Currently I go to the gym about 4 times a week and do a very basic workout. I hit about all main muscles in my workout. Currently I do about 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps. Depending on how I feel. I want to get my muscles bigger and stronger. What would be a good rep/set routine I should be doing...?? When I first started I tired 3 sts of 10 starting with my heaviest weight I can do and going down 5 lbs with every set (135,130,125) and I tired a reverse of that starting with light and going up to heaviest... but I just stuck with my heaviest weight and do about 4 sets of 10. I was looking into a compression system also 5x5, 10x10, and 6x6.. what would be good for gaining strenght and gaining size?
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Sets/Reps...
- Thread starter jerseyda6
- Start date
The basic layout is this:
Sets of 4-6 are for strength
Sets of 8-12 are for hypertrophy (muscle growth)
Beyond that is kind of a waste of time unless you're a seasoned gym rat...or unless you are doing a "burnout" set at the end of your routine...but that's not what you are going for from your post. Also, those shouldn't be used all the time. They work good if you are hitting a plateau in your training.
Back on topic though. If you are training correctly, 3-4 (mainly compound) exercises (Per bodypart) with 3-4 sets of 8-10 is your basic muscle building program if you are doing 1 or 2 bodyparts a day. If you can bust out more sets than that, then chances are you didn't push yourself hard enough.
If you are doing a full body workout (FBW) or an upper/lower split, then generally you would do 1 or 2 exercises per body part. You sacrifice the number of exercises because you would train each body part more frequently.
Every type of routine breaks down more than that, including rep cadence and rep ranges for specific movements and things along those lines, but this should be enough to answer your question.
Sets of 4-6 are for strength
Sets of 8-12 are for hypertrophy (muscle growth)
Beyond that is kind of a waste of time unless you're a seasoned gym rat...or unless you are doing a "burnout" set at the end of your routine...but that's not what you are going for from your post. Also, those shouldn't be used all the time. They work good if you are hitting a plateau in your training.
Back on topic though. If you are training correctly, 3-4 (mainly compound) exercises (Per bodypart) with 3-4 sets of 8-10 is your basic muscle building program if you are doing 1 or 2 bodyparts a day. If you can bust out more sets than that, then chances are you didn't push yourself hard enough.
If you are doing a full body workout (FBW) or an upper/lower split, then generally you would do 1 or 2 exercises per body part. You sacrifice the number of exercises because you would train each body part more frequently.
Every type of routine breaks down more than that, including rep cadence and rep ranges for specific movements and things along those lines, but this should be enough to answer your question.
I'm with AJP. its fine to stick to 5x5 pre-dominantly, but you should mix in some higher reps a few times a month...every other week...unless you plan to periodize your program on a larger scale (2 months of 5x5, 2 months of 3x10, etc).
you need to work the muscles in a variety of ways to achieve good functional strength, which also yields an attractive physique.
you need to work the muscles in a variety of ways to achieve good functional strength, which also yields an attractive physique.
In my schedule, I put in 4 x 6 for hard hitting exercises (Squats, Bench, Deadlift, etc.) and 3 x 8 for isolation and focus points (CG Bench, Cable Rows, Curls, etc.). Is it ok if I work it like that, because that seems to give me the most efficent training in my opinion.
I would aim to stick to the same set/rep scheme for all compounds, and then work in higher rep ranges for all isolations (there shouldn't be many) - at least higher than what you worked at for the compounds
Currently I go to the gym about 4 times a week and do a very basic workout. I hit about all main muscles in my workout. Currently I do about 3-5 sets of 10-15 reps. Depending on how I feel. I want to get my muscles bigger and stronger. What would be a good rep/set routine I should be doing...?? When I first started I tired 3 sts of 10 starting with my heaviest weight I can do and going down 5 lbs with every set (135,130,125) and I tired a reverse of that starting with light and going up to heaviest... but I just stuck with my heaviest weight and do about 4 sets of 10. I was looking into a compression system also 5x5, 10x10, and 6x6.. what would be good for gaining strenght and gaining size?
3x8 and/or 3x10 for a beginner is a good start. Keep the load constant. Progress every work either in load (increase), more reps with the same load, add an addition set or less time between sets with the same load.