Want to Build Muscle? How many Reps Per Set for Hypertrophy?
How many reps per set should I perform to build muscle?
This has got to be one of the questions I get asked most by beginners and even some more experienced bodybuilders.
- Is there an optimum rep range for hypertrophy (muscle growth)?
- How many reps per set should I perform?
In my experience, there is indeed an optimum rep range for muscle growth.
8 – 12 Reps
I have trained in all sorts of ranges for experimentation purposes. From experience I can advise you that 8 to 12 reps per set is the ‘Anabolic Rep Range.’ Up until about 6 months ago I was experimenting with the 4 to 6 reps per set range as in the Max-OT program by AST.
My problem with that is that it’s too damn hard to get good form when performing each rep with a weight that heavy i.e. If I’m curling a dumbbell so heavy that I can’t get any more than 6 reps, I find my form sucks!
At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the high rep theory. Basically anywhere between 13 – 25 reps per set would be classified as high reps. I personally believe that people who work out in this range are seeing some amazing pumps and so are convinced they’re getting big fast. However, getting a pump is not prerequisite for building muscle. A weight in this rep range is simply not heavy enough to force the muscle to continually adapt and grow.
So that leaves us with the sweet spot i.e. 8 – 12 reps.
Light enough weights for good form; heavy enough to force growth.
The National Strength and Conditioning Association also agrees with these relationships between number of repetitions performed and physiological responses. They propose that shorter bouts of anaerobic training (2 to 4 repetitions) are best for improving muscle power, moderate bouts of anaerobic training (5 to 6 repetitions) are best for building muscle strength, and longer bouts of anaerobic training, 8 to 12 reps per set, are best for increasing muscle hypertrophy.
So what about periodization? Periodization basically says that every now and then you need to work within a different rep range in order to ‘confuse’ your muscles into continuous growth. I have no experience of this being the case. Also bear in mind that in some sets you will perform 8 reps and some sets 12 reps and this is going to be all the variation you need.
The Exception to the Rule
Yep, there’s one exception - abs. When I’m working my abs I stay within an 8-16 reps per set for growth. I am using a slightly higher rep range simply because of the importance of good form. I perform sit-ups quite slowly and also hold the movement at the top for a second. There is just no way that I could get good form performing these sit-ups with weights that were too heavy. That’s it. Don’t sacrifice form for weight. Good bodybuilders feel the muscle, not the weight.
Also - Marathon, no-weight sit-up sessions won’t sculpt nice abs. So to the guys doing 100’s of sit-ups - you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. Lower, weighted sit-ups will grow those abdominal muscles more than anything else. Anyway, I’ll get into abs more in future articles. You can subscribe here to be notified when new articles are published. Alternatively, enter your email into the box in the sidebar to the left.
Thanks for stopping by.
P.S. Saw this on another website, the quote is from Tom Venuto:
“For example, when you train in the 6-8 rep range, the adaptations are still somewhat neural, but also metabolic/structural: In this rep range, you get excellent strength gains and also excellent hypertrophy. In the 8-12 rep range, there is still some neural adaptation, but less than the 6-8 range and much less than the 1-5 range. The advantage of the 8-12 rep range is that you get maximal hypertrophy”. Couldn’t have put it better myself. 
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- Progressive Overload Or Going To Failure - Which Is More Important?
- Build Muscle Without Weights?
- How To Build Muscle Mass Fast - Complete Guide
- Want a Great Body? Lose the Ego!
- How To Build Chest Muscle
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November 5th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
[...] Want to Build Muscle? How many Reps Per Set for Hypertrophy? [...]
November 6th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
[...] Build Muscle [...]
November 9th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
[...] Want to Build Muscle? How many Reps Per Set for Hypertrophy? Amazon.com Widgets Free Muscle Building Articles Delivered By Email! enter your address here:Delivered by FeedBurner [...]
November 14th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
when doing curls, at 45 lbs i can do 15 reps, but at 50 lbs i can almost do 8. would you recommend for peak performance i stick with the 50 lbs (assuming i make sure my form is good?)
November 14th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Hi Tarek, thanks for the question. You say you can almost get 8 reps. If it’s possible to get 47.5 lbs go for that. If that’s not an option then yes use 50 lbs. If you get 7 good reps that’ll give you a great opportunity for progressive overload the following week i.e. hitting 8 reps - see my post on progressive overload. Cheers, Mark.
November 23rd, 2007 at 5:36 am
Hello,
I am a pretty skinny guy and its pretty hard for me to gain weight. I guess some call me a “hard gainer”. Reading some other sites I should be doing less reps, around 4 or 5 with larger amounts of weight in order to see results. After reading your article I’m not totally sure which way I should go. Any advice would be great.
November 23rd, 2007 at 6:15 am
Hi David, thanks for stopping by. I’m well aware of this technique for ‘hard gainers’ but I don’t think it’s best. I always considered myself a hard gainer - couldn’t add the muscle I wanted even though I worked out like I was told and drank weight-gainers etc. Working consistently in the 8-12 range definitely improved my results. Couple this with full range of motion and consistent progressive overload and you’ll do great.
December 3rd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
[...] The anabolic / optimum rep range of 8-12 reps [...]
December 9th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
hi im 16 and been training for about 9 months, i weigh about 14 and a half stone cut, ive got great genetics and train as hard as i can, ive been training all 20-25 reps but reasently lost 1 inch off my arms in about 3 weeks from over training they were 18inches 3 mil and now 17inches 3mil i made sure they were measured right can this be an effect of high reps? pleses reply jake
December 10th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
Jake, I have to say that it’s highly unlikely that you could lose an inch off your arms in that space of time and certainly not from simply overtraining. Are you sure the measurement were correct? Did you lose a lot of water for some reason (still wouldn’t account for a whole inch though).
Either way, yes I recommend you hit the 8-12 rep range to optimize your great genetics.
December 20th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
hey. im 6′2″ and i am really skinny. i weigh 135 pounds. its really sad. i want to gain 50 pounds in 6 months and i want to no if thats possible and how. can someone please help me. im ready to do anything!
December 20th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Hi Slick.
I’ll help you out buddy.
I was always naturally skinny so I can sympathize with you on that.
Adding 50 pounds of weight is possible, 50 pounds of just muscle is going to prove harder, although for a complete beginner on a frame as tall as yours it’s not out of the question.
It’s around 8 pounds a month so you’d need to be adding about 2 pounds of muscle per week. It’s very ambitious but at least you have a goal, even if you don’t hit it, you will at a later date anyway.
Please read my articles,’Build Muscle Workout Plan’ and the latest one ‘Ultimate Anabolic Nutrition…’. Coupling these strategies is the most effective way to build muscle on the planet!
Let me you how you get on.
Mark
January 15th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
[...] the best however for hypertrophy. It also allows good form and a fuller range of motion. I go into 8 - 12 reps for building muscle more here. [...]
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:41 am
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February 26th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
[...] Working in the 8-12 rep range for maximum hypertrophy (You should be reaching ‘failure’ at or before your twelfth [...]
March 9th, 2008 at 11:17 am
[...] (10) Repeat for 8-12 reps [...]
March 15th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
[...] See here for more information on how many reps and sets you should be performing for optimum muscle … [...]
March 15th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
[...] Firstly, I would be performing way more than 8 - 12 reps which would take me out of the optimum rep range for building muscle. [...]
March 20th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
[...] 8-12 reps is best for hypertrophy. I first started working out at 25 reps, then switched to 4-8 reps. While this wasn’t useless, [...]
March 21st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
The muscle grow when the rest right ? If you do 8-12 reps every otherday, you rest your body half the time right?
March 21st, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Heri, only if you are planning on working that same body part again.
With the MuscleHack workout plan, you only work each body part once a week so there’s no need to rest 48 hours between workouts.
Cheers,
Mark
April 1st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
hi i just woundered if you can help me?
im 16 im about 5ft6 and i want to build muscle but at my gym the gym dont like body building.. i want to get a built up body like something to turn someone head when ur walking down the street bu im totally confussed about the reps. some say i have to do between 4 and 6 to build mass bu others say 8 but not to sure if it ahcelly builds mass and also tone please help
April 1st, 2008 at 8:48 pm
You didn’t mention how many sets we should be doing. How many sets do you recommend doing with the 8-12 reps method?
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Paul,
6-9 sets, see this post
http://www.musclehack.com/build-muscle-with-this-free-workout-plan/
Mark
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Daniel,
8-12 reps for hypertrophy, no doubt.
Mark
April 19th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
[...] Perform 8-12 reps. 8-12 reps on any given exercise will stimulate most muscle growth. Lower rep ranges of say 3-6 work well for building strength but not necessarily muscle hypertrophy [...]
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:17 am
people people people! the facts are if you want to become bulky you lift more weight with less reps….for example, doing lifting exercises with alot of weight that you can only do about 2 sets of 10 reps is what gets you bulky if you do ALL of the exercises right! Now if you want good, lean muscle (muscular) doing more reps like 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps (equals from 24 to 36 reps) of lighter weight such as 20 pounds or more for people who are looking for lean muscle and in tone.
April 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Love the site! One quick question…do you not reccomend any type of cardio at all? Like not even a little a few times a week? If you were going to reccomend a cardio routine, what do you think is the most efficient for burning fat and retaining muscle? Thanks!
April 24th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Hey Mark,
Have to say I have been training for quite a while and what you say in your book relating to what I call the balloon effect is something I have experienced alot, bulking up and then cutting down and losing your hard earned gains, year after year!. I have been following your diet plan for nearly 2 weeks now the M.A.N.S one that is and find it strange that after the first week on your diet my energy levels have returned back to normal as if ,I was carbing, which is great and really dont need to eat many carbs at all for energy, even though I am a carb lover and still crave them. I’ve also kept my size but lost fat which is great, i guess time will tell if i start to shrink, but for now all good . A couple of questions for you if you could answer would be great,the 8-12 rep range you talk about, are we lifting weights in a pyramid formation? like my first set i do 12 then 10 then 8 or is it going for gold picking a weight I cant do no less than 8 and no more than 12 for every set? should i start with a heavier weight first and do 8 or a lighter weight and do 12? also do you include the warm up sets in the 9 sets maximum per body part? and finally I train abs every training session at the end, should I be stopping that since I train 2 body parts in general per training session, and just train them with one body part?
Thanks heaps, keep up the good work
May 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Chris,
It’s as you say - “going for gold picking a weight I cant do no less than 8 and no more than 12 for every set”.
Yes, you’ll most likely have to decrease the weight at each set to achieve this.
No, there is 1 warm-up set before the 9 real sets.
Yes, stop that and train your abs on their own day.
Mark
May 12th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Sorry Mark, can’t get my head round this;
So for example flat bench;
8 x 37.5kg then decrease weight to 35kg but increase reps to say 10 and then 32.5kg and maybe hitting 12 reps as long as form is good. Or is it keeping to one fixed weight of say 35kg
but decreasing reps.
Sorry for all the questions recently.
Thanks mate
matt
May 26th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
[...] You should reach failure between 8 and 12 reps. [...]
May 29th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
[...] You should reach failure between 8 and 12 reps. [...]
June 13th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
[...] Train In The 8 - 12 rep range. I call this the hypertrophic rep range. Basically, you should reach failure on each set on the [...]
June 13th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
[...] Train In The 8 - 12 rep range. I call this the hypertrophic rep range. Basically, you should reach failure on each set on the [...]
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 am
[...] Perform 8-12 reps. 8-12 reps on any given exercise will stimulate most muscle growth. Lower rep ranges of say 3-6 work well for building strength but not necessarily muscle hypertrophy [...]
June 25th, 2008 at 12:31 am
Had to post this here as there was no room in the Workout Plan to build Muscle section!!
I box to stay in shape and so train in the gym sparring, bags, skipping etc. for approx 2 hours per session between 1-3 times per week. It was because I re-started training and noticed that I seemed to be losing weight, that I started looking into the bodybuilding, despite being virtually the Big Four-oh.
I’m about 5′7″ approx 180lbs and my electronic scales say 27% b-f, although I look in good shape.
What I want to know is how to adapt your muscle gain plan to give me good size gains, whilst still maintaining and improving my boxing needs e.g. strength, speed, flexibility, fitness, endurance etc.
Must add, this is REALLY great site, you seem very knowledgable and I can’t wait to see what results following your regime brings.
p.s. will it work as well for a woman?
June 27th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Hi there,
You won’t have to change anything to adapt the workout plan to your lifestyle.
I would recommend that you separate your weight training from your boxing training. Leave at least a few hours and a good meal between them.
Yes, it works great for women with no changes required.
Mark
June 29th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I am still confused. Could you tell me wich reps build more muscle mass. Is it the 12 reps of hypertrophy or is it the 5 reps of maximum weight explosion. please reply to me soon. thanks!
July 9th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
[...] I said in an article last week that building powerful pecs was easy; it is. Building bulging biceps isn’t rocket science either. Again, it’s all about using proper form and sticking to the principles of progressive overload and the anabolic rep range of 8-12 reps. [...]