what are the advantages/disadvantages of low rep training

[rangers97]

ok, we all know heavy low rep training will make you stronger, which in turn we would like to think will make you bigger. But I am wondering something, if you do your sets with 4-6 reps and you progress in weights, how does this translate to real life? For example, say you curl 100 pounds for 15 reps but can curl 125 pounds for 5 or 6 reps. IS there anything going on endurance wise by doing the set to 15 reps as opposed to the 6 rep set? Is it accurate to say that if you did the first example, you can carry something that weighs 100 pounds for a pretty good distance without getting tired, and conversely if you trained with method 2, could you carry a heavier object, but for a shorter distance?

I remember playing hockey last year while I was on a heavy weight low rep program, and I remember throwing people around with one arm on certain plays, I felt a lot stronger than the other people, but of course this was an effort of short duration. Conversely, sometimes I need to carry things at work to different buildings and I can walk up to 1/2 mile sometimes, and I carry things that I think I should handle with ease, but get tired and find myself stopping and adjusting very often. Is that a related consequence of high weight training, that you are very strong for short bursts of strength, but less strong in an "endurance" type setting?

[Firehawk]

The range in reps determines often what muscle fibers are affected.

[Klinger]

I like the strength gains you get from low reps, but they beat the crap out of my CNS over the long haul.

Guy I met at the gym has an interesting approach. He lifts high weight/low reps until he hits a plateau. Then he switches to lower weight/higher reps for a month or so. When he comes back to the low-rep scheme, he almost always busts through the wall.

Guess in a way he's periodizing, though he doesn't plan it that way.

[Firehawk]

It depends how you set up your strength routine Klinger. Overtraining is overtraining. You can overtrain with high volume and high reps too.

I thought you didn't like low reps? What happened to being "too small"? lol

[Todd]

Low rep/low volume training has many advantages over high rep/high volume training. Some of the advantages are:

1) Forces you to harness your intensity at a quicker rate

2) You get your workouts done faster

3) You accomplish the same (if not more) in a shorter amount of time - it's a more efficient approach overall.

4) Less strain on your joints/ligaments because you do fewer reps. Less repetitive strain, and less chance for injury.

5) More overload is placed upon the muscles.

6) More of the muscle fibers related to size increases are stimulated.

7) Quicker strength gains

Some Disadvantages are:

1) CNS gets taxed heavily -- This is why scheduled time off from workouts is a must if following low rep/volume approaches.

2) Workout stats (reps/sets/lbs used) should be tracked to ensure continued gains are brought about. (this however is true for any good workout routine).

3) CAN be hard on the joints, IF you do not warm up correctly, or get caught in the trap of going TOO heavy and sacrificing proper form for more weight used.

4) Your friends/workout buddies may get mad at you for being done with your workouts in under an hour! They may be left shaking their heads with a puzzled look on their face! -- I love that when that happens!!!

[Firehawk]

Number 2 on the advantage list isn't necessarily true Todd. It depends how you are doing your workouts. The powerlifters I hang with now wait 10 minutes between their work sets, even though it's low volume training.

[Todd]

Yah, I suppose I was looking at this from a pure bodybuilder's point of view.

[Lift2Live]

This question can be solved in one word, Periodization!

[Vas85]

Originally Posted by Todd

Low rep/low volume training has many advantages over high rep/high volume training. Some of the advantages are:

1) Forces you to harness your intensity at a quicker rate

2) You get your workouts done faster

3) You accomplish the same (if not more) in a shorter amount of time - it's a more efficient approach overall.

4) Less strain on your joints/ligaments because you do fewer reps. Less repetitive strain, and less chance for injury.

5) More overload is placed upon the muscles.

6) More of the muscle fibers related to size increases are stimulated.

7) Quicker strength gains

Some Disadvantages are:

1) CNS gets taxed heavily -- This is why scheduled time off from workouts is a must if following low rep/volume approaches.

2) Workout stats (reps/sets/lbs used) should be tracked to ensure continued gains are brought about. (this however is true for any good workout routine).

3) CAN be hard on the joints, IF you do not warm up correctly, or get caught in the trap of going TOO heavy and sacrificing proper form for more weight used.

4) Your friends/workout buddies may get mad at you for being done with your workouts in under an hour! They may be left shaking their heads with a puzzled look on their face! -- I love that when that happens!!!

I agree with most of what you have stated Todd and the toher guys opinions here, i normally start with 12 for warmup and i then normally i go from 10 down to 8 then 6 as my progression in the workout gets heavier, but i think that 10reps are usefull in that not only your muscle gets pumped (alot more movement is happening? more blood flowing? the pumpp?(altho lots say the pump is useless).

But like rangers is Curious, i think if you do from the 10-6rep range that you allow your joints to also get stronger, not only your muscle mass (altho i could totally be wrong here, but its like doing 100curls of 5kg next day youl have sore area right opposite the elbow (bad example but an example of toomuhc joint stimulation)

but generally speaking i think 6-10 covers it nicely, i remember reading somewhere that for powerlifters its 4-6 and bodybuilders 6-12 or something like that

[Vas85]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

Number 2 on the advantage list isn't necessarily true Todd. It depends how you are doing your workouts. The powerlifters I hang with now wait 10 minutes between their work sets, even though it's low volume training.

Firehawk, since your alot into the powerlifting scene, umm do your mates/people that you see waiting 10minutes, dothey still make nice and increasing size mass? when your lifting 4-6reps and then waiting 10minutes :| i would give probably 6mins maximum rest.

Whats your opinion?

[Firehawk]

My opinion is to wait for as long as you need and then do your next work set. I just gave an example. The powerlifters I know wait no less than 5 minutes, and up to 15 minutes, depending how they feel.

Do they make great gains? Well, they are deadlfting in the 7-800s, squatting in the 7-800s, and benching over 500 raw. You tell me. Granted, this takes years, but the point is they made it to the elite status. So many people fall off the wagon because they slow down and stop progress, and can't figure out why in the hell they aren't growing.

When I did max OT i applied it wrong. I did my 3 sets of 4-6, the problem was on the first set I could probably get 7, but really i conserved that little bit of energy for the next 2 sets. I think the point is to blow it out on every set you do for MAX OT (TODD, correct me if I'm wrong). That's why they state in the MAX OT instructions "You should use a weight you can do for no less than 4 reps and no more than 6".

There's no way I could have gotten 3 sets of 6 reps after only 2 minutes rest if I was truly going balls to the wall on each work set.

Since ive started strength training, I don't see how someone could go to their maximum intensity and squeeze out 4-6 reps BARELY, and then only take 2 minutes to recover and do it again. I suppose on smaller muscle groups this would be possible but not big compound movements.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Vas85

I agree with most of what you have stated Todd and the toher guys opinions here, i normally start with 12 for warmup and i then normally i go from 10 down to 8 then 6 as my progression in the workout gets heavier, but i think that 10reps are usefull in that not only your muscle gets pumped (alot more movement is happening? more blood flowing? the pumpp?(altho lots say the pump is useless).

The pump is important, but so is providing a large enough stimulus to make your muscles grow. You can get a massive pump from curling a 15 pound dumbbell, but is that going to elicit any kind of major muscle growth? No. So why use a light weight for higher reps? Ask yourself that.

I get a gigantic pump from doing 4-6 reps on all my exercises, AND I also know I am getting major muscle stimulus for growth going on too! 4-6 reps allows (no, more like FORCES) you to incorporate and reach high intensity very quickly because you are handling a larger load, thus working your muscles harder and faster...there are no "easy reps" in the beginning of a set when doing 4-6 reps. When you do a rep range of say 8-10 reps, the first 4-5 reps are almost "wasted" reps, because they are easy...it's not until say the 5th, 6th or even 7th rep that it gets tough and all of your mental focus and intensity is brought to the forefront. Just some food for thought.

[Firehawk]

Todd,

You know what man? I still love MAX OT. You know why? Because i just went to AST and i did a search for strength related to muscle growth. Guess what I found? They advocate that strength is the key to rapid muscle growth. Well shine my shoes and call me Earl Anthony!

LOL. So, for those of you out there that "don't care how much weight you put up", think about how someone Squatting 500 x 10 reps is gonna have alot better wheels than someone squatting 200 x 10.

[Todd]

Hell yah Firehawk....and you think someone builds 20 inch arms by lifting 20 d-bells only? NO WAY DUDE! The more weight you can lift thru a full range of motion using proper form, the more muscle you will stimulate. Then, it is up to you to eat, rest and supplement optimally to actually make use of all that hard work in the gym! :

[Firehawk]

Originally Posted by Todd

Hell yah Firehawk....and you think someone builds 20 inch arms by lifting 20 d-bells only? NO WAY DUDE! The more weight you can lift thru a full range of motion using proper form, the more muscle you will stimulate. Then, it is up to you to eat, rest and supplement optimally to actually make use of all that hard work in the gym! :

Yeah well, that's the first bodybuilding routine (if u even wanna call it that) that I've seen make strength the core of the philosophy lol.