Best Reps And Sets For Muscle Building
In determining what the best reps and sets for muscle building are, you first must ask yourself what kind of muscle are you aiming to build?
Generally – although there is undoubtedly some middle ground – there are thought to be two types of muscle, and muscle strength; explosive and endurance.
Explosive activities such as sprinting are controlled by ‘fast twitch’ muscle fibres, whereas endurance activities such as running the London marathon, are controlled by ‘slow twitch’ fibres.
The energy expended during explosive movements is such that the movement is unsustainable, but for short periods of time. That means, the body tires quickly simply because the movement is so explosive and taxing that the body simply can’t keep up with the muscles demand for energy and oxygen. The result: imminent muscle failure.
Endurance on the other hand, is different. While the muscles are still placing demand on the system and still require oxygen and energy, the supply can be met for far longer; simply because the movement is slower and less energy is being exerted in the same period of time.
Before I tell you how to target both types of muscle fibres, I’d like to quickly bring up an important question which may help you to better decide which path your training will go:
What kind of ratio of fast twitch to slow twitch fibres does the body have?
Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, there exists no study or conclusive proof of what kinds of ratios these fibres exist, if indeed they do; i.e. are our muscles comprised of 80% slow twitch, and 20% fast twitch?
If this were known, and were provable, then if you were simply looking to build muscle size, it would surely make sense to focus your efforts into targeting the majority muscle ratio; be it slow twitch or fast twitch.
However, what is known, is those who primarily practice bodybuilding rather than strength training, tend to have greater muscle mass. This has led many to believe that there is a greater amount of slower twitch fibres, as the average bodybuilding regime tends to consist of slower, less explosive movements.
Therefore, if you are looking to build maximum muscle size and strength, it surely makes sense to target both of these types of muscle fibre…
Targeting Fast Twitch Muscle Fibres
It shouldn’t come as much surprise then, that the best way to target and improve the size and strength of the fast twitch fibres you need to employ explosive training practices.
Simply put, the best reps and sets for muscle building of this kind is weight which you can only move for a low number of reps, such as 5 repetitions, and for around 3 sets, before failing.
Such an environment will train you for explosive strength, and increase the size and strength of the fast twitch fibres.
Targeting Slow Twitch Muscle Fibres
The best reps and sets for building slow twitch muscle fibres would seem to be less weight, and higher numbers of reps and sets – in line with the typical bodybuilding practices. To build this kind of muscle fibre, a good number of reps can be anything from 7 – 15, and the sets from 3 – 5.
Ultimately, the best reps and sets for muscle building come down to you; what you feel comfortable doing, and what gives you the best results. But remember: mix it up, vary it, and you should go far.
August 9th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
OK. but which muscles are fast twitch and which slow?
and what about type a and b, which I have also heard mentioned.
It sems there’s great diversity of opinion regarding this subject and the answers vary considerably from place to place.
August 11th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Hi Bo Pena,
Every muscle in the body contains both fast twitch and slow twitch fibres. The ratio between fast and slow depends entirely upon the individual. For instance, I watched a fascinating documentary with British olympic gold medalist hurdler Colin Jackson the other week, where he endeavoured to find out whether his talent was God given (nature) or more down to dedication and will to succeed (nurture).
As part of the documentary, Colin visited a lab to have a chunk of his thigh muscle removed, and analyzed. The aim was to see if his muscles were significantly different from the average persons’.
What they found was, not only did Colin have more fast twitch fibres than the average person, but, he also had an even higher abundance of even faster fast twitch fibres known as “super fast twitch fibres.”
They found Colins’ leg muscle contained something like 20-30% of these super fast twitch fibres, whereas the average person would have just a couple of percent.
I would guess unless you had this test performed on every major muscle group and had the hardcore data in front of you, you’d never know for sure what percentage you was. My advice would be, to build maximum size, power, and endurance, you’ve got to train for both strength (low reps, very heavy) and size (higher reps, less heavy).
So not only does this confirm that there is a third type of muscle fibre, but, it’s generally accepted there is an even greater spectrum of fibres than this - all of which, no doubt, have their ’sweet spot’ which specific training methods can maximise the potential of.