More reps or less reps, Slow reps or fast reps which is better?. Explained how to grow muscle!!

A very frequently asked question is should we perform more reps or less reps for muscle growth. Basically reps make a huge difference on amount and type of gains you will make. Number of repetition mainly depends on what your aim is, weather you are training for strength, hypertrophy or endurance.

1. HYPERTROPHY

Professional bodybuilders like Kai Greene, Phil Heath, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc come in this category. Hypertrophy basically means building big muscle mass. The rep range is from 6 - 12 repetitions. If your goal is to increase muscle size this rep range is scientifically ideal. The weight that you lift should be such that you can do atleast 6 reps and maximum of 12 reps that means if you are unable to do even 6 reps the weight is very heavy for you whereas if you can lift more than 12 reps with any lifted weight it means you should go for a heavier weight.

2. STRENGTH

Strength training is done by power lifters. If your goal is to increase strength perform low reps approx 1 - 5 repetition with heavy weight. Such a weight that you can lift but not more than 5 times.

3. ENDURANCE 

Athletes like footballers, basket ball players, cyclists, boxers, etc come in this category. Endurance training includes high repetitions with light weights this increases stamina and builds lean muscle mass.

Now the question arises 'should we perform the reps faster or slow'?

According to science lifting with slow tempo increases the tension in the muscles for a longer time on other hand if you lift fast then you will be able to lift more heavy with more amount of reps compared to slow reps. In a study it was found that slower lifting was not as beneficial as faster performed reps. Fast lifting has greater activation of the muscles and hence promotes more muscle growth.

Now fast lifting should also be in a limit, in the time duration of 2 - 6 seconds per repetition.