Weight Lifting (cont.)
What are sets and repetitions (reps)?
Sets and reps are the terms used to describe the
number of times you perform an exercise. A rep is the number of times you
perform a specific exercise, and a set is the number of cycles of reps that you
complete. For example, suppose you complete 15 reps of a bench press. You
would say you've completed "one set of 15 reps." A set can be any number of
reps, so if you complete 10 reps of a bench press, you would say you've
completed "one set of 10
reps," and if you complete just five reps, then that would be "one set of five
reps."
How many sets should I do?
Research is clear that beginners can develop as
much strength performing one set per exercise as they can performing three sets.
This is because beginners typically start off with a low level of strength which
leaves room for improvement (called an "adaptive window"). Muscles respond
quickly to resistance exercise in untrained individuals because the adaptive
window is large. This is great news because the motivation to continue working
out is reinforced by immediate and significant improvement. However, after three
to four months, strength gains will level off and then multiple sets (three to
five per
exercise) are necessary if more improvement is desired.
How do I go about lifting for strength?
Muscular strength is gained when you lift heavy. For
pure strength development, keep the resistance heavy enough so that you cannot
lift more than eight reps, and then follow the progressive overload principle
and increase the weight when you can lift more then eight. Expect your reps to
drop whenever you increase the weight. For example, suppose you've been doing
10 reps of bench presses with 175 pounds and you increase the weight to
190 pounds. Because the weight is heavier, you will lift fewer reps, but as your
muscles accommodate, you will again be able to lift more reps. When strength is
your priority, you can experiment with heavy days. Heavy days are when you lift
as much as you can one time. This is called a one-repetition maximum (a 10-rep
maximum would be the weight you can lift 10 times to fatigue). Heavy days are
challenging, so I don't recommend them more than once a week so that your
muscles have time to recover and grow.
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