Talk of rep ranges for strength and muscle growth have come a long way over the past couple decades. In the beginning, it was a hard-fast rule – almost as if a switch for muscle growth turned off if you only did 5 reps.
As we learned more, we realized that the rep range is more like a continuum. Lifters are able to benefit both strength and hypertrophy to varying degrees across a wide range.
Now, we’ve reached the other end of the debate with some claiming that reps don’t matter; just train what you like. While this may have some truth for some people in the short-term, it’s highly simplified for long-term progress. Here’s the reality of rep ranges.
What Are “Rep Ranges”?
Let’s review this real quick.
Rep ranges are a number of reps with a complimentary loads thought to be ideal for specific adaptations.¹ For example;
- Strength: 3-5 Reps
- Muscle Hypertrophy: 8-12 Reps
- Muscle Endurance: 15+ Reps
This was the common belief in strength and conditioning. If you wanted to build muscle you trained heavily. If you wanted to build muscle, you trained with moderate loads.
More importantly, it was almost to the point where people believed that venturing into the wrong territory would give you no benefit i.e. training a heavy 4X4 would provide no muscle growth.
Reps Don’t Matter Anymore: Apparently
Lately, there have been more and more studies suggesting that when it comes to muscle growth, the exact rep range doesn’t have as much influence as we thought. What matters most is;
- Increasing volume
- Training with intensity
While this does work in the short-term, if we take this to the extreme and someone decides to only train with 15+ reps, their long-term growth will likely be blunted – not to mention they’re missing out on other important muscle qualities.
The Problem With Saying “Reps Don’t Matter”
Let’s consider that there are studies that suggest that you can adequately build muscle with any rep range. This shouldn’t be taken as you can train with whatever load and rep scheme you want all the time.
1. Ignore Strength Training
| Why It Matters: Even if “reps don’t matter” was true, it would only apply to hypertrophy. Strength training requires a heavier load. |
Muscle growth and strength are related, but they’re not the same thing. This includes the way you train for them as they are two different physiological processes.
Numerous studies have shown that to build strength, higher loads are needed, generally >80-85%1RM. This is especially true as you become more experienced.
Even studies showing similar hypertrophy across rep ranges still conclude heavy training is essential for max strength.
2. Strength Drives Long-Term Growth
| Why It Matters: Cutting out strength training can ultimately mean cutting out hypertrophy gains in the long-term. Strength is still important even if “you don’t care about it”. |
You might think strength doesn’t matter if you “just want size.” That’s wrong. Even though growth and strength are separate, they still have a relationship and can affect one another.
Strength gives you the ability to lift more weight for more reps in your hypertrophy work which ultimately fuels more growth. Training only with high reps (15+) will eventually lead to a plateau because you neglected the strength base to keep progressing.
This relationship increases the more experienced you become. This is important as some will point to studies that show similar strength gains in untrained individuals. However, if we’re looking at long-term growth, you’re only “untrained” for a few months and then it matters.
Completely eliminating a rep range while staying in the extreme opposite will not do you any favors. It’s like long-distance runners skipping strength training because all they care about is endurance – this likely leads to increased injury rates and even less work economy.
Our bodies systems don’t operate in individual vacuums.
3. Heavier Loads Are Needed To Strengthen Bones
| Why It Matters: Building stronger bones is one of the many benefits of strength training. However, this only occurs when the load is heavy enough to stress the load. |
Our bones can increase in density when enough force is placed on the bone. However, similar to getting stronger, heavier loads are needed for this to occur.
Research shows this happens best with >80% 1RM. This equates to reps of 8 or less – this even applies to older populations in studies showing better success with loads of 85% 1RM.³ What’s awesome is this isn’t just for legs;
- Heavy pressing and pulling can strengthen arms
- Squats and load bearing movements can strengthen the spine shoulders
- Squats and deadlifts strengthen the legs
This is essential for everyone but especially for older adults. These lifters are the most at risk for bone loss and the most likely to avoid heavy lifting. Telling them they don’t have to isn’t solving this problem.
4. It Ignores The Concept Of Periodization
| Why It Matters: Periodization is one of the most effective training strategies for long-term growth. It’s also based on altering rep ranges. |
Periodization is the practice of altering your training by training goals in a structured manner over time. There are numerous ways to do this but an example might be;
- Month 1-2: Train for Power
- Month 3-4: Train for Hypertrophy
- Month 5-6: Train for Strength
This practice is used to optimize training results and mitigate plateaus.⁴ Plus, it allows you to focus on specific adaptations of the muscle, optimizing results.
Periodization is a cornerstone of both elite sports and physical rehabilitation. Claiming “reps don’t matter” is essentially dismissing one of the most proven, adaptable, and essential training strategies ever developed – this is especially true for overall strength.
5. Volume-Equated ≠ Real World Living
| Why It Matters: While the rep range may not matter in a lab where volume is controlled, this does not replicate real world application. |
One of the primary issues with claiming “reps don’t matter” is that many of the studies that show this are using volume-equated training. This is not how the real world works.
For example, a famous study by Dr. Brad Schoenfeld two groups use the same program with volume-equated but compared two different rep ranges; heavy vs. moderate.⁵
This means the groups had to train differently as the heavy group need longer rest between sets to handle fatigue as well as perform more sets to reach total volume;
- Powerlifting group: 7 X 3 with 3:00 rest
- Bodybuilding group: 3 X 10 with 1:30 rest
Even though both groups had similar training volume, the heavy group had to use more than 2X the number of sets as well as recovery that was twice as long.
This means the session for the hypertrophy lasted just 17 minutes while the heavy group lasted 70 minutes – 4 times as long!
What this means is that when a person uses moderate loads, they can generate more total volume due to doing more reps while also mitigating fatigue.
We can take this to the extreme, since reps don’t matter, and imagine what would happen if someone only did heavy singles every single session.
Bonus! Heavy Loads Are Needed For Core Stability
Why It Matters: “Functional training” and core stability are all the rage these days. This doesn’t occur when you stick to load loads.
Your core must brace every time a heavy load is placed on the body; this is especially true on compound movements like squats and deadlifts. However, numerous studies have found that core muscles see much greater activation as the load increases.
In fact, this is seen incrementally all the way up to using 100% of your 1RM.⁶⁻⁷ What’s interesting is often, the lifter doesn't even need to be told to brace; it’s a natural, "functional" reaction.
What Really Matters In Training
The human body is far too complex to be reduced to either one magic rep range OR give a free-for-all blanket suggestion. But that doesn’t mean training needs to be complicated either.
Different muscular qualities adapt through different physiological processes but they’re not isolated. Strength, hypertrophy, and endurance influence each other in subtle but important ways.
If you stick to just one rep range, you’re almost guaranteed to leave progress on the table.
That’s why the smartest approach for most people is to cycle through a range of reps and loads:
- Strength / Heavy (3–6 reps @ 80–90% 1RM): 1–2 exercises per major movement pattern to build maximum force output and bone density.
- Hypertrophy / Moderate (8–12 reps @ 70–80% 1RM): 2–4 exercises per movement pattern/muscle group for optimal growth stimulus.
- Muscular Endurance / Light (15+ reps): 1–3 exercises per movement pattern/muscle group to improve work capacity, joint health, and fatigue resistance.
And let’s be clear, we’re looking at you strength athletes too! While this article was targeted at training for muscle growth, strength lifters need to use a variety of loads as well.
Bottom Line: Cover your bases with all rep ranges, then lean into the one that best serves your ultimate goal.
References
- Fisher J, Steele J, Androulakis-Korakakis P, et al. The strength-endurance continuum revisited: a critical commentary of the recommendation of different loading ranges for different muscular adaptations. Journal of Trainology. 2020;9(1):1–8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339270774
- Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Van Every DW, Plotkin DL. Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports. 2021; 9(2):32. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9020032
- Steven L Watson, Benjamin K Weeks, Lisa J Weis, Amy T Harding, Sean A Horan, Belinda R Beck, High‐Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, Volume 33, Issue 2, 1 February 2018, Pages 211–220, https://doi.org/10.1002/jbmr.3284
- Moesgaard, L., Beck, M.M., Christiansen, L. et al. Effects of Periodization on Strength and Muscle Hypertrophy in Volume-Equated Resistance Training Programs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Med 52, 1647–1666 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01636-1
- Schoenfeld, Brad J.;, et. al. Effects of Different Volume-Equated Resistance Training Loading Strategies on Muscular Adaptations in Well-Trained Men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28(10):p 2909-2918, October 2014. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000480 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24714538/
- Park JH, Lee SJ, Shin HJ, Cho HY. Influence of Loads and Loading Position on the Muscle Activity of the Trunk and Lower Extremity during Squat Exercise. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(20):13480. Published 2022 Oct 18. doi:10.3390/ijerph192013480 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9602963
- Yavuz HU, Erdag D. Kinematic and Electromyographic Activity Changes during Back Squat with Submaximal and Maximal Loading. Appl Bionics Biomech. 2017;2017:9084725. doi:10.1155/2017/9084725 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28546738/
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