Uploaded August 2015 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
the Path to your Goal Physique: thinkeatlift.com/path
Attached article: thinkeatlift.com/best-rep-range-for-muscle-growth
Follow:
Brad Schoenfeld: lookgreatnaked.com
Lyle McDonald: bodyrecomposition.com
Eric Helms: 3dmusclejourney.com
Greg O'Gallagher: kinobody.com
Tags:
In this article we’re basically answering the question: How heavy should you be lifting?
The heavier the weight, the fewer the reps you’ll be able to do.
So before we explain how intensity affects muscle growth, I think it will be helpful to first address the causes of muscle growth.
Everybody who’s honest will be quick to tell you that the causes of muscle growth are not yet completely understood. But we do have about 90-95% of the picture. In my opinion the man that best explained the causes of muscle growth is dr Brad Schoenfeld. In one of his papers he concluded that the 3 main causes of muscle hypertrophy are:
Progressive tension overload (lifting heavier and heavier weights over time)
Muscle damage (micro-tears of muscle fibers that necessitate repair)
Cellular fatigue (pushing a muscle to its metabolic limit through high reps)
Out of the three, progressive tension overload has the most profound effect (by far). But muscular damage and fatigue also stimulate growth so if we want to maximize our gains we must take those into account as well.
Does the rep range even matter as long as you get progressively stronger?
When we present progressive tension overload as the main driver of hypertrophy we’re tempted to believe that the rep range we use doesn’t matter.
Studies do show that you can make muscle gains training in any rep range as long as you’re progressing (low load, medium load, and high load). But results are not equal in all situations. The medium rep ranges still win out in the end.
Let’s see why:
1. The weight you use must be heavy enough to cause growth
Most people agree that there is a minimum intensity threshold for resistance training-induced hypertrophic adaptations. In simple terms, the weight you use must be heavy enough to cause growth.
How heavy? 60% of 1RM or above.
The reason it has to be above 60% of 1RM is to recruit the “fast-twitch” muscle fibers – the ones involved in explosiveness and high force production and the ones with the greatest potential for growth. These are the fibers you need to develop if you want big muscles.
Using a low load you primarily recruit the “slow-twitch” muscle fibers – the ones very resistant to fatigue and with a lower potential for growth and force output. These are not the muscle fibers we primarily target, these are best for muscular endurance.
So the main reason low loads are not optimal for growth is that they don’t provide enough tension to recruit all muscle fibers.
With one exception. Of course there’s an exception, right? Low loads can recruit the “fast-twitch” muscle fibers too but only if a set is taken to failure. As the slow-twitch muscle fibers get fatigued, fast-twitch fibers will have to be used in their place.
the Path to your Goal Physique: thinkeatlift.com/path
Attached article: thinkeatlift.com/best-rep-range-for-muscle-growth
Follow:
Brad Schoenfeld: lookgreatnaked.com
Lyle McDonald: bodyrecomposition.com
Eric Helms: 3dmusclejourney.com
Greg O'Gallagher: kinobody.com
Tags:
In this article we’re basically answering the question: How heavy should you be lifting?
The heavier the weight, the fewer the reps you’ll be able to do.
So before we explain how intensity affects muscle growth, I think it will be helpful to first address the causes of muscle growth.
Everybody who’s honest will be quick to tell you that the causes of muscle growth are not yet completely understood. But we do have about 90-95% of the picture. In my opinion the man that best explained the causes of muscle growth is dr Brad Schoenfeld. In one of his papers he concluded that the 3 main causes of muscle hypertrophy are:
Progressive tension overload (lifting heavier and heavier weights over time)
Muscle damage (micro-tears of muscle fibers that necessitate repair)
Cellular fatigue (pushing a muscle to its metabolic limit through high reps)
Out of the three, progressive tension overload has the most profound effect (by far). But muscular damage and fatigue also stimulate growth so if we want to maximize our gains we must take those into account as well.
Does the rep range even matter as long as you get progressively stronger?
When we present progressive tension overload as the main driver of hypertrophy we’re tempted to believe that the rep range we use doesn’t matter.
Studies do show that you can make muscle gains training in any rep range as long as you’re progressing (low load, medium load, and high load). But results are not equal in all situations. The medium rep ranges still win out in the end.
Let’s see why:
1. The weight you use must be heavy enough to cause growth
Most people agree that there is a minimum intensity threshold for resistance training-induced hypertrophic adaptations. In simple terms, the weight you use must be heavy enough to cause growth.
How heavy? 60% of 1RM or above.
The reason it has to be above 60% of 1RM is to recruit the “fast-twitch” muscle fibers – the ones involved in explosiveness and high force production and the ones with the greatest potential for growth. These are the fibers you need to develop if you want big muscles.
Using a low load you primarily recruit the “slow-twitch” muscle fibers – the ones very resistant to fatigue and with a lower potential for growth and force output. These are not the muscle fibers we primarily target, these are best for muscular endurance.
So the main reason low loads are not optimal for growth is that they don’t provide enough tension to recruit all muscle fibers.
With one exception. Of course there’s an exception, right? Low loads can recruit the “fast-twitch” muscle fibers too but only if a set is taken to failure. As the slow-twitch muscle fibers get fatigued, fast-twitch fibers will have to be used in their place.
