The effect of repetition ranges on maximal strength and hypertrophy

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of repetition ranges with modified intensity and volume on muscle mass and maximal strength. Fourteen healthy athletes from a sports club were randomly assigned to either a low repetitions or high repetitions group. The low repetitions (LR) group performed 3 sets of 3-5 reps at 90-95% one repetition maximum (1RM) and high repetitions (HR) group performed 5 sets of 10-12 repetitions at 60-70% 1RM in specific strength training exercises for eight weeks. Muscle strength and muscle thickness measures were taken at baseline, four weeks and after the eight weeks of training. Results show LR gained better maximal strength than the HR group after the eight weeks of training in both the flat bench press and the squat test (p=0.0201 and p=0.0165 respectively). As for muscle thickness, outcomes of the quadriceps cross section thickness were almost identical between the two groups. There was no significant difference in 4 or 8 weeks (p=0.8776 and p=0.9335 respectively). Our findings suggest performing low repetitions with high intensity (load) is more beneficial for gaining maximal strength and muscle mass in short training cycles. Further research is needed to substantiate these findings in a larger cohort.