Many people come into the gym and crush weights. They push so hard they can’t get another rep. Though training hard is important, training smart and with discretion is important if you want to see continual growth in your strength. Training to failure and pushing muscular fatigue is important in building size, it shouldn’t be the focus in building strength. Manageable reps is crucial in building strength.
There are many factors that go into a strength training program such as the individuals specific training experience and base strength. Choosing the appropriate rep ranges to improve strength is very different than just working hard. Strength is a product of working with appropriate volumes and intensities. Most strength training programs work with training percentages of 70%-85%. The important aspect isn’t just pushing to failure in these rep ranges.
Working with 75% of your your 1RM is very common. 75% of your 1RM is usually around a 10 Rep max. When having athletes work with 75% we usually have them do set of 4-6 repetitions with that weight. So they have 4-6 reps in the tank with that weight when working with it. The key with this is being able to build training volume without trashing the system with tons of fatigue. ThiThe number of sets can vary and will be the topic of another post. 5×5 is a very popular training program for a reason. Most athletes start at around 70% and add weight weekly with 5x5s. This will equate to training percentages of 70-80%. Once you hit 8-% 5x5s become too taxing and lifters swish to rep schemes scubas 5 or 6 sets of 3 reps. A big mistake we see are people that are working with 75% and doing multiple sets of 8-10reps. That may work for building size but not optimal for building maximal strength.
Stay tuned and we will discuss optimal training sets x reps for strength.