at home so can’t go super heavy thank you!
I like doing 15 to 20 reps as a warm up to working sets.
Go heavier, 12 to 15 reps, add weight until I can only do 1 within 3 to 4 sets with 30 to 60 second rest.
Then maybe do some drop sets.
All the while, slow eccentric, being mindful of good form and breathing.
And stop if there's any joint pain.
I'm an older dog with a mixed bag of injuries.
Stay Healthy and keep pushing.
Peace
May God bless you 🙏 for yuor honesty and wisdom 🙏 yuo don't have a idea how much at really helps 🙏
It depends on the body type and the genetic makeup of the person. If you have crap genetics you will need to push heavy weight. I know because I followed the less weight high rep's thing because I did not want to injure myself. I got nowhere. I started lifting heavy and started seeing results. Everyone is different you need to experiment and find what works for you. I have to work 10 times as harder than most people to get the same results thay get.
I think the trx rows are great for back growth- not super heavy but you can get some great stretch/contraction and slightly vary the angle to grind out a last rep
compounds 6-8 go up to max 10 and isolations do the same or you could go up to 12-15 depending on what muscle. For me lat raises i go much higher in reps before progressively overloading so say after hitting 15 id up the weight and do 12 and get back to 16. Same with flies. Do what feels good if you are a natty and not competing
I have some chronic pain in both arms and hands, so while doing high reps my grip strength limits me before I even reach my max rep.
So I have been doing sets of 4…5 reps, controlling the negative slowly and pushing or pulling as hard as I can.
The pain is still there but that way I can actually gain more strength and build some muscle.
For those that say high reps are hard because it’s boring, try some kind of breathing exercise, if you already have perfect technique, look at some fixed point in front of you and pay attention only to your breathing, in and out, time passes way faster that way.
Been experimenting doing this with resistance bands, dumbells and kettlebells.
I love doing high rep volume to progressive overloaded because I get to listen to the best parts of each song when I'm lifting.
If I go low rep with heavy weights, let's say 5 × 5, it becomes a waste because the set ends so quickly and then I have to rest like 3 minutes so the best songs that I played become wasted but with the high rep, low rest time sets, I get to jam with my music and enjoy the pain and suffering of the set
I do FST-7 since 3 weeks. Really nice training.
As someone that used to squat singles, doubles, triples, and sets of 5 at close to or at my max for each consistently - all of those were easy compared to the occassional 20 rep max me and my training partners would occassionally do together. It. Was. AGONY.
Very very good advice, I believe. If you’ve ever done a drop set with bench press, by the time you’re on the last set and it’s only the bar your muscles are done….the bar alone is as heavy as ever 😂 …..
This is good to know. I don't think I am getting a ton of muscle growth tbh, but I specifically try to keep weights light because I workout at home with limited weights and without anyone there to spot me or save me if the weight ends up being too heavy for me 😅.
This was a question I always had.thank you for answering it for me.have a good day.God bless.
Lee Haney gave the best advice. Stimulate don't annihilate, if you're not taking PED's. And you do what this man is suggesting even with light weights all you will keep doing is pumping your pump.
Yeah but you could take that saying the other way as in stimulate lower weight hitting reps instead of annihilate the muscles with big heavy weight like dorian & coleman did. As to my knowledge he never actually went into detail about that saying
@@Sjr475 Just passing on what Mike Mentzer taught in his books on training. When you use light weights and do the exercise properly in a slow controlled motion, and only do 1 set like MM say's. By slow, the pull should be a 5-8 count, squeeze in the contraction for a 4 count and then return to the home position, the negative with a 5-7 count. 1 set to failure. You will be amazed; the book is Heavy Duty. And don't forget MM trained some of the Olympia winners, and he was one himself. He stated the year he won the O, He worked out only 1x the week before the contest for 20 min!!!! His words.
@@hdvictoryford5329
We would have youtube footage of someone by now getting jacked on 20 minutes a week. Bodybuilders lie, this isnt shocking.
I used to have a rep competition with a friend of mine, on bench, at a weight of just 135. Oddly, my 1 rep max jumped from about 285 to 315 in that time.
But because of rushing the early reps my tendinitis flared up too.
Ah so now that's something interesting for me who somehow cannot get my lats to grow With assisted pullups. Now I have a clear way to know how to improve! Thanks doctor Mike!
Best advice ever!
you're actually correct! i would know from doing both approaches.
Light /high reps saved me, I have shoulder problems, but exploring online , and try out high repetitions, wow 😳, a new gym world opening for me …. But , when I go early to the gym , always high repetitions, because I just woke up, and later in the evening, heavyweights… I like them both… my body had become, I would say “tighter “ best of both worlds 😉
form is everything. a muscle will only grow as big as it needs to
I tend to use high-rep sets for isolated leg exercises just so I can try and get past that systemic fatigue, but man I'll tell you, when that acid starts coming in at rep 8/15 for leg extensions, and you have to fight through the agony until those last 3 gorgeously painful reps, the absolute RELIEF and ENDORPHIN RUSH from finishing is enough to make me giggle like a schoolgirl every time I finish a set
My sweet spots are the 3-5, 10-12, and occasionally 15-20. My only biggest issue is the eating. My buddies keep dogging on me because I'm always under my calories, and not enough protein. I get it, I'm not eating "like a man", so i haven't grown that much. But I just love the feeling of training, the pain, the exhaustion, all of it! I'm just venting guys, but i will start eating proper to my goals in time, i know I will! 😢
Could you do a video on training for those who are prone to hernias? Curious to hear your take on that
Good advice. Thanks dana white
I like to do sets of 20 and the muscles stop burning after a while, not like I'm not reaching failure or increasing the weight but the burn is much more manageable, it's also good for mind muscle connection and technique, so after a while they become like the 5-10 rep range burn wise you just need to choose the right load
I like to kinda mix it up. I do 3-4 sets where i get my 7-8 reps in ( making sure to push myself to the point where i cant anymore ) but after. 4 sets i am so exhausted and i don’t want to rest for ages ( i rest between. 2-3 minutes, so,5 sets take me like 15 minutes ) so i start pushing myself for the last set and everytime i hit failure i decrease the weight, push to failure, decrease again, push again.
I am new in the gym ( 1 year ) but this has been the kind of workout that felt the best for me so far, made me really exhausted and i could really feel it afterwards
Muscle is body adapting itself to lift heavy. Term ego lifting kills muscle growth. Just lift heavy and stay strong.
Yup, and this doesn't mean it's different RIR wise, but RPE wise it is!
do hard and you good, one of the best advices
Ive found that intensity is the greatest factor for growth.
I like 8-12 because I find it easier to put in the effort of a hard set than with lower or higher reps.
i can’t do that. i’ve noticed that if i go too light, i feel a) like shit after and b) like i could’ve pushed myself more. it’s a mental thing
This particular fly machine is a tough one to gauge. I typically do my DB flies with 45’s. On this machine, I only load 25’s.
If you're referring to the Brad Schoenfeld study, it demonstrated that you can train as low as 30% of your 1RM, as long as you train to failure. Yes, it did show muscular growth, but no strength increases.
Getting to failure is the main objective but also having your body adapt to heavier loads is also important I usually tain somewhere in the middle heavy but something I can at least get a good 8 reps out of
I train moderate weight, 5-10 reps on compound movements, 10-15 on iso movements.
Example i go 15 lbs for 15 reps for 3 sets twice a week on lat raises. My shoulders have doubled in size since i started training (i added maybe 1 inch lol)
As a 49-year-old man with a torn rotator cuff, it is not even in my world to go heavy so I am bound by lightweights and high reps. And I tell you what's that stuff burns! I feel like it does get good results but it takes longer to get there. But again I have no choice I can't ego lift and have to take the rep road.
As a long-sprinter its always funny/informing watching those videos. Like... as if I have every done more than 10 reps in my life :D
I do 18 reps And almost all of my exercises, by the time I hit 18th rap. I am burning up but I figure. The lower weights will save my joints and tendon.
I did this thing we're on accessory lifts, I would do 2 sets of 15 reps and then on the 3rd set, if I could get more than 25 reps, I'd increase the weight. I stopped because I hated those high reps. It just made the set feel like it took forever. I've reduced the reps to 12 for the first 2 sets and then an amrap for the 3rd and upped the weight.
High rep (especially leg movements like squats) are character building
Doing 30lb hitting 35 to 48 reps with slow motion control on the lowering with some 5sec pauses. Love the pump 💪 but wondering if I'm over training. Felo brother's I'm in need of knowledge.
I learned doing 20 reps at 80%-85% max builds muscle endurance and strength. I learned this by trial and error later on in my life training. I got the most growth and strength that way
I do high reps on my legs between 30 and 50. I can't go as heavy, but I've noticed a difference. Upper body I always do between 10 and 15
I love burnouts. Reach failure at 20 reps. Decrease weight. Reach failure again. Decrease weight. Go until you’re doing 5 lbs, reach failure. You’ll actually see pretty good muscle growth and you’ll have DOMS like crazy the next day. Plus if you’re starting out this is way better for your joints and ligaments to adapt and decreases risk of injury. I would do this before starting heavy sets if you’re just starting out 100%
I love to mix and match I think high reps in some exercises are just better
I think that’s why they say 8-10 rep range is optimal for muscle growth. It’s tough to keep that kind of mind muscle connection and form for 20 reps. And heavy weight is tougher on the joints. 8-10 is a happy medium if you’re going to failure