Fitness

How Many Reps and Sets Should I Do?


Posted by Simon on 19 November 2007 17:08:10

The number of reps and sets you should perform of an exercise is dependent on your desired goals. The important thing to remember, as always, is that you must maintain good form throughout the exercise - make every repetition count. The table below gives a general guide to how many reps and sets you should do for different goals.

Reps and sets for different goals
Goal Reps Sets
Strength 1-6 3-4
Power 6-8 2-3
Endurance 15+ 2-3
Muscle size (hypertrophy) 6-12 4-5

 

Exercise Intensity

When performing resistance training (weight training) for all the goals above except power training, you should perform the exercise at a slow and controlled pace. As a general guide, count one second for lifting the weight and three seconds for lowering it. Power training combines the lifting of a heavy weight with speed of motion, so the action will generally be quicker. It is still important to make sure the movement in controlled to avoid injury.

The weight that you choose should be such that you can perform the number of reps appropriate for your goal (whilst maintaining good form) but no more. In other words you are exercising until failure. If you find that you can perform more than the number of reps in the table above, it is time to increase the resistance. If you cannot perform enough repetitions, then the weight you are using is too heavy. Exercising until failure does place a lot of strain on your body so this is not recommended for beginners.

How Long Should I Rest Between Sets?

Again the duration of rest between sets depends upon your desired goal. The table below gives a guide:

Goal Duration of rest
Strength 4-6 minutes
Power 4-6 minutes
Endurance 30-60 seconds
Hypertrophy (muscle size) 1-2 minutes

Your muscles use creatine phosphate as their source of energy. Once the creatine phosphate has been used up, the muscle fatigues. I.e. it can't lift any more until the creatine phosphate reserves are replenished. When you rest in between sets, your strength returns because the creatine phosphate builds up again in your muscles. In the first 30 seconds of recovery, about 50% of the creatine phosphate is replenished, with the rest being replenished within about 3 minutes of recovery.

Periodisation

Over time, your body will get used to the exercises you do. If variables such as the number of reps, sets and the rest periods remain the same, you will start to notice that you no longer improve. You need to 'shock' your body every four to eight weeks with a new programme to keep achieving results. A new programme would involve changing one or more of the variables. For example, you might increase the weight and decrease the number of reps for your next programme. 4-8 weeks later you may decide to lower the weight and increase the number of reps, or change the rest period between sets. More information on workout periodisation.

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