We have all heard the old advice on how many reps to do for our set depending on the exercise and the goal. While there is a ton of suggestions out there, it generally looks something like this:
Strength: 4-8 reps
Mass and Definition: 10-12 reps
Muscle Endurance: 15+ reps
Now, this is sound advice if it is taken in context, however, with almost every lifter I have personally seen, it is applied completely out of context and is one of the main reasons you may not be getting the most out of your workouts. Let me explain. These rep ranges were agreed upon long ago and proven, for the most part, to be true. However, these rep ranges were not based on individual repetitions alone. In fact, the number of repetitions is likely the least important factor. The number of repetitions are merely a product of the formula used and not the other way around. The most significant factors, other than form, when doing any muscle building exercise are TUT and weight.
The weight you use is critical to your development. Go too heavy and you could exhaust yourself before reaching the maximum benefit or even worse, injure yourself. Go too light and you may not "tax" the muscle enough to spur important growth. What weight you use is a subjective issue only you can answer. The weight you choose should allow you to exhaust yourself depending on the TUT range you are working in.
So, what is TUT? TUT stands for time under tension. When the 10-12 rep range was agreed upon as a baseline for people looking to add mass and definition, the key factor was the time under tension. When they factored 12 reps, they assumed each rep would take between 4 and 5 seconds for a total of 48-60 seconds for a 12 rep set. A rep would generally follow a 3-1, 3-2, or 2-2 count. The longer count of each rep would ideally be applied to the negative portion of a movement. For example, when performing a barbell bench press, you should take a 3 count to lower the weight with an explosive 1 count to press it back up. The key to this method is consistency, making sure your movements are fluid and not jerky. Depending on goals a set of nearly any exercise would look as follows:
Strength: 4-8 reps; 16-32 seconds
Mass and Definition: 10-12 reps; 40-60 seconds
Muscle Endurance: 15+ reps; 60+ seconds
When I first learned of the TUT principle, i began to time my sets. LOL. I was way under so i figured I would drop the weight a little and give it a shot. Soooo, I ended up dropping the weight a lot and getting stalled out while benching 115 lbs, far under my normal weight. But the real difference came the next day. I was sore in places and hard to target areas that I never usually get sore in despite trying many different routines over the last 15 years of lifting. Since then, my strength went up, definition went up and the overall quality of my workout sessions have improved. I did, however, find that I needed longer to complete my workouts so prepare accordingly. I guess the old saying is true: Timing is everything! Happy lifting
