Complete Guide to Rep Ranges for Strength, Muscle Growth, and Conditioning
If you didn’t already know, how you train matters.
Not every workout has to be designed to gain muscle. Most of the advice you’ll see on social media for training will be for general muscle growth, and less of it is geared for gaining strength, improving work capacity, endurance, or for fat loss.
Rep Ranges
I attached a chart below that lays out rep range zones and their function. The higher the reps, the more metabolic the stimulus will be. Conversely, less reps will ellicit a more neurological stimulus.
Low reps doesn’t always mean heavy either. Plyometrics for example may only be 1 to 3 reps but you don’t want to grind plyometrics, instead you want high velocity with low(er) loads.
“The higher the reps, the more metabolic the stimulus will be. Conversely, less reps will ellicit a more neurological stimulus.”
Before somebody gets their panties in a bunch, I want to point out that this chart is more of a spectrum. You CAN get stronger doing sets of 20, and you CAN get better endurance doing sets of 2. You CAN also get hypertrophy from sets of 20 or sets of 1.
However, the above scenarios are not optimal and usually the benefit will be secondary. An example would be how adding 50 lbs to your squat improves your endurance since the weight you’d previously do for sets of 10 now feels much lighter. The direct intent however of your program likely wasn’t to increase endurance but to increase maximal strength, endurance was just a secondary benefit.
Special Considerations
For athletes in weight cutting sports I would keep sets of 8+ reps to a minimum unless they needed to put on size or enhance a particular muscle group / joint. You can develop strength and speed with lower reps and higher sets without putting on unnecessary size. This doesn’t mean NEVER do higher reps, it just means use them more strategically so they align with your goals.
For conditioning I also don’t recommend doing a ton of weighted or bodyweight movements if you’re in a weight cutting sport. Opt for exercise with no eccentric loading such as sleds, medicine ball throws, and ballistic kettlebell movements. You can develop conditioning and work capacity with these movements without causing too much muscle damage or putting on more lean tissue.
Which Do I Pick?
Short answer: all of them.
Just cycle through phases. Folks get stuck doing the same thing all the time. If you’ve been grinding sets of 10 all the time, it’s probably time to shift to endurance or strength.
I recommend dedicating an entire 12 weeks to one phase. This doesn’t meean 100% of the volume should be the same for the phase. For instance, if you select a strength phase, you won’t just do sets of 2 reps all the time for every exercise. Your primary A series exercises will and then the accessories should be closely related to your primary goal.
Phases
Hypertrophy
Primarily 8 to 12 reps, but can mix in endurance work of 13+ reps. Functional hypertophy is recommended if you want a blend of strength and size.
Strength
Primarily 1 to 5 reps, but include 8-12 and even 13+ reps depending on your secondary goals.
Speed / Power
Lower reps, high velocity. In these phases I would still lift heavy (>80% 1RM) but further from failure to maximize velocity.
Endurance
This ones a bit of an enigma. I would suggest something like strength endurance (3 to 8 reps) as your base and then higher rep work for the accessories. Otherwise you’re likely just loading too much volume and not improving the top end (strength, the mother of all qualities).
Workouts
When I said train all rep ranges, I meant in phases but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t also train it within the same day. Below are a couple examples where it would make sense to train across the entire spectrum.
Functional Hypertrophy Upper
Pushup progression emphasis
A1. Bench Press 5 x 5-7
A2. Chin up | Neutral Grip 5 x 5-7
B1. Dips 4 x 8-10
B2. Hammer Curl 4 x 8-10
C1. Push up x 20,15,10,20,15,10
C2. Inverted Row x 20,15,10,20,15,10
Conjugate For Endurance Athletes
Develop speed & local muscular endurance
A1. Speed Box Squat 50%+Bands 8 x 3 EMOM
B1. Dumbbell Split Squat 3 x 8 / ea
B2. Band Hamstring Curl 3 x 25
C1. Bodyweight Calf Raise 2 x 20
D1. Sled Push 4 x 30 sec, 60 sec rest
Conjugate Hybrid Strength & Endurance
Full Body
For those who want strength and high levels of endurance. I would start with lower total volume and more submaximal weights for the higher rep sets to minimize intereference. Separate Endurance and Strength sessions by atleast 4 hours if possible.
Strength | Morning
A1 Front Squat work up to a 5RM
B1 Romanian Deadlift 3 x 8
B2 Dumbbell Bench Press 3 x 12
C1 Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 x 12
C2 Chest Supported Dumbbell Row 3 x 12
Endurance | Afternoon
Tempo Intervals 5 x 4:00 w/ 2:00 Recovery
Stay Strong