Whether you’re just getting into working out and lifting, or you have been doing it for a while, you may still find yourself wondering “How many Sets? How many Reps?”
You may even mix the two words up. You may have heard different variations, but one thing remains the same: it can be confusing.
Before we get into the details of which sets and reps schemes are most effective for a given goal, the single most important thing to do to see ANY results in strength gain, weight loss, etc, is that you’re consistent with your workout regime. Consistency and making exercise a habit will be the best way to get to your goals.
Definition Breakdown
A set is simply a group of consecutive exercises. Your set is determined by how many reps you’re doing, training intensity, number of exercises, training level and recoverability and your training status.
- A repetition is one complete motion of a given exercise within a set.
- Muscular Endurance is your muscle’s ability to create and maintain force production for a given period of time.
- Muscular Hypertrophy is the enlargement of skeletal muscle fibers in response to being recruited to develop increased levels of tension.
- Strength is the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce internal tension to overcome an external force.
- Power is the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce the greatest force in the shortest time.
How many sets and reps you should do depends on your goals
Common goals are: build muscle, lose weight, get toned or be stronger.
According to the NASM Essentials of Personal Training, these are the basic guidelines for sets and reps:
For Muscular Endurance: 1-3 sets with 12-20 repetitions at 50-70% of your one rep maximum (1RM) . This kind of training is good for those who are endurance athletes. Think runners or cyclists. This kind of training is also beneficial for cardiovascular health and weight control.
For Hypertrophy (Muscle growth): 3-5 sets with 6-12 reps using 75-85% of your one rep maximum.
Whichever amount of reps you decide to use, to achieve definition you must reach a state of momentary fatigue, which means you’re not capable of performing another rep. When it comes to muscular hypertrophy, it may be particularly beneficial to introduce other training stimuli into your workout plan. In addition to this, the concept of progressive overload is strongly associated with muscular hypertrophy.
Progressive overload essentially means to be increasing demands on your musculoskeletal system over time. This can be done in a variety of ways, not just through upping your weight, but changing how many reps you are performing, lifting slower or faster, and various other techniques. In his article “The Ten Rules of Progressive Overload” Brett Contreras goes heavily in depth about this on point three. https://bretcontreras.com/progressive-overload/
For Maximal Strength: 4-6 sets, 1-5 reps at 85-100% of your one rep max. This makes sense because training for strength usually requires using heavier weights, and as your weight goes up, you usually can’t perform as many reps.
For Power: 3-6 sets of between 1-10 repetitions at 30-45% or one rep max or approximately 10% of body weight.
Advice to A Beginner
Start with 1-3 sets of 12-15 reps.
Start light with the weights. Don’t worry about how much someone else is lifting. You will get there eventually, but before loading up your dumbbells or barbells, perfect your form.
Be consistent. Go to the gym a few days a week and plan your workouts ahead of time.
Like I said in the beginning of this post, the single most important thing you can do is get started and be consistent. Build the habit of gym going!
If after reading this you still aren’t quite sure what sets and reps you should be doing, or what the heck you should be doing in the gym, drop me a comment or contact me and we can chat. I’m currently accepting clients for personal training and I would love to help!
References
“Integrated Program Design and the Optimum Performance Training Model.” NASM Essentials of Personal Fitness Training, by Michael A. Clark et al., Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2018.
“The Ten Rules of Progressive Overload.” Bret Contreras, 8 Jan. 2019, bretcontreras.com/progressive-overload/.
Seynnes, O. R., et al. “Early Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy and Architectural Changes in Response to High-Intensity Resistance Training.” Journal of Applied Physiology, vol. 102, no. 1, 2007, pp. 368–373., doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00789.2006.
