Every Weight Lifter Should Know
To really workout for a specific goal you need to look at reps and sets. Since these are the most important parts to a workout, they will determine every other aspect of the workout. They are the base of workout design. Now lets look at some common rep schemes.
High Reps – High reps are often used by athletes who are in fighting sports. Other than that high rep workouts are a dieing trend. People tend to gravitate to low reps. This is fine if you do not play a sport, but if you do this can create an issue. As the saying goes “Train slow be slow.” I am not claiming that quote, but I am not sure who said it. High rep workouts train strength endurance, which is how long can you perform at a certain level before your performance decreases. The reason I mentioned fighting sports is because you never hear a boxer after he losses say “Man I wish I could bench 25 pounds more.
Low Reps – Most people will never use all of their genetic strength so the sky is the limit. The reason low reps are good for strength training is because they workout the brain more than the muscles. They can actually fatigue your brain. When you lift your 1 rep maximum your brain needs to activate all the muscle fibers it can to get the weight off the ground. This training is common for powerlifters, but bodybuilders, athletes, and regular fitness Joe’s can use this to.