This is something you are always going to come across in fitness circles: How many reps should I do and anyone who is being a good trainer or even a good weight-lifter is going to realize very quickly (or they should) that there is no one perfect answer for this. There is no perfect sweet spot for reps and there are a number of way to achieve results using any number of reps.
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I hear it a lot from the people I advise and the answer is that I don't have an answer for "how many reps should I do?" This will come over time and only you can really determine what this answer should be. Well, I suppose that if you have a lot of money a trainer could figure this out for you but for most normies we can't really afford that. Here's a tip that can save you a bunch of money: Buy a notebook and a pen - that's how you will discover your "sweet spot."
The point behind all muscle growth is to work your muscles to the point where you can't do another rep or if you are in a position like the guy above and don't want to have to crash on to the floor with 200 kg on your back, maybe stop when your last set was really difficult to accomplish.
This is why you see the bigger guys in the gym working out with a partner to assist them and drive them on their last 1 or 2 reps.
You can reach the same level of difficulty in completing a rep by doing lower weight a higher amount of times but this takes more time and at least for me, I am trying to achieve a certain level of efficiency in the gym due to time restraints. If i pick up a 10 lb barbell and start doing curls, eventually I am really going to struggle to get the last 2 reps up but this is going to take 50 curls and therefore a lot of time. OR I could step up to 25 lbs and do 10 reps, struggling to get the last 2 done - which is exactly where you need to be. Of course, once again, this is going to differ for everyone. The same way that I think 10 lbs is extremely easy the guy in the picture above probably feels the same way about my 25 lb curls.
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The problem that a lot of smaller guys in the gym face is that they are too concerned about the fact that they are lifting so much less than the bigger guys are and honestly, you gotta throw this nonsense out the door right at the entrance of the gym. That person you are trying to emulate has probably been lifting quite seriously for many years and you are simply going to hurt yourself trying to copy his style.
The reason why most trainers and bodybuilders will focus on a number like 10 as far as reps are concerned in not because this is some sort of magical perfect number of reps but because it is a good safe number for achieving muscle exhaustion without much danger of hurting yourself. In theory, you could achieve the same level of muscle exhaustion by doing just 1 rep but at the same time you open yourself up to a tremendous opportunity for injury.
Even the best bodybuilders have decided to screw around with something far too heavy and ended up hurting themselves
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Calum von Moger, who would later go on to play Arnold Schwarzenegger in a bodybuilding film, was dicking around at the gym one day doing a completely unnecessary curl exercise with a pal and tore a bicep muscle that put him out of commission for many months. This is a guy that carefully watched his diet, lifts every damn day, and knows what he is doing. Imagine what is going to happen to you if you screw around with something too heavy in the gym?
Like most things in fitness, there is no "one size fits all." But sometimes the advice of superhumans about pursuing high weight and low reps works for those fellas but has a wonderful opportunity to seriously injure you. I feel as though taking a safer path is the way to go and I will once again proclaim the absolute necessity of recording your progress and carrying this notebook with you to the gym every time you go. Only you can determine your sweet spot and focusing on a certain number of "reps" is not necessarily the way to go. Aim for 10 if you want to but try to not focus on the numbers so much since the real objective here is to reach the point where you can't do another rep... This is how you are going to get results and this number is going to be different for everyone. I'm just trying to save you an injury.
I'm not the biggest or the strongest guy, but I did lose 50 lbs in less than a year and developed new muscle building and maintenance programs that worked for me... and it can work for you too
Yup, that's why I always go for lighter weights because I don't have the time to be injured.
and you are doing it the smart way! Do you write down your progress from one session to the next?
I don't. I should probably do that.
I usually just do it until I feel a bit sore.
How many 4 stacks of 2x4's should I lift? Just kidding. We recently started mandating that our staff star using backbraces and teach them to lift properly. Every now and then we get a guy on the sites that can't do a 4 stack but this changes really quickly after a few weeks as you get stronger fast on a construction site. 50lb bags of cement over and over are a pretty great workout too!
I use a system called an x3bar. Major resistance, 15-40 reps. One set. It's great.
sounds awesome... I'm gonna have to look into that because I've never heard this term before.