“Use low weight/high repetitions to lose body fat and become more defined and high weight/low repetitions to become stronger and bigger.” This is probably the most common phrase known by weight trainers everywhere. However, this is not entirely true. Josh Henkin, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science, answers a question by a reader on bodybuilding.com: “In reality, because muscle mass gains have more to do with the overall amount of work done, the individual performing more reps has more of a chance of gaining mass.”
I have never heard from someone who is educated when it comes to physical fitness that has ever stated otherwise. Henkin would go on to say that the way to becoming more “defined” or losing body fat is to burn more calories which can be achieved by other methods. Instead of only increasing repetitions per set, decrease the break time between sets and exercises.
Henkin also states “Lower repetition ranges (usually 1-5) are more for building maximal strength and power.” So the age-old theory that I previously stated is sort of right in this aspect. Low reps will boost your strength and power but not necessarily size. Now, as your strength rises, size will also rise as well but not as quickly as if you focus on higher repetitions.
Obviously every person will react to different workouts and different styles in different ways. One person may become stronger by doing 6-8 reps while another needs to do 3-5 reps to gain strength. These theories and rules about high/low reps/weight are only mere guidelines and should not be followed to a T.
Experiment for yourself to find out what works best for you and what workouts do not give you much results. This stuff takes time so do not jump to conclusions after a week of trying something new. Mix it up but don’t mix it up too much is what I’m trying to say. It sounds confusing and it is, but read a lot and research a lot to get ideas and different opinions on training.
Good luck and lemme know how it goes
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