The Best Rep Range? Pragmatic Bodybuilding 

Glad I can offer some comfort and if you learn how powerlifters approach their compounds sub-maximally to keep fatigue in check it makes a ton of sense. There’s a time and place for failure, but under a squat bar or on a deadlift for example…no thank you.

@@jeffalberts7968nobody train to failure back in the day. That is why double progression exist. It called training not straining.

@@Han-nk3ionot sure what you’re trying to say or maybe assume here. Can you elaborate?

@@jeffalberts7968 what i meant is old school bodybuilders didnt do alot of failure training, they all do double progression model that force people to training hard but not necessary training to grinding failure.

⁠​⁠@@Han-nk3ioI don’t agree “all” Bbers long ago trained just one way. Personally, like I mentioned in the video, when bbers understand the principle in regard to proximity to failure based on the rep range you are working in, you have options.

Thanks and doing our best to keep em coming 👍

You’re more than welcome and glad you’re getting something out of the video. Have a nice weekend!

🙏🏻

🙏🏻🤝

Thank you and you’re welcome

Thank you and you’re welcome

Appreciate that, thank you.

You got it and all about the quality. For me, always control ➡️ load. Thanks for watching

Thank you sir and.I am…the AM session and the benefit of training at home lol.

@@jeffalberts7968 I’ve got a home gym too and have done that myself 😂

You’re welcome. Reason I built my home gym back in ‘04 was to have more time in my life. As far as the split sessions, just make sure there’s no overlap so recovery is on point and not to program too much per session.

Tbh, I don’t have any without really knowing a lot more context to make an accurate assessment. When we first meet a new athlete as coaches, we spend anywhere between 60-120 min going through their context in order to game plan more effectively.

Tbh, I thought there would be some overlap, but after 3-4 weeks of running this, both my tricep pressdown and bench are going up well. So far, I seem to be recovering in time.

Thanks, it’s appreciated. Actually, the volume video will be coming out soon, so if you can hold off on this answer I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. With that said though, I’m always training for progress 💪🏻

Thanks 🤝

Nah, I do 2 sets with 40 lbs for 15-20 reps to get my elbows moving. Then I’ll do 60 lbs for 10 reps and from there I usually feel ready for the main sets.

Thank you. If your next set is still hitting an appropriate proximity to failure regardless of the actual reps you hit you’re still likely getting a stimulus. Example, using the same load, 1st set you hit 15 reps @ 0 rir, 2nd set you hit 11 reps @ 0 rir, 3rd set you hit 8 reps @ 0 rir. Even though the reps dropped you still likely recruited plenty of muscle fiber because you went to failure. It’s also possible in the subsequent sets you may have gotten more effective reps because it was heavier earlier in the set. If you wanted to actually get more reps set to set, you can maybe explore longer rest times. Or you could lower the load for subsequent sets in order to hit more reps and just be sure to get close enough or to failure.

@@jeffalberts7968 thank you I’m 57 years young and my body doesn’t seem to like going to failure, hence my question. It’s just so damn fatiguing. I like the idea of using more weight, and doing more sets with the same weight, stopping a few reps shy of failure. By the third set… I am almost going to failure anyway.

@@davidtempest263 you might need to concede to lower loads in subsequent sets is all to keep reps up. Muscle don’t know numbers just the brain does and muscle just knows effort.

Nothing wrong with that as long as you’re hitting the appropriate proximity to failure and you’re being safe if the goal is hypertrophy.

For me it’s my version of a fly based on where I can do it pain free, then into a press yes. The load was 47.5lbs as opposed to 80-90 lb presses I typically use which has been too painful for me as of late. Fly into press is a nice substitute.

@@jeffalberts7968 great idea. More gold from the Godfather!! Must try that. Thanks from a fellow mid-50 er!!

I think if it has worked for you, no one can really argue with that right?! Outside of you, I’m sure there are some who that could work for and of course there are those who likely need more volume to make progress. Too many want to debate bbing as if it’s black or white, but the way I approach it is like adding tools to my toolbox and using a specific tool to get a specific job done. Sometimes it’s low volume high intensity and sometimes it might be higher volume and lower intensity. And that’s so cool you’re training at Ferrigno’s gym…back in the early to mid 90’s I was around Ed Corney as he trained at the same gym at times. He was my head judge when I competed at the Mr. Fremont, the first show he ever won way back when. The golden era 👍

@@jeffalberts7968 thanks for the reply. Enjoy the holiday weekend

Congrats on the first year of training 👍 Why would you want to do 2 sessions/day outside of just seeing my current split?

Will do and thank you 🙏🏻

I ran 8-10, breath, 2-3 more, breath, 2 more, etc. which is demanding. 20-25 straight reps is brutal. There’s plenty of pathways to get more practical work in with good quality and ensuring not just the squat is solid, but the rest of the session. There’s also other pathways that can be a better fit for some to develop legs outside of squats.

🙌🏻🙏🏻🤝

Cool and you can always base your proximity to failure more so on the rep range more than just with the thought of training “only 3x/week”. 8 reps @ 0 rir or 8 reps @ 1-2 rir…splitting hairs and not worth stressing tbh, especially if lifts are elevating over time with load and or reps.

@@jeffalberts7968 yes all my lifts are progressing gradually , I can go to failure & beyond on a lot of exercises but not all.squats & Deadlifts I go near to it , they are the exception

Nice! Keep it rolling! -Jeff

Live, learn and keep moving forward 🤝

I do, just like in some other sports such as football for example, I don’t really see an offensive lineman playing too well as a receiver. Track, sprinters and distance runners. I do think it’s a good idea to explore multiple rep ranges even if there’s some challenge to it to get a better understanding as to how you perform, respond and recover. Like I touched on just a little in the video, I learned by experience what each exercise’s rep range should be based on where I can really hone in on my best overall quality.

@@jeffalberts7968 thank you for your input! I feel as if I’m more “ slow twitch “ dominant so I’ve been trying to focus on explosiveness to try and improve those qualities (I’m running a Powerbuilding type of program)

Love seeing you and your videos on a Saturday! 💙 Thank you again for doing these. I'll post a question for you as some people probably always ask this. With Lateral Raises, what's the best way to progress when you hit your full rep range. For example 20 reps.

@@fossilfusionz8891thanks, glad you appreciate it and I appreciate you watching. Yup, laterals are a challenging exercise to progress on due to the leverages not being advantageous. You can always go slightly heavier and lower the rep range a bit. Or maybe just add in a set or two. Or change to a different version of the exercise. Or run myo reps. Or use drop sets. A few off the top of my head 👍

Are you dieting? If so, how long? What has the pace been at? Are your daily calories low? Are you spacing meals properly? Are you eating more wholesome filling foods? What do you think is the root cause of your stress? Is it the right time and setting in your life to be dieting?

@@jeffalberts7968 1)yes I'm dieting 2) I've been serious from the start of 2023 3) The pacing was good, 400-500 calorie deficit but later on I've realised about adaptation and our body needs less calories as we lose weight, on top of that error that's why i went all out in the last 3 months of December but i failed to get very lean.. 4) around 1700 calories 5) my meal spacing isn't too bad, or i think it's difficult to deal with 1700 calories 6) I'd say that my food choices are good, carbs sources are tortillas and banana, protein- chicken breast, fat: peanut butter 7) there are too many factors which cause stress 8) I think yes because I'm pretty close and honestly it feels like an endless loop and I want to get it done and start my muscle building phase. I'm kinda unlucky, something always happens that forces me to keep going because i think that I'll be in a worse situation in the future...

@@jeffalberts7968 1) yes I'm dieting 2) I started at the start of 2023 3) The pacing was good, around 400-500 calorie deficit but I plateaued and stuck for too long because i wasn't aware of adaptation that's why i went all out in the last 3 months of 2023 but i failed to achieve my goal. 4) Right now I'm eating 1700 calories (I'm pretty accurate because of my food choices but still there might be some small error) 5) Well since I'm only eating 1700 calories, i eat most of my meals in the day and after finishing my workout I'd have my dinner. ( Around 8 pm) I'd say there's like 5 hours gap on average.. 6) My carb comes from tortillas and banana, protein: chicken breast and whey, fats; peanut butter 7) There are too many reasons and honestly it's hard to avoid the stress, it's expected and I've got to live with that. 8) Yes, I'm frustrated, i feel like I'm stucked in a endless loop and it looks like impossible to get out! I want to finish my cut and start my muscle building phase... Failure, regrets, guilt, everything eating me from inside and I'm not able to let it go... I'm kinda unlucky, from my experience the situation is getting worse that's why i want to do it now because no one has seen the future, i don't know it's hard to explain.

Too nice, thank you.

Summer/fall ‘25

Due to the heavier loading, the very first rep recruits plenty of muscle fiber. So if I get 5 reps with 3 in the tank, it’s 5 good reps I just deposited into the account. Acutely, yes, if pushing to failure I may get 3 more good reps, but theres also more fatigue generated. Will that fatigue make my subsequent sets less than? If I did 3-4 sets to failure like that would the fatigue impede recovery for future sessions? Also, taking into consideration 5-7 reps means the loading will likely be heavier, so how does that impact connective tissue going to failure all the time? If the current session is let’s say 10 lbs heavier than last time at the same reps and at 2-3 reps in reserve, it’s still an increase in volume. This is just some context of what could be a lot more as to why you might not want to go to failure in the 5-7 rep range. With this said, I’m not anti failure, I’m more about there’s a time a place to do it. More videos to come as one video lasting 8-9 minutes isn’t appropriate for all things training. Thanks for watching 🤝

He had some crazy sessions for sure! I seen his legs in person and it’s nutty

Thanks for the sentiment, appreciated. To be fair, I didn’t really say how anyone should be doing anything, I shared my experience and how I do things based off of research and again my own experience. With that said, I don’t see training as universal, how we all should be training the same as it often does come down to individual circumstance. There might be good reason for one to do 20 rep squats, but then again, maybe not, maybe 6-10, maybe it’s 12-15, etc. -Jeff

@@Team3DMJ You're missing my point. Maybe 'cuz you don't know what the 20 rep squat program is?

@@oldnatty61can you explain here for me and others to see?

@@jeffalberts7968 I think it's stated in my post pretty clearly, but I'll try again. Steroid users operate w/ a different set of rules. Natties will not have much success following programs of steroid users. His lack of success w/ 20 rep squats was because it was over training for him. This doesn't make 20 rep squats bad. It was the wrong application. 20 rep squats properly applied was the steroid of the pre-steroid era. It put more muscle on more nattys than any program today.

@@oldnatty61 Can you explain how to program the 20 rep squats and explain how that puts on more muscle than other squat programs?

Lifetime natural and thanks, it’s appreciated.

@@jeffalberts7968 hi from nyc! thanks for answering!!

3 x 10 @ 0-3 rir 👍

If you seen me in person I think you’d change your perspective. I feel my tibialis is just fine and as a competitive bber for the last 30 years, there hasn’t been one placing I’ve either won or lost based on my tibialis. Thanks for the honest feedback though.

His tibs are visibly very bulbous 2:07

Thats great Randy. Keep breaking trees 👍