Summary 1. The traditional belief in a specific "hypertrophy rep range" (typically 8-12 reps) has been debunked by modern research. 2. Current scientific understanding suggests that a wide range of repetitions (roughly 5-30+ reps per set) can be effective for muscle growth, as long as the sets are taken close to failure. 3. Very low rep ranges (1-3 reps) can be effective but are harder on joints and the overall system, potentially leading to overtraining. 4. There's no strong evidence for individualized responses to specific rep ranges, either between people or between different muscle groups, although this hasn't been extensively studied. 5. Rep range diversity within a training program may have benefits, including: - Potentially targeting different muscle fiber types - Reducing joint stress - Improving buffering capacity and work capacity - Psychological variety 6. The importance of reading full studies rather than just abstracts or titles, as details in the discussion sections can provide crucial context. 7. The challenges of studying muscle fiber types due to the unreliability of muscle biopsies. The conversation emphasizes the complexity of hypertrophy research and the importance of considering multiple factors when designing training programs.
I personally find that a rep range where I fail due to muscular failure is the ideal range. Its not that ideal to have lactic acid and/or cardiovascular capacity be the limiting factor. Every muscle for every individual will have a different preference. I noticed that this is also the case for different exercises as well. Nothing wrong with having a burning sensation but not ideal to have it blurr out your perception of failure.
Generally, that's what I go for, too. The problem is that a lot of people don't know real muscle failure. You have to really try to keep going. But as long as you keep increasing in reps/weight I think you're good 👍
Yeah in leg extensions I don't even fail because of muscle failure when going for high reps. The pain just becomes too much to push myself through it after a long workout. Maybe I'm just a p*ssy but the mental exhaustion to push through pain is just not there every day after a long session.
It isn't the lactic acid though, right? The lactic acid is antecedent to the feeling of burn caused by local metabolites. And that local burning sensation is one of several (decent) proxies for an effective set. Sequestration of local metabolites may even have a causative effect on hypertrophy.
@drschwandi3687 I agree, pushing leg ext very hard is, objectively, rather painful. I kinda dig it sometimes. I like to put them sooner in the WO, though. Maybe try doing them sooner and not last.
Hypertrophy is the shit if you're into hypertrophy but I've always preferred a 7 days cycle of intense atrophy. With no form at all you actually *reduce* the time to failure, a concept that's decades ahead of Dr. Mike's contemporary understanding of weakness.
Good video with good information. Curious about calves, maybe I missed something. He did mention that they got similar results regardless of rep range. I'm not clear if they had an individual train each calf differently, or if they were basing the results from individual to individual.
He mentions that it was within subject design and that one calf was trained with higher reps than the other (14:20). So an individual trained each calf differently.
I love how Dr. Schoenfeld first acknowledges other researchers who reported key findings that changed our understanding of strength and hypertrophy training
@@RenaissancePeriodization what do u guys think of sets of 15 to 20 reps ? IS IT as good for hypertrophy as sets of 10 reps , or not as good ? Thanks in advance
Algorithm doesn’t wanna see an average looking old man on the thumbnail! And if the video doesn’t garish enough views they’ll swap out the current thumbnail for a new one to see if it gets more views.
Oh god. I remember that BS in college. Learning that “high reps low weight is weight loss and high weight low reps is for bulking”. They also were still teaching low fat and dietary cholesterol is terrible and causes heart disease. I feel like my education was a sham.
Low reps actually worked for me when it came to bulking after trying higher reps for quite some time. Everyone's body is different. Some may respond to low reps an d some may not. But low reps still work for lots of people for bulking.
It's actually saturated fat in the diets that is bad for you if you eat that stuff in excessive amounts. Also, it's more harmful the more overweight/obese you are, and the harmful effect starts to decrease the closer you are to a lower body fat percentage and don't eat in a big surplus calorie wise. Eggs aren't bad, but they do have a lot of calries if you're eating like 5 or more eggs per day. Talking about whole eggs by the way. For the amount of prtein they have to offer, whole eggs to have a lotta calories if you eat lots of them.
@@masterchief2622 I think he means the recent discovery that dietary cholesterol isn't affecting the serum cholesterol. I still can't believe it, it's so counter-intuitive. ESPECIALLY because vegans have low cholesterol, statistically significant amount of people who experimented with vegan diet, reported lower cholesterol. So,then this study comes out and makes your head spin.
@@masterchief2622 I'm mostly on the carnivore diet and cleared up so man health conditions, including reversing my diabetes. At almost 60 years old I've never felt this good even when I was in my 20s. Blood work also looks great.
I love how Brad immediately says "we don't know" something when we don't know. This is extremely valuable info IMO to slot into your BS detector for when someone else comes along and says "do exactly this".
This! If someone uses expressions to underline uncertainty or a chance (like might, can and so on) it sounds to me immediatly more trustworthy than someone doing the complete opposite.
Exactly, I love it when an expert says “I don’t know/we don’t know” at times. To me it just shows that they don’t make shit up on the fly or assumes based on whatever criteria or bias they have.
But as natural lifters, don't we need low reps to get stronger so we can lift heavier weight for more reps down the line? I.e I can deep and clean squat 100kg for 12 reps but stuck there for weeks and just can't add weight without breaking form or losing reps. So i go heavier for fewer reps, get stronger, then go back, and if I'm lucky, all of a sudden, i can squat 110kg for 12 reps. Or is it better to stay at 12 reps but just completely change exercises? 😵 💫 🥴 my brain hurts i just want big muscles and to eat ice cream.
I would really be interested to see this study done on advanced and elite level powerlifters. When I cleared 700 on squats and deadlifts, my training cycles, volume and recovery changed massively. My systemic loading had to be massively reduced, but depending on the load range for the day, I also had to cut my accessory volume down to preserve joint health. I’d volunteer to be a test subject. But at that level there’s absolutely zero reason to training more than 3 or 4 sets per week. Maximum.
Yeah this study of 7 sets of 3 reps just doesn’t seem like an accurate representation of lower rep training. Of course they would have a lot of systemic effects at that volume and stress on their nervous system and joints!
This entire discussion is based on hypertrophy. The only human doing 700 lbs on anything for hypertrophy was Ronnie Coleman. If you're doing 1rm then this entire channel really isn't for you. Before you try to say you're doing 700 for 3-5 reps, just save your time and don't reply because we know you are full of shit.
When you get to that level of strength I’m starting to think that steroids are actually good for you. You need the boosted recovery etc. My guess is that people squatting 700 are at a point where they are aware that they aren’t doing it for longevity or healthspan because the risk of serious damage is already massive.
Currently training in the 4-10 rep range (mostly 4-8) as I found that higher reps make me a lot more sore than low reps. This, in combination with low set count per muscle per workout (3-4 sets) and a higher frequency (3x+) per week seems to be the ideal spot for me
My experince is that when lifting as a natural low reps give you a lot more strength that is achievable with higher reps. You just blast through strength numbers achieved by something like 10 reps per set training. So if you don't care about strength, sure, avoid low reps.
If you're choosing a fixed weight to work through 7 sets of 3 reps, it seems to me that your RPE would be all over the place. Either you choose a lighter weight and the first 4 sets are relatively easy, or a heavy weight and the last 3 sets are basically RPE 11. Seems like you'd want to vary the load throughout the sets to achieve a similar RPE across them. With higher reps and less sets you generally don't have to change the weight to achieve similar RPE.
3 rep have fairly wide range of 1Rmax , about 90 to 92,5%. Even 93 on a good day. So if you take, say, 90 % of your 1Rmax, it is your genunine 3 Rmax, ie you can't make the fourth rep. Now, it is possible to squeeze out 7x3 workout with this weight , performing only this one exercise with long, ang progressively longer brakes. On the other hand percantage range on 10RpMax is so narrow, that if one take his genuine 10RpMax (for real can't do 11th rep) completing second set of 10 with this weight is night impossible. 3d set i'd say is completely impossible. People get around it by basically turning finishing reps of set into fast singles. But it is much easier and less noticable with higher reps. Of course with some movements you can't even do it (chinup/pullup).
I was always exercising with a pyramid. For example, when I do squats, I start with just a bar, and with every set, I add 5kg each side. Until it is to much, or I cannot do more than 3. I don't want to crash myself with a weight, as I am training alone. People for years were asking me about why am I making such a progress, they asked about diet, or protein G. I did not know why for years, now I understand why. I did not follow some pogram like do this 3x12, I was doing it by following my body, till failure. One day it is 8 set, another 10, it varies, but my body will always tell me, when I should push harder.
So you would start with the bar, do 3 reps, add 5kgs, do 3 reps, and repeat until you can't do more than 3 reps on that weight? Just asking for clarification on how many reps you do in a set before you hit that point where you couldn't do more than 3.
@@hardyharharvlike upside down pyramid. I start with high rep, and finish once a cannot do 3 in one set. So with bar 20 reps, you add 5kg each side, then 18 reps, add more, then 16, and so on. During initial reps, focus on technique, feel your muscles and control the motion. I feel like by the time I am lifting any serious weight, I am warmed up and ready for it.
@@hardyharharv no problem. Just remember don't hang up on specific numbers. Just feel and listen to the body on the day. I see so many friends doing their 40 min modern type of bodybuilding training, 5 times a week, tackling every muscle. And most of them are not happy with progress, both strength and look. They do maintenance training, not the one that gives progress.
Natural, advanced lifter here. Didn't have a lot of time nor access to a gym for a month. So I did 100 push ups a day (4 sets of 25), 30 days straight. I gained some size, but more importantly I can now bench every other day until failure without ever getting sore. I'm obviously just sample size of 1 but I do think switching higher and lower reps is the way to go. And both will build muscle, as stated in the interview.
Here’s what I don’t understand: The experts say growth happens during recovery minimum 48 hours. Isn’t doing pushups everyday counterproductive in terms of recovery?
@@CaptainCologneit encourages endurance. However, doing higher reps has nothing to do with being sore. We walk all day but if you do squats and calf raises and go run on the treadmill; I’d bet you 25k you’ll be sore. And if you’re not, you’re honestly doing something wrong. Soreness is a great indicator that a specific muscle has been stimulated to exhaustion. Sometimes that may be over exertion, if you’re so sore that you’re unable to train a muscle or group of muscle more than once a week then that may hinder your progress. Nothing is black and white when it comes to training.
Yeah bro you’re not stimulating your chest muscles right or enough. I’m a natural, advanced lifter too. I’ve never had my chest, not sore unless I undertrain. My chest is extremely responsive to training stimuli. Unless it’s genetics, I think you’re not really stretching and hitting those chest fibers enough.
Low reps/heavy sets have caused me the most significant amount of hypertrophy. Especially to my delts, chest, quads and triceps. They are the most developed and impressive muscles in my body. Not only are they big but they are dense af. I do higher reps for biceps and calves and they look small af unless I'm flexing. My upper back is pretty developed and wide/big and I generally do moderately high reps with them (5-10). The difference is though I do more sets with low reps but still the volume/total reps from doing more than double the amount of sets doesn't even equal the amount I can do for higher reps in only half the amount of sets. It seems to me intensity and more of it is the leading factor in hypertrophy, more than total volume in less sets at equal intensity at least.
Before anything else, we should start with not everyone who is an average Joe with a 9-5 is on TRT or some kind of anabolics to maintain muscle and gain because we constantly see people post “Follow this program to gain muscle” you can only go so far natty then you hit a plateau . Regardless of reps, we are all built different. Mike Mentzer only trained 2 days a week (granted he wasn’t natty) but the man really lifted heavy and went to failure and gain lean mass so did all those guys from the 60’’s-90’s era. A natural gym goes who’s there 3-4 days a week will never gain muscle the way all these social media “Influencers” always claim their clients gain by following their program. It’s trial and error, and how you eat as well as how much adequate sleep you get that’s how you’ll start seeing noticeable improvements . All these people who consistently post on social media are either sponsored obviously not natty and don’t have 9-5 jobs just sell useless products and programs just deceiving people . All these “Do 3 sets of 5 or 10” is a bodybuilder style but most gym goers just want to be athletic built and not walk around weighing 280lbs when they’re 5’2-5’10. Go figure out what works for you and don’t follow what you see on social media because some may wanna be boxers, grapplers and it wouldn’t make sense to follow a bodybuilding routine etc. As long as you’re not home sitting on the couch 🛋️ stuffing your face with junk food and you’re at the gym 3 days a week killing it , you’re doing something right. This is why Bruce Lee said: “Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own”
I do both. I start my sets at high weight typically about to only do 4-6reps. Once I feel the pump and stimulus activated I do a drop set until failure increasing the tension even further. Then to finish off the exercise I put it back on to my 4-6 rep range and go till failure
I kinda disagree with this. He is assuming that you’re also using “too much” weight. It’s possible to use an easily manageable weight and hyper focus on form/function that makes those couple of reps very “worth it”. Especially because it can be used to reinforce form etc.
I think it depends on the lifts if it is compound lifts or accessory lifts. You are high reps for biceps but no way you do high reps for deadlift. For safety and good form I do 1 to 3 reps for my deadlifts.
And if you're choosing a fixed weight to work through 7 sets of 3, it seems to me that your RPE would be all over the place. Either you choose a lighter weight and the first 4 sets are relatively easy, or a heavy weight and the last 3 sets are basically RPE 11. Seems like you'd want to vary the load throughout the sets to achieve a similar RPE across them. With higher reps and less sets you generally don't have to change the weight to achieve similar RPE.
agree I would say it's impossible to just start out first set at 100% for 3 reps without injuring yourself. I do around 5 sets for each exercise low reps (5) RPE ~5-6 building to last 2 sets close to failure, RPE 9-10, like Dorian Yates training. Its worked fine over the years. I used to do higher reps to 10 but with the volume I'd already done, it was harder to push and attempt new records. I take up to 5 mins between the last low rep, high intensity sets now and can achieve my goals, usually!
I was stuck at 165lb bench for the longest time, and about 6 months ago I started doing low reps with more weight + safety spotters. I know part of it was mental, as now I'm no longer afraid of the weight smashing my face with the safeties. But point is I'm now at 215lbs and I'm pretty sure I could lift 235/240 for my 1 rep max if I tried, but trying to move up slowly so as to avoid injury. Point is that low reps definitely work, wish I would've started them earlier
It's about what's your goal. If your goal is to lift more weights then lifting heavier weights will do that. You can't lift heavier weights if you are doing 20+ reps, it's too tiring. However, you are not optimizing building bigger muscle doing that.
Pretty much ever power lifter does both in some sort of system. Often periodizing by starting with a base phase with higher reps and start tapering towards lower reps nearing the peak. Doing only high or low reps thorough the year doesn't really make sense (for strength development). Very often the lower reps work extremely well if done after a phase of higher reps
Indeed. In powerlifting (as Mike should know since he claims a background in it) the use of what you described is used for getting to grips with heavier weights which gets you moving better poundages. Of course this video is about hypertrophy, but the fantasy world this channel inhabits where you do cardio with light weights and turn yourself into the Hulk is laughable.
10:00 I believe I have seen house of hypertrophy reviewing a study like that one and they actually found that some people grow better with higher and some people grow better with lower reps. The study was actually about does changing the rep ranges between mesocycles increase muscle growth and they made participants do 15-20 reps for 1 cycle and than 6-8 for the other one vs just doing 6-8 vs just doing 15-20 what they found was that all of them grew muscle equally well but when you dig deeper into the data's you can see that the people who didn't get very good muscle growth in the first meso got much faster growth in the second one and the ones who got the best growth in the first one got worser growth out of the second meso and the house of hyperytropht concluded that this was because of some people growing better from different rep ranges which I agree
It'd be so interesting if there was a way to know what kind of training fits you, I , for example, have always worked on small ranges from 6 to 10 and never with higher repetitions. I'll try someday but I enjoy more lower ranges of repetitions.
The only advantage with high weight sets is strenght, luckily not much volume is needed for strenght, doing 4 sets with higher reps and finnishing with a low rep high weight set is enough to stimulate that extra strenght. The high reps also works well as warmup sets. Just add a little l weightt for each subsequent set starting with 30-35 reps first set, 20-25 reps second set, 10-15 reps third set, 5-8 reps for fourth and finally 1-3 reps for fifth. This gives both mass and strenght, if you're older, to protect your joints, use a rubber band in combination with the weight for the heavy set, this way you minimize the time with high strain, and it's also much safer to abort the lift if it gets too heavy.
I feel like we’re getting to levels of “this is the best way to chew your food for maximum swallowage” Like guys, at some point , just lift the ****** weight and move on with ur life
So basically RP is telling us everything and the opposit as time goes on. it tells u science based workout is just gaslighting past certain fundamentals, and only personal experience matters. its all about views
Sure, but the point I take home is that if you feel like doing 5-6 a few times, then go for it. Or maybe you want to burn out with 16-20, go for it. That makes things more organic and sustainable.
I would honestly drop the rep range to 5-8 to lower fatique and you shouldn't be looking at sets per exercise, you should be looking for sets for a muscle group in a session.
if you can recover from 4 easily in a day you can do 5. and if you can't recover until next day you do the same exercise, you need to reduce sets. 8-12 is fine, especially for beginners
doing 5/3/1 for over 2 years now and I swear im bigger then 90% of you incels on here, for natural lifters there truelly is no other way to get jacked besides getting strong, do your onr rep maxes, do your heavy squats, deadlifts and bench presses train like a powerlifter not like a roided up bodybuilder
6-8 for me for most upper body exercises. Legs seem to respond best in the 10-12' ish range. I just recently did a high volume experiment where I started doing 2-3 sets of 20 per exercise. Far too much volume, I was fatiguing faster than the muscle would. The weight I used didn't really stimulate or breakdown the muscle much. So I continued to experiment further to find that sweet spot, the perfect load-to-rep-volume combination where I could use a decent amount of weight to stimulate the muscle, work with the right amout of volume and still achieve a great pump. So I eventually found myself doing Two exercises per muscle group - 5 sets of 10 per exercise - where would begin to show signs of muscle failure at round reps 8-10, especially on sets 3-5. 8 weeks in and I found myself working with the loads close to my 6-8 rep range. My body has quickly adapted to the work load and I'm seeing new muscle. Plus my joints were very happy. 14 weeks in, everything was measuring bigger than ever. Arms, legs, chest, delts were visibly larger. The only place that didn't seem to respond as much was my lats. 20 weeks in, progress began to slow down. The effect of the volume began to wear down. My muscles were once again weren't being stimulated. They've responded and adapted. And as I increased the weight, I'd run out of steam before the muscle did. So I went back to the 1-2 sets of 6-8. And Holy s**t, weight is moving like it has never before. Stronger than ever. Muscle endurance is better than ever! I actually had to change gyms to accommodate for my new strength capabilities. Now I'm still working in the 6-8 rep range and I've been doing 3-4 exercises, 1-2 sets per exercise. My body loves that zone, especially the lats.
If I do 3 reps at a huge weight, it hurts my joints yes, but I feel awesome afterwards. If I lift 12 reps on a standard weight over and over again, yes it's saving my joints but I leave the gym feeling shit. Hit the intensity, hit it heavy and give your joints time to recover
Do whatever works for you, but if you're doing 12 reps at a "standard weight" and leaving the gym feeling like shit, you are training wrong lol. Its pretty simple. You aren't training those 12 reps hard enough, with good enough technique, and without enough volume or load.
How can you alternate volume and load and stay within the 12 rep range? Assuming he is training to failure increasing either would put him in a different rep range. Right?
Stop training to failure. That's burning you out. Forget about that HIT crap. Do 12 good reps, practice that perfect rep, full rom with stretch and contraction. Practice. Do 3,4 or 6 sets. It's The constant battle for more reps, more we ight that kills our recovery
Schoenfeld is a legend but I gotta ask does he have a skin condition or something? He is so knowledgeable on health and yet does not give off that impression….
Could you perhaps do a video about breathing technic when lifting weights? I always struggle with it. Don’t know if I should hold my breath or really focus on my breathing? Loooove your videos!🙏🏼❤️
Since the stimulating reps model show that the last 5 reps in a set are the ones that stimulate muscle growth, it’s easier to stimulate said muscles if you do a set of 4-8 than if you do 10+, since the majority of reps in a high rep set will be useless
Is there any benefit in switching up the rep range for certain exercises to provide a new stimulus for hypertophy? For example if I've been doing bench for 2 years going close to failure in the 6-10 range, could there be an added hypertrophic benefit by bumping that up to ~15 reps close to failure?
Also, Low reps are not that hard on the joints unless you are not used to training that way. Another way to look at the data is to train the way you enjoy, since that will make the biggest difference in your results.
@@NoahHornbergerdepends what kind of training too, I’m mostly into calisthenics/gymnastics so I’m most of times looking to get stronger, and always am around the 3-8 rep range if I’m doing dynamic training, seriously never experienced any type of joint pain or intense cns fatigue. Maybe if you do 150kg bench yeah the weight leans on ur elbows and shoulders which will have more joint discomfort
The best way to do it is with a weight that you can control and focus on a good form for let's say 10 reps doing them slowly and to failur( the 10 reps example is just to be clear about the correct weight you need, if tou can control it for 10 reps and failure is 15 17 18 doesn't matter, just remember if you van lift it by leaning over or any other weird movements, that means the weight is too heavy)
I can relate to this so much. As a 40-year-old, i began working out using the common recommended range of 3 sets with 8-12 reps each, but I made almost zero progress. I was stuck at a bench press of 185 lbs for several months. That changed when I decided to try the different approach of fewer reps, more weight, and more sets. I started with 4 sets of 5 reps each, then increased the reps by 1 on a weekly or bi-weekly basis until I could do 8. After that, I increased the weight again. This method works significantly better for my body, and now I can bp 230 lbs.
So you've wasted 3 months doing lower weights when you could have been building muscle effectively from the start. Lifting "heavy" weights is not impressive, a muscular physique is.
I was that 8 year old child that Brad walked by. It happened just like Dr. mike said. I do shortened partials now to keep myself from getting too big for doors.
I prefer to keep my barbell compounds at sets of 5, dumbbells at around 8-12, machines 10-15 and cables 15-20 and I try to progress on the compounds by 2.5-5 lbs per session, and try to add reps to all the others until I hit the upper rep goal, THEN I increase the weight next time. If I stall in the compounds I might back off on the weight and do a top set of 5, then do drop/back off sets for a few weeks and gradually get back up to my working weight. This seems to work for me.
When I was in my teens and 20’s the dogma was 5x5 peaking at the 3rd or 4th set. I was plenty strong but never got the bulk or tone I was looking for. Coming back to weight training 30ish years later I took your advice and now do some like 4x15-20 reps. The weight is 60% of what younger me did, but eight weeks in and the hypertrophy is amazing. My wife, who has known me since my 20’s has noticed, which is good enough for me. And my old-man joints are grateful for the lower joint loading.
5x5 isn’t dogma, it’s popular for a reason, how is a beginner supposed to isolate there muscles with 10-15 reps when they can’t even feel them in the first place, have you ever seen a beginner workout, they look like a tridactyl having a seizure, 10-15 reps for a beginner is way to light and there just moving weight from point A-B at that point. Mike never seems to acknowledge the fact that muscle fibre proportions are individualized, some people have more fast twitch muscle fibres, these people are naturally strong and respond well to explosive and heavy lifts, others have more slow twitch muscle fibres and are probably more suited to be a marathon runner or something.
Low reps is the way to go. Currently in the zero rep range and I’m making crazy gains to my midsection
Low reps keeping you big as hell 💪
lol, thanks for ending my depression with this laugh my man 🤣🤣🤣🤣
You can improve your gains in the mid section by doing 8 to 12 ounce curls 🍻🍺
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂
Summary
1. The traditional belief in a specific "hypertrophy rep range" (typically 8-12 reps) has been debunked by modern research.
2. Current scientific understanding suggests that a wide range of repetitions (roughly 5-30+ reps per set) can be effective for muscle growth, as long as the sets are taken close to failure.
3. Very low rep ranges (1-3 reps) can be effective but are harder on joints and the overall system, potentially leading to overtraining.
4. There's no strong evidence for individualized responses to specific rep ranges, either between people or between different muscle groups, although this hasn't been extensively studied.
5. Rep range diversity within a training program may have benefits, including:
- Potentially targeting different muscle fiber types
- Reducing joint stress
- Improving buffering capacity and work capacity
- Psychological variety
6. The importance of reading full studies rather than just abstracts or titles, as details in the discussion sections can provide crucial context.
7. The challenges of studying muscle fiber types due to the unreliability of muscle biopsies.
The conversation emphasizes the complexity of hypertrophy research and the importance of considering multiple factors when designing training programs.
Seriously, thank you for this.
Thank you!!!
thanks!
Thank you sir!
You're doing the lord's works.
Thanks bro. What is buffering and work capacity
Edit: even if this was ai summary im still thankful. That should be a yt feature tbh
I personally find that a rep range where I fail due to muscular failure is the ideal range. Its not that ideal to have lactic acid and/or cardiovascular capacity be the limiting factor. Every muscle for every individual will have a different preference. I noticed that this is also the case for different exercises as well.
Nothing wrong with having a burning sensation but not ideal to have it blurr out your perception of failure.
Generally, that's what I go for, too. The problem is that a lot of people don't know real muscle failure. You have to really try to keep going. But as long as you keep increasing in reps/weight I think you're good 👍
Yeah in leg extensions I don't even fail because of muscle failure when going for high reps. The pain just becomes too much to push myself through it after a long workout. Maybe I'm just a p*ssy but the mental exhaustion to push through pain is just not there every day after a long session.
This
It isn't the lactic acid though, right? The lactic acid is antecedent to the feeling of burn caused by local metabolites. And that local burning sensation is one of several (decent) proxies for an effective set. Sequestration of local metabolites may even have a causative effect on hypertrophy.
@drschwandi3687 I agree, pushing leg ext very hard is, objectively, rather painful. I kinda dig it sometimes. I like to put them sooner in the WO, though. Maybe try doing them sooner and not last.
THE GREATEST VIDEO EVER MADE !!
Hypertrophy is the shit if you're into hypertrophy but I've always preferred a 7 days cycle of intense atrophy.
With no form at all you actually *reduce* the time to failure, a concept that's decades ahead of Dr. Mike's contemporary understanding of weakness.
Idk if it matters but I saw your leg day video with Jeff nippard and I had the best fucking leg day ever today , thank you Dr Mike.
Good video with good information. Curious about calves, maybe I missed something. He did mention that they got similar results regardless of rep range. I'm not clear if they had an individual train each calf differently, or if they were basing the results from individual to individual.
Great question, curious about this too.
He mentions that it was within subject design and that one calf was trained with higher reps than the other (14:20). So an individual trained each calf differently.
@@Beni2364 Thanks for that.
It's realy difficult to realy overload calves with low reps. But it would work if you can manage to get the weight onthe muscle
Low reps with my girlfriend led to a loss in relationship growth.
longer sets is the best
You mean that piece of felt you rub on your dick every night?
More supersets too atm ftw.
If you do low reps you need to do many sets to achieve the desired outcome.
Heavy though. Power push❤
Mike lookin like a majestic dolphin at sea world in the thumbnail
Cannot unsee
Damn bro thats some Theo Von level comparison 😂
😂🐬
😂
💀💀
Low reps is good for fatigue management. I do seven sit-ups a week. I sit up every morning in bed and then lie back down again at night.
I do all 7 in one day and then don’t bother to sleep for the rest of the week. It’s more efficient and Dorian Yates slept like that.
@@RaveyDavey😂😂😂
I love how Dr. Schoenfeld first acknowledges other researchers who reported key findings that changed our understanding of strength and hypertrophy training
Good For You!
12:37 brad saying good for you 😂😂 Brad is unintentionally funny
Great moment.
Papa Brad is proud
maybe brad is his dominatrix and he didnt want to be outed on mike's video lmao
@@RenaissancePeriodization what do u guys think of sets of 15 to 20 reps ? IS IT as good for hypertrophy as sets of 10 reps , or not as good ? Thanks in advance
@@jaimenazaryan860 litterally watch the video you're on, they discuss this very topic.
I wonder why you guys don't put Brad Schoenfeld on the thumbnail whenever he's featured. Always love hearing what he has to say.
Algorithm doesn’t wanna see an average looking old man on the thumbnail! And if the video doesn’t garish enough views they’ll swap out the current thumbnail for a new one to see if it gets more views.
he is less attractive than dr. mike
Would you take muscle building advice from that creature?
Gotta show skin apparently
Because he’s punier than a marathon runner
Oh god. I remember that BS in college. Learning that “high reps low weight is weight loss and high weight low reps is for bulking”. They also were still teaching low fat and dietary cholesterol is terrible and causes heart disease.
I feel like my education was a sham.
Low reps actually worked for me when it came to bulking after trying higher reps for quite some time. Everyone's body is different. Some may respond to low reps an d some may not. But low reps still work for lots of people for bulking.
No that's just outdated science bro, nothing to be pessimistic about
It's actually saturated fat in the diets that is bad for you if you eat that stuff in excessive amounts. Also, it's more harmful the more overweight/obese you are, and the harmful effect starts to decrease the closer you are to a lower body fat percentage and don't eat in a big surplus calorie wise. Eggs aren't bad, but they do have a lot of calries if you're eating like 5 or more eggs per day. Talking about whole eggs by the way. For the amount of prtein they have to offer, whole eggs to have a lotta calories if you eat lots of them.
@@masterchief2622 I think he means the recent discovery that dietary cholesterol isn't affecting the serum cholesterol. I still can't believe it, it's so counter-intuitive. ESPECIALLY because vegans have low cholesterol, statistically significant amount of people who experimented with vegan diet, reported lower cholesterol. So,then this study comes out and makes your head spin.
@@masterchief2622 I'm mostly on the carnivore diet and cleared up so man health conditions, including reversing my diabetes. At almost 60 years old I've never felt this good even when I was in my 20s. Blood work also looks great.
Another father and son moment 🥰
Best comment 🙃
Dr. Mike is the father of Brad, right?
Mike the father brad the 18 year old son
dr.mike has inspired me to pursue sport physiology as my passion and career and i owe everything to him
Waa
Great stuff
Great stuff. Good luck with that
I get bored with 12+ reps, my veins could pop with 3-5 reps so I work on 8-10 most time
I find the same. I think 12 has become a psychological “standard” and so it’s like “I gotta get too 12.”
@@TheFlounderPounder when im stuck with this, i go reverse pyramid to increase the weight and go heavier-lower reps after 2 sets
You get bored because you're boring
@@eastsidepb8139🫵🥱
@@eastsidepb8139 so edgy
Brad is not having any of your insanity Mike.
I love how Brad immediately says "we don't know" something when we don't know. This is extremely valuable info IMO to slot into your BS detector for when someone else comes along and says "do exactly this".
This! If someone uses expressions to underline uncertainty or a chance (like might, can and so on) it sounds to me immediatly more trustworthy than someone doing the complete opposite.
Exactly, I love it when an expert says “I don’t know/we don’t know” at times.
To me it just shows that they don’t make shit up on the fly or assumes based on whatever criteria or bias they have.
8:47 lmao haha
i'll give you credit dr mike, you made it 12:30 through a serious interview...
But as natural lifters, don't we need low reps to get stronger so we can lift heavier weight for more reps down the line?
I.e
I can deep and clean squat 100kg for 12 reps but stuck there for weeks and just can't add weight without breaking form or losing reps.
So i go heavier for fewer reps, get stronger, then go back, and if I'm lucky, all of a sudden, i can squat 110kg for 12 reps.
Or is it better to stay at 12 reps but just completely change exercises?
😵 💫 🥴 my brain hurts i just want big muscles and to eat ice cream.
What works for me is just go 110kg for like 8-9 ish and work your way up from there in reps
I would really be interested to see this study done on advanced and elite level powerlifters. When I cleared 700 on squats and deadlifts, my training cycles, volume and recovery changed massively. My systemic loading had to be massively reduced, but depending on the load range for the day, I also had to cut my accessory volume down to preserve joint health. I’d volunteer to be a test subject. But at that level there’s absolutely zero reason to training more than 3 or 4 sets per week. Maximum.
Yeah this study of 7 sets of 3 reps just doesn’t seem like an accurate representation of lower rep training. Of course they would have a lot of systemic effects at that volume and stress on their nervous system and joints!
This entire discussion is based on hypertrophy. The only human doing 700 lbs on anything for hypertrophy was Ronnie Coleman. If you're doing 1rm then this entire channel really isn't for you. Before you try to say you're doing 700 for 3-5 reps, just save your time and don't reply because we know you are full of shit.
When you get to that level of strength I’m starting to think that steroids are actually good for you. You need the boosted recovery etc. My guess is that people squatting 700 are at a point where they are aware that they aren’t doing it for longevity or healthspan because the risk of serious damage is already massive.
You need to do a video with Brad and Jared for the 3 generation video
Regarding damage to connective tissue, joints, etc... listening to your body is key here.
you can notice the exact second Dr Mike's brain goes from comedic to teaching mode. The man's a legend.
It's obviously not working on him.
Or you.
grug bigger than old man grug must be smarter
No thanks i like my 5x5. I get bored on to many reps
I avoid this range as 6 reps tend to be my lowest. I tend to mostly work in the 10-20 range and have gotten unreal results.
You and 95% of bodybuilders over the last 50 years without any studies and mental masturbation
I'm in the same page. Incredible results for just going at in for a little over a year. Anything below six just doesn't feel right
@@John-ih7gpI’m in different page
anything above 10 feels a waste of time so I add more weight as soon as I see I’m getting past 10 reps
what do u think of sets of 15 to 20 reps ? IS IT as good for hypertrophy as sets of 10 reps , or not as good ? Thanks in advance
Currently training in the 4-10 rep range (mostly 4-8) as I found that higher reps make me a lot more sore than low reps. This, in combination with low set count per muscle per workout (3-4 sets) and a higher frequency (3x+) per week seems to be the ideal spot for me
Its ideal for everyone, only these dumb “doctors” dont know that fatigue, pump and soreness arent conducive to muscle growth
Which means you should go higher reps…
My experince is that when lifting as a natural low reps give you a lot more strength that is achievable with higher reps. You just blast through strength numbers achieved by something like 10 reps per set training. So if you don't care about strength, sure, avoid low reps.
Spot on.
If you're choosing a fixed weight to work through 7 sets of 3 reps, it seems to me that your RPE would be all over the place. Either you choose a lighter weight and the first 4 sets are relatively easy, or a heavy weight and the last 3 sets are basically RPE 11.
Seems like you'd want to vary the load throughout the sets to achieve a similar RPE across them.
With higher reps and less sets you generally don't have to change the weight to achieve similar RPE.
Depends how long your rests are. If you rest longer it will be much flatter fall off.
3 rep have fairly wide range of 1Rmax , about 90 to 92,5%. Even 93 on a good day. So if you take, say, 90 % of your 1Rmax, it is your genunine 3 Rmax, ie you can't make the fourth rep. Now, it is possible to squeeze out 7x3 workout with this weight , performing only this one exercise with long, ang progressively longer brakes.
On the other hand percantage range on 10RpMax is so narrow, that if one take his genuine 10RpMax (for real can't do 11th rep) completing second set of 10 with this weight is night impossible. 3d set i'd say is completely impossible.
People get around it by basically turning finishing reps of set into fast singles. But it is much easier and less noticable with higher reps.
Of course with some movements you can't even do it (chinup/pullup).
start heavy and go down as the sets continue
Who tf has time for 7 fking sets bro ?? Clearly u must be living in the gym
@@unboxinganything2498 people who don't jack off in the gym and do 40 different exercises?
Dr. Schoenfeld has so many good combined studies out there. The best of the best when it comes to research in strength and conditioning.
I was always exercising with a pyramid. For example, when I do squats, I start with just a bar, and with every set, I add 5kg each side. Until it is to much, or I cannot do more than 3. I don't want to crash myself with a weight, as I am training alone.
People for years were asking me about why am I making such a progress, they asked about diet, or protein G. I did not know why for years, now I understand why.
I did not follow some pogram like do this 3x12, I was doing it by following my body, till failure. One day it is 8 set, another 10, it varies, but my body will always tell me, when I should push harder.
I like it
So you would start with the bar, do 3 reps, add 5kgs, do 3 reps, and repeat until you can't do more than 3 reps on that weight?
Just asking for clarification on how many reps you do in a set before you hit that point where you couldn't do more than 3.
@@hardyharharvlike upside down pyramid. I start with high rep, and finish once a cannot do 3 in one set. So with bar 20 reps, you add 5kg each side, then 18 reps, add more, then 16, and so on.
During initial reps, focus on technique, feel your muscles and control the motion.
I feel like by the time I am lifting any serious weight, I am warmed up and ready for it.
@@zombek666 Thank you so much for the timely response!
@@hardyharharv no problem. Just remember don't hang up on specific numbers. Just feel and listen to the body on the day.
I see so many friends doing their 40 min modern type of bodybuilding training, 5 times a week, tackling every muscle. And most of them are not happy with progress, both strength and look.
They do maintenance training, not the one that gives progress.
Moral of the story: Lift weights, try hard, eat protein and enough calories and let your genetics handle the rest.
And don’t forget to get enough rest (sleep)
Pretty much. But all that is irrelevant without proper ROM and a slow eccentric
And don't do heroine
@@jarrod1687agreed
You forgot the most important, technik
Natural, advanced lifter here. Didn't have a lot of time nor access to a gym for a month. So I did 100 push ups a day (4 sets of 25), 30 days straight. I gained some size, but more importantly I can now bench every other day until failure without ever getting sore. I'm obviously just sample size of 1 but I do think switching higher and lower reps is the way to go. And both will build muscle, as stated in the interview.
Here’s what I don’t understand: The experts say growth happens during recovery minimum 48 hours. Isn’t doing pushups everyday counterproductive in terms of recovery?
@@CaptainCologneit encourages endurance. However, doing higher reps has nothing to do with being sore. We walk all day but if you do squats and calf raises and go run on the treadmill; I’d bet you 25k you’ll be sore. And if you’re not, you’re honestly doing something wrong. Soreness is a great indicator that a specific muscle has been stimulated to exhaustion. Sometimes that may be over exertion, if you’re so sore that you’re unable to train a muscle or group of muscle more than once a week then that may hinder your progress. Nothing is black and white when it comes to training.
Yeah bro you’re not stimulating your chest muscles right or enough. I’m a natural, advanced lifter too. I’ve never had my chest, not sore unless I undertrain. My chest is extremely responsive to training stimuli. Unless it’s genetics, I think you’re not really stretching and hitting those chest fibers enough.
@@icyygeminii9091 I appreciate the information. What about recovery by doing push-ups every day isn’t that wrong from a growth perspective?
@CaptainCologne If the volume and intensity are low enough you can do them every day, but at that point it's not worth it anymore.
“Do your fahves.”
- Mark Rippetoe
both my type 1 and type 2 fibers were stimulated in my target muscle by this vid. as a result, I saw RAPID growth.
The 2 million subs is showing, many comments are completely stupid, its cool that the channel is popular but damn there are some wild takes here.
Low reps/heavy sets have caused me the most significant amount of hypertrophy. Especially to my delts, chest, quads and triceps. They are the most developed and impressive muscles in my body. Not only are they big but they are dense af. I do higher reps for biceps and calves and they look small af unless I'm flexing. My upper back is pretty developed and wide/big and I generally do moderately high reps with them (5-10).
The difference is though I do more sets with low reps but still the volume/total reps from doing more than double the amount of sets doesn't even equal the amount I can do for higher reps in only half the amount of sets.
It seems to me intensity and more of it is the leading factor in hypertrophy, more than total volume in less sets at equal intensity at least.
7-12 are medium reps
Smal muscle higher reps is not a bad idea to not get injured you are on a good track
Hmm bith total volume is importend. Good that you have found your rep range
Same for me. Lower reps have allowed me to achieve higher reps in time with huge weights
if you are on gear it is a different story. if you are natural this 10 or more rep sh will lower your testo level dramatically
Before anything else, we should start with not everyone who is an average Joe with a 9-5 is on TRT or some kind of anabolics to maintain muscle and gain because we constantly see people post “Follow this program to gain muscle” you can only go so far natty then you hit a plateau . Regardless of reps, we are all built different. Mike Mentzer only trained 2 days a week (granted he wasn’t natty) but the man really lifted heavy and went to failure and gain lean mass so did all those guys from the 60’’s-90’s era. A natural gym goes who’s there 3-4 days a week will never gain muscle the way all these social media “Influencers” always claim their clients gain by following their program. It’s trial and error, and how you eat as well as how much adequate sleep you get that’s how you’ll start seeing noticeable improvements . All these people who consistently post on social media are either sponsored obviously not natty and don’t have 9-5 jobs just sell useless products and programs just deceiving people . All these “Do 3 sets of 5 or 10” is a bodybuilder style but most gym goers just want to be athletic built and not walk around weighing 280lbs when they’re 5’2-5’10. Go figure out what works for you and don’t follow what you see on social media because some may wanna be boxers, grapplers and it wouldn’t make sense to follow a bodybuilding routine etc. As long as you’re not home sitting on the couch 🛋️ stuffing your face with junk food and you’re at the gym 3 days a week killing it , you’re doing something right. This is why Bruce Lee said:
“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own”
I do both. I start my sets at high weight typically about to only do 4-6reps. Once I feel the pump and stimulus activated I do a drop set until failure increasing the tension even further. Then to finish off the exercise I put it back on to my 4-6 rep range and go till failure
Brad wants no part of the jokes lol
0:29 real I’ve seen it
I kinda disagree with this. He is assuming that you’re also using “too much” weight. It’s possible to use an easily manageable weight and hyper focus on form/function that makes those couple of reps very “worth it”. Especially because it can be used to reinforce form etc.
Dr. Mike just hit 2 million subs, and 3 million looks like it’s going to come quick!
Mike: “that’s not the only thing coming quick…” *little chuckle*
Key note go to failure "most the time"
Dr. Brad got real nervous for a bit with that child joke in the beginning 😂😅
odd joke given how much pedo shit floats around the MSM and meme worlds for sure.
I think it depends on the lifts if it is compound lifts or accessory lifts. You are high reps for biceps but no way you do high reps for deadlift. For safety and good form I do 1 to 3 reps for my deadlifts.
Gotta say though, that 7 sets of 3 reps are way harder than 3 sets of 10. Very strange comparison, given proportional load.
And if you're choosing a fixed weight to work through 7 sets of 3, it seems to me that your RPE would be all over the place. Either you choose a lighter weight and the first 4 sets are relatively easy, or a heavy weight and the last 3 sets are basically RPE 11.
Seems like you'd want to vary the load throughout the sets to achieve a similar RPE across them.
With higher reps and less sets you generally don't have to change the weight to achieve similar RPE.
Yeah, they talked about that in the video. And you don't even gain any more muscle for all that extra pain!
@@exerciserelax8719 well, for the extra pain you get a lot of extra reps at a high %, which leads to more strength development
agree
I would say it's impossible to just start out first set at 100% for 3 reps without injuring yourself. I do around 5 sets for each exercise low reps (5) RPE ~5-6 building to last 2 sets close to failure, RPE 9-10, like Dorian Yates training. Its worked fine over the years. I used to do higher reps to 10 but with the volume I'd already done, it was harder to push and attempt new records. I take up to 5 mins between the last low rep, high intensity sets now and can achieve my goals, usually!
@@RustyTreeMan that's why you warm up..
Chris Beardsley strongly disagrees on this…and on most things you guys preach😅🤷♂️ I‘d love to see you guys debating this topic!
I was stuck at 165lb bench for the longest time, and about 6 months ago I started doing low reps with more weight + safety spotters. I know part of it was mental, as now I'm no longer afraid of the weight smashing my face with the safeties. But point is I'm now at 215lbs and I'm pretty sure I could lift 235/240 for my 1 rep max if I tried, but trying to move up slowly so as to avoid injury. Point is that low reps definitely work, wish I would've started them earlier
I agree. My strength went through the roof after I started lifting low heavy reps
It's about what's your goal. If your goal is to lift more weights then lifting heavier weights will do that. You can't lift heavier weights if you are doing 20+ reps, it's too tiring. However, you are not optimizing building bigger muscle doing that.
Pretty much ever power lifter does both in some sort of system. Often periodizing by starting with a base phase with higher reps and start tapering towards lower reps nearing the peak. Doing only high or low reps thorough the year doesn't really make sense (for strength development). Very often the lower reps work extremely well if done after a phase of higher reps
Indeed. In powerlifting (as Mike should know since he claims a background in it) the use of what you described is used for getting to grips with heavier weights which gets you moving better poundages. Of course this video is about hypertrophy, but the fantasy world this channel inhabits where you do cardio with light weights and turn yourself into the Hulk is laughable.
thats why theres different rep ranges for strength and for hypertrophy is it not
I am 65 and wasted 30 years of training in high rep ranges(6-15) 3 to 5 doesn't kill my joints. Just sayin.
10:00 I believe I have seen house of hypertrophy reviewing a study like that one and they actually found that some people grow better with higher and some people grow better with lower reps. The study was actually about does changing the rep ranges between mesocycles increase muscle growth and they made participants do 15-20 reps for 1 cycle and than 6-8 for the other one vs just doing 6-8 vs just doing 15-20 what they found was that all of them grew muscle equally well but when you dig deeper into the data's you can see that the people who didn't get very good muscle growth in the first meso got much faster growth in the second one and the ones who got the best growth in the first one got worser growth out of the second meso and the house of hyperytropht concluded that this was because of some people growing better from different rep ranges which I agree
It'd be so interesting if there was a way to know what kind of training fits you, I , for example, have always worked on small ranges from 6 to 10 and never with higher repetitions. I'll try someday but I enjoy more lower ranges of repetitions.
mike react to greg douchbag
The only advantage with high weight sets is strenght, luckily not much volume is needed for strenght, doing 4 sets with higher reps and finnishing with a low rep high weight set is enough to stimulate that extra strenght. The high reps also works well as warmup sets. Just add a little l weightt for each subsequent set starting with 30-35 reps first set, 20-25 reps second set, 10-15 reps third set, 5-8 reps for fourth and finally 1-3 reps for fifth. This gives both mass and strenght, if you're older, to protect your joints, use a rubber band in combination with the weight for the heavy set, this way you minimize the time with high strain, and it's also much safer to abort the lift if it gets too heavy.
I feel like we’re getting to levels of “this is the best way to chew your food for maximum swallowage”
Like guys, at some point , just lift the ****** weight and move on with ur life
Honestly failing at higher rep ranges is just too uncomfortable for me. I prefer just failing early before that burn kicks in.
Theres something to be said for muscular endurance though.
Gains occur when you’re uncomfortable
@@SMGM7Syup
U need to push threw the burn n get 1-3 more reps that's the main reps u need to grow your muscles
The guy was talking about failing at lower rep ranges, he didn't say anything about not training hard 😂
Haha. I do only high reps and I'm both huge and strong.
Extremely informative. Thank you all for sharing and have an awesome day!
You shut your mouth
Yoo its Dr. Mike and Translucent
So basically RP is telling us everything and the opposit as time goes on. it tells u science based workout is just gaslighting past certain fundamentals, and only personal experience matters. its all about views
so 4 sets of 8-12?
Sure, but the point I take home is that if you feel like doing 5-6 a few times, then go for it. Or maybe you want to burn out with 16-20, go for it.
That makes things more organic and sustainable.
I would honestly drop the rep range to 5-8 to lower fatique and you shouldn't be looking at sets per exercise, you should be looking for sets for a muscle group in a session.
if you can recover from 4 easily in a day you can do 5. and if you can't recover until next day you do the same exercise, you need to reduce sets. 8-12 is fine, especially for beginners
Depends on you. Do you grow muscle or not?
@@AlexZeBeastthat would be the best way to get strong too
doing 5/3/1 for over 2 years now and I swear im bigger then 90% of you incels on here, for natural lifters there truelly is no other way to get jacked besides getting strong, do your onr rep maxes, do your heavy squats, deadlifts and bench presses train like a powerlifter not like a roided up bodybuilder
Could you add a «how to look like jack hanma» workout , in the the hypertrophy app?
Step One: Daddy Issues.
Step Two: Get radical surgery, adding 24 inches to your height.
Step Three: Delete hypertrophy app because you got pharmacy keys.
Step Four: ???
Step Five: Profit
@@MSHNKTRL i am starting with 193cm, how can I get a surgery to add 24 inches more
@@MSHNKTRL and where can I get the pharmaceuticals
@@MSHNKTRL daddy issues, Ive already got those, besides alot of other issues too👍
@joshuarudolf3643 anything is possible with the right doctor
What about with good form if you can get 10 reps go heavier and if you cant get at least 6 reps go lighter. 4 sets
6-8 for me for most upper body exercises.
Legs seem to respond best in the 10-12' ish range.
I just recently did a high volume experiment where I started doing 2-3 sets of 20 per exercise. Far too much volume, I was fatiguing faster than the muscle would. The weight I used didn't really stimulate or breakdown the muscle much.
So I continued to experiment further to find that sweet spot, the perfect load-to-rep-volume combination where I could use a decent amount of weight to stimulate the muscle, work with the right amout of volume and still achieve a great pump.
So I eventually found myself doing Two exercises per muscle group - 5 sets of 10 per exercise - where would begin to show signs of muscle failure at round reps 8-10, especially on sets 3-5.
8 weeks in and I found myself working with the loads close to my 6-8 rep range. My body has quickly adapted to the work load and I'm seeing new muscle. Plus my joints were very happy.
14 weeks in, everything was measuring bigger than ever. Arms, legs, chest, delts were visibly larger. The only place that didn't seem to respond as much was my lats.
20 weeks in, progress began to slow down. The effect of the volume began to wear down. My muscles were once again weren't being stimulated. They've responded and adapted. And as I increased the weight, I'd run out of steam before the muscle did.
So I went back to the 1-2 sets of 6-8. And Holy s**t, weight is moving like it has never before. Stronger than ever. Muscle endurance is better than ever! I actually had to change gyms to accommodate for my new strength capabilities.
Now I'm still working in the 6-8 rep range and I've been doing 3-4 exercises, 1-2 sets per exercise. My body loves that zone, especially the lats.
your workout routine? upper/lower
@@ilyasssan3992
1.chest bis
2.Legs
3.Off
4.Back abs
5.Delts traps triceps.
6.off
7. Off
@@ilyasssan3992 i was doing push pull legs from about 2019 until mid 2023 and I was applying a lot of Mike Mentzer's ideas. Grew like crazy.
@@intensity.density2208 Thanks a lot
@@ilyasssan3992 you're welcome
Bernie Madoff pyramind scheme, cmon Mike is f****** hilarious
If I do 3 reps at a huge weight, it hurts my joints yes, but I feel awesome afterwards. If I lift 12 reps on a standard weight over and over again, yes it's saving my joints but I leave the gym feeling shit. Hit the intensity, hit it heavy and give your joints time to recover
Do whatever works for you, but if you're doing 12 reps at a "standard weight" and leaving the gym feeling like shit, you are training wrong lol. Its pretty simple. You aren't training those 12 reps hard enough, with good enough technique, and without enough volume or load.
How can you alternate volume and load and stay within the 12 rep range? Assuming he is training to failure increasing either would put him in a different rep range. Right?
I also feel best when lifting heavier
Stop training to failure. That's burning you out.
Forget about that HIT crap.
Do 12 good reps, practice that perfect rep, full rom with stretch and contraction. Practice. Do 3,4 or 6 sets. It's The constant battle for more reps, more we ight that kills our recovery
Schoenfeld is a legend but I gotta ask does he have a skin condition or something? He is so knowledgeable on health and yet does not give off that impression….
Everything comes BACK to sticking to the 6-10 rep range.
Did you even watch the video?
Yes. Thats what it said basically@@thespyrogamergt3163
Doesn’t this prove the point that it’s the last 1-3 reps that count the most? Those last reps near failure seem to cause the most growth
thats why i have 13.5 day split, where 3/7ths are in 6-8 reps and the other 12/21ths are 18+
what’s that in metric?
That's where the magic happens.
"Proeminent expert in hypertrophy". Ok. Why he doesn't have any on him, then? 🤣
Could you perhaps do a video about breathing technic when lifting weights? I always struggle with it. Don’t know if I should hold my breath or really focus on my breathing? Loooove your videos!🙏🏼❤️
Breath normal unless you are doing something that could compress your lower back then do vasalva maneuver.
Jesus Christ man you boys are overthinking every single possible detail 😂
Lmao Mike broke the ice badly 12:34. I was like huh!? 😂
Low reps (5-10) are the best in my opinion.
-easier to gauge RIR and go to failure
-lower fatigue than with higher reps
-can do supersets and not die
Thats why youre small
Since the stimulating reps model show that the last 5 reps in a set are the ones that stimulate muscle growth, it’s easier to stimulate said muscles if you do a set of 4-8 than if you do 10+, since the majority of reps in a high rep set will be useless
Average RP science nerd who doesn't train hard and judges others for having their own training methods @@jayma733
@@jayma733 Keep doing 20 reps with 5 pounds and be quiet
7 and above is medium reps, until 12 or so.
Yeah, i do hella reps, doe! 💪
I do high reps with my penile muscle and I am not experiencing any growth. Any help?? Thanks!
Dr. Brad is type humor fiber deficient.
I didnt know woody harrelson was a hypertrophy expert
This is a metabolism killer. And THAT is a metabolism killer
I love how you address this topic with such honesty.
bot spotted
@@corneliusthecrowtamer1937 how did 68 people not notice that it's a bot
why is there not a report option for bots?
@@corneliusthecrowtamer1937what is the purpose of bots like this?
@@realization8919 most likely bot thumbs up as well
Is there any benefit in switching up the rep range for certain exercises to provide a new stimulus for hypertophy? For example if I've been doing bench for 2 years going close to failure in the 6-10 range, could there be an added hypertrophic benefit by bumping that up to ~15 reps close to failure?
Yes.
Low reps keeping you big as hell
easy to maintain muscle generally, and there won't be a crazy difference
Also, Low reps are not that hard on the joints unless you are not used to training that way. Another way to look at the data is to train the way you enjoy, since that will make the biggest difference in your results.
@@NoahHornbergerdepends what kind of training too, I’m mostly into calisthenics/gymnastics so I’m most of times looking to get stronger, and always am around the 3-8 rep range if I’m doing dynamic training, seriously never experienced any type of joint pain or intense cns fatigue. Maybe if you do 150kg bench yeah the weight leans on ur elbows and shoulders which will have more joint discomfort
Much past 12 reps is just too unpleasant for me. I spend too long in the draining uncomfortable zone.
Great conversation. Very informative.
Glad it was helpful!
The best way to do it is with a weight that you can control and focus on a good form for let's say 10 reps doing them slowly and to failur( the 10 reps example is just to be clear about the correct weight you need, if tou can control it for 10 reps and failure is 15 17 18 doesn't matter, just remember if you van lift it by leaning over or any other weird movements, that means the weight is too heavy)
Low reps in the beginning is the path to higher reps with large weights
I can relate to this so much. As a 40-year-old, i began working out using the common recommended range of 3 sets with 8-12 reps each, but I made almost zero progress. I was stuck at a bench press of 185 lbs for several months. That changed when I decided to try the different approach of fewer reps, more weight, and more sets. I started with 4 sets of 5 reps each, then increased the reps by 1 on a weekly or bi-weekly basis until I could do 8. After that, I increased the weight again. This method works significantly better for my body, and now I can bp 230 lbs.
@@AW-cv8nf You can go as low as 2...4 reps , 7...8 sets, and corresponding large weights. In 3 months you'll be doing 4...7 reps
So you've wasted 3 months doing lower weights when you could have been building muscle effectively from the start. Lifting "heavy" weights is not impressive, a muscular physique is.
@@IronMic-ee4ktnot everyone wants to become an Instagram manlet
No? You can get there by starting with higher reps also.
What does RM stand for? I couldn't understand that part.
i think low rep is pretty good for my strength tho
I was that 8 year old child that Brad walked by. It happened just like Dr. mike said. I do shortened partials now to keep myself from getting too big for doors.
Maybe you should bring on an expert in getting lean?
1-5 for strength
8-12 for muscle growth
6-7 do absolutely nothing
😂 didn’t get the joke
I prefer to keep my barbell compounds at sets of 5, dumbbells at around 8-12, machines 10-15 and cables 15-20 and I try to progress on the compounds by 2.5-5 lbs per session, and try to add reps to all the others until I hit the upper rep goal, THEN I increase the weight next time. If I stall in the compounds I might back off on the weight and do a top set of 5, then do drop/back off sets for a few weeks and gradually get back up to my working weight. This seems to work for me.
Im starting to think the muscle business and cure cancer are the same ; too much to be made never getin to the end or even a straight answer
Just infinite strategies. You can go for low reps, because in time you will be doing high reps with the large weight
Muscle growth - try hard in the gym
Cure cancer - ???
I simply can't count past 4
When I was in my teens and 20’s the dogma was 5x5 peaking at the 3rd or 4th set. I was plenty strong but never got the bulk or tone I was looking for. Coming back to weight training 30ish years later I took your advice and now do some like 4x15-20 reps. The weight is 60% of what younger me did, but eight weeks in and the hypertrophy is amazing. My wife, who has known me since my 20’s has noticed, which is good enough for me. And my old-man joints are grateful for the lower joint loading.
5x5 isn’t dogma, it’s popular for a reason, how is a beginner supposed to isolate there muscles with 10-15 reps when they can’t even feel them in the first place, have you ever seen a beginner workout, they look like a tridactyl having a seizure, 10-15 reps for a beginner is way to light and there just moving weight from point A-B at that point. Mike never seems to acknowledge the fact that muscle fibre proportions are individualized, some people have more fast twitch muscle fibres, these people are naturally strong and respond well to explosive and heavy lifts, others have more slow twitch muscle fibres and are probably more suited to be a marathon runner or something.
Boooo since i cant watch the video unless i keep the app open