Series and repetitions are well-known terms in the world of training, but if you are just starting you may not be familiar with these, then I will explain everything in detail.
Making a strong and building muscle is not a complicated thing, at least at first… Train, eat, sleep, repeat and repeat.
If you do it with enough intensity and constancy, then, in the same time, you will return more to muscular and strong.
But if it’s that simple, why do most sports experts insist that cultivation is a very technical science?
Like almost everything in this area, there is no truth or wrong path to building muscle (well, myths yes! There are many), however, there is an optimal way to train. Especially in relation to the number of sets and repetitions we must perform.
With this article I hope to shed some light on the initial question… What are series and repetitions in training? To then know, in the range, in the optimal range, in which it can be implemented, in the routine to maximize growth, muscle strength or the goal of training that you have
WHAT ARE SERIES AND REPETITIONS?
As I said at the beginning, series and repetitions (along with rest times) are the main ones responsible for providing organization and structure to our workouts.
And, while it’s pretty intuitive, each term has a particular meaning, let’s look at this and then the optimal values of sets and reps for volume, strength, and endurance.
REPETITIONS
Repetitions define the number of times we work against a load when performing an exercise. For example, you do 12 squats and then stop to rest for a while. The 12 squats you have performed are considered as 12 repetitions.
THE SERIES
The series refer to how many times you will repeat that exercise by the number of repetitions established. For example, you did all 12 squats and then rested. But if you then do another 12 squats, you rest and then another 12. Then you have completed 3 sets of 12 repetitions. In short, they are the blocks of repetitions that you perform separated by rest periods.
REPETITIONS IN TRAINING
HOW MANY REPETITIONS OF AN EXERCISE SHOULD BE DONE?
This depends on your goals and level. The usual method is to work with percentages of 1 RM (a maximum repetition), taking as 100% the maximum weight you can lift in a single movement and performed with the correct technique.
How to calculate the maximum force?
For a beginner, 50% of their maximum is usually used for hypertrophy (muscle growth) training, but advanced athletes will not see much progress at this level.
As you can imagine, there is no optimal value that applies to everyone. For this reason, and so that you can establish your own routine with appropriate series numbers and repetitions, I share approximate reference values for different objectives:
- Repetitions for maximum strength: 1-5 repetitions between 85 to 100% of 1RM
- Repetitions for Hypertrophy: 6-12 repetitions between 70 to 85% of 1RM
- Strength/Endurance Repetitions: 15 to 25 repetitions between 40 to 70% of 1RM
- Repetitions for Resistance: More than 26 repetitions between 1 to 40% of 1RM
If you didn’t realize this chart shows why many people who want to increase the size of their muscles (hypertrophy) fail: they are generally outside the recommended ranges of weight and intensity.
HOW MANY REPETITIONS TO DO FOR MUSCLE VOLUME?
How many series and repetitions for volume? Well, if your goal is to achieve greater muscle volume you must train in the range of muscle hypertrophy, and the effort must go as far as the “muscle failure” in the last series; that is, the impossibility of continuing within the determined parameters of the exercise.
Doubts? I invite you to read the GUIDE ON MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY
If you find that you can do more reps at the end of the sets, it’s because they’re not using enough weight, or they’re using the momentum to complete the set (that’s called “cheating”).
Anyway, these are not closed ranges. You can achieve positive results if the percentage approaches either the upper or lower level.
For example, some degree of hypertrophy will occur if you train at 87% or 68%, but training at 100% or 10% will make no difference.
To achieve muscle hypertrophy and build muscle mass, then use moderate loads (70 to 85 percent of 1 RM) and 6 to 12 repetitions per set.
Remember, the best stimulus to induce maximal muscle hypertrophy is to lift a weight equal to the range of 70 to 85 percent of your 1RM until you reach failure; The last repetition must be so difficult that not one more can be performed.
HOW MANY REPETITIONS TO DO TO GENERATE STRENGTH?
If your main goal is to increase maximum strength, then you should train mostly in the low rep ranges (between 1-5 repetitions per set) and therefore at a higher intensity, between 85 to 100% of 1RM.
HOW MANY REPETITIONS TO DO TO GENERATE STRENGTH?
If the main objective is to improve muscle endurance, then you should train mostly in the higher rep ranges (between 15-25 repetitions per set) and therefore at a lower intensity.
THE SERIES IN TRAINING
THE ORIGIN OF THE 10 REPETITIONS AND 3 SETS
The 3 sets of 10 repetitions originate from a rehabilitation protocol created by a military physician, Dr. Thomas L. Delorme in the 1940s, an avid weightlifter who had used strength training to recover from a childhood illness at the age of 16 and who maintained that weight training proved beneficial for wounded servicemen.
He was the one who knew how to couple the protocol for wounded soldiers in a field hospital during World War II.
Previously, soldiers were rehabilitated with light weights without overloading their muscles, and spent six to nine months of therapy.
By focusing on strength in the place of resistance, Delorme must re-establish the soldiers in record time.
Thus was born THE CONCEPT OF PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD, which is now the heart and soul of almost all bodybuilding routines.
Delorme’s program consisted of 3 sets of 10 repetitions; With that more and more weight, what he called the “progressive resistance exercise”, and as we know today it was a program that was very successful.
SINGLE SERIES AND MULTIPLE SERIES
Despite Delorme’s success with the three-set system, many people believe that they only have one set to build muscle mass and strength.
Pointing to the fact that in the Delorme method, the first two series are practically for heating and only the third series works under maximum effort.
For this reason, many researchers have tried to test which method works best, although without much success to this day.
It seems to depend largely on our genetic and somatotypic characteristics.
However, let’s see when it is better to train with single series and when to do it with multiple series.
When to train with unique series?
Training with a simple series can be effective especially in new practitioners. But for the unique series to be effective, you have to train the muscle to the point of failure.
And you should also keep in mind that once your progress begins to slow, you need to make changes.
The key ingredient for the unique series is intensity, and not in the sense of ending up screaming, but in getting to the point where the muscle can no longer move with the load used.
This ensures the complete contracting of the two types of muscle fibers both fast and slow twitch, while stimulating muscle hypertrophy.
Single sets work best for smaller muscle groups.
Single sets work best for smaller muscle groups. Tweet
To achieve the development of muscle mass and strength, in biceps, forearms and calves do not need so much the volume of training (total number of sets and repetitions) as if it can be of utmost importance in the pectorals, back and thighs.
Even the unique series are perfect if you do not have too much time to train.
It is possible to train each muscle group with a single series in less than 20 minutes.
Now be careful to always reach failure in simple series, since, without warning, you can end up hurting yourself, which can reduce performance and increase the risk of injury.
When to train with multiple sets?
Multiple series work best for intermediate and advanced bodybuilders who need more effort to keep progressing.
These are also better for practitioners of other sports and who should not train muscle failure, allowing them to recover before their next workout, practice or game.
As I said before, if you want to learn how to perform complicated exercises such as squats or deadlifts, performing several sets works much better with these exercises.
HOW MANY SETS TO DO PER EXERCISE?
While weight training by performing a single set is effective in increasing strength in untrained people during the initial training periods (first 6 to 12 weeks).
No study has shown that weight training in a single set is superior to training with many sets.
In fact, long-term and short-term studies support the argument that a higher volume of training than one series per exercise is necessary to improve physical development and achieve greater performance.
Each set of an exercise represents a training stimulus for the muscle.
Then, once a base training level has been reached, it is necessary to move to multiple sets (three to six) with specific rest periods in between.
Most routines designed by a gym trainer, both intermediate and advanced levels, incorporate between 3 to 6 sets per exercise.
This set range is considered optimal for increasing strength.
Now, the number of sets per muscle group can vary from 3 to 24, but ultimately, the overall training depends:
- The number of exercises performed for that muscle group.
- Of the number of muscle groups trained in that training.
- Of the intensity used (the higher the intensity, the greater the tension placed on the muscle, and therefore the lower the number of series that must be performed.
- Where the person is from in their training cycle.
And never stop training the larger muscle groups with a higher volume (higher number of sets).
Why? Because they have a greater number of muscle fibers, then they require a greater stimulus to grow than a smaller muscle requires.
SUMMARY ON THE NUMBER OF SETS AND REPETITIONS TO BE PERFORMED
For everything we saw in this article I recommend that you only train with unique series if you are taking your first steps in the world of bodybuilding and the gym.
If you are beginners, you will do the training more diversified and perhaps even more fun, but once you have gained strength and you are ready to move forward, you must start training under a routine that establishes a certain number of series per training.