The general consensus is 1-5 for strength, 8-12 for hypertrophy, and anything above for indurance. But why?
In: 6
The body responds to the stimulation it receives. So, if you want to get good at lifting very heavy things a few times. You lift progressively heavier things a few times.
If you want to get good at lifting lighter things a large number of times, then you need to lift lighter things many times.
Lifting heavy is about making the body strong. Lifting light is about getting sugar and oxygen to the muscle and getting lactic acid and CO2 out of the muscle as quickly as possible.
The adaptations are different. Lifting heavy is more about strengthening connective tissue and training the nervous system to trigger muscles to pull harder.
Lifting light causes the body to grow more blood vessels in the muscle and store more sugar in the muscles.
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