Low Reps = DENSE Muscles, High Reps = PUFFY Muscles 

Hey all! Here's access to the FREE Ultimate Guide to Bench Pressing for Strength & Hypertrophy: www.houseofhypertrophy.com/free-e-book/ Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 3:26 Part I: Support for Rep Ranges Impacting Density vs Puffy Muscles 7:43 Part II: Limitations of the Overviewed Data 10:17 Part III: Data Opposing Rep Ranges Impact Density vs Puffy Muscles 14:40 Part IV: So What Causes Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy? 17:15 Part V: Summary

Hard to imagine the amount of work that went into making this video. Highly underrated.

With poor joints from decades of contact sports I train in a high rep range now (15-30) to good effect all around. It supports what's left of the cartilage in my joints, develops very good muscle size and exceptional every day strength. I'm 52 years old 6ft / 240lb The only weights I use now are adjustable dumbbells.

I've done both powerlifting and bodybuilding. As I go to higher rep ranges my 1rm decreases because I'm not training for it, but when I go back to powerlifting and train with lower rep ranges my strength goes back up and I end up stronger. The whole it's a skill and had to be trained for me is likely the confounding factor.

I like how you mention all limitations, and to remind viewers not to take all this information to heart considering that the the topic is very nuanced and contains a lot of results that aren't completely clear to us yet.

Still love the way you present these. I feel like anyone could watch one of your videos and be able to keep up and apply it to their training in some way.

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME VIDEO!!! I've been interested is sarcoplasmic and myofiberal hypertrophy for a long time, but I was never sure not relevant it really was. This video was extremely insightful!

Always love the knowledge that u provide with a rlly good edit and enjoyble keep it up mate, cheers 👏🔥

As a guy with engineering background, I am very happy to see your videos. Since studies on this field are limited, it is really hard to come to a robust conclusion, however I still benefit from information in between lines you mentioned. Keep up the great work, appreciated 👍

Really appreciate these vids! It is quite useful to have comparisons between multiple studies being thorough yet easily digestible.

I'm really glad you brought up the illegal drug use in bodybuilders. I've worked around these people for many years and they minimize the power of illegal drugs when I'd say they are responsible for MOST of the growth in these people. Usually the biggest, most jacked guys in my gym (usually competitive bodybuilders) have the easiest looking workouts (usually fluff n pump). Meanwhile natties like myself are busting our humps for every inch gained.

Off topic, I think high volume training causes temporary cell swelling. Which if you stop training with high volume you will lose its effects.

Amazing video yet again. I began working out again after 4 years about 3 months ago. Your videos and Andrew Huberman's podcasts have made me take a whole new approach to it than before.

Great video as always! Ty for dissecting these studies. I am pretty sure noone was surprised by the results but ex-science needs to step up I feel. At least we need to see a video provided to see what RIR a lot of these studies are done at. Maybe someday ex-sci guys will actually care more about studying a subject properly and less about pushing another paper out

Great work as always my friend. Keep it up

This channel is amazing!

Excellent and clear overview, introduction, discussion and summary. I particularly like how you clarify the definitions up front. BTW recent findings suggest that strength is developed by daily training of the same muscle even if sets are as low as one.

I really like the graphics of this channel. Well done

Awesome explained! Thanks for putting this out here

You are amazing... keep it up...thank you so much!

From my own experimentation I always like training 12-15 reps the best. So glad to know it has no real downside.

Thank´s for the video, I subscribed for the ebook.

This vids are simply amazing, incredible, unreal, just blow my mind, this + Jeff Nippard + The Sprint Project are an epic combo of science-backed info 🤯🤩🙉💯❤️

Great videos. Keep it up !

automatically hitting the follow button for a non clickbait title. thank you

Amazing channel... Great work 👍

Perhaps this is true, I typically tend to lift in the 8-15 rep range. I have had to take the past 4 months off due to an elbow injury (didn't happen while weight lifting). I've lost most of my size entirely (wasn't small). I've always liked high volume training with a lower weight, since I found in my early 20's I'd get hurt more frequently with higher weight. So I reduced the weight, increased the reps and just focused on being able to lift weights long term.

This is quite interesting! Great video!

The whole "hard vs puffy" muscle appearance may have more to do with residual muscle tension (aka muscle tone) than the structure of the muscle. Basically, your muscles are always partially flexed, and residual muscle tension is just an indicator of how much they're flexed at rest. I've noticed that heavy sets leave my muscles a lot harder, sometimes for days.

What I’ve never understood is why we try and limit ourselves to one rep range. It becomes like a competition. This rep range is “better than” the other rep range. Almost like we then miss the woods from the trees, as the saying goes. We can, it has been proven, that we can make gains using almost any rep range. It depends on the muscle group being trained and the ratio of slow twitch to fast twitch muscle fibres as to the possible rep range which would be best for a particular muscle group. Everyone is different, however the point I’m making is surely it makes more sense to train with a variety of rep ranges, changing things from month to month, week to week or even workout to workout. Rather than deciding that say 6-10 reps is best and never straying from it. I’ve certainly found I’ve benefited greatly from implementing a wide variety of rep ranges from strength training in 1-3 rep ranges to conditioning, such as 30 reps even higher. Basically getting the full benefits of all rep ranges and improving greatly from it. Just my two cents.

Great channel , love the passion and effort u put into your work .

This is my favorite however channel

I have, for lack of a better term, described to trainees that the muscles are not only muscle fibers, but have a "container" component. Ronnie Coleman did 75 reps with 225lbs on the bench press, Ronnie had very big containers to store enough fuel to do that kind of work output. The weight lifters do very, very, short work sets which do not require high work output aka "power".

I think that what probably matters the most is how close to failure someone is training rather than the rep range as long as it’s less than 20 or 25 reps. Henneman’s size principle and increasing tension per rep until failure will recruit all muscle fibers. I think there’s more to it than this but simplified I don’t think there is such thing as dense muscle. Maybe matured muscle that’s been through the ringer.

1:19 "damn, u strong" made me chuckle 😂

Wow what an insightful presentation

Why not both? This is what I love about the Bioneer's approach. It's focused on function over aesthetics, but of course form follows function. It will make you bigger. It focuses primarily on strength endurance, but it trains your muscles in basically all the ways you can. Start with overcoming isometrics. Then mechanical drop sets, aiming for a number of reps that's 20~50 or more depending on the exercise. But I try to do the hardest exercise I can (might be plyometric, or advanced calisthenics like planche pushups), and I often end up able to do only do a number of reps that's in the strength range, like 6 or less. Then immediately switch to an easier progression or different exercise that works the same muscles and do as many as you can, which for me often ends up being in exactly the bodybuilder rep range. Then switch to an even easier version etc until you can complete a total target number of reps that's in the strength endurance range. Only 2 sets, but then you'll do several others that use basically the same muscles in different ways. And finish the workout with a quasi-isometric, like a 1-minute long pushup. So you'll have done lots of different exercises and trained at every point on the force-velocity curve, having done strength, hypertrophy, and endurance. Strength endurance is often overlooked because everyone wants to look more buff, but an argument to made that it's more useful everyday strength than your one-rep max, is better for your connective tissues etc. But with this approach, you can do all the kinds of strength training in way that's interesting and fun with a lot of variety, in a workout that takes a little over an hour. If you want to be a powerlifter or bodybuilder of course, then train for that. But if you want overall fitness and athleticism, longevity, everyday functional strength etc, and want a better physique but aren't desperate to look like the Hulk, I think it pays to be a jack of all trades.

I co-sign this, it’s been my secret sauce. I’m fat now trying to lose weight, but when I was lean, I was huge as the juicers and half as strong on the strong lifts, because I used serge nubrets pump method of training. Very light weights, done very fast, with very little rest between sets. The secret is, you never go to failure, you’re hitting hundreds of reps per muscle group per session, and I added in 5 pounds or 2.5 pounds to exercises when I could do the 8x12-15 reps or the 6x12-15 reps with a rest of only 30-60 seconds. If you cannot complete the reps it’s too heavy to get a proper pump, if you cannot get the pump, You won’t get the results. You will never hurt yourself training like this, you will get stronger just slower, you will build a very aesthetic full muscle, and your conditioning will be through the roof! Just keep your diet under control if you’re a natty, because you’ll want to eat everything if you actually hit it 6 days a week 2 splits a day. Modify nubrets program, some of those exercises have been long since debunked, so replace them with solid ones. Good will hunting brothers in gainz 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿!

I like low reps of 3 using controlled movement with a moderate weight to both stimulate the muscles and feeling intensity every 7 to 10 days, this has produced excellent results for me.

seriously such an underrated channel.

Thanks again 😊

Very good video

Awesome 👏🏻

Good video. What i found from this studies is that bodybuilding training produce overall more muscle and strength, but power training produce more strenght per size of the body. So if you want to be big and strong you should train like a bodybuilder and if you want to look small, but have more strength that is expected from you, then you should train power style.

High reps may increase the sarcoplasma size due to higher need for glycogen storage. Also power lifters focus A LOT on producing power rather than just doing the reps, neurological parameters needs to be researched. Awesome video! Ty for everything.

Great vid

The best YT canal for muscle hypertrophy and studies,also i would like to see video about best diet for muscle hypertrophy.👍

I believe cardiorespiratory capacity can best be developed using multi-joint exercises that are a moderate to heavy load. So It is ALL about intensity . I developed a Training method that goes like this: I perform five sets of an exercise. In the first set it's just activation I do 15 and 20 repetitions until close to failure. Second set and third set I do 8 to 12 reps more load.. In the fourth series I get heavier about six reps and go drop set or rest pause.And finally in fifth grade I do a minute non-stop. Rest about 2 minutes. 8-10 sets muscle/ workout. Great progress strength and HIPERTROFy

Im addicted to this channel, keep it up and never stop we are here for you

Really great video again. Do you have any videos that deal specifically with the concept of overtraining? Is it really possible for a normal person to train so much that it actually hinders their progress or is more almost always better?

The summary at the end is great

I think Sarcoplasm assists muscular endurance . Sarcoplasm stores ATP in it so maybe higher reps tell the body that it needs better muscular endurance and starts to undergo sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Which would explain how body builders have more sarcoplasm as their repetitions are higher.

This is an extremely helpful video, but I have a question. what if I was to focus more on muscle size (more sarcoplasm) and after around 3 years, I start to incorporate heavy strength training? Would the amount of sarcoplasm decrease or stay relatively the same?

Is there a place where I can read good articles on fitness & science of various techniques in general?

Thanks!

Am I right or wrong in thinking that myofibrillar muscles are representative of our fast-twitch fibres and sarcoplasmic muscle for slow-twitch fibres? And if this is true could that be a reason as to why there is no definitive answer for selective rep ranges/exercises being the sole contributer to either myofibrillar/sarcoplasmic hypertrophy?

This is one of those things that I'll always believe is a myth. Thanks also for pointing out the limitations in comparing "strength" when the test is done in a way that favors a sport-specific method. So many people are getting tripped-up by this.

For upper grade hypertrophy one suggested mechanism is the inside of myofibril packaging issue. Force output decreases when the actin and myosin are too densely packed inside the myofibril.

My brain now hurts! Another informative video, I think.

Let's see what class has in store today!

0:00 . I was hoping for "bem vindo". As always, another incredible video!!

Hi if we train for srrength then how many sets per week because we only do 1-5rep per set for strength

This reminds me of the myth that environment draws people to their chosen field. When studied, rather than a child enjoying reading because their parents read to them often, in fact what was happening is parents were very in tune to what their children enjoyed and hence the parents were actually providing a range of activites for their children to do, but the parents in fact were picking up on what the child was enjoying and then providing that stimulus to them more often. So the child didnt enjoy reading BECAUSE it got read to more often. Instead it showed enjoyment of being read to, as that was its born strength, language, and hence the parents then read to the child more often. Then the child goes on to become a writer or story teller etc. In this case, someone becomes a bodybuilder BECAUSE they realise they are very good at gaining size, likewise a powerlifter realises they are very good at gaining strength, without gaining size. Hence it is not the training stimulus creating the athlete, more the athlete was always going to be what they were going to be, or at least had the potential and just gravitate towards the training that gives them the better results. It does not mean we can replicate their training and enjoy their results. The powerlifter was born a powerlifter. The reader was born a reader. The bodybuilder was born a bodybuilder. The attributes were born into them. We cant always use the way the elite train to gain their attributes for ourselves. If anything I believe that within reason, in the rep ranges that seem to be effective, 3-30ish, training in the range that you gravitate towards will give you the best results, as far as myo vs sarco gains, based off of your predestined genetics. You will naturally gravitate towards what your muscles want. I myself cannot get a good workout in above ten reps. I simply cannot get close enough to failure or get enough sets in when my reps are higher. I just cant. 10 or below absolutely works best for me.

So should I always train with at least 90% of 1RM for hypertrophy & dense muscles ? Or what will is the best strategy to create my training program ?

I think the reason why higher rep ranges mean more hypertrophy, is that usually…..when you lower the weight, your increase reps, and increase sets, because full fatigue hasn’t been reached as quickly, as lower reps and sets with heavy weight

I suggest adding another limitation: there is no direct evidence to even suggest that there is something like sarkoplasmic or myodibrillar hypertrophy. Or I missed it in the video. The things you showed were all correlational in nature and confounded by neural adaptation (where I actually don't have proof for either) It would need a study to assess actual muscle fibers after a specific training regimen to show that these concepts exist. I like your style of video production! It is calm and very nuanced. Please keep it on :)

I barely work out and I'm jacked & shredded 😉

i have a doubt, can sarcoplasmic hypotrophy can be reversed?and how? and how can i change it to myofibular hypotrphy

Wow, just wow!

Saludos House of hypertrophy from USA ❤❤❤

Is Myofibrilar Hypertrophy more resistant to long term losses when not training?

Rn I do first set light second medium around 6-8 reps and last set to failure 5reps max is that good? Will I look more aesthetic or bulky also I am lean

I don't want to confuse anybody. I just want to make sure I understood it right. Do you mean with high(er) volume more sets or more weight in general. Both could be the answer, too, though. But in general, I'm grateful that you make such interesting videos that aren't hard to understand. 😊

I love how the flags from all the studies are color-coordinated.

Interesting discussion regarding mechanisms of muscle growth weightlifters vs. bodybuilders.

At 10:37, all findings of the studies involve an increase in vastus lateralis fiber CSA but no effect on its specific tension.Doesn't that suggest a more puffy muscle (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) proving the point made in Part I?

In general, bodybuilders tend to rest less between sets compared to power athletes. There might be a relationship resting time between sets and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Is there any study about this topic?

The high volume group are what we used to call "the pump boys". They would come back off vacation all flat and had to start all over again to get pumped up. It was all just temporary fluid build up.

It could be that the fibre gives strength and is fueled through the sarcoplasmic proteins. So when you tire out the strength of the muscle the fibres grow but of you tire the energy around the fibres in protein they grow? Or am I totally wrong

My left is dense and right is puffy how to fix it

muscle fiber plays a role too. Type 2x achieve myofibrillar hypertrophy in the 1-5 rep range ( under 8s of >90%max). Type 2 glycolitic fibers achieve myofibrillar hypertrophy at 12 rep ranges. Slow twitch fibers achieve myofibrillar hypertrophy at 35reps. This is all according to Barry Ross in his book on strength training for speed.

Could this be because of blood pooling and angiogenesis?

Many bodybuilders go to the gym multiple times a day so the total weekly volume per muscle group amount would be massive, thus indicating sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Still sceptical about which rep ranges lean more toward myofibrils and sarcoplasm size until research is done in the rep ranges at 1-6.

I'm not able to access your free guide,despite confirmation of email..

I have a question. What if I did 2 excercises squats and leg extension, qith the first one going heavy for triples and the second one lighter for 12 reps. Is that good or not?

Dorian Yates had the hardest/ more dense muscles I've seen in a BB, and he was training around 6-8 reps.That might be the sweet spot for both strength/hypertrophy (5-6 reps most likely).

Guys, building the body is VERY simple, lift to failure ALWAYS, eat perfectly, Cardio. Rest and repeat

Hi I have a question, where do you find the research papers related to this? I really like your channel and content, but would like to read more on stuff like this which is why I'm asking for where you are finding your resources? And just in general this stuff is very interesting so I want to learn more, do you know of anything good ?

Bench press pdf is very helpful 👍

Would it be best for every workout to train the muscles with low reps heavy weights first and then switch to higher reps low weight? Does heavy weight low reps work for isolation exercises if you can do it without injury?

What about explosive movements like box jumps or clapping pushups, was that included in these tests or did I miss it? Or does it matter?

Im so lost myboi, but basically low rep = fast twitch muscles that are smaller, denser and stronger? While high rep is slow twitch muscles that have endurance and are much bigger? Thats weird tho, bigger muscles consume more so you d think low rep is the best for that. What would you advise for someone who s trying to get his bench numbers up asap? Im currently doing 4 reps for 4 sets, last rep is literally to failure ( when i go for the 5th i fail). Should I add more sets or is 4x4 good enough?

Arent denser muscles associated with slow twitch muscles meaning high weight, low rep, and reasonable slow and controlled excersizes can provide dense fast twitch muscles? I mean if we have dense fast twitch muscles the. We get strength and stamina as we have more muscle to use to help. This can get confusing

Powerlifters' and other power athletes' strenght and explosiveness is also influenced by the better development of their nervous system as a result of the specific training. Doesn't explain the better specific tension of the untrained individuals in that one study , of course.

About the weightlifters vs bodybuilders study: In my knowledge there are different types of steroids, one that makes you retain more water and one that doesn't or at least does it less, so if the bodybuilders took the watery ones they'd have more circumference with less muscle, and the weightlifters that have strict weight classes would pick the none watery ones having less circumference and more muscle

I wonder how time between sets affects the different hypertrophys. I usually rest for 2-4 min between sets, to make sure I can get maximum reps. I generally experience little hypertrophy, however my strength has been increasing.

Will these principles work same for bodyweight training also? And if not then how can I further optimize it.

A bit unrelated but I'm curious what stretching in between sets can do for hypertrophy if anything. It just feels good to me to do it, seems to help my next set but it might all be in my head. Excellent video.

I subscribed with my email to the link you shared in order to obtain the free guide. I would like to know, if I stay subscribed, will it cost me any money? (cause I got none)

As someone who is semi-well versed in physiology and has been working out in one way, shape or form for a decent amount of time, I've found that the _"Common Sense"_ approach works best *_for most_* people who are not training for a specific elite level end goal. By common sense I mean, let's be simple and say we have two types of muscle fibers with the potential for growth. Each muscle or group thereof is typically made up of more type A or type B (or type 1 or type 2/Fast Twitch or Slow Twitch) so I always tried to build my training around the particular muscle/s being worked. While fast twitch has the most potential for growth, there is still no reason to ignore slow twitch either in my opinion. Even if it is just one set of 100 pushups at the end of a Chest/tris, Upper Back/Bis and Lower Back/Abs day. Nor do I see an issue with doing 50 reverse crunches for your lower back/abs, or 50 body weight squats on a leg day where you don't go heavier than a 5 rep near max effort set. Personally for large muscle groups like the lower back and legs along with shoulders I would reserve the crazy high reps for a _medium_ workout. I prefer periodizing my workouts, again based on muscle groups size when it comes to rest (So legs, lower back and shoulders would get 2 days off after a light workout, 3 after a medium and 4 after a heavy workout, medium muscle groups like the chest and back would get 1 day off after a light workout, 2 after a medium, 3 after a heavy one, calves and bis can get whacked the day after an easy workout, 1 day for a medium and two for a hard workout etc, though the amount of compound movements and indirect stimulation could vary that up a bit, and a light bicep workout may not include any iso work at all if you are doing chinups, suppinated lat pulldowns, suppinated or neutral grip rows etc, since they may just be getting hit the next day regardless. If you just did chest and shoulders falls on the following day, do you really want to workout you triceps? Probably not. Anyway, for _most_ regular people, or people who are not training for a specific sport that would benefit more from one type of training over another, in my experience, people get the best results from mixing in at least 1 high rep set per body part. Not 3, not 5. 1. There's little point in doing junk work either, and in a worst case scenario they can at least build up/maintain a bit more muscle endurance than just doing 0-12 rep sets on their own. Now this is just my anecdotal experience based on myself and the numerous people I have worked with. I never compiled (or even have records of most of the training anymore) the data and looked for the actual percentage gains in size, maximum strength and maximum endurance so take that information as you will. You can also check out Dr. James Hatfield's research into A-B-C Periodization which follows a similar approach, though I believe he classifies shoulders as a medium muscle group due to the size of the muscles that make up the area, not the area as a whole, and may also have an extra day of rest mixed in. Whatever the case, he actually does have research into into various splits and rep ranges going back to the 1950s I believe. That _"Doctor Squat"_ sure was a bit ahead of his time and worked with everyone from movie stars to Mr. Olympias to pro football, baseball and basketball players along with numerous _"World's Strongest Men."_ Add in a doctorate in exercise physiology and I would say his credentials are pretty _strong._ Diet periodization can also go a long way in assisting with training goals, but that's way to complicated for the scope of this post. Well, maybe not too complicated, but it would just take forever to type out, but it is exactly what it sounds like. You change your total caloric intake, macro and micro intake based on the activities you are doing that day and the end goal you have in mind and that's as deep as I'll get into that here as this post is already too long. Take care.