What Repetition Range Should YOU Train In? 

2:22 Sets of 1-3 reps 9:10 Sets of 3-6 reps 13:35 Sets of 5-10 reps 21:35 Sets of 10-20 reps 26:56 Sets of 20-30 reps 35:00 Sets of 30+ reps

I was lost in my mind for like 5s and suddently the doc was talking about a 1 on 1 godzilla fight

The main point: you're going to hell but you can still maximize your stimulus to time ratio by eating cheerios with a bigger spoon

This guy is progressively overloading the content, he's going to be so ripped. More information than last time, plus he's a doctor, take that Greg Doucette!

I’ve been lifting for 8 years and this is brand new information to me. Can’t believe this is free. Much appreciated Dr. Mike

The free content man…. This man is both my hero and guru Best fitness channel by a mile

The Godzilla question had me rolling. This channel is fuckin' gold.

Summary: 1-3 reps: Best for peaking strength before competition. Okay for strength gains but poor hypertrophy due to low volume. 3-6 reps: Best for building basic strength. Okay for some hypertrophy but lower reps optimal. 5-10 reps: Great for hypertrophy, especially faster twitch fibers. Also good for strength gains and teaching technique. 10-20 reps: Likely the best hypertrophy range overall. Hits all growth pathways. Not optimal for pure strength focus. 20-30 reps: Good for higher volume hypertrophy, slower twitch fibers, and joint-friendly training. Fatigue management needed. 30+ reps: Very light weights limits growth. Best for muscular endurance and potentially rehab. Questionable gym use. In summary, rep ranges target different goals. 5-20 reps builds the most muscle for most people. Use heaviest loads that allow target reps. Periodize ranges.

The most underrated channel on RU-vid. I've been training for 10 years and never heard some of the solid points being made by Mike

It's very refreshing to hear someone on the interwebs talk about high rep training for hypertrophy. I was my biggest ever when I did insane burnout sets. You are right though; it stops working after a while. When that happens it's time to switch up the reps.

This is the kind of video that should play at an orientation meeting when you first sign up at the gym as a newbie. Great information that I wish someone would have broken down for me long ago.

After finding your channel, I switched to 11-12 reps (from 7-8, 0-1 RIR). My joints are very thankful now :D

I do a 1RM, single-arm wrist curl every time Dr Mike drops a new video...✊ Not ideal for max hypertrophy but awesome for max load...💦

The way you explain things just makes so much sense and really brings all my experience together. This is probably the best high level bodybuilding channel

I am 60 years old and i only train in 20 to 20 rep range, no joint pain, no injury

This channel needs 2.110.000 subscribers.

Thank you for the nuanced view on high-rep phases for rehab, high-rep for short ROM exercises, fatigue in low-rep exercises, and the fast twitch recruitment in moderate rep ranges, among everything else!

This was very thoughtfully presented. I was just thinking how lucky we are to have youtube and how in the dark a lot of us were. Thanks, Mike.

Mike's a funny guy man 😂

THE UNLOADED EZ BAR CURL WORLD RECORD I’M DYINGGG HAHAHA

best fitness channel hands down.... genuine person, also I think thats what happens when the person is actually in science (PhD) and not of those channels that just use the word

There is one rep range: Fahvessss. There is one diet: GOMAD. There is one bodyfat %: Fat af. There is one strength level:Novice. There is one form of progression: linear. There is one form of periodization: none. There is one type of drahveee: hip. There is one type of coach : weak fat lobster. There is one Bible: the blue book.

Probably the best hypertrophic channel on RU-vid. 💪🏋️‍♂️🤩

I've found that a training program that incorporates heavy low rep and lighter high rep ranges in a mix, yes it's a DUP is the best balance. Not everyone is the same but it feels like a perfect balance instead of jumping from program to program for my goals.

i discovered you on a Coach Greg interview, I think you're going to be even bigger than Mr Doucette! The quality of your videos is much higher than when Greg when he was around 300k subs. The information you give is so concise and i can just tell you're a man of science. Coach Greg for common sense and Renaissance Periodization for the nitty gritty technical parts of training. On top of all that, you're funny as hell. I'm looking forward to see your channel bloom and evolve just like I saw Greg's do

"...at least from my personal experience--whatever dogshit that's worth--maybe give that some thought." At this point, I prefer dogshit over whatever my smooth brain thinks. Thanks doc!

I tried sets of 20 squats, just to see if I could. It's a fun challenge and I encourage everyone to try it at least once.

Really interesting stuff, learning a lot. When I was learning there were 3 rep ranges. I still like the 8-12 range. I feel it has great overlap between the 5-10 and 10-20 ranges. you don't go quite as heavy as the 5-10 and are a little easier on the joints, but it does not feel like its never going to end and getting burned out like with the 10-20 rep range, especially 15+. low, strength, 2-4 reps medium, build muscle, 8-12 reps high, endurance training, 15-20 reps

This is insane. The fucking dogma of fitness youtube has actually caused me to snap my shit up. Dr Mike where were you 5 years ago 😪

I have some shoulder problems and can't lift heavy weights. Hearing that high reps with lighter weights can stimulate hypertrophy was a revelation.

This is the best and most comprehensive rep range video on youtube

I’ve been digging using 6-8 to introduce heavier weight in progressive over load to finish 12-15 for 5 sets. (Up to 20 reps for certain movements usually in a burn out situation). I feel like this has helped me tremendously to decrease injury and keep gaining size and strength. Obviously this isn’t cookie cutter but compared to when I was powerlifting I am seeing much less injury (knock on wood I haven’t had an injury yet this way) and I’m progressing consistently. I also will incorporate a hard lift of 80-95% max for a first working set sometimes and finish the set with less weight to get the idea of my current max.

Dr Mike is so cleverly funny! Learning is so fun w him! 😁

As a beginner this broke my brain but NOW I see! Thank you!

I’ve always liked 10s. I trained at Iron Island Gym in Alameda, California home of the late great Lee Moran and he did 10s most of the time. That was old school powerlifting periodization- 10s most of the time until it was time to peak for a meet, then 5s, then 3s

Thank you for doing what you do! 44 now in the best shape of my life and really starting to fall in love with actually learning how it all really works. Your content is the best I've found in the space by far.

20-30 is a liefesaver for an old sore bodybuilder like myself still liking to push hard in a way :D Thank you mister doctor sir fantastic piece of wisdom!

he is so humerous, love this guy

i have never had anyone explain so much so clearly and it be from a man who clearly knows what hes talking about!

Dr Mike is great, he is clearly enthusiastic about his field. Cheers

But how many SETS are we talking about for these reps per set ranges? 3? 4? 5? 6? I know the goal is going to failure, but a number of sets target seems necessary to know when to increase weight. Unless you don’t use progressive increases in weight and just keep adding sets to keep reaching failure, but that would eventually lead to REALLY long workouts.

Oh boy his analogies are the best in the business!! Hats off

I’m 40, I’ve been lifting on and off since I was 17. This is the best explanation of this I’ve ever heard. Thankyou and kudos

My goals at the moment are a combination of strength and hypertrophy, so I tend to include sets of 2-5 for strength, and move into either 8-12 or 10-20 for hypertrophy depending on the muscle/exercise. Based on this, I may tweak those lower rep ranges just slightly to 3-6 and 6-10, respectively. Also agree that fighting Kong is preferable to Godzilla, although both are daunting. Assuming at least some physiological commonalities with humans, I think the first strategy is to test out a liver punch to see if that is at all debilitating to him. Failing that, I don't see many good options. The strat is probably to arm-bar and break both of his arms sequentially to take them out of commission. While getting the first one, though, he's definitely going to scratch your legs up. Bite them too, if he can. So you're taking some serious damage to get that done no matter what. Without his arms, maybe you have a hope of choking him out. Maybe. But I'd give the fight to Kong 9 times out of 10 over a well-trained Kong-sized human.

"I get to feel like I'm a t rex or whatever" gave me a chuckle

A nice touch on these kinds of videos would be built in timestamps for when the slides change, please and thank you Mr./Mrs. editor

One of the best training videos on RU-vid. 40min well spend.

Doc if I make it to heaven from hell is that considered full rom ? Or do I need to go to the ether ???

Tempo can make big differences, not just with regards to rep ranges but also volume. For example everyone will say 2x10 is low volume, but eg Mentzer did 2x10 with 10 second reps (4042 tempo), which is nothing like the typical 2x10 with ~3 second reps. It's also probably not even like typically done 7x10, bc it's not just about the time, those 7x10 might technically match the time of Mentzerian 2x10, but will use more momentum and gravity. So the Mentzerian 2x10 might in some sense actually be more parallel to something like 10x10 of typically done reps. Tho it's an interesting question how the effects match. IDK if the studies comparing people working out with eg 1.5-0-1.5-0 tempo with people doing 4040 tempo, with TUT (and as much as other factors) matched in the workout sessions.

Dr. Mike, you are one of the few people I can honestly say look better with no hair keep saving that shit man

Besides already being a valuable and informative video, the Godzilla tangent made it incredible.

I have recently been doing some 20-30 rep sets for chest. Ouch that shit really hurts, lactic acid burn. Think I'll build it in long term. Funny thing is it's not failure that stops you, it's the burn.

The godzilla rant lo key caught me by surprise. 😂

9:31 - “Get that cake bigger” - Now you’re speaking my language.

Holy shit, this being free is crazy... This clears up so much stuff. Top quality content 👌

I feel that discussion needs to include number of reps per body part and /or muscle group per workout/week/cycle, also rest between sets makes a huge difference

Ive gotten the best arm gains in the 20 - 30+ range sticking with the same weight for a meso cycle and keep pushing more and more reps every workout.

As a licensed minister I can confirm......you aren't going to hell watching this channel but you will get in shape an jacked.

DR Mike, you always provide great info and tons of laughs!!! Thank you!

Bro you're the best, love the knowledge and comedy haha.

Worth watching every second of the video.Appreciate the knowledge you share and the work you put in to make it so understandable

So go to hear this information, especially as it pertains to volume vs. hypertrophy. I've been getting these unsubscribed videos on Mike Mentzer's H.I.T. (high intensity training) that makes it sound like taboo to do more than one set for any one muscle while going to complete failure. Mr. American Heart pushes this form of training as the do all, end all to bodybuilding. Thank you so much for clarifying and presenting in such an easy to understand manner.

The most informative and best lifting channel on RU-vid thank you for all your info.

Following Dr. MIKE until fighting Godzilla is my rehab. 😎

Holy cow !! You crack me up so much! Definitely one of the most enjoyable people to watch during a treadmill walk or whatever 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Keep you the good work 😍

Dr. Mike is definitely the type to count other peoples reps. The specificity helps him get off

I used to do 4x4 followed by a hypertrophy set of 6-10 reps and a light 135 til failure. Made slow progress and eventually injured my shoulder. Came back after 5 months and started hitting a 6-8 rep max followed by a 10lb increase at 4 reps 2 and then repping 10 or 15lbs lighter for 6-8 on the next two sets. Bench has gone up 5lbs almost every session.

What are your thoughts of combining different rep ranges in your workout. Ex. Squats. You do a couple 20 rep sets, a few 5 rep heavier sets, a few 3 rep sets?

Hey Dr. Mike, could you do more about explosiveness / power training and what you think of kettlebells as a tool for these kinds of things? I ask because I'm currently traveling without access to a gym (besides outdoor gyms - so pull-ups and dips are on the menu), but I do have some kettlebells I could take with me.

First video or yours for me. Immediate sub. Best articulation of this experience of building and growing different types of strength that I've ever heard.

Loved the hypothetical fighting Godzilla scenario! Love this channel!

I came from Thai boxing and got into weights around 5 years ago I always lifted around 15-20 reps and got a good pump and grew some decent muscle from it last December I decided to lift heavyweight around 120kg on the bench I got 4 reps on the 5th rep my tendon in my chest tore straight off the bone unfortunately they couldn't fix it because it was left to long be careful guys.

My soul left my body long ago, man. There's a padded chair reserved for me in Hell 😂

I love your side commentary man, makes this channel instructive and funny as hell!

Comes at perfect time to switch up my routine to intermediate ❤ thank you for the awesome info packed video!

Well I’m a Christian and I love watching RP! God bless you guys over at RP :)

I read that the muscles of other great apes are like 1.5 times stronger than human muscles pound for pound due to a greater proportion of fast twitch muscle fibers, so I would not be focusing on jiu-jitsu vulnerabilities with King Kong. I'd be using the long legs and muscle endurance my plains-dwelling ancestors gave me to do my best Wonderboy impression on him until he gassed out.

Great videos!!!

I was trying to find the skip ad button at the beginning you got me to watch the whole video. Well played

Your jokes were so on point this vid. lmfao

Wait til they make steroids for tendons......

I just wanna know why the F this chanel only has 400k followers. The amount of information Ive learned this last year is unreal. Plus the side bar style comedy is fricken hilarious!!!!

honestly man your my new favourite fitness youtuber.

This guys teachings = music 🎶

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Awesome video. Very clearly explained. Love how you discussed RIR. So much of this is misunderstood. Great job, Mike!

Hence, anyone who cares about his health should lift in the 20-30 range. Will never be very jacked or very strong, but will be very healthy at old age. The key bullet is "Continue hypertrophy while providing low joint stress". Everyone else would come to training in the 20-30 range eventually as they age. The sad part is they will come with plenty of injuries as well.

What about super-high rep sets for joint strength? I've seen a few videos talking about that and so lately I've been using like 50 rep sets on super low weight curls, benches, and skullcrushers both to warmup and help strengthen my elbows. Too early to say if it's helping or not.

honestly, I have been incorporating multiple ranges into my routine for decades. Usually on big lifts like benchpress or squats I will use smaller rep ranges, depending on the weight anywhere from 3 to 6 then on bicep curls forearm exercises and tricep workouts I will employ higher rep ranges. to me these things are just common sense because like you said Mike doing lower rep ranges on forearm or calves feels like you’re doing nothing at all but doing higher rep ranges on squats also feels wrong in a different way because to do that, I need to use a very light weight.

I can't believe this lavel of content is free of cost...respect from India🙏...the guru Mike

I Interrupted my workout just to say this is the best video, it helped me change my training 180°. You are the real thing, thanks

All of them* Of the reasonable ones that can actually build strength and muscle

Hi Dr Isratael. May I ask how sets relate to enough volume weekly in the context of hypertrophy. You said the was the same hypertrophy based on a study for the groups of 3 X 7 Vs 7 X 3. You could probably take a heavy weight if you doing 3x7 I think. How many sets do you have to do in total for hypertrophy. is it like 20 sets regardless of the weight for the week regardless of the reps or is it per exercise for an example at least 5 sets per exercise. If you doing the isolation moves, 35 reps, do you need to do more sets vs the 10 to 20 rep range with I presume is heavier weights. Second question Can you do two different rep ranges in one sessions, or are they better split part by training blocks or training days. So if I wanted to do the 10 to 20 rep range for close grip bench press and then for the next exercise in the same session I do 20 to 30 at a lower weight for tricep push downs. Would I get the benefit of both or is it not optimal for hypetrophy. Third question. Does the amount of time it takes you to perform the exercise affect the reps. Given the standing calf raise , If I pause for 2 seconds at the peak tension of the exercise should I be doing lower reps? New to your channel but this video was so informative. Thank you for the information.

69 years old still going strong , thanks for all you do

Great video. This guys deserves 1 million plus subscribers.

Questions about our destiny in the afterlife pale in importance to questions about things like repetition ranges.

Dr. Mike: "Over 30 reps is a giant waste of time" Ryan Humiston: *100 rep set to start your workout*

Will never look anywhere else, this is GOLD channel !

This channel is hilarious! Content provide here are gold.

Hahahah GodZilla dude you’re hilarious