How many reps should you do?

Some of you may find this hard to believe, but 3x10 is not always the optimal number of sets and reps when weightlifting. The number of sets, reps, and rest time that you take has major implications for muscle function and performance. In this blog post, I’ll map out those differences into the four primary categories: power, strength, hypertrophy and performance.

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Power: Power is force x velocity. It’s all about explosiveness. By nature, power leverages fast-twitch muscle fibers, which generate the most force but fatigue quickly.

• Goal: As much force production and speed as possible.
• Rep Range: 1-5 reps.
• Rest: 3-5+ min rest between sets.
• Weight: 80-100% of one rep max.
• Movement style: heavy, low rep, high weight. A lot of explosive movements like power cleans, snatches, etc.

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Strength: Strength is about producing as much force as possible. It also uses fast-twitch muscle fibers. To make the differences between power & strength clear - strength is about the ability to exert the maximum force against resistance whereas power is about exerting force quickly.

• Goal: produce as much force as possible. 
• Rep Range: 3-6 reps.
• Rest: 2-4 min rest between sets.
• Weight: 85-95% of one rep max.
• Movement style: heavy, low rep, high weight. A lot of powerlifting movements like squats, deadlift, bench press.

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Hypertrophy: Hypertrophy is all about muscle growth and time under tension. Bigger muscles don’t always mean more strength, hence the differences between hypertrophy and strength focused training.

• Goal: muscle growth.
• Rep Range: 6-12 reps.
• Rest: 30-90 sec rest between sets.
• Weight: 65-85% of one rep max.
• Movement style: moderate weight with controlled tempo and more time under tension. A lot of powerlifting movements and accessory movements (ex. Bicep curls).

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Muscular Endurance: endurance training is all about training your muscles to became more resistant to fatigue. Higher reps use slow twitch muscle fibers short rest periods help your body adapt to clearing lactic acid more efficiently.

• Goal: Sustained strength over time.
• Rep Range: 12-20+.
• Rest: less than 60 sec rest between sets.
• Weight: 65% or less of one rep max.
• Movement style: High reps, low weight. A lot of circuit style training, bodyweight exercises, etc.

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As a hybrid athlete, the way you train and the rep ranges may change depending on what you’re training for. For example, In the back half of 2024 I was not training for a specific goal so I focused on hypertrophy (who doesn’t like bigger muscles) but while I’m training for an ironman I am focusing my lifts on muscular endurance. The rep ranges that you choose to do should be aligned with the skills you need to develop for whatever your goals are. 

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