A rep is a one complete cycle of an exercise movement - a contraction of a muscle followed by an extension - that is , lifting a weight and lowering it again. A set is a group of these repetitions. How many reps you include in a set clearly depends on what kind of exercise you are doing. Both research and experience have shown that bodybuilders get the most results using a weight in each exercise that represents about 70 to 75 % of their one rep maximum - that is, the amount of weight they could use doing one full out repetition of that one particular exercise. If you use this amount of weight you will generally find you can do sets of :
8-12 repetitions for upper body muscles
12-16 repetitions for the major leg muscles
These figures are just approximations but they will work well as general guidelines and specially for beginners.
Why can you do more repetitions for the legs than the upper body ?
Simply because the fall off in strength over the course of a set is slower in the legs than in the upper body - upper body muscles just don't have the same kind of endurance as leg muscles. But in both cases the amount of weight used represents the same 70-75% of the one rep maximum ability of the muscles involved.
Occasionally, there are reasons for using less weight than this and doing therefore more reps and some very useful types of sets which involve heavier weight and fewer reps such as low rep sets for maximum strength and power. But these guidelines represent the majority of training bodybuilders do - and especially true for beginners. Some bodybuilders also do heavy weight for full power and strength and few reps such as 4-6 reps but in these workouts the risk of injury increases.
8-12 repetitions for upper body muscles
12-16 repetitions for the major leg muscles
These figures are just approximations but they will work well as general guidelines and specially for beginners.
Why can you do more repetitions for the legs than the upper body ?
Simply because the fall off in strength over the course of a set is slower in the legs than in the upper body - upper body muscles just don't have the same kind of endurance as leg muscles. But in both cases the amount of weight used represents the same 70-75% of the one rep maximum ability of the muscles involved.
Occasionally, there are reasons for using less weight than this and doing therefore more reps and some very useful types of sets which involve heavier weight and fewer reps such as low rep sets for maximum strength and power. But these guidelines represent the majority of training bodybuilders do - and especially true for beginners. Some bodybuilders also do heavy weight for full power and strength and few reps such as 4-6 reps but in these workouts the risk of injury increases.
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