Novice athletes are not always knowledgeable about which programs and types of training are most effective for gaining mass. Many beginners are looking for themselves and the answer to the question regarding what range of approaches and repetitions must be performed for mass recruitment. It does not make sense to independently establish any framework. It is necessary to rely solely on research tested by time and practice, and the recommendations of specialists.
To date, it is generally accepted that the optimal number of repetitions in each approach to training for mass recruitment varies from 8 to 12. This "standard" appeared back in 1954, and was proposed by Jan McQueen, who was not just an English surgeon, but also a bodybuilder. Even after half a century, the relevance of this approach leaves no doubt. According to the research of one of the American universities, in order to build muscle, it is necessary to do about 4-6 repetitions.
Over the past decades, a lot of new useful information has been received about the features of the processes occurring in the human body, as well as about muscles. Based on a half-century history, we can safely say that efficiency for mass typing brings a combination of different ranges of repetitions.
The appropriateness of wave-like periodization
The results of the American study showed that the strength indicators of athletes who change the number of repetitions once a week were twice as high as those who did not, that is, engaged in the same range.
The experiment, lasting three weeks, consisted in the fact that athletes changed the intensity of repetitions every seven days: low, high, medium. Due to the wave-like periodization, a result was achieved that demonstrates that repetitions have a certain role for muscle growth, but each range has its own separate task.
There are three main ranges for mass growth repeats:
- Low - from 1 to 5 times. It involves working with maximum weight and high muscular load. This training primarily affects myofibrils - the connecting threads of muscle fibers, contributing to the formation of more of them. The higher the number of myofibrils, the greater the strength that muscles can regenerate. The low range is perfect for increasing the power indicator, which invariably affects the increase in volume, although not as pronounced as with the average repetition rate.
- Medium - from 6 to 10 times. For thirty seconds, the muscles are subjected to a moderate degree of exercise. This is due to the fact that most professionals consider this range the most effective in terms of mass building. However, working only with this number of repetitions without resorting to alternation will cause neither strength nor endurance to develop.
- High - over 11 times. The load on the muscles is a much longer period of time than in the low and medium range. This allows you to increase the concentration of mitochondria - the energy-producing structures present in muscle tissue. The higher their number, the greater the endurance indicator. During this training, the volume of fluid in muscle tissue increases, which entails muscle growth. This type of range is most often used to achieve pumping.
Earlier, the use of a different number of repetitions during training for weight gain allowed to avoid muscle adaptation for a particular approach. This is not necessary today. In order to prevent the muscles from adapting, a huge number of methods were developed, including super- and additional sets, failed repetitions and much more. Thanks to many tricks, you can choose for yourself the best option for the range that gives the maximum mass gain effect, and do 8-12 repetitions.
