So i wanna increase strength and mass...how many reps?

Question

i read 4-6reps for mass

8-12reps for strength

more than 12 for muscle endurance

wont gaining mass also increase my strength in general so should i do 4-6reps per set wil doing 8 reps to the highest weight there okay for building mass if i add an extra set or something like instead of 3x6 for bench i do 4x8 a 10lbs lighter weight or that wont work as well cuz i want strength and mass

Answer 1

If you want strength and mass, you should be looking to do about 3 sets of 3-4 reps, and increasing the weight by 5 pounds when you can do 5-6 reps. The heavier weight stimulates the muscles at a deeper level.

And of course make sure your eating 125+ grams of protein.

Answer 2

i always stick with doing all different types of routines to help "shock" the muscles.  i know i vary my routine with one day ill do light weight and high reps, medium weight and medium reps and heavy weight with low reps.  when do you do that your body wont become immune to the way you exercise and it will shock the muscles, when the muscles are shocked they have no option but to grow.  you know you are doing it right when the next few days your muscles are burning like crazy...hope that helps

Answer 3

yes gaining muscle mass does increase strength, you cant increase strength without increasing your muscle mass, some people thing they can but its all down to technique and their own mind.

i personally go for 10 reps maximum but anything below 12 should be good enough, i wouldnt go any lower heres how i do mine:

Set 1 : 10 reps

Set 2 : 8 reps

Set 3 : 6 reps

Set 4 : 4 reps

30 second intervals between sets to keep heart rate up. using a lighter weight wont make you gain anything in terms of muscle so stick with a heavy weight... many people believe that doing more than 12 reps 'tones' yet in reality there is no such thing and it makes no sense why it would affect your muscles.

its important you dont work yourself too hard, working yourself to the max all the time is likely to cause you injury and lower reps will cause loss of fitness due to the shorter bursts of power your body adapts to.

Answer 4

you just answered your question.

it's a yes.

Answer 5

Strength is a precursor to mass but not neccessarily the be-all-end-all. Look at some of the Olympic lifters. They don't get any stronger than that but many of them don't have nearly the lean mass of a bodybuilder. The way I train my guys and gals is to first work on their strength with 5x5 (5 sets, 5 reps) routines with complex movements like bench, quats, deadlifts, bent over rows, pullups, cleans and military presses. They start slow and light until their form is perfect then we start a steady system of progress that is charted ina  workout diary. When a guy can squat 1.5 times his bodyweight, bench more than his bodyweight and can overhead press .75 times his bodyweight, we reevaluate his goals and particular sport. If he is a lineman we then being working on getting lean mass by upping his routine to 8 reps and increasing his calorie/protein consumption.

I have a 17 year old that has been training for 10 months and can bench 315, perform 495 lbs max squats and is 5'9 215 lbs at a bodyfat under 10%. He's a beast and a bit of a genetic freak but the system is sound and works for everyone.

Answer 6

I think you got that confused.  Should be 8-12 for mass and 4-6 for strength I'm assuming you meant.  In general though when you add mass you will add strength too.

I'm a fan of hitting the first exercise with lower reps and the next exercises with some higher reps.

I'm not sure what your chest day looks like but something like this:

Flat Bench Press 5x5

Incline Bench 3x8

Decline Dumbbell Flys 3x12-15

5x5 heavy weights is very good for strength gains.  Then some lighter stuff to pump up your muscles.

Answer 7

Hey joe. Yes what you said is pretty much what it is.

There are two types of muscle fibres. type I and type II.

type I- slowest contractile speed,the smallest cross-sectional area,the highest oxidative (aerobic) capacity,and the lowest glycolytic (anaerobic) capacity.

type II- fastest contractile speed, the largest cross-sectional area, the lowst oxidativ capacity, and the highest glycolytic capacity.

basically when you go high on intensity type II (both a & b) muscle fibres are recruited. if your doing low intsnity high reps then your working type I fibres more.

heavy weights = more mass and strength gains (stimulates type II)

lighter weights = less mass but more resistance to lactic acid build up (stimulates type I)

EDIT i'm going to try and find you this article i read a year ago. it explained everything properly

for you, since your new to the gym i would recommend 12 reps on everything. once you've been in the gym maybe 6 months or so and you can handle decent weight then i would switch that to 5-7 reps with the heaviest weights you can manage.

but thats only after you've been in the gym for 6 months and your body is accostomed to the tearing and you don't injure yourself while overloading.

what you said about the benching? instead of 3x6 do a 4x8? nah i wouldn't suggest that. putting in an extra set is pointless. putting in extra reps makes a difference to muscle fibre recruitment butan extra set is just overworking the muscle in the same way. switch it up. do three sets maximum. don't bench flat. incline is a very very good compound lift. and decline benching is good too. add those three to dips & flys and you've got more than you can do in one workout.

i'll go find that article. hope you understand what i wrote. 12 reps on everything for the time being.

let me know if you need more help.

jal

FOUND IT. Its a table though so its kind of hard to read when your reading it like this. maybe copy it to word and make it readable.

Overview Growth In Muscle Fibers Below  

Repetition Range Type I Type IIA Type IIA Strength Gains

1-2 repetitions  Very Low Low Low Excellent

3-5 repetitions Very Low Low Decent to Good Excellent  

6-8 repetitions Very Low Good Excellent Good

9-12 repetitions Low Excellent Very Good Good Within Rep R.

13-15 repetitions Decent Very Good Decent to Good Endurance

16-25 repetitions Very Good Diminishing Low Endurance

25-50 repetitions Excellent Low Very Low Endurance