The endless debate of fixing up a set number of reps for hypertrophy may have finally come to an end with a recent interview by Dr. Mike Israetel. He uploaded a conversation with Dr. Brad Schoenfeld on his YouTube channel, discussing how low rep ranges could be more harmful to the purpose of increasing muscle mass.
Dr. Schoenfeld is one of the leading strength and fitness experts in America, who has conducted several experiments on this subject. In the candid chat with the exercise scientist, he discussed how the difference between low reps across multiple sets could not match up to higher reps across multiple sets.
Dr. Israetel was curious if the expert was comfortable with the idea of having an extremely wide range of repetitions responsible for muscle growth since it could go anywhere between five to thirty. For this, Dr. Schoenfeld quoted his research, where he found how low rep ranges were detrimental.
Unlike popular theories where three to five reps across seven or more sets could help build strength, both scientists debunked that. Low rep ranges do not provide the ideal volume even with weights, and Dr. Schoenfeld recalled his thesis on the same subject:
“You need a certain time under tension across multiple sets that…they’re added to. And there was no difference in hypertrophy in that study and others.”
Additionally, low rep ranges carry a risk of injury, according to the fitness expert, who mentioned stress on joints and muscles. Dr. Israetel added how he recalled the research the expert was referring to for this conclusion and expressed his surprise at how people managed to misunderstand the observation.
“Because if you read that in the discussion section, you literally go on to note like, the 7×3 group was dilapidated and begged us for God’s help…they complained of joint pain…Whereas the 3×10 group…were like, can we do more?”
To get optimum gains, one must keep things simple and get consistent with training. Dr. Israetel had previously talked about some of his tricks to help increase gains with weight training at the gym.
Dr. Mike Israetel suggested various techniques to help increase muscle mass
In a detailed conversation with physician Dr. Mike Varshavski, Dr. Israetel revealed some steps for individuals to maximize their gains and workout output. The prerequisite to the goal was to gain familiarity with weights since they will play an integral part in this case.
One of the things he primarily focused on was training each muscle set at least two to four times a week and spending about thirty minutes to an hour doing so. This ensures that the muscles are stimulated sufficiently, thus triggering the growth mechanism.
Apart from that, Dr. Israetel also wanted individuals to include various forms of presses, deadlifts, squats, etc. into their routine. Focusing on the technique was more important than the amount of weights. All of these factors put together could help increase muscle mass in individuals.
