All About Weight Lifting Repetitions

What is a Repetition (Also known as a 'rep')?

A repetition is simply lifting and lowering a weight one time.

Technically speaking, this weight could be any form of resistance, and the muscle straining against the resistance could be contracting and extending in any number of directions. So a more accurate definition might be 'a single contraction and extension of a muscle against resistance'.

How Many Repetitions do I do?

First, you should always stay within your abilities and do exercises with the most strict form possible. Ideally you would do enough repetitions to cause the muscle being worked to be at or very near the point of failure on the last repetition that you do. This 'point of failure' should occur somewhere in the range of 6-15 repetitions, so often the process of finding the right weight to use to fall within this range is a matter of trial and error. If you can only do 5 or less repetitions then you should use less weight. If you can do more than 15 repetitions before muscle failure then you should move to a heavier weight. The process of doing a number of reps to muscle failure is called one 'set'.

Exactly where in that range of 6-15 reps you target your muscle failure depends on your fitness goal.

• To build the most strength you want to target failure closer to the 6 rep range.
• For muscle endurance, failure should occur close to the 15 rep mark.
• If muscle size is your goal, the 10-12 rep range is ideal.

The best exercise program will use the entire range during different workouts and different exercises.

How Fast Do I Perform a Repetition?

Always do your exercises in complete control of the weight! Otherwise you not only risk injury, but your results will also suffer. If you need to swing your body to perform an exercise, your form is wrong and momentum is doing a good portion of the work.

To perform most weight lifting exercises properly it should take you 1-2 seconds to lift the weight (or contract against the resistance), and 2-3 seconds to lower the weight.

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