In the realm of fitness, there’s a common misconception that more is always better. The number of reps, the amount of weight, the duration of the workout – these are often seen as the definitive metrics of a successful exercise regimen. But let’s shift gears and delve deeper into the essence of effective training. It’s not merely about the count of reps you notch up; it’s about the intensity and effort you invest in each movement. This is where the real magic happens in muscle hypertrophy and growth.
Let’s take a moment to understand the science behind muscle growth. Hypertrophy, the increase in muscle size, is not a mere consequence of how many times you can lift a weight. It’s about how you challenge your muscles, creating enough tension and damage to elicit a repair response – this is the true catalyst for growth. This understanding liberates us, especially when we face limitations like inadequate weights or resources.
Let’s briefly explore two pivotal concepts that shift the focus from focusing on numbers to focusing on effort: Reps in Reserve (RiR) and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). These methodologies offer a more nuanced approach to training, prioritizing effort and perceived intensity over a simplistic rep count.
- Reps in Reserve (RiR): This approach involves performing an exercise until you feel you only have a certain number of reps left ‘in the tank.’ For instance, if you’re aiming for three reps in reserve (3 RiR), you would stop the set when you believe you could only perform three more reps with good form. This method ensures that you’re working your muscles hard enough to promote growth, even if the actual number of reps isn’t exceedingly high or in some cases, it is extremely high. It’s particularly beneficial when your equipment is limited – you might not be lifting heavy, but you’re still creating substantial muscle tension.
- Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE): This scale is used to measure the intensity of your exercise, with levels typically ranging from 1 to 10 (or 6-20 in some interpretations). For muscle growth, operating in the higher ranges (say, 7-9 RPE) can be incredibly effective. It’s about pushing your muscles to a level where they’re being significantly challenged, ensuring the necessary stimulus for growth, regardless of the weight or reps.
Now let’s say that you’re extremely limited in equipment and it is difficult to reach sufficient RiR count without an extremely high number of reps and you just don’t have the time or the patience for it. That’s where creativity in intensity comes into play. You can make light weights feel incredibly challenging by tweaking your workout’s tempo and structure. Here are some strategies:
- Tempo-Based Lifts: Slow down your reps. Taking four seconds to lower the weight, a one-second pause at the bottom, and two seconds to lift it increases the time your muscles are under tension, amplifying the workout’s intensity. There are several different variations of altering the tempo in an exercise – this is just one example.
- Partial Reps: Perform only a portion of the movement to keep constant tension on the muscles. This approach ensures that you do not give your muscles any time to rest between reps while fully exhausting the target muscle group.
- Drop Sets: Pick 3 different weights – one heavy, one slightly lighter and one even lighter than that. Start with the heaviest weight and perform as many reps as possible at that weight, then drop the weight down to the second heaviest weight and repeat this process, followed by the same process with the lightest weight. Each chosen weight should be taken to failure with no rest in between. That is counted as one “set”.
In the end, it’s essential to remember that while numbers can guide us, they don’t define the entirety of our progress. It’s not about how many reps you can do; it’s about how you do each rep. Whether you’re lifting in a state-of-the-art gym or in a minimalist home setup, the principles of RiR and RPE, combined with creative intensity strategies, ensure that your journey towards muscle growth is not just about counting reps – it’s about making each rep count.
If you’re interested in reading a little more about the different approaches and ways to intensify your workout by altering different variables, check out the references page I have put out there for my fitness business, Fourteen23 Fitness.
