SINGLE REP TRAINING: THE SCIENCE

he ideal range for building muscle is 6-12 reps per set. It's sometimes effective to go lower or higher, but not extremely low or extremely high. Routinely do very high reps and science has proven your body will shut down muscle growth. Conversely, if you routinely do very low reps you'll never stimulate much growth.

Exercise scientist Jim Stoppani, PhD, explains: "Although using a heavy enough weight to complete just one rep provides the most overload on a muscle, it doesn't result in the most growth or strength gains. Overload is important for both muscle growth and strength, but other factors also play a key role. To build muscle, you need to perform multiple reps with a given weight. Research shows that the best rep range for building muscle is about 6-12 reps per set. The reason that multiple reps lead to greater muscle growth as compared to single reps has to do with biochemical events within the muscle."

Marcus Griffiths
Strength Coach
BPF Academy