Lifting Rep Range Rules for Building Muscle
November 10, 2015
If you struggle with building muscle and strength, this post is for you.
Let me tell you about a recent conversation between my buddy, Alex and I, after his workout.
We met for coffee when Alex walked in and said, “Man, this pump is insane. I think my muscles are already growing from that last set.”
Once a bro, always a bro.
As a backstory, Alex was new (again) to the gym.
He played sports in high school and lifted with his football team, but that’s about it. In college, he’d start training, mix in some yoga or a group exercise class, then stop.
He’d see progress, then get more interested in beer and chasing tail. Fair enough.
These days, Alex is 27, a few years into his career, and still primarily interested in beer and chasing tail. Again, I can’t blame the guy.
But now, he’s developed a bit of a gut. Long days at work and short nights have taken their toll and it’s starting to show. Alex has been lifting consistently now for six months, has lost a little fat and built muscle, but has since hit a plateau.
He’s losing motivation because he’s not seeing results and doesn’t know where to go for a new workout. So, he asked for a few pointers and knew how to get my help: by offering copious amounts of caffeine.
Alex’s workout (printed on the internet read)…
1. Barbell Bench Press 4×10
2. Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 4×12
I took a drink of my coffee and dove in. Most muscle building advice for the average guy is flat out wrong. This was okay…but it could be much better.
Since Alex told me he wanted to be lean, but more muscular, kind of like an NFL linebacker I knew the look he was going for.
I asked Alex, “is this what you’ve been doing for the last few months?”
Yes.
“Have you been able to get stronger on your bench press, or are your numbers staying the same?”
I made progress in the beginning, but not for a while. I haven’t been tracking them.
Alex was making two of the biggest problems in the book.
First, he wasn’t tracking his lifts. You must track your progress to lift heavier weights for more reps over time. Without pushing your body past what it’s currently able to do how can it grow bigger and stronger?
It can’t.
Second, Alex was only lifting in one rep range, the hypertrophy rep range. Now, it’s true the “best” rep range to build muscle is lifting moderately heavy weights for multiple sets of 8-12 reps. Still, this isn’t the whole picture. You need a variety of rep ranges to maximize lean muscular gains.
Save for advanced lifters who’ve been training consistently for years, building muscle a byproduct of getting stronger. This means you need to get stronger first and lift a bit heavier to maximize your progress.
The reason you’re not building size and strength isn’t due to a lack of effort. The reason is a lack of strength, not tracking workouts, and too little variety in rep ranges. Here’s what to do to fix it and get back to growing.
How To Train For Maximum Muscle Growth
Strength First:
Mechanical tension, lifting a heavy load with a full range of motion, is a key component to muscle growth. In the example above, Alex wasn’t creating enough tension. If Alex were to add 50 pounds to his bench press, don’t you think he would be stronger with more muscle? Of course. Strength and size are correlated, as you’ll learn with the Minimalist Muscle Blitz workout.
If you’re like Alex, here’s how you fix it: Train heavier with low reps as the first exercise in your training. You don’t need to stomp around like a powerlifter; rather, pick one exercise each day and lift increasingly heavier weights for 3-8 reps.
Track your workouts in a notebook and add weight from week to week.
Monday: Upper Body
Bench Press 5×5, rest 90 seconds
Increase the weight on each set. Aim to add 5 pounds to sets next week.
Tuesday: Lower Body
Squat 5×5, rest 90 seconds
Increase the weight on each set. Aim to add 5 pounds to sets next week.
Lifting heavy will help you recruit more muscle fibers, meaning you can fatigue them later on to grow. Equally as important, getting stronger allows you to lift heavier weights in the exercises coming up next.
I can’t make it more clear: For most guys, the fastest way to get bigger is to get stronger. It’s as simple as picking a major movement like those listed above and getting stronger from week to week and month to month.
Use The Bodybuilding Rep Range
The bodybuilding rep range, 8-15 reps with a moderate weight, is still an essential component of training to build muscle and should make up at least 50% of your training. These reps should be heavy, with 1-2 reps of failure, but not grinding reps.
This creates mechanical tension as well as keeps your muscles contracting for a longer time. This leads to another important muscle building component, metabolic stress.
Metabolic stress, also known as the “pump” occurs when muscles contract, yet blood can’t escape. This stressful environment triggers a number of muscle building factors.
Here’s what you need to do you should do. Pick two or three compound exercises training your target muscles and lift 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps.
Monday: Upper Body
1.Bench Press 5×5, rest 90 seconds Increase the weight on each set. Aim to add 5 pounds to sets next week. 2a.Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 4×8, rest 60 seconds 2b.Dumbbell One Arm Row 4×8, rest 60 seconds 3. Dip 3×10-12, rest 60 seconds
Tuesday: Lower Body
1.Squat 5×5, rest 90 seconds
Increase the weight on each set. Aim to add 5 pounds to sets next week. 2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 4×10, rest 60 seconds 3.Dumbbell Step Back Lunge 3×8/leg, rest 45 b/t legs 4.Machine Leg Press 3×15, rest 60 seconds
Mix In Higher Rep Training
To cap off your training, sprinkle in higher rep training. Do one exercise with 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps with short rest periods to maximize metabolic stress.
Additionally, you can use one exercise to failure. This exercise must be an isolation exercise, like a biceps curl or leg extension instead of a squat. A recent study found when it comes to muscle growth, the same growth came from using 3 sets to failure with 30% max as 3 sets of 80%.
This means regardless of how heavy the weight is, training to failure maximizes muscle fiber recruitment and stimulates growth, even with lighter weight. This both saves your joints and preserves your nervous system while maximizing gains.
Applied to your training, you can train to failure but use isolation exercises. Keep the weight light and focus on technique. When your technique breaks down you’ve reached failure. Rest and repeat for 2-3 sets and call it a day.
Monday: Upper Body
1.Bench Press 5×5, rest 90 seconds Increase the weight on each set. Aim to add 5 pounds to sets next week. 2a.Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 4×8, rest 60 seconds 2b.Dumbbell One Arm Row 4×8, rest 60 seconds 3. Dip 3×10-12, rest 60 seconds 4.Triceps Pushdown 3×15, rest 30 seconds 5. Cable Biceps Curl, 3xfailure, rest 30-60 seconds
Tuesday: Lower Body
1.Squat 5×5, rest 90 seconds
Increase the weight on each set. Aim to add 5 pounds to sets next week.
2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 4×10, rest 60 seconds
3.Dumbbell Step Back Lunge 3×8/leg, rest 45 b/t legs
4.Machine Leg Press 3×15, rest 60 seconds
5. Leg Extension 2xfailure, rest 30-60 seconds
Wrap Up
If you’re like Alex and want to build a strong, muscular, and powerful body, you need to focus on a few keys to your training.
1. Build strength. Strength means tension, and greater tension in your muscles forces them to grow.
2.Incorporate moderate rep, moderate load training as the “meat” of your workouts. This creates both tension and metabolic stress (the pump) to accelerate your gains.
3. Sprinkle in high-rep sets and failure work. This is the icing on the cake and can help you cap off your physique.
4. Write down your workouts. It takes months to build muscle, not weeks with an occasional ” I’m taking time off” sprinkled in every month. Keep pushing to make consistent gains, track your workouts, and add weight to the bar. Do this and you’ll force your stubborn body to grown.
5. Having a plan expertly designed for you is one piece of the puzzle. Having simple, easy to make meals and the help of a coach is the other half of the puzzle. That’s why the Minimalist Muscle Blitz is the perfect plan for you to add lean muscle, lose fat, and build your best body without living in the gym. Grab your copy today.
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