High Vs. Low Reps Bodybuilding

What is the difference between high reps and low reps

According to the strength-endurance continuum model, low reps are generally between 1 and 5, moderate reps range from 8 to 12, and high reps include reps above 15. However, these ranges can vary in practice. Ari Adrahtas, ATC, MS, an outreach athletic trainer at ATI Physical Therapy, considers 3-8 reps to be low and 12-15 to be high.

Pros and Cons of High-Rep Training with Lighter Weights

Even light weights can produce big results when paired with high-rep training. That being said, there are both pros and cons to strength training with higher reps and lighter weights:

Pros of High-Rep Training with Lighter Weights

• Muscular endurance. According to a 2021 review in Sports magazine, high-rep, light-load protocols (defined as 15 or more reps per set with loads less than 60% of your 1-rep maximum (1RM)) can optimize gains in muscular endurance.
• Muscle growth. When you perform high-rep training, it’s all about training your muscles for growth. In the industry, we call this hypertrophy training, and it’s a great way to increase the size of a specific muscle group. Specifically, studies have found that more moderate repetition protocols with moderate loads (8 to 12 reps per set, 60 to 80% of your 1RM) can optimize hypertrophy gains, according to a 2021 review in Sports magazine.
• Joint health. If you are a beginner or someone with joint issues, or recovering from an injury, lighter weights and higher rep ranges may be a gentler option that can help you ease into resistance training without putting extra stress on your joints.

Disadvantages of High-Rep Training with Lighter Weights

• Less strength and power development. Higher rep ranges and lighter weights are less effective for developing maximal strength and power than lower rep ranges and heavier weights.
• Risk of overuse injuries. Repeating higher reps over and over increases your risk of overuse injuries, such as tendinitis. This is especially true if you don’t maintain proper form or take enough time to recover between workouts.
• Potential plateaus. If you’re always doing high reps with low weights, you may not be loading your body enough. The principle of progressive overload explains that to keep seeing improvements in your abilities, you need to keep challenging yourself.

Pros and Cons of Doing Low Rep Exercises with Heavier Weights

You probably already know that weightlifting is hard, but if you’re lifting heavy enough weights, you probably won’t be doing too many reps. There are also several pros and cons to doing strength exercises with lower reps and higher weights:

Pros of Low Rep Exercises with Heavier Weights

• Pros: Increased strength. According to a 2021 review in the journal Sports, training with heavy loads for low repetitions (defined as 80% to 100% of 1RM for 1 to 5 reps per set) can optimize strength gains by enhancing neuromuscular adaptations that promote force production.
• Pros: Strength development. Training with lower repetitions can develop explosive power, which is essential for activities such as weightlifting or sprinting.
• Pros: Improved technique. Lower repetition ranges allow for a focus on perfecting technique, as each repetition counts more.

Disadvantages of Low Rep Exercises with Heavier Weights

• Cons: Increased risk of injury. Using heavier weights increases the likelihood of acute injury (such as muscle or ligament tears), and it can be more difficult to perform movements with proper form.
• Cons: Limited muscular endurance. Lower repetitions focus primarily on strength and power, while neglecting muscular endurance. This may not be appropriate for endurance activities that require prolonged muscular effort, such as running, hiking, or cycling.

Conclusion – which is better: high reps or low reps?

Variety is the spice of life, and it should also be part of your workout routine—especially when it comes to choosing rep ranges. Training in both styles (high and low reps) is necessary to reduce injury risk, build muscle variety, strengthen joints, and promote overall health. That said, if you have a specific fitness goal in mind, you may benefit from dedicating more time to both types of training.

High Rep vs. Low Rep for Strength Building

If you want to get stronger or hit a new personal best, consider adding more low-rep, high-weight training to your routine. A 1-6 rep range is best for building strength in compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.

High Rep vs. Low Rep for Muscle Mass

If your primary fitness goal is to increase muscle mass (i.e., hypertrophy), then you’ll want to train in a moderate to high rep range using moderate weights. Stick to sets of 8 to 12 reps at 60 to 80 percent of your 1RM.

High Rep vs. Low Rep for Endurance Sports

This may go without saying, but if your goal is endurance, whether it’s playing a full football game, biking 50 miles, or completing a half marathon, then high rep training should make up a large portion of your strength training.

High Rep vs. Low Rep for Strength and Performance

Low rep training emphasizes explosive movements and maximal force production, making it ideal for developing power and speed. These skills are essential for anyone who participates in sports that require explosive movements such as sprinting, jumping, or throwing, such as football, basketball, or pickleball.

Things to Consider with Reps

Reps are short for “repetition,” which describes the movement of performing an exercise. Reps are usually divided into sets, where you complete a certain number of reps in a row. For example, a set could include 10 squats. During a Peloton Gym workout, for example, you might do 2-4 sets of these 10 squats, for a total of 20-40 reps.

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), as a basic strength training principle, experts recommend that you should feel fatigued during the last few reps, like you can barely continue. This is where growth and progress occur because you are forcing your body to adapt to the challenge. So if you lift lighter weights, you may need to do more reps to feel the burn. If you lift heavier weights, you may need to do fewer reps before you feel the need to stop. This is why high-rep workouts are usually done with lighter weights (or none), while low-rep workouts are usually done with heavier weights.

Muscular Strength, Muscle Mass, and Endurance

Using high reps with lighter weights or using low reps with heavier weights will have different effects on your body. According to the strength-endurance continuum, low reps are best for building muscular strength, moderate reps are best for building muscle mass, and high reps are best for building endurance.

Muscular strength is “the ability of a muscle to produce maximum force in a single movement. You can think of it as brute force being able to lift something very heavy or the ability to produce a lot of force. To build strength, you need to focus on low reps and heavier weights.

Muscle mass is the amount of space a muscle takes up, or how big it is. According to NASM, hypertrophy is the process by which muscle fibers grow larger, usually as a result of resistance training. The key to inducing hypertrophy is increasing training volume, which can be achieved by lifting moderate weights and performing moderate numbers of repetitions.

Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle to produce movement over a sustained period of time. Strength training usually targets high reps and light weights.

Rep Training for Specific Muscles

Muscles respond differently to high-rep and low-rep training because their fiber composition and function are different. All of your muscles are made up of tiny individual fibers that can be divided into two different types: Type I (slow-twitch) and Type II (fast-twitch).

Type I muscle fibers are slow-twitch fibers and respond better to high-rep training because they are more resistant to fatigue. Type I fibers are fast-twitch and respond better to low reps because they’re better suited for explosive/high-intensity workouts.

According to NASM, everyone has both types of muscle fibers in their bodies, and all muscles in your body contain both types of muscle fibers; however, some muscles tend to have more of one type of fiber, depending on the movement they control. For example, your soleus (calf muscle) and upper back muscles tend to have more type I fibers because they’re responsible for walking and maintaining posture. Meanwhile, your quads, hamstrings, and chest typically have a higher percentage of type II fibers, he says. Then there are hybrid muscles, which have a more even ratio (like your deltoids or shoulder muscles) and benefit from training both types.