alternating reps?

[jonny100]

I'm currently following a Chad Waterbury training programme from T-Nation whereby you do full-body workouts 3 times per week, 3 sets of each exercise, 4 compounds and 2 isolations.

The workout is aimed at hypertrophy, and his advice is to alternate between 5 reps (60 sec rest), 8 reps (90 sec rest), 15 reps (120 sec rest)...ie. day 1 would be 5 reps, day 2 would be 8 reps etc.

His reasons for this are to hit the muscles in different ways, thereby ensuring that gains are continual and do not plateau due to using the same parameters for every workout.

i always thought that 3-5 reps = strength, 8-12 = hypertrophy, and 15+ = endurance. so is his method really the best way to achieve hypertrophy?

 

[wacky906]

I follow the same type of rep alternating for hypertrophy. From what I've read, all ranges contribute to muscle growth (hypertrophy) and even though there are certain ranges where people have found to associate more with a particular goal, that does not mean they do not contribute to other aspects.

 

[theleip]

If you are going by cookie cutter recommendations then throwing out the 3x12 rule applies. It just keeps it simple and you will attain muscle growth if eating in accordance.

However when you are getting into more detailed and complex routines and design for optimizing results then you mix things up a bit.

In short it is a very solid hypertrophy program.