Repetitions, load, and exercise sets determine the intensity of resistance training. Lower repetitions with heavier loads increase power, while higher repetitions with lighter loads promote endurance. The number of repetitions depends on personal goals and fitness level.
In fitness, a repetition is defined as performing a single movement, or exercise, through a full range of motion. A predetermined number of repetitions performed in a focused, rhythmic manner is called an exercise set, and the amount of weight or resistance used for the exercise is called a load. Together, these three variables influence the intensity of a resistance training workout.
Within these factors, there is an inverse relationship between repetition and load. A heavier load will require fewer repetitions, while a lighter load will require more repetitions. Depending on the training goals, repetition and load can be adjusted along a continuum with high load and low repetitions at one end, and reverse at the other. Load is often expressed as a percentage of one repetition maximum, or 1RM – the maximum weight an athlete can lift for a single repetition of a particular exercise.
The weight of the load and the number of repetitions will largely determine the type of muscle fibers recruited during the workout. Two distinct types of muscle fibers are present in most skeletal muscles, in varying proportions. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are associated with brief, intense bursts of activity, and are best capable of increasing size and strength. Its counterpart, the slow-twitch fibers, are used for long-duration, low-intensity activities and tend to remain fairly constant in size.
Lower numbers of repetitions with a load at or near 1RM will tend to increase muscular power. Muscle power workouts generally employ repetitions in the one to six range, predominantly activating fast-twitch muscle fibers. Power workouts are often performed by athletes training for specific sport goals, such as those involved in sprinting and powerlifting.
To increase the size of muscle fibers, a response known as muscle hypertrophy, repetitions are typically done in the range of six to 15 per set of exercises. This range will typically activate a mix of muscle fiber types and encourage strength and endurance development. The lower end of the range will tend to stimulate more fast twitch fibers, promoting muscle power and size. Higher reps will also induce hypertrophy, but will recruit a higher percentage of slow twitch muscle fibers, inducing muscular endurance and cardiovascular efficiency.
Reps higher than 15 per set will normally promote muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness almost exclusively. Workouts that include a high number of repetitions stimulate slow twitch muscle fibers, resulting in very little change in the size and shape of the muscle belly. However, this type of exercise encourages improved energy metabolism within the muscle, as well as increased capacity of the cardiovascular system to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the working muscles.
The number of repetitions performed per exercise set during a workout is highly dependent on personal goals, genetics, and underlying fitness level. For balanced training and overall fitness, a combination of power, strength, and resistance exercises over the course of a week, month, or even a year will reap the benefits of all three intensities and result in an underlying strength base. well developed .
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