If you've ever wondered how to build muscle in the gym you have probably also asked yourself how many reps you need to do to get best muscle gain results. Today we are going to answer that question for you.
The majority of people who train are a little bit lost so if you're in a situation at the moment where you don't know what to do the first thing you should do is stop worrying. You aren't alone, that's for certain. But today you'll be well on your way to getting some results.
If you ask most men what their goal is it is usually very similar. They want to build a more powerful physique with less body fat.
The human body only changes when it is forced into it. If you are not doing that, not progressing in your workouts, your body won't change. Why? Because it doesn't have to! How many people do you see in your gym who have been doing the exact same thing for months and don't seem to be getting any results? Quite a few, I imagine, because this is a common issue which most people never address properly. Your body adapts to your workout. Even though you're working hard, your body knows it can handle it. Why? Because you probably did the same thing last week and it can remember. To get change you need to force change.
Depending on what results you are aiming for, one of the following two rep ranges will be suitable for you:
* Muscular growth or hypertrophy.
* Endurance.
Given that you want size and strength you should be trying to hit your hypertrophy zone. This means you should be aiming towards the eight to twelve rep range. This will ensure you fall within the correct zone for building a more powerful physique.
The other zone we mentioned is for muscular endurance. It's suited to those looking to build stamina as well as tone up, but it will not be a fantastic way to train for those more concerned with pure strength and size. That zone is made up of sets which end in the 15-20 range.
Most people can openly tell you what they want to achieve in the gym, what type of body they are striving for, but for some reason that's as far as it goes. They never actually tailor their workout plan to be specific to that goal. Now you know what you are doing, you will begin to notice this all the time in your local fitness center.
So you now know that the rules with weights have nothing to do with the popular gym mythologies out there. You know the ones we're talking about, right? Things such as 'high reps are just for women'. High reps are for those looking to build muscular endurance, regardless of your sex.
None of this information will do you any good of course unless you remember the golden rule of weight training. Some people call it progression, others call it overload. Basically, you need to force change from your body as we mentioned before. If you keep on doing the same thing your body will adapt and then simply stay in the same place.
The rep range we brought your attention to is a good way to do this. Many people ask us how much weight they should be using on a particular exercise and your rep range will determine this for you. For hypertrophy, find a weight which forces you to quit at around eight reps and then keep working with that weight until you get stronger. Once you can manage twelve reps at that level it's time to increase the resistance, forcing yourself back down to eight reps at a slightly heavier level and beginning the cycle again.
So now not only do you know how to build muscle but you also know how to push consistent gains from your body to avoid the plateau most people encounter and never break free from.
The majority of people who train are a little bit lost so if you're in a situation at the moment where you don't know what to do the first thing you should do is stop worrying. You aren't alone, that's for certain. But today you'll be well on your way to getting some results.
If you ask most men what their goal is it is usually very similar. They want to build a more powerful physique with less body fat.
The human body only changes when it is forced into it. If you are not doing that, not progressing in your workouts, your body won't change. Why? Because it doesn't have to! How many people do you see in your gym who have been doing the exact same thing for months and don't seem to be getting any results? Quite a few, I imagine, because this is a common issue which most people never address properly. Your body adapts to your workout. Even though you're working hard, your body knows it can handle it. Why? Because you probably did the same thing last week and it can remember. To get change you need to force change.
Depending on what results you are aiming for, one of the following two rep ranges will be suitable for you:
* Muscular growth or hypertrophy.
* Endurance.
Given that you want size and strength you should be trying to hit your hypertrophy zone. This means you should be aiming towards the eight to twelve rep range. This will ensure you fall within the correct zone for building a more powerful physique.
The other zone we mentioned is for muscular endurance. It's suited to those looking to build stamina as well as tone up, but it will not be a fantastic way to train for those more concerned with pure strength and size. That zone is made up of sets which end in the 15-20 range.
Most people can openly tell you what they want to achieve in the gym, what type of body they are striving for, but for some reason that's as far as it goes. They never actually tailor their workout plan to be specific to that goal. Now you know what you are doing, you will begin to notice this all the time in your local fitness center.
So you now know that the rules with weights have nothing to do with the popular gym mythologies out there. You know the ones we're talking about, right? Things such as 'high reps are just for women'. High reps are for those looking to build muscular endurance, regardless of your sex.
None of this information will do you any good of course unless you remember the golden rule of weight training. Some people call it progression, others call it overload. Basically, you need to force change from your body as we mentioned before. If you keep on doing the same thing your body will adapt and then simply stay in the same place.
The rep range we brought your attention to is a good way to do this. Many people ask us how much weight they should be using on a particular exercise and your rep range will determine this for you. For hypertrophy, find a weight which forces you to quit at around eight reps and then keep working with that weight until you get stronger. Once you can manage twelve reps at that level it's time to increase the resistance, forcing yourself back down to eight reps at a slightly heavier level and beginning the cycle again.
So now not only do you know how to build muscle but you also know how to push consistent gains from your body to avoid the plateau most people encounter and never break free from.
About the Author:
Publisher: Russ Howe PTI is the UK's most subscribed Personal Trainer. Learn how to build muscle with our free video guide showing the five rules to a more muscular physique.
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