[ON A GOOD DAY]

If I am training for gaining muscle and not just strength?

[HFerguson]

it is generally accepted that 8-12 reps is a better stimulus for muscular hypertrophy as opposed to neural adaptation, yes.

[Jonnyy]

8-12 reps is widely recommended to stimulate hypertrophy and build muscle. If training for muscle, more focus is on the stretch and contraction of the exercise (form), which will usually require a lower weight (thus higher reps to failure) in comparison to a person training for strength, who is just trying to shift the weight.

[EonBlueApocalypse]

8-12 reps is better for muscle gains. I prefer to do 1-5 rep range for the big compound lifts (bench press, deadlift, squat) and do 8-12 for more isolated exercises e.g. skullcrusher or incline chest flies. That way I get the strength benefits and the muscle growth as well.

1-5 range builds increases the number of contractile proteins and 8-12 increases the amount of fluid the muscle cells can hold.

[superman17]

If you want to improve your muscular strength, and build bulk, it's best to do heavy weights and not as many repetitions, and have the weight so your last rep - I do 6 - is almost impossible.

If it's tone you're interested in, lower the weight a little bit and up the repetitions

[ChaoticMaster]

(Original post by ON A GOOD DAY)
If I am training for gaining muscle and not just strength?

You want to stimulate as many muscle fibres as you can and you want it to be deep stimulation. You want a small number of reps and you want it to be heavy. If you can lift it more than 5 times then it's too light.

[Shawshank]

(Original post by superman17)
If you want to improve your muscular strength, and build bulk, it's best to do heavy weights and not as many repetitions, and have the weight so your last rep - I do 6 - is almost impossible.

If it's tone you're interested in, lower the weight a little bit and up the repetitions

You should listen to this guy, he really knows what he's talking about

[silent ninja]

Depends on the exercise as well. 8-12 reps squatting or deadlifting is challenging and tiring to say the least.

[jmlkey]

Personally, i tend to do 3-6 reps on the compound movements, and then 8-12 on the more isolated exercises.
In truth, rep ranges matter very little in terms of how much mass you'll build.

[commandant]

I'd argue that time under tension and mind muscle connection are more important to consider

[major_mishap]

If you're living heavy weights, 5/6 reps is perfect, i'd argue if you can do 8/10 reps with little effort you can lift heavier.
For mass/strength, 5/6 reps
For muscular endurance, 8/10 reps

Also, like what has already been said, it's much harder to do 8/10 reps in one set of a heavy compound movement, like a deadlift, I only do 5 of them with strict form.

[The_Blade]

gaining muscle is gaining strength though and vice versa?

[sachinisgod]

i think its all about progression. Say for bicep curls, when i started i did 10 reps with 10kgs dumbells. Now i can do 6 reps with the 16kg. As you get used to heavier weights gradually decrease the reps to stretch yourself to the point where u cant do another rep. thats your max point.

[blueray]

You can all try and get steroid induced muscles, but you can't utilise it for ****.
I did a press up comp against a guy who has huge arms, compared to my lean ones, and I owned him. Real USEFUL muscles are much better.

brb_gone_gym
and commandant

Are 2 examples of the above who can't utilise their muscles.

[ON A GOOD DAY]

never found press ups useful though

[commandant]

what a stupid post blueray

[blueray]

(Original post by commandant)
what a stupid post blueray

How is stupid. Go on explain. You have huge arms yet you can't use them for ****. That is stupid, not my post and until you get over that, you will never learn.

[blueray]

(Original post by ON A GOOD DAY)
never found press ups useful though

How long have you done them for? Build them up slowly then do loads, it takes time, doesn't happen overnight instantly and it builds overall strength.

[silent ninja]

(Original post by blueray)
How long have you done them for? Build them up slowly then do loads, it takes time, doesn't happen overnight instantly and it builds overall strength.

Doing loads of press ups simply builds your endurance. Even if you could do 100 consecutive press ups do you really think you'd bench 100kg?

You're never gonna see a power lifter doing one arm pull ups but they still possess a hell of a lot more power and strength than say a gymnast. It's all about identifying your goals which unfortunately a lot of people aren't clear about. What you are saying is almost like comparing a Marathon runner to a sprinter. It's totally different kettle of fish.

[blueray]

(Original post by silent ninja)
Doing loads of press ups simply builds your endurance. Even if you could do 100 consecutive press ups do you really think you'd bench 100kg?

You're never gonna see a power lifter doing one arm pull ups but they still possess a hell of a lot more power and strength than say a gymnast. It's all about identifying your goals which unfortunately a lot of people aren't clear about. What you are saying is almost like comparing a Marathon runner to a sprinter. It's totally different kettle of fish.

Tell me what is fitness? And what will you achieve from just lifting 100kg. You want to be able to apply this RAW strength.