Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Kirsten Yovino, CPT Brookbush Institute
FACT CHECKED
One of the biggest debates in the fitness industry is whether you should perform low reps or high reps. In my professional opinion, you should do both. And, include heavy singles and ultra-high reps on top of that.
It's important to do both because every rep range has a benefit. So to fully improve every aspect of your fitness level, you need to perform every rep range to fully unlock all of your strength and muscle-building potential. So, if you're curious about what the benefits and differences are between high reps vs low reps, you've come to the right place!
Wondering if you should be doing 5 reps or 15? I'm about to explain what to do and why.
Table of Contents:
- What Are Rep Ranges?
- How To Use Low Reps For Muscle Strength & Muscle Growth
- High Reps vs Low Reps For Muscular Endurance
- Best & Worst Exercises With Various Rep Ranges
- High Reps vs Low Reps For Fat Loss
- High Reps vs Low Reps: Which is Best?
- Workout Examples Using Different Rep Ranges
What Are Rep Ranges?
Rep ranges refer to the number of times that you perform an exercise in a set. However, just using this definition will drastically underserve our true intent when talking about low reps and high reps.
We also need to talk about using rep ranges with loads when defining it.
Rep Ranges and Loads
Imagine if someone is using light weights to perform 5 reps. But, they could be doing 15 reps if they really tried. In this context, doing "low reps" doesn't seem to be very beneficial and loses its true meaning.
This is why when we talk about rep ranges, we are talking about the loads associated with them. As you could have probably guessed, there is an inverse relationship between the number of reps performed and the weight loads.
Here are two rep range rules to follow.
1) Low Reps Equal Heavy Weights:
Low reps are anywhere from 1-6 reps. The associated loads with this amount of reps are 85% of your 1RM or less.
Further, "low reps" can also be thought of as strength training. Studies are very clear that using loads greater than 85% is far superior for improving muscular strength. This is because they demand more from the neuromuscular system. We'll get into this below.
2) High Reps Equal Light Weights:
High reps refer to using lighter weights. The issue here is that when we say "high reps vs. low reps," we are talking about a binary system. However, in actual strength and conditioning, there are at least 3 rep ranges:
- Light Weight: 1-6 reps
- Moderate Weight: 8-12 reps
- High Reps: 12+ reps
For this article, when we say high reps, we will be referring to moderate reps and high reps. This is because these two rep ranges have more in common with each other.
That said, lightweight will be described as loads of 80% 1RM to 70%+. In reality, we're talking about muscle hypertrophy or muscle growth. While this could also technically include endurance, the distinction is usually between muscle strength and muscle hypertrophy.
How To Use Low Reps For Muscle Strength
Trainees at all levels and with different fitness goals should use low reps in their workout routine. As mentioned earlier, the main purpose of using low reps with heavier weights is to improve muscle strength.
For this reason, strength training is predominantly seen with strength athletes compared to bodybuilders. However, weight training with low reps is also popular among athletes of various sports.
Often, muscle size and muscle strength are often conflated by the general public and new lifters (and even some veterans!) The main assumption is that someone with bigger muscles will be stronger as well. This seems to be an obvious relationship so it makes sense someone would think that.
In reality, improving muscle size is a different physiological process than improving strength. Increasing muscle mass occurs through architectural alterations in the muscle, which we'll dive into below. On the other hand, muscle strength happens through improving the neuromuscular system.
Low Reps, Heavy Weight, And Your Neuromuscular System
Your neuromuscular system is how your brain talks to your muscles and controls contractions. Just like every other process and movement in the human body, it ultimately comes down to your brain sending signals through various systems to make a muscle move.
While muscle hypertrophy involves making the muscle bigger, muscle strength happens when the existing muscle learns to communicate better. This occurs through several mechanisms, such as increased firing rate, improved recruitment of muscle fibers, and stronger contractions.
Just like any relationship, better communication means better function, and in the case of a muscle, it will be able to:
- Produce more force
- React faster
- Increase workload
These are just a few of the benefits, but low reps and heavy weights optimize the existing muscle you have.
Can Low Reps Increase Muscle Mass?
Absolutely!
The idea that you can't build muscle mass with low reps with heavy weight is caused by an error in our lack of understanding of the muscle. However, science has finally caught up, and we now know that strength training can fully build muscle mass. Even if some trainers or social media "gurus" say you can't, you most definitely can.
We'll talk more about muscle hypertrophy below but at the end of the day, increasing your training volume for a muscle group is the primary driver of muscle growth. Multiple studies have shown that when the total volume is equated, it doesn't matter what rep ranges were used.
How To Use High Reps For Muscle Mass
Now let's take a better look at using higher repetitions, which is associated with muscle growth. As we mentioned above, your total training volume is the main driver of muscle mass. So while you can build muscle with low reps, it's much easier to acquire volume using lighter weights and high reps.
High Reps Produce More Volume
When you examine the relationship between 1RM percent and reps, you'll notice it's not linear. To demonstrate this, let's pretend you're doing a bench press with 100 lbs (we're not calling you weak, we're just not good at math!).
Let's see how dropping just a little bit of weight allows for many more reps:
|
Weight (lbs) |
Repetitions |
Total Weight Lifted (lbs) |
|
100 |
1 |
100 |
|
95 |
2 |
190 |
|
90 |
4 |
360 |
|
80 |
8 |
640 |
|
70 |
12 |
840 |
As you can see, dropping the weight by just a little bit allows much more reps per set, meaning more volume. Even though we've learned you can increase muscle mass with heavier weights and lower reps, lower reps allow for much more volume.
Rep Ranges & Muscular Endurance
One interesting distinction between rep ranges is the concept of muscular endurance. Again, the prevailing thought is that you need to perform high reps with low weight to improve muscular endurance. However, this isn't the case.
Low Weights Increase Absolute Endurance
There has been quite a bit of research that looks at the adaptations to muscular endurance with strength training. A common observation might be that while a powerlifter might be stronger than a bodybuilder, the bodybuilder can perform more reps at a smaller % load. However, this seems to be a specific adaptation rather than a general.
Remember above, we spoke about how increasing your maximal strength requires neuromuscular improvements. In turn, the muscle works better and can produce greater force more easily. If you look at the 1RM chart below, you'll see that when your 1RM increases, you can also perform lower weights with more reps.
Source: National Strength & Conditioning Association
What's happening is that because you can produce force more easily, it's less taxing on your body. When you train with lighter weights, you're just building muscle mass, and you may improve endurance in that specific rep range, but true endurance adaptations don't seem to improve.
Increased maximal strength increases:
- Time to fatigue
- Endurance performance
- Greater workload
- A lower level of perceived exertion
Low Reps vs High Reps: Best Exercises
No rep range holds any exercise hostage. In other words, you can technically perform as many reps as you want with any exercise. However, some exercises do better with specific rep ranges, and there are a few lifts that you probably shouldn't do with a specific rep range.
Best Exercises For Low Reps
Using low reps with heavier weights lays the foundation for performance, improved aesthetics, and increased athletics. At least in my opinion, which is why I think your major compound movements are the best exercises to use low reps.
The primary purpose of using fewer repetitions is building strength, with increasing muscle mass as a secondary benefit. Therefore, it makes sense to use the biggest exercises, which are these movements. Some include:
- Bench press
- Back squat
- Barbell shoulder press
Using heavier weights with these compound exercises is the primary way beginners and intermediates should be training.
Exercises You Shouldn't Do With Low Reps
When looking at exercises you shouldn't be using low repetitions with, isolation exercises are the first obvious exclusion. This is for two reasons:
- The primary purpose of an isolation exercise is to increase lean muscle mass, making higher reps the better choice.
- Using heavier weights with a single-joint exercise can place substantial stress on the joint and increase the risk of injury.
Another group of exercises that you need to be cautious about is dumbbell exercises. While you can use heavy weights, you should stick to the upper region of "low reps." This means a good general rule is to use 6 reps when wanting to train dumbbells with heavy weights.
The same advice for using the higher range in "low reps" also applies to pulling exercises, as near-maximal loads can place unneeded stress on the biceps. In addition, smaller compound movements should also follow this rule, such as a close-grip bench press.
Best Exercises For High Reps
You should use high reps and low weights when performing your isolation movements and smaller compound exercises. This means that a good percentage of exercises will overlap, meaning you could use any rep range.
One exception is when you may sometimes perform ultra-high reps to "shock" the muscle or just change things up once in a while. Many people find that these ultra-high reps work well for some lower-body exercises, such as squats and leg presses.
Exercises You Shouldn't Do With High Reps
While there are not as many heavy reps, there are some exercises that we think no one should ever do with high reps, especially consistently. These exercises are deadlifts and Olympic lifts. Some people will disagree with this, but we don't feel as though the benefit is worth the risk.
In Olympic movements, the main benefit is to produce power, not as "metabolic conditioning." These are highly complex movements whose movements demand precision so working until you're fatigued doesn't make sense. That's not to even mention. The only benefit is you're getting tired. It's our opinion that using kettlebells is a much better option as you perform a similar movement while decreasing the chance of injury.
The other exercise is deadlifts for similar reasoning. While doing deadlifts with higher reps has a place, it should be reserved for intermediate or advanced athletes who have gym maturity (know when to stop), great form, and developed musculature that can withstand some mistakes.
Again, deadlifts are complex movements and have the highest rate of injury. Exhausting yourself as you knock 5 more is not a good idea. In addition, transitioning from eccentric to concentric is odd, with deadlifts as the weights hit the ground.
You can bounce the weight, which should be reserved for advanced athletes, or you place the load on the ground. Under normal conditions, you should reset so you perform the next rep with great form. However, when you knock out too many reps, it's easy to try and go too fast, which results in injury.
Low Reps vs High Reps For Weight Loss: Is One Better?
Another question that people have about weight lifting is what type of weight lifting is best for weight loss. The quick answer is: "It doesn't matter."
I firmly believe that weight loss should not dictate the type of training you do. Rather, weight loss should come from getting into a caloric deficit with your nutrition. Lifting weights to lose weight will often result in a sub-optimal training plan as you're not getting the intended benefits, muscle growth, and maintaining muscle mass.
That said, lifting lighter weights and heavier weights can both help create a caloric deficit and help burn fat. While lifting lighter weights, especially for muscular failure, causes more muscle damage, lifting heavier weights causes more disruption in your body's physiological systems. And interestingly, lifting heavier can be great for losing fat. A study found that a group of dieters who lifted heavy weights lost the same amount compared to dieters who only performed cardio1. Even more interesting, the weight lifters lost only fat while the cardio group lost muscle and fat.
If you are using weight lifting to lose weight, follow a similar plan as you would if you were gaining weight and use nutrition to control calories. If you think about it, the guys and girls you see involved with bulking and cutting simply alter their nutrition, and you should too.
Check out the Best 7-Day Bodybuilding High Protein Meal Plan and the Best 4-Week Meal Plan For Weight Loss to get started!
Fast Twitch vs Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers
Another proponent that gets bundled with the discussion on high reps vs. low reps is fiber types. Your muscle isn't one solid chunk of tissue but rather a bunch of strands called muscle fibers that are woven together.
Think about the way rope is formed by combining a bunch of individual strands. All these muscle fibers have different physiological properties that produce different performance benefits.
1) Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers:
Fast twitch muscle fibers, or Type II muscle fibers, are responsible for both strength adaptations and the majority of muscle growth. For this article, these fibers have three important variables, which are that they fatigue easier, create greater force production, and have a greater response to muscle growth.
There are two different fast-twitch muscle fibers. They differ in their use of metabolic systems yet still fall on the rep continuum.
- Type IIa: Type II muscle fibers use the oxidative and glycolysis systems for respiration. They fall in the middle of force production and fatigability.
- Type IIb: Type IIb muscle fibers only use the anaerobic metabolic systems and produce the greatest amount of force, yet fatigue is the easiest.
2) Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers:
Slow twitch muscle fibers, or Type I muscle fibers, act as our power generators for endurance. These muscle fibers are smaller, so they are unable to produce large amounts of force. However, they are fatigue-resistant and can provide lower amounts of power for long periods.
When it comes to strength training, your slow twitch fibers don't play a massive role but are still important nonetheless. Regardless, you won't train them much unless you perform some traditional endurance performance.
What About Bodyweight Exercises?
Bodyweight exercises are a bit different from traditional barbell weight training as they measure what's known as relative strength. This is in contrast to absolute strength.
Assuming you're not using any external load or assistance, bodyweight exercises use your body as their loading mechanism. How many reps you can do of your body weight is based on how strong you are, meaning your strength relative to your body weight.
For example, let's say a 200lb guy can bench 200 lbs and do 4 chin-ups. Compare this to a 150lb guy who can bench 190 lbs and do 15 chin-ups.
Although the 200lb guy has greater absolute strength when you compare the amount they bench to their weight, the 150lb guy has greater relative strength. At the same time, you can see the 190lbs guy can do 15 chin-ups compared to 4, which also shows he has greater relative strength.
Regardless, the same rules of high reps and low reps apply to bodyweight exercises. In the example above, if no outside loading mechanisms are used, the 200lb guy is going to improve his strength with chin-ups while the 150lb guy will increase muscle size and muscular endurance.
That said, when you use these exercises, you should use various apparatuses to alter your weight to make yourself heavier or lighter. Use external loading (kettlebells, dip belt) to add weight if you need to add weight if you are doing too many reps. On the other hand, using resistance bands can make you lighter to allow high reps.
High Reps vs Low Reps: Which Is Best?
So after looking at all of the evidence, which one is best? If we could only pick one, it would be lifting heavy weights with low reps.
This would primarily be due to the strength gains and improvements in muscle endurance. While using high reps might have some advantages for muscle hypertrophy, this applies more to the advanced lifter. At the same time, you can still increase muscle size using heavy weights.
Strength training improves your neuromuscular efficiency. This makes your existing muscle turn into "better muscle." It will be more effective and efficient. As a result, you get better endurance and all-around better performance.
That said, there's still a benefit to using lightweight, and this dichotomy doesn't exist in real life (for the majority of people). Therefore, there's no reason to choose from either one. Instead, use both.
Check out our article to learn more about strength vs hypertrophy training.
Low Reps & High Reps Workout Routines
To see how a workout program may look differently, we'll provide a sample workout routine that favors either one. First, a training plan that focuses on low reps. Remember, the goal for using low reps is strength.
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Repetitions |
|
Deadlift |
4 |
4 |
|
Chin-Up |
5 |
5 |
|
T-Bar Row |
4 |
6 |
|
Barbell Front Shrug |
3 |
8 |
|
Seated Close Grip Row |
3 |
8 |
|
Bicep Curl |
3 |
12 |
Now for a similar workout that focuses on using high reps and muscle hypertrophy.
|
Exercise |
Sets |
Repetitions |
|
Deadlift |
3 |
5 |
|
Chin-Up |
3 |
8 |
|
T-Bar Row |
3 |
8 |
|
Lat Pull-Down |
3 |
10-12 |
|
Seated Wide-Grip Row |
3 |
10-12 |
|
Face Pull |
3 |
12-15 |
|
Bicep Curl |
3 |
12-15 |
As you can see, the two workouts are very similar. When looking at the workout with high reps, it only has one exercise with less than 6 reps, the deadlift. After, every exercise has 8+.
This demonstrates our belief. We think everybody should use multiple rep ranges to hit every aspect of muscular fitness. There's no reason to completely eliminate either range unless you are being completely misguided.
Low Rep vs High Rep: Final Takeaways
Our philosophy for resistance training is pretty simple. Just about everything is beneficial in the right circumstances. When it comes to weight training and rep ranges, use them all. Don't get caught up in trainers telling you this is better than that, as it depends on your goal.
While we feel low rep training has more benefits, especially for beginners, you should also add some light weights. On the other hand, if you are trying to be a bodybuilder and don't lift heavier weights at all, you will suffer from ignoring weight training. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Choose between a 4 or 5 day training split and gain 2-12 pounds of muscle over 90 days...
References:
-
Willis, Leslie H et al. “Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in overweight or obese adults.” Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) vol. 113,12 (2012. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01370.2011
Garett Reid
Author