All You Need to Know About Reps and Sets – Our Guide
When it comes to getting down and dirty with the weights in the gym, there is no strict limit on the sets or reps that you must do, as everything will depend on your workout plan and the final goal that you’re looking to achieve. That being said, there are some general guidelines to follow. In this article, we’ll tell you what you need to know about the sets and reps that you need to do in order to achieve your goals. Keep reading to find out more!
For Strength and Muscle Growth
If you’re looking to increase your strength and promote the growth of muscle, you need to increase the weights that you’re using, pump through more sets, and reduce your reps. Try to be more explosive with your force assertion, and slow down on the return. For example, if you’re doing the bench press, learn to control your muscles and allow the bar to come down to your chest slowly before pushing back up forcefully. You can aim to do around 4 to 5 sets of 3 to 5 reps to achieve myofibrillar hypertrophy for this type of exercise.
For Fat Loss
On the other hand, if you want to focus on fat loss, you need to incorporate some explosive movement on both motions so that you burn more calories and engage your muscles throughout your workout. The more quickly you move, the more calories your body burns. Your heart will have to work harder as well, which means that you’ll get some cardio done in the process. The goal for fat burning exercises is to get your heart rate up to the third or fourth zones, which is near its maximum capacity. Therefore, for this type of exercise, you can expect to reduce the weights that you’re using, increase the reps, and combine it with other forms of interval training to make it into a larger set of 3 or 4. For example, instead of doing 10 static shoulder presses, you can use dynamic shoulder presses that involve jumping and other explosive movements to get your heart pumping. You can aim to do around 20 to 25 reps and call it a set.
For Bodyweight Workouts
When it comes to bodyweight exercises, you can aim to get around 3 sets of 8 to 15 reps, as this will get you to the early stages of sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. You can aim to do more as your fitness level goes up, but in general, this is an attainable goal that you should aim to work towards. It may be more difficult for exercises such as pull-ups, but it’s never too late to start.
Remember to avoid overtraining
It’s important that you know your limits and recognize when you need to take a break. This will help you to avoid overtraining. Sure, you may feel like you can get up and go to the gym every morning for four months straight, but this will continue to put strain on your body and damage it so that your progress is compromised. It’s been proven many times that overtraining is the leading cause of sports-related injury. Therefore, it’s important to learn to pace yourself. Give your body some time to rest before throwing it back on the grind. Balancing rest, nutrition, and working out is the key to achieving your dream body.
Learn how to protect yourself
If you feel like you can’t maintain a certain weight, there’s no shame in dropping the intensity down a peg. Remember – the goal is for you to achieve the fitness level and the body that you’re looking to get. There’s no benefit in injuring yourself and slowing down your progress.
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About the Author
FitDadChris
Jack of all trades... master of none! Father of 3 awesome boys, husband to 1 amazing wife! Obstacle racer, procrastinator, computer nerd, trying not to follow the herd!