How many reps should I do on an exercise?

The standard seems to be 3 sets - 10 reps each. Some people do 6-8-10 and others go down 10-8-6. What’s the difference? Does it matter?

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May 24, 2006 | In General, Questions |

3 Comments »

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  1. In general if you want to lose weight or “get ripped” do high reps(Ex.10-12reps). If u want to gain strength do low reps (Ex.1-4reps). If you want to get bigger just do the in between (Ex.5reps)

    Comment by franco — May 24, 2006 #

  2. Check out Sean’s article for more information on this: http://muscle-body.com/articles/the-perfect-rep-range-for-building-muscle/

    Comment by Mike — May 24, 2006 #

  3. I would definitely agree with Franco that “if you want to get bigger” you should do around 5 reps. I typically recommend 5-7 reps on major muscle groups in order to stimulate maximum muscle and strength gains. I would suggest checking out my article up above for more information on that.

    The only part that I disagree with is his recommendation to perform “10-12 reps to get ripped”. It’s important to realize that there is NO magical rep range that will somehow allow you to “define a muscle” or burn fat from it. Spot reduction (targetting fat loss from a specific area on the body) is impossible. Your goal is to build muscle with heavy weight and low repetitions and then “define” the muscle by lowering your body fat through cardio and diet. Check out this article for more info:

    http://www.musclegaintruth.com/freecontent/article19.htm

    Comment by Sean Nalewanyj — May 31, 2006 #

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