How many sets, how many repetitions?

When we start in the gym, one of the first things we hear refers to the number of repetitions and series to execute of a certain exercise. Phrases like " I do three sets of 12 repetitions ", " that exercise is better if you do quick sets ", " for hypertrophy you must do short and heavy sets ".

With so many differences, most of the time we do not know what is the most appropriate and in the best case we follow the suggestions of an instructor or someone you know who seems to know what they are doing.
Let's see what are the general principles that we must apply when deciding how many repetitions to include in the series of our training, according to the objectives that we have set ourselves.

Every person who begins to exercise with a weight in a gym or at home does so thinking of achieving something, it may be to lose some weight, decrease flaccidity, increase strength or increase muscle size. Even in most cases the training is oriented to two or more objectives.

Depending on what is being pursued, this will be the training routine, the weight to be used, the number of sets and repetitions. Let's clarify some definitions.

What is a replay?

Each exercise is constituted by a sequence of movements in which from the initial posture the final posture is reached completing a certain route, when doing it complete we speak of a repetition.

For example, in the barbell biceps curl, the full movement begins with the starting position: standing with your knees slightly bent, back straight, arms extended shoulder width apart and the bar held with a supine grip. The movement consists of raising the bar to shoulder height, contracting the biceps without separating the elbows from the sides of the body, then slowly lowering the bar to the starting position, fully stretching the biceps. This represents a complete repetition.

What do the series consist of?
This is simple, each series is made up of a certain number of repetitions. Saying that you will do a series of 10 repetitions indicates that you will perform an exercise ten times with a rest period between repetitions.
When we first start in bodybuilding, the number of sets is usually less to adapt the muscles to the effort and avoid injuries, so the first routines usually have 2 to 3 sets with 8 to 10 repetitions during the introductory period, which is also done with little weight.

After the first weeks of training and with clear objectives, the routine is changed to focus on what is being pursued.
To promote the burning of body fat: Low-weight series are performed with a high number of repetitions, which is usually 15 to 30.
To tone muscles: use low weight and a high number of repetitions, between 12 and 15 per series.

To increase muscle strength: A moderate weight is used with few repetitions, usually 10-12 per set.
To promote muscle development: use a high weight with a low number of repetitions, from 6 to 10 until reaching muscle failure.

Number of series per exercise

Being clear about the number of repetitions that are done per series according to the objective, the next question we ask concerns the number of series to do for each exercise.

Without going into advanced technical detail we can take the general guidelines of training for beginners. During the adaptation phase to training: 2 to 3 sets with a maximum of 10 repetitions.

Then, for most it works well to do 3 to 4 sets regardless of the weight and the number of repetitions that are included. This is valid both to promote loss of body weight and to tone, increase strength or enhance muscle development.
Later, when there is more level and you want to grow the muscle, you can resort to specific techniques for muscle hypertrophy such as Schwarzenegger's type 21 training or the famous Cometti 10 × 10 that consists of doing 10 sets with 10 repetitions each. , reaching muscle failure in the last repetition.

For maximum power work by applying advanced principles such as Heavy Duty , the series can have from 2 to 3 repetitions with very high weights, it seeks to limit the muscle in a short time gaining muscle power.
As you can see, the weights are not only to grow the muscles, but that anyone can benefit from them and get the most out of achieving their goals just by adapting the training to the needs of the moment.