Question about Reps.

[WuMan]

I was told that doing more reps is training for endurance and not strength. How would I train for both? For example, sit ups. Should I do sets of sit ups with lots of reps to build endurance, and then a couple sets with a few reps to build strength?

Thanks.

Edit: Sorry I have another question. Is it better to train a different group of muscle everyday or is it better to train all groups in one day? For exampe, Abs and Chest on Monday, Back and Shoulders on Tues etc etc.

[fa_jing]

Usually you do your low-rep, strength work first. Then follow that with your endurance work. BUT, the strength workout does not mean to just do less reps at the same weight! It means to use a heavy weight with which you can only perform a low # of reps. So for abdominals, we're talking something like Roman chair situps, dragon flags, weighted/incline situps, Janda situps, windmills, etc. Don't train to failure, especially if you are planning to do an endurance workout later on with the same bodypart.

With regards to your second question, doing split routines is more of a body-building thing, if you want to develop goal-oriented fitness, keep the splitting to a minimum, like two routines, rather than splitting up the bodyparts into 5 different routines. Try to incorporate movements that recruit a variety of different muscles. For instance, running sprints (be careful) would cover the lower body pretty well. Olympic style lifting is perhaps the best for this.

[WuMan]

Thanks,

So it would be better to split it into more general groups, like upper body and lower body?

How does this affect the shape and size of the muscles? I don't want to gain lots of mass and look really big.

[rubthebuddha]

shape is more often dictated by genetics, size by diet and nature of your workout. low reps (1-6) with lotsa weight won't get you much bigger unless you're starting from scratch. it will make you stronger. more than that and you're going to start adding size. anything around 30 or more is going to be more endurance than anything else.

[IronFist]

You can do less than 30 and still not gain size.

IronFist

[Kristoffer]

I want to GAIN size.. Whould I do this by doing low reps with heavy weight?

EDIT: What muscle groups should you target for size? Shoulders and back? :confused:

[ewallace]

Kristoffer -

You want higher reps if you want to gain in size. Generally in the neighborhood of 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Here are some sites with invaluable info. I like T-mag (http://www.t-mag.com/) (look under Previous Issues and This Weeks Web Articles) because it has something for everyone (ie bodybuilders, o-lifters, powerlifters).

Elite Fitness Systems (http://www.elitefitnesssystems.com/) is great too. Look under the articles section there. I love Louie Simmons articles, but they are a little beyond my level right now.

Read everything you can and experiment. Good knowledge is just as important as good exercise. And a workout plan that gets one guy huge may not work as well for the next guy. :)


What muscle groups should you target for size?
All. You want to be proportional. Less risk of injury and you won't look like a freak.

[Kristoffer]

Oh ok. Thank's. Very helpful stuff.
As an example:

When I lift free weights for bicep/triceps I usually do 12 lifts maybe 4-5 times (in my short round)

[ewallace]

So you would be doing 12 reps 4 or 5 times (sets)? If so that's a little much. I prefer a lower rep/higher set or higher rep/lower set scheme to allow for more weight. For instance, today I started a new cycle that goes something like this:

Week 1
3 sets of 10 reps

Week 2
4 sets of 8 reps

Week 3
3 sets of 12 reps

Week 4 (increase in weight)
3 sets of 10 reps

...etc

[fa_jing]

A couple days ago I tried a workout with singles of weighted pistols - ten each side in 15 minutes with a weight that I can barely do 3 of consecutively. I did some other assistance-type work afterwards, but this was the bulk of it. I was suprised to find out that my legs and lower back were completely fried! Especially the glutes. It hurts to sit and I get stiff if I don't walk around. So pretty darn sore. I have to think that this kind of effort will induce some muscle growth, not just strength increase - I suppose that's because of the short rest breaks and maximum effort that I put out. I definitely feel the need to rest and heal.
What do some of you smart guys think?

[ewallace]

I know you asked for the smart guys, but I'll answer anyway.

As with most weight related exercises, you may see a small size increase when you first start doing them. But after the body adapts it won't be enough to cause much growth.

Remember that being sore, or the degree of soreness, is not an indication of how well a muscle was worked or damaged (the good kind that increases size).

[Ford Prefect]

Fa_jing,

There is no set or rep scheme for gaining mass set in stone. It is a mix of volume (total sets and reps), intensity (%of your 1 Rep Max), time under tension (how long the movement is for ie 5 seconds to lower - 1 second to raise), and rest periods (obvious).

For example:

3 sets of 10 reps with 60% your 1RM and 60-90 second rest periods may premote hypertrophy.

Likewise if you increase the intensity, you will also have to increase the sets in order to premote hypertrophy.

10 sets of 3 with 85% your 1RM with 60 seconds rest.

This is why so many different schemes work: 1x20's, 5x5's, 3x12's, 10x1's, etc etc

For gaining mass, you just have to tax the muscles energy system. There are many ways to do this.