high reps vs low reps… what’s better?

They’re both great really, but the answer depends on your individual goals.

As a quick disclaimer, I plan on making most of these blogs as quick and immediately useful as possible. Sometimes I’ll go into deep nuanced dives for understanding’s sake, but I want you to be able to read and know how to make better decisions in as little time as possible. That’s my promise for this blog. 

Deal?  

Cool.

Functionally, both rep ranges are good for the average person to do, as they both build well rounded and robust bodies. They do develop different things though.

So, how are high/low rep training different, and when should they be used?

To oversimplify - 

High reps & low weight improve your physical foundation.

Low reps & high weight improve athletic performance. 

Let’s get into it.

Higher repetition sets are typically done with lighter weights, and are much closer to ‘failure’, or the point where you can’t do any more reps without getting pretty wild with your technique (which isn’t always a bad thing). These are typically 8-30 rep sets, near failure.

Think 0-2 reps in reserve, or ‘RIR’. 0 RIR means you reached failure and could barely finish your set, if at all. These sets are best for hypertrophy, or tissue growth work. 

Lower repetition sets are done much heavier, but not as close to failure. These movements will be very difficult, but you’ll finish most sets, and workouts, without gassing yourself out. Think 1-4 RIR. With heavy weights, going to failure has a much higher cost on your joints and nervous system, which take longer to recover than your muscle tissues. 

The benefit of this higher intensity work is that you’ll be more capable across the board in your body. Stronger, almost universally, is just better for health, longevity, and performance. 

So, when is high or low rep training preferred? 

High rep training, like I mentioned earlier, is for building your foundation. What are body builders if not athletes with the largest and most impressive foundation, with less concern for performance? This is why hypertrophy work is great for getting back into an exercise routine. 

If it’s been some months, or years, since the last time you consistently trained, higher reps with lighter loads are great for getting your joints back into shape, improving your work capacity and cardio, and adding muscle tissue to key areas that are under developed or detrained. 

If you want to avoid injuring yourself when you get back into working out, this is why it’s a great idea to stick with higher rep work for that initial 4-6 week period.

Higher reps are also a better idea for people doing a fat loss phase, or ‘cut’, since it is less taxing on joints, retains muscle tissue during your calorie deficit, and just straight up burns more calories. 

More reps = more work = more fat loss (assuming proper nutrition).

Low reps with heavier weights are best when used after the initial 4-6 week ramp up period. After you build a little of your baseline conditioning back up, it’s a great idea to start including a couple of more intense movements into your routine. 

Once you’ve ramped up, you can include some amount of higher intensity work in all of your programs or seasons. Like I said, more strength is more better. 

Doing one doesn’t have to mean you stop doing the other though, they can dance together. This is what I myself and most of my clients do when we’re not in a cut. 

So have fun. Lift heavy. Watch number go up. 

And chase the pump with high reps if said number is the circumference of your biceps. 

No shame, we love our peaks out here.