Suggested Repetition Ranges
Population | Rep Range |
---|---|
Healthy participants under age 50-60 |
|
Pubescent children | |
Pre-pubescent children |
|
Individuals older than age 50-60 or frail persons |
|
Individuals primarily interested in muscular endurance | |
Cardiac patients with physician's approval | 10-12 comfortably |
Pregnant women without contraindications who have previously participated in weight training | 12-15 |
Also see
- ACSM Weight Training Guidelines
- Applied Research Findings: Weight Training Strength Dose-Response Curve
- Repetition Ranges for Olympic-style Weightlifts
References
- ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 7th Edition
- ACSM's Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 3rd Edition
Identifying Initial Resistances
Aggressive Method
- workout weight can be found within one to two workouts
- Warm-up set: light weight (12-15 repetitions)
- First guess: choose weight you can perform, at least, at the lowest repetition (e.g.: 8 reps) but not the highest repetition range (e.g.: 12 reps)
- attempt 1 to 2 repetitions
- decrease resistance if you feel like you cannot perform at least the lowest repetition range
- increase resistance if you feel like you can perform highest repetition range
- beyond first few repetitions, continue performing more repetitions if you feel your first guess is correct or you are still not sure if weight is too light or too heavy
- Second guess: adjusted resistance
- perform more repetitions (set) until comfortably fatigued or highest repetition range is achieved
- if lower repetition range was not achieved (weight is too heavy)
- record lighter workout weight (best guess) for next workout
- if highest repetition range was achieved (weight is too light)
- record heavier workout weight (best guess) for next workout
- if lowest repetition was achieved but highest repetition was not achieved (correct initial resistance)
- record same weight for next workout
Conservative Method
- Workout weight can be found within several workouts
- Warm-up set: light weight (12-15 repetitions)
- First guess: choose weight heavier than warm up weight but lighter than what can be achieved for repetition range (e.g.: 10-15 reps)
- perform full set until comfortably fatigued or upper repetition range is achieved
- if lowest repetitions cannot be achieved (weight is too heavy)
- record lighter workout weight (best guess) for next workout
- if highest repetitions can be achieved (weight is too light)
- record heavier workout weight (5-10% greater) for next workout
- if lowest repetition was achieved but highest repetition was not achieved (correct initial resistance)
- record same weight for next workout
Systematic Progress Methods
Merit based
- Repetition range prescription
- Increase resistance 2.5 - 10% when upper rep range has been achieved.
- Subsequent increase in resistance should allow for lower rep range to be achieved.
- Criteria Options
- Achieving upper rep range on any workout set
- increase resistance next set
- if last set, increase resistance next workout
- Achieve upper rep range on all workout sets
- increase resistance next workout
- Achieving upper rep range on any workout set
- Example:
- 8-10 reps x 100 lbs
- If 10 reps, increase weight to 105 lbs
- Increase resistance 2.5 - 10% when upper rep range has been achieved.
- Absolute repetition prescription:
- Increase total resistance 2.5% for each additional repetition achieved
- If exercise includes a percentage of body weight as part of the resistance, it must be included to accurately calculate actual resistance in order for this calculation to be accurate.
- Example
- 8 reps x 100 lbs
- If 9 reps, increase weight to 102.5 lbs
- If 10 reps, increase weight to 105 lbs
- Increase total resistance 2.5% for each additional repetition achieved
- When performing program with varying workloads
- Graduating resistance on one load may logically call for increasing resistance for an adjacent workload
- Example Merit Based Proxy Progression:
- Scenario
- Light Day 10-12 reps x 100 lbs
- Heavy Day 6-8 reps x 110 lbs
- Possible Progressions
- If 8 Reps are achieved on heavy day, weight is moved up 5 lbs (~5%) next workout on both light and heavy days
- It would not make sense to move up only on heavy day since then the resistance would be the same on both workouts.
- Double Load Progression: If upper rep range is achieved on either light or heavy day, both weights move up 5 lbs (~5%)
- A single medium base weight can also be used to calculate light and heavy loads
- see Shorthand Log: Implementing Varying Workloads for Triple Load Progression example.
- A single medium base weight can also be used to calculate light and heavy loads
- If 8 Reps are achieved on heavy day, weight is moved up 5 lbs (~5%) next workout on both light and heavy days
- Scenario
See Calculating Actual Resistance and Workload Adjustment Calculator for more precise techniques in estimating rep performance at various workloads.
- Attempt periodic resistance increases of less than 2.5%
- Use new resistance only if absolute rep prescription can be achieved in satisfactory form.
- Ideal for low rep training
- Main lifts for Olympic-style weightlifting and powerlifting training
- Example:
- 3 reps x 200 kg
- If confident, attempt 3 reps x 202 kg
- See Maximum Effort day using Westside Barbell Methodology.
- Can also be used on moderate rep training such as in intermediate to advanced conventional workouts
- With fraction plates a specific rep can be prescribed instead of a rep range
- Example: 6 reps (as opposed to 6-8 reps with merit based progressions)
- If 6 reps are achieved with micro load, increase weight for next workout
- as opposed to a merit based approach where 6-8 reps are prescribed and an increase is not made until 8 reps are achieved because small weight increases may not be possible particularly with exercises using lighter weights.
- Example: 6 reps (as opposed to 6-8 reps with merit based progressions)
Periodized Progressive Workload Variations
- Use varying workloads (eg: medium, light, heavy) based on percent of initial one rep max
- Workloads vary every microcycle and increase a small percentage every mesocycle
- Accompanying repetitions are generally predetermined
- Examples: